Put your nail biting habit to sleep for good

For most unconscious habits such as nail biting, hypnosis is often the best, cheapest and environmentally friendly cure for nail biting. No drugs, no chemicals and usable by any member of the family providing they are receptive to hypnosis. Some people cannot be hypnotised but they are very few and far between. A single personal session might be all that is needed, but there are some very good programs available in various formats for home use. Worth a go!

Make your own nut butters for a fraction of shop prices

I save a fortune on buying nut butters by making my own. Almond butter, cashew butter and good quality peanut butter can be fairly expensive to buy so instead I buy roasted almonds for about $4 at a bulk supplier (Bin Inn if you're in NZ) and blend it in my Nutribullet with the addition of a smidgeon of olive oil. This gives me twice the quantity of a shop-bought jar which would cost at least $12! You can also add a little honey or chia seeds to add variety. I use the same method to make cashew butter. I simply buy 200g of cashews for $4.80 from an Indian grocer, roast them in the oven and blend them with the addition of a little olive oil to start the process. At around $15 a jar to buy at health food stores, this is a terrific saving!

Shopping List Supervisor keeps you in line!

I saved quite a lot of money today at the supermarket because I took along my own, personal List Supervisor!

Every week my five-year-old daughter, who loves to read and write, writes down our shopping list that I dictate to her. She then gets to be 'in charge' of the list at the supermarket and has the job of making sure we don't get anything that isn't 'on the list'! She takes her job very seriously (as five-year-olds do), and whenever I pick up an item that hasn't been written down she pipes up 'That's not on the list!' - and so I put it back! Even items that were treats for her are sent back to their place on the shelf as she exclaims 'Uh-ah Mummy, that's not on the list!'

There are many benefits to employing a List Supervisor - we save money every week, we don't buy as many unhealthy 'treats' and I don't have a bored, nagging child at the supermarket as she is too busy doing her 'important job'! It's a win/win situation for everyone!

$2 dinner nights

I am saving around $100 a month on my grocery bills, thanks to a few simple changes to our family meals. I wanted to reduce our food bill and after some thought came up with the idea of making two nights per week a '$2 Dinner Night'. For example, one night we will have something like toasted baked bean sandwiches or stuffed baked potatoes; the other I use up all the leftover vegetables in the fridge to make a self-crusting quiche. This reduces the amount of food we waste and the kids love it. Even the simplest meals can be delicious and filling and the savings we are making from our twice-weekly $2 dinners are well worth it!