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!

A 'glovely' way to stop nail biting

If you're a nail biter and want to stop, get your gloves on and leave them on. Don't knock it until you've tried it! It's impossible to get past a fleecy woollen layer, no matter how hard you try. If you can leave them on long enough, (maybe get the kind with fingertips so you can still use your phone!) the habit is broken and before long, your nails will be strong and long (er). Give it a go!

Positive thinking lifts pressure

My husband and I are soon to become parents and our income has been cut in half. Now that we're on a tighter budget, I have realised how much we were caving in to outside financial influence from friends and family. From innocent dinner invitations to suggestions on 'must-have' products for the new baby, the dollars were being seduced right out of our pockets. At the same time, it quickly became uncomfortable saying 'We'd love to, but it's not in our budget' in almost every conversation. It made me feel constantly deprived and I would actually end up spending money to make myself feel better. My husband stopped wanting to talk about our finances at all because he felt stressed out.

After thinking long and hard about our spending habits, I decided there were three main ways that outside influences were sabotaging our budget: social invitations, gift giving, and pressure to buy. Once I specifically identified these influences, it became so much easier to combat them.

Instead of declining every dinner invitation, and feeling bad about constantly telling our friends we didn't have the money, we organised a monthly dinner party for the entire group. We rotate hosting duties, and guests just bring a bottle of wine. Instead of eating out once a week with one or two friends, we now have a festive gathering once a month with everyone all at once - but only pay for a home-cooked dinner a couple times a year! It puts us back in control of how much we spend. I've also realised that people essentially just want to spend time with you, so you can feel free to counter suggest a cheaper and more creative option than going out to dinner. Instead of 'it's not in our budget', I now say 'Would you be up for a picnic on the beach instead? The weather is supposed to be beautiful'. If the plans are set in stone, I say 'We already have a commitment for dinner, but can we meet up with you all for a drink afterwards?'

I also noticed that giving gifts was really adding up. It was so simple to start making my own gifts instead. My favourite is to make chocolate covered strawberries and wrap them up in a beautiful gift box.

To stop caving in to pressure to buy, I've had to change the way I go shopping. It used to be a leisure activity to go with friends on the weekends, but I know I am too easy to influence. It's just inevitable that they will say 'You look great in that, you should buy it', or 'I had this with my first baby, you definitely need it'. Now I shop alone, with a list! I've also stopped taking the bait in conversations. If someone is recommending a $700 mountain buggy stroller, I ask if they know of a more economical brand of similar quality.

The most important way I've stopped outside influence from wrecking our budget is to talk openly about things with friends and family. Through this I've learned that most people are in the same situation. A friend confided that she was deeply in credit card debt and didn't know what she was going to do. Now instead of meeting her for a weekly manicure and lunch date that costs at least $60, we have opened up and become a real support system to each other for reaching our financial goals. It's often perceived as taboo to talk about money with people, but I think our friends have been just as relieved as we are!

Home-made bulk pancake mix

I am saving an amazing $100 a year on home-made pancakes! My family love it when I make pancakes for them but being a typical time-poor mum, I only ever made the 'instant' type in the plastic bottles. The trouble is that one bottle only lasts one pancake making session, so not only is it costly but I would also have liked to have enough be able to make extras for lunches and so on.

Then I recently stayed with a friend who was making up this Bulk Pancake Mix to put in a breakfast hamper for her elderly dad. She kindly shared the recipe with me and now our family gets to save $100 per year and we also contribute around 75 less plastic bottles a year to landfill too!

Bulk Pancake Mix (Makes 7 - 10 pancakes):

6 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk powder
3 tablespoons sugar

Method:

Mix together the following lightly -

1 1/2 cups pancake mix
3/4 cup water
1 egg
2 tablespoons oil

Cook in a non-stick frypan over a medium-high heat. No more 'plastic bottle pancakes' for us!

I loved my friend's idea of bagging it up for a present too. She was putting hers in a large plastic ziplock bag, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a gingham ribbon, with a bright red cup measure and the instructions tied to the top - very cute!