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!

End ant invasions pronto with Talon gel

I have found a truly fantastic product which gets rid of ants like no other pest treatment I've ever seen. Upon my recent invasion of ants, the faithful old borax and sugar mix was barely making a dent in their numbers. I couldn't use my own kitchen bench, guests were commenting and while I hate killing anything, it was driving the whole family crazy.  Thank goodness for Talon Ant killer gel! It works immediately (I saw ants leaving food and running to this gel), they swarmed it and as the product promises, they are gone in 48 hours. I can leave food out on the bench now and there are none to be seen. The gel works for 14 days, but at $8 for 5ml, it is totally worth it!

Better food, less vet trips

We have found that changing our brand of dog food from a 'cheap' supermarket brand to a vet-only brand has effectively saved us $5,000.

We used to feed our pets a good quality but cheap brand of food, costing around $20 per week in two kilo bag lots. We decided to experiment and switched to an ultra premium brand that is only available from veterinary hospitals and some pet shops. At $35 for a two kilo bag, it was quite a shock and we thought this was a mistake! However, we stuck it out for a month as planned and came to the following conclusions:

1. They gained condition, coats were shinier, softer and thicker and whiskers grew longer and stronger.
2. They had more energy but lost their tendency to behave like children at a five year old's birthday party!
3. They 'pooped' less and the odour of their urine and faeces was reduced by at least 75%.

The biggest realisation was that they only ate their way through half a bag every week, meaning we were now saving $10 a month just on food alone. Plus, we no longer had to feed supplements and we saved money on litter and both time and money on litter tray cleaning.

In the long term, we have found that their odour has decreased so much that they only need a shampoo bath every six months, not every two weeks as previously.

We have also had less trips to the vet and some chronic conditions have disappeared or become easier to manage without medication. A saving of close to $5,000 per year for us. We love our local vet and so do our pets, so we still visit regularly - but only for a cuppa and a chat!

Budgeting for all bills on a low income

I am on a very, very low income, so I budget for every bill and expense. I put away bill money every fortnight and that way I have all my bills covered as they arrive, and we seem to just spend the rest. Last year I decided to pay me as a bill, so every pay day I pay me first, just $50. I now have over $1200 in savings. I can't believe how easy it is; just pay yourself before everyone else. The first couple of pays it was an effort not to touch it, but as soon as I saw it mounting up, I got very excited. I tell myself all the time that money is power. While $1200 is not much to some people, to me it's a fortune. Try it - it empowers you.