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December 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - December 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Troll Blood!
December: Make it Fun, Make it Funny!
Best of the Vault: Festive Feasting!
Best of the Forum: Countdown to Christmas
Best Members' Blog: Zero Dollar Christmas
Cooking with Mimi: An Extravagantly Decorated Table Saves on Food That Goes to Waste
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: A New Pond for the Patch and a Fishy Update

Hello,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I hope you have a lovely break. We have made you a Christmas gift (2016 calendar) and we will be sending it to you in a few days. In the meantime, we have some great last minute gifts that only cost pennies but look fantastic!

Thank you for supporting us for another year. And, thank you for kind emails. They inspire us to work harder. Here are our favourite emails this month:

"Thank you for everything Fiona and Matt - I have had great pleasure in buying memberships for my adult children for Christmas this year." (Tanya)

"Still loving my $21 Challenge - thank you! You have saved me hundreds of dollars every few months." (Mariah)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. The calendar is almost ready and we will be sending it to you in a few days.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Troll Blood!

Sal looked at the list she had made and sighed. "I have 21 gifts left to buy and only have $120 to spend. That's less than $6 each. What on earth can I buy for $6 that says 'Hey, Merry Christmas! You're special!'?"

Hanna smiled at her friend across the desk and started to speak but Sally cut her off. "No Hanna, I know you're going to say I can make something. I did that last year remember and it ended up costing a fortune, way more than if I bought them something in the first place. No, I've got to think of something I can buy, and quickly."

Hanna tried again, "Sal, I was going to say I have the perfect idea. It IS home-made but it's quick and easy and cheap to make. The best thing is you can personalise it for each person which makes it extra special." Sal perked up. "Hanna, that sounds wonderful. What is it?" Hanna smiled, "It's 'Troll Blood'!"

2. December: Make it Fun, Make it Funny

'Troll Blood'? What on earth is 'Troll Blood' you may ask? Did we really capture a few internet trolls and turn them into chocolate sauce as the label says?

The answer is, "YES! Yes we did! And it was lots of fun!!"

OK, the real answer is no. Troll Blood is made from cocoa, water, sugar, vanilla and salt and it is part of my long-running quest for the perfect gift. For years I have watched to see which gifts people enjoy the most. These gifts are the ones that appeal to the heart, the mind and/or the senses. They are often:-

gifts that are hand-made
gifts that make them laugh or smile
gifts that taste good.

If you can find a gift that does all three things, then you have a hit! So I've combined all three to make the ultimate frugal gift to use for Christmas and birthday gifts. It is a killer chocolate sauce recipe, stored in easy to buy jars with a great selection of labels to match your friends' tastes.

We have had a ball making the labels and we uploaded them so you can do it too.

First I'll show you all the labels up close and then the all-important recipe.

We have 'Troll blood' for your friends who find internet trolls really frustrating.

For teachers and coaches with a wicked sense of humour, we have 'Essence of Revenge'!

For the friend who likes things simple, we have some basic Christmas labels.

For friends who like coffee, we have altered the recipe (see below), offering to blow their heads off!

Or, help them concentrate :-)

For your friends who love chocolate. We have..

Here is the recipe (and all important labels) to make two delicious jars of 'Troll Blood' (or whatever else you'd like to call it!) to give to loved ones and others who share your dislike for trolls!

Troll Blood

Makes 2 x 1 litre jars

Shopping list:

2 x 1 litre jars ($6)
1 box (380g) cocoa ($4)
2kg sugar ($2)
Vanilla essence
Salt

Labels:

Print out chosen labels

Glue stick

Scissors

Ingredients

2kg sugar
Box of cocoa (380g)
1 litre water (or coffee)
1 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla essence

Put sugar and cocoa in a really big stock pot. Stir together to remove all the lumps from the cocoa. Add liquid (water or coffee) and salt. Turn stove to high and stir continually. When it is boiling, turn heat to medium. Keep stirring and watching. If it gets too hot it will bubble over. Let syrup simmer until it thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla essence.

Pour into two jars. When cooled add your labels.

And now you have two awe-inspiring, home-made gifts for a tiny $6 each! It is the ultimate frugal gift.

Download the labels here.

Merry Christmas!!

Fiona

3. Best of the Vault: Festive Feasting!

Say 'Merry Christmas' with love by cooking your own festive fare this year. With a bit of thought and organisation, you can create a delicious and inexpensive Christmas for your loved ones to remember. Here are some great ideas from the Vault:

Boozy strawberry syrup

This delicious strawberry syrup makes an ideal festive gift for sipping and slurping! It's so easy and only takes a week until it's ready. All you need are strawberries, sugar, vodka and a clean jar.

Put fresh strawberries into an elegant jar or bottle.
Drizzle with white sugar until the jar is filled.
Fill with vodka.
Turn daily for a week to dissolve the sugar.
Decorate the jar with ribbon and/or a festive tag.
Use as a drink with lemonade or over crepes, ice cream or strawberries. Yum!

Contributed by: Kathy L

Frozen Christmas Bombe

This Christmas recipe serves 6-8 people.

1 cup mixed dried fruit
1/2 cup sliced glace cherries
2 tablespoons brandy
1 x 359g can sweetened condensed milk
2 x 300ml cartons thickened cream
1/2 cup dark choc bits
1/2 cup white choc bits
1/2 cup flaked almonds, toasted

Combine dried fruit, cherries and brandy in a bowl. Cover and stand for 30 minutes.
Line a 1.5 litre (six cup capacity) pudding basin with plastic wrap, freeze whilst preparing ice-cream.
Beat sweetened condensed milk and cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick. Fold through the fruit mixture, dark and white choc bits and almonds.
Pour the mixture into a prepared basin. Freeze for several hours, or overnight.
Before serving, turn out pudding onto a plate; then smooth the surface with a wet knife.
Decorate with fresh fruit/berries, and bottled sauce of your choice.

Contributed by: Vivien Wakefield

Minimal Cost Christmas

Christmas can be an expensive time of year but I have learned to make savings. I buy turkey and chicken pieces instead of a whole bird. This way saves time in cooking and preparing and if you want stuffing to go with it, make it up in muffin tins.

I make my own cake instead of buying one. I soak the fruit and nuts in black tea for 24 hours and make it up as usual. I don't make a cake with more than 2 eggs in, I find it unnecessary. I pour a tablespoon of brandy or whiskey over the cake daily for 2 weeks to keep it fresh; the taste does disappear after a few days of not doing it.

Mince tarts can be made with 500g of mixed dried fruit minced up fine in a blender to go further. I make sweet shortcrust pastry and put in about 2 teaspoons for each portion, then bake for 20 mins or until golden brown.

Using these methods, I have worked out that our Christmas dinner will cost under $20 to serve ten people. We make our own beer so for $11 we have 72 bottles of beer. I buy the beer kits when they are on special. I make my own hats, sweets and table settings. The library has lots of books on the subject, most items needed can be found in op shops for a minimal cost.

Contributed by: Kaye King

4. Best of the Forum: Countdown to Christmas

Christmas doesn't have to be a last-minute spending rush. Here are some great ideas to help you plan a wonderful Christmas without breaking the budget!

Secret Santa - how do you do it in your family

Secret Santa is a great way to do family gift-giving, have fun and save money all at the same time!
read more...

Mimi's under-$5-looks-like-more DIY Xmas gifts

Mimi shares her beautiful gift-giving ideas in this thread - they are so pretty you'll be making one extra to keep for yourself!
read more...

Hosting Christmas

There are some great ideas for surviving being the host this Christmas!
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: Zero Dollar Christmas

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's Blog winner is Sandy for her blog about NOT spending on Christmas presents!

"I can't believe how fast the year is going, and how close Christmas is! We recently started a new business and while it is doing well, we are barely, if at all, actually covering our personal expenses, so I have started dreaming up Christmas and how I can make it work. My husband thinks I'll have to spend some money and I probably will but I am determined to keep it very close to nothing! I have been looking around and thinking what resources I have that I can use to make into gifts - not just something nice but also something that people will appreciate and use.

So far I have come up with the following:

a ginger plant (already sprouting)
home-made bags that can be used at the market, both light-weight net ones for individual vegies and larger ones for whole bunches
a peg apron
lemongrass plants
reusable fabric covers (instead of cling wrap)
Freecycle begging (hopefully I can get some bath toys for bubby)
home-made gift vouchers

The resources I am planning on using are the big stack of fabric I have, some large onion bags and some 20kg rice bags (some of which I am using to grow potatoes but I have plenty).

Although in some ways it is a bit of a struggle and we're feeling the pinch, for me it is a challenge to rise to. Unfortunately it is harder for my husband who doesn't have a lot of time, loves to give gifts and loves the luxuries of life. I am so proud of the way that he is coping with the tight finances though."

Well done Sandy - you are an inspiration - thank you for sharing!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Cooking with Mimi: An Extravagantly Decorated Table Saves on Food That Goes to Waste

This year, I'm focusing on setting a truly beautiful Christmas table, and serving simple food. I get that we don't feel right if the table isn't groaning with stuff on Christmas Day, but it's a special sort of crazy really, isn't it? We waste so much and I'd rather donate a little more to charity now that we have a family of adults. So, we're making it a feast for the eyes and soul, not just the stomach.

Our menu this year is a simple leg ham, two lovely salads, fresh stone fruit and nuts in the shell, and a dessert yet to be decided. That's it. But I wanted our Christmas table to be truly beautiful with a tartan theme, which I should probably explain!

I got this tartan at Spotlight for $2 a metre.

I already had the striped 'ticking' style fabric, the vintage blue and white toile, and the chambray remnant. They go together in that totally over-the-top mixed pattern style that I would never do for every day, but which I kinda like for Christmas :)

We have off-white china, silver candelabra and a small collection of blue and white ginger jars. I need more of those actually so I feel an op shop trawl coming on! I've been lucky to pick the ones I have up for $2 or thereabouts. New, they're actually really expensive!

Here's a first run....

That's all from things I already have. The beautiful roses were a gift from a friend. Aren't they a gorgeous colour? I had to giggle to myself when I did this though, because my eye simply won't allow too much busy-ness and I chose to include the rose, as well as my pink wine glasses, because of that touch of pink on the ginger jar. This is a more understated version, isn't it. I'll have to take my 'understated-ness' off, I think!

I think I'll fill the ginger jars with chocolate éclair lollies or something and just stress that the sweets are for eating and the jars for returning ;-) I'll do a long low floral centrepiece using some silverware I've collected over the years, and some similar coloured roses either from the garden or from the florist wholesaler a day or two before. You'd be amazed what you can create with a fruit bowl, some $2 florist foam, a bunch of inexpensive flowers and some greenery from the garden!

So in between all that prettiness will sit a couple of platters of cold food, beautifully presented and won't we all feel special. There's more to a celebration meal than indulging the stomach. What about indulging the eye as well.

Merry Christmas :)

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page or in our Members' Blog section.

7. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: A New Pond for the Patch and a Fishy Update

The patch is flying along and I thought I'd include a few update shots of the taro, corn and Queensland Arrowroot that I post about on my last blog. As you can see from the picture above, the taro has taken right off in the wicking barrels. I was concerned that they might not like the full sun they're getting in this position but so far they look like it's not bothering them at all. I think it helps that these barrels are automatically topped up with water so the soil is always moist.

The mixed glass bead and gem corn plants have also put on a lot of growth over the past four weeks. We had a rather ferocious storm on Sunday and I was concerned they may blow over like a friend's did in West Ipswich, but I think the front fence took a lot of sting out of the wind. I think I will have to set up some sort of twine around them like I have with previous crops as they won't be so protected once they reach 2m / 6½' tall.

The Queensland arrowroot has totally blown me away. I know our compost was good but didn't think it was this nutritious ;-)

There is also a red Amaranth (grown for its seed by South Americans) flourishing in there that is the most vigorous looking amaranth we've grown to date. Not only is it the tallest amaranth we've grown (we can see it from the house over the shade house) but the base of the stem is massive. I've decided to leave this plant just to see what comes of it. Will definitely end up with enough seed to add into my date and nut cocoa balls methinks ;-)

A few other plants have done surprisingly well for us so far include this pumpkin, grown from some seeds shared with me by Ruben, an online friend I met through the Share the Seed Facebook group. It's growing up a small trellis and so far looks to be a great producer with five fruits already forming.

They're a smaller fruiting pumpkin that is a hybrid variety (so no seed saving unfortunately) that has proven to be fairly mildew resistant up until this week. I have noticed a few patches of mildew forming so will be removing the worst affected leaves and will use a fungicide spray on the other leaves to try and knock the infection off. Reuben was also kind enough to share some cucumber seeds with me as well. They were sown directly into the Root pouch wicking garden at the back stairs in August. Three months later and the little garden is looking just a tad overgrown ;-) So far we've picked about a dozen nice sized cucumbers from this patch which we've been enjoying immensely. I think Maya wants two of these left aside so she can make sliced cucumber pickles but she'll have to be quick, as we're eating one of these a day at the moment ;-) A few of the chillies have been picked with loads of mint and a few sweet potato leaves going into meals as well.

A New Pond for the Patch

Just over a month ago we set up a pond in the patch under the Tahitian lime tree so we could grow a few edible water plants. We are also hoping it will provide a spot for frogs to spawn in and to provide water for beneficial insects.

The pond is made from a 500L grow bed** we purchased with the aquaponic system a while back but we can't fit into the system the way it's laid out at the moment. Setting it up was as easy as levelling the ground and installing an overflow port that would run excess water off to irrigate the lime tree in times of heavy downpours. For the time being it's just sitting on the ground but its position may change in the future. Ideally some of the base should be dug into the ground to help keep the water cool during our scorching summer heat.

I decided to try using Root Pouches to grow the plants and filled them with a potting mix and compost blend. We sat these on top of some milk crates and an upside down plant pot. Two of the pouches were planted out with water chestnuts and the third with arrowhead/duck potatoes. The water chestnuts we've grown a few times now but the arrowhead is a new one for us. I've been told that they have a nutty flavour so it will be interesting to see how they go once they're harvested.

One thing we keep in mind when setting up ponds in the yard is to keep the mosquitoes from breeding in them. To make sure that we didn't have an explosion of wrigglers, we added some native fire tailed gudgeons.

They will quite happily polish off any mozzie wrigglers but won't eat any eggs or tadpoles. A water pump was also added to keep the water moving and well oxygenated for the gudgeons. I'm looking at replacing the 240V pump with a small solar pump but just haven't found one I'm happy with yet. On top of the water I added some small floating plants called azolla and duck weed (Thanks Adie & Tina). These two tiny plants are very nutritious and can be fed to the fish in the aquaponics, to chooks or compost worms if we want. I've also seen a few folks that eat both plants but I think I'll pass for now. ;-)

On the west facing side of the pond a small garden bed was made to help provide shade from the hot afternoon sun. It was planted out with some Queensland arrowroot to not only shade the side the pond but to also serve as a ladder for frogs that may want to use it to spawn in. So far I'm really pleased with how it's going and can't wait to see some tadpoles swimming in there.

** A stock tank would work just as well if you're after an above ground pond. They can be purchased from rural supply stores and also recycling businesses like Tilkey here in South East Queensland.

Aquaculture Update

A few weeks back we harvested the fish in the fish farm and pulled it down. It was always meant to be a bit of an experiment just to see if I could run a straight aquaculture system in the backyard and I found that it helped me learn a few things I hadn't yet come across running the aquaponic system. I am glad that it's all pulled down now as it was a shame to see all the nutrients go to waste instead of growing produce for ourselves. These were the last of the Jade perch from the fish farm. There was a 9th fish but I was in a hurry and had already dressed it before realising I hadn't taken a picture. The smallest weighed 450g/1lb and the largest 700g/1.5lb which I was very pleased with. They had been in the fish farm for about 18 months and were supposed to come out in 12 months at an average weight of 500g, but due to a few hiccups along the way their feed rations were cut a few times meaning they didn't grow as fast as I would have liked them to.

The tanks and barrels from the system will be heading over to my parent's place where it will be recycled into an aquaponic system for them to grow some silver perch in.

Aquaponic System

The aquaponics has been pumping out the produce of late, with around 80% of the greens we've been eating coming from the system. We are having a few issues with a caterpillar on the Okinawan spinach at the moment. These caterpillars have been devastating the plants in the aquaponics so I think it might be time to give the plants a haircut and spray with some Dipel to knock the infestation on the head.

The fish are feeding really well now that the weather has warmed up. The Jade perch are all ready to come out as we feel like a fish meal. A few of the silver perch are around the 500g/1lb mark now and ready to come out but the trick will be to pull them out rather than the smaller fish. The rest will be left in for a while longer until they grow out to harvest size.

There are some big changes coming for the aquaponics now that the fish farm has been pulled down. We are hoping to fit in around 3m²/32feet² of new grow beds were the fish farm once stood, with at least one large bed being a floating raft bed for greens-only production.

So there's a bit of a look at how things are going in the patch at the moment. I hope everyone's gardens are pumping out the produce now we're into summer.

Have a great one all.
Rob

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Goodybe For Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for December 2015 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to check the Forum and Facebook for challenges and inspiration to help you with some great lunchbox ideas and don't forget to let us know!

Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Don't forget to spread the love around to your family and friends too by forwarding them our newsletter or letting them know about our website. Help make their lives easier and save them money too! Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page.

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

December 2018 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - December 2018

Making Christmas Gifts
The Ultimate Gift Planner
NEW Competition: Inspiring Others
WINNERS: Proudest Simple Savings Moment
Forum: We Have a New Search Engine!
Two-hour Decluttering: Precious Memories

Hello,

How are you doing? I hope you are having an enjoyable festive season.

First up; the legendary Simple Savings Calendar is ready. How low can you go in 2019?

Get yours here.

We have made many changes to the site this year and hope to make many more.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas,

Fiona

P.S. If you're stuck for a gift idea for someone you care about, how about gifting them a Vault membership? It costs just $21 and will help someone else to save money all year round. Who knows, it may even change their life!

1. Making Christmas Gifts

This year all my Christmas shopping was complete by December 1st. The tree is up, presents are wrapped... and I am a big fat liar! The truth is, I have planned out everyone's gifts, but we are still busy making them. Making Christmas gifts is one of my favourite things to do. We make all sorts of gifts, Word Art, customised bags, Christmas trees, favourite songs, t-shirts, biscuits, jars of troll blood, even 'poo' - yes, you read right!

Here some of the gifts we have made this year, as well as instructions on how you can make them too:

Say it with Word Art

How about this for a heartwarming gift for a favourite teacher? Miss Elora made these two pieces by asking her classmates what they think of their teachers and then typing their responses into WordArt.com.

All you have to do is type in your words, choose your design and play with it till it is perfect. Guaranteed to make your recipient's day!

Customised Bags

Shopping bags are a very practical gift. Since the Compulsory Bag Ban I've tested nine different types of re-usable bags in order to find the best one for the job. I wanted a bag which is strong enough to carry my shopping, small enough to fit in my pocket and live in my handbag, large enough to fit my shopping in, looks good and is well priced. The best bags I found were at Woolworths and cost 99c. They meet all my requirements and are also really easy to decorate and transform into a unique and personalised gift.

Here are some of the bags the kids and I have decorated for our friends, family and each other. At the bottom, I'll show you how we did it.

Elora (aged 9) did this one for her teacher.

I made this one for my stylish friend. I kept it simple, so it would match her capsule wardrobe.

This one I was testing simple patterns:

and this one is our Christmas card design:

Creating your own is simple. Simply grab some 99c bags from the Woolworths checkout and some oil based paint markers, available from Office Works. You may have noticed me use these in previous newsletters.

Before you start decorating the bags, place some paper inside the bag to catch the paint which may seep through the fabric. Then draw away to your heart's content!

Next, cut the supermarket logo off the tag. Do not cut the tag off! The tag helps you find the piece of elastic, which holds the bag together.

The tag folds over so you can slide your scissors into the middle of the tag, cut it in half and then remove the half with the logo.

Then you can simply colour the remaining tag.

Christmas Trees

Miss Jacqueline has been busy making Christmas trees with her 3D pen.

If you would like to see how she makes them, here is a link to her YouTube video:

Music Gifts

Many years ago I gave my sister a mix tape of all her favourite songs. She absolutely loved it.

She got hours and hours of joy from that mix tape and said it was the best present anyone had ever made for her.*

While no one does mix tapes any more, what you can do is make a loved one a list of special songs just for them, using Spotify. Songs you think they will love, songs that remind you of fun things you did together, songs you loved when you were a teen or songs to inspire.

Earlier this month I asked our Forum members to help me put together a list of their favourite frugal songs, which I have put into a Spotify play list for you:

This list of favourite frugal songs features:

Coat of Many Colours - Dolly Parton
Every Little Thing - Peter Doran
Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 3) - The Whitlams

The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
Royals - Lorde
Simple Life - Casey Abrams
Simple Pleasures - David Myles
Give Me The Simple Life - Dane Vannatter
Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles
Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin
Lost in the Supermarket - The Clash

Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz) EXPLICIT - Macklemore & Ryan
Save That Money - Rufus Thomas

Save Dat Money (feat Fetty Wap & Rich Homie Quan) - Lil Dicky
Chic 'N' Stu - System Of A Down
Spend, Spend, Spend - The Slits

No Money - Galantis
The Busy Girl Buys Beauty - Billy Bragg
Taxman - The Beatles
Money - Pink Floyd
These Days - Powderfinger

You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones
What Do I Do - Lanie Lane
Shake It Off - Taylor Swift

Oh No! - Marina and the Diamonds
Love Don't Cost a Thing - J Lo

Here is the link to Spotify

If you would like to know more about how these songs inspire others to save money, or if you can think of some more songs to add to the list, pop into our Forum thread here.

Years later, I confessed to my sister that I hadn't made the mix tape, she had made the mix tape herself. I found it in her room after she had left home and sent it to her!

T-Shirts

Personalised t-shirts are a useful and low cost gift which you can customise perfectly to suit the recipient. We have a great range of designs for all ages which you can print out directly from our site.

Home Made Biscuits

...with hand decorated labels.

Home made biscuits are a great gift. However, I've been told teachers aren't too fond of receiving food made by children with questionable hygiene! This method means mum can make snot-free biscuits, while the kids colour the labels to go on the jars.

To make it super easy for you, we have some labels for members to use in our Downloads area:

Tinned 'Baby Poo'

The best presents either taste delicious or make you laugh. We have created a gift that does both - canned baby poo!

This is one of our favourite gifts to give. It's funny, looks great and tastes great too. Yes, it really does taste great! This is because the 'baby poo' is actually yummy caramel, made from boiled sweetened condensed milk.

To make your own, start by peeling the label off of four tins of sweetened condensed milk.

Place some cutlery in the bottom of a large pot and fill with water. This is important, as you don't want your tins to be touching the bottom of the pot, otherwise they can over cook.

Carefully place your tins into the pot, making sure they are completely covered with water and the bottom of each one is touching the cutlery, not the pot.

Bring everything to the boil and simmer for two hours.

Once the tins are cool, remove them from the water.

Dry the tins thoroughly to stop them rusting.

Print and cut out your baby poo labels, then once the cans are completely cool and dry, stick them on.

As you can see, the caramel really does look like baby poo!

You can make your own labels with Canva (www.canva.com) or if you are a Vault member you can use our labels. The labels (for Members) are in our downloads area, here.

Here is the back of the label:

The labels are for Vault Members Only

Jars of 'Troll Blood'

You may also remember our Troll Blood and some of our others from a few years ago:

You can find the recipe for Troll's Blood, along with other labels in the December 2015 Newsletter

I hope you enjoy these gift ideas and they put smiles on your loved one's faces. Have fun!

2. The Ultimate Gift Planner

The Ultimate Gift Planner is a handy invention which works by showing you the who, when and what of your year ahead. First, you figure out all the people you give gifts to in a year. From this, you can estimate how many gifts you wish to give. Then comes the fun part; thinking of some great gift ideas. By taking a photo of your completed planner with your phone, from now on, any time you are shopping, you will have everything you need to get the perfect gift at the perfect price.

No more Christmas rushes, no more getting caught unprepared, no more Christmas queues. You will already have everything under control!

Download your Ultimate Gift Planner here.

3. NEW Competition: Inspiring Others

January is Wealthy Habits month, and what better way to start the year than inspiring others to set their money saving habits off on the right foot?

This month we want to know: What is the best advice you would give to someone who has a big pile of wasteful habits? How do you motivate and encourage someone who is new to the saving game?

Or at the other end of the scale, what was the thing someone else said to you which inspired you to change your wasteful ways?

We have four prizes of $50 to award for the best answers. To enter, send us your entries by December 31st. Email your entries to: competitions@simplesavings.com.au

4. WINNERS: Proudest Simple Savings Moment

What an incredible response we had to our last competition, 'What is your proudest Simple Savings moment?' The entries were so good, I couldn't choose just four winners, we had to increase it to six! Here are the winners:

"Over the years Simple Savings has helped me tighten my shopping (both food and clothes), learn to repurpose or use up and be content with our lifestyle, rather than wanting what the 'Jones Family' had. This allowed us to live on one income for a long time without feeling like we or our children were missing out. But more than that, I learned how to cut down our household bills and budget using the banks to help, rather than hinder us. This was very evident when last year we were in the process of buying a house (and moving), when our income dropped very suddenly. We went with only a quarter income for six weeks and have only had half the budgeted income since. Even though that happened in October (while dealing with moving and connection costs), we still paid all our school fees, booklists, Christmas expenses and back to school costs with cash. Through the power of wise budgeting, household management and knowing how to use what we already had, we have come through unscathed (and without a credit card debt)! Thanks to all the work at Simple Savings and the community of people willing to share their knowledge!"

Susan Zelley

"I joined Simple Savings a few years ago but wasn't following your ideas religiously at the time.

"Then in 2015 I was made redundant. It was my third redundancy and it hit me really hard. Our income was reduced in half and I was not able to get a job for two-and-a-half years. Since I had a lot of time on my hands, I started reading all the information from Simple Savings. I even won a free membership, so went through the membership area and learned heaps.

"I didn't have much money during those two-and-a-half dark years but I learned so much. I've become very organised and my house looks very neat. Everything is in its place and I have become a very creative cook and a great housekeeper. I have even managed to save all the extra money I earned by writing articles, tax refunds, being paid to sit on a couple of boards and taking catering orders for friends and making cakes. One year we went on holiday to Japan while I was still unemployed and we didn't borrow money or use our credit cards.

"I set up my own consultancy after about a year of redundancy, and started earning a little money and later worked for one of my clients for a year. This year I found a great part time job which I enjoy very much.

"After learning to live on one income for a few years, we still live quite carefully. Our lifestyle hasn't changed much and we have savings, bought two cars (mine was falling to pieces) and also bought an investment property. I borrowed the money for my car from our savings and am paying it back to myself without paying interest on borrowed money. We've had three overseas holidays after redundancy too and hoping to do more travelling.

"Thank you Simple Savings for helping me cope and learn about life".

Sue B

"My proudest savings moment was the day I cut our grocery bill in half. I sat down a couple of days beforehand and listed everything in the pantry and freezer and got out all my recipe books. I meal planned and was determined NOT to waver from my shopping list. I went to two alternative grocery stores, and finally the supermarket I usually shop at to get anything that wasn't available elsewhere. When I arrived home I set to baking and cooking, freezing a certain portion of what I made for future convenience. I made a list of the items I have available and put it on the fridge so everyone knew what what available. There was more variety in our menu which the family enjoyed. Savings as well as enjoyment - who can ask more than that!"

Cheryl McKay

"My proudest Simple Savings moment was after we had moved to our new home we bought. It was not the fact that we had bought our home, nor was it the fact that we had a garage to put our boat in, nor was it the fact that we had enough room for our three cars; one belonging to our son that we helped purchase. What was it you ask?

"It was a scrumpled piece of paper. Yep, that was my proudest Simple Savings moment! It was during the unpacking of our boxes that I found a scrumpled up piece of paper, that when I unscrumpled it had a list of goals for the next five years. This is what was on that list:

Help our son buy his first car - tick
Buy a home that is affordable for us, is inviting to everyone who comes and visits and is available at the end of 2011 - tick (paying a mortgage that is less than the rent we were paying).
Buy a boat for my husband and me and a car to be able to pull the boat - tick and tick.

"You would think we had won the lottery! Or had a change in jobs or an inheritance - but no, it was all down to deciding that we wanted to start making our hard earned money work for us, not us having to work hard just for our money. So I joined Simple Savings and started being money savvy, thanks to ALL of the wonderful members who were happy to share their experiences and stories, both good and bad. I started to be money smart just like the members and all the above items I was proud to read what we had achieved. I did have other items on the list, but they were things that didn't really matter to us (such as buying brand new furniture for our new home, we decided we were happy with our second hand purchases, apart from some items we bought brand new). Although one goal on the list is still important to me, to have a holiday wherever I want every year. That one might be number one in my next list. Off to find a new sheet of paper and a pen!"

T Kaye

"My proudest savings moment was when I paid off all my debt. A $40,000 credit card and a $10,000 personal loan.

"I made a decision about three years ago that I needed to get rid of my debt, once and for all. I did this by tracking all my spending. I bought an exercise book and began writing down every cent that I spent. I changed my habits, because I had to make sure that what I bought was good enough to go in the book. If I thought it wasn't worthy, then I didn't put it in. I ate everything out of my pantry, gave up shopping trips to Kmart (it's cheap, but it's not cheap if you don't need it, and can't afford it). I also started putting aside 20% of my wage and I now have $70,000 in the bank. A great start on buying my first home! I turned off every light that I could, stretched out my shampoo, conditioner and handwash by mixing it with water when I was almost out. I only bought groceries on special and gave up my weekly manicure/pedicure!

"While I can now relax this a little, I am still going to keep it up, so I can continue to save for a deposit on a house".

Jocelyn Robinson

"With a new baby on the way it was time to tackle the 'junk room' You know the one; the spare room/space that just seems to grow every time you open the door? This is the before and after. Everything was taken out and only put back if needed. Multiple car loads to the local op shop and donations given away on our local 'Pay it Forward' page, left us with a clutter free nursery.

"My top tips - be ruthless. If in doubt chuck it out, try not to keep too many multiples of items. If you were out at the shops right now would you buy the item? If it's broken/damaged are you really going to fix it?"

Before:

After!

Erin Johnston

Wow! Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and congratulations to our winners. You all deserve a huge pat on the back!

5. Forum: We Have a New Search Engine!

You read correctly! Matt has created a lovely new search engine to make browsing the squillions of brilliant discussions and topics in the Forum tons easier. The feedback has been great and members are really enjoying using the new function. Matt has some more tricks up his sleeve to make it even better still in the future! We hope you love using the new site on your phone too. If you haven't tried the new search engine yet and would like to learn more about it, pop into the Forum thread here.

6. Two-hour Decluttering: Precious Memories

The hardest thing with decluttering is getting started. Every job seems too large and I never have the time. So to make it less daunting and ensure it actually gets done, I break my decluttering missions into managable chunks of no more than two hours at a time. Here are some recent examples of decluttering in the Lippey household:

Kids' paintings

Our kids love their painting but over the years we had accumulated an immense stash of canvases in the garage, never to see the light of day again. So we came up with some simple rules that would help us to declutter, while still being able to 'keep' all of their paintings for posterity:

If you can find a space for it on the wall, we will keep it
If you want to keep painting on the canvas, we can keep it

Otherwise we would take a photo of the painting, take the canvas to the tip shop for someone else to use, and just keep the photo of the artwork on file instead.

First, we took all the paintings outside and found a spot with perfect light. Next, we put a step stool next to them and started photographing the canvases. Twenty minutes later, I had shots of all the kids' paintings. Here are some of them. They are very cute :-)

Now all of their paintings are out of storage and are either on walls, or documented with photographs. In addition we also have regained some valuable shelf space. Those canvases had been taking up masses of room in the garage for years, yet it took less than an hour to get them down and photograph them all. It also only took 10 minutes to get the kids to choose their favourite paintings and 20 minutes to hang them around the house. Best of all, we had fun doing it!

My sewing box

This is my sewing box. It is small, tidy and looks nice when it is sealed.

Unfortunately, inside was a complete mess. Sewing with it was a pain. I could never find anything and to locate something I either had to dig around in the box and risk being stabbed with a needle, or tip the entire load out onto the table.

I racked my brain trying to find a solution and contemplated buying the perfect sewing box from Bunnings when I realised I already had something that might work. A cutlery canteen the kids bought at the school fete for $5.

I started by sorting through the pile, throwing out duplicates and things I would never use, such as sequins from my belly dancing days. Next, I laid things out in the cutlery canteen so I could see them.

Here is the final result. It took around half an hour to transform everything from a horrendous mess to a neat and tidy sewing box.

As I looked at my lovely new sewing box and thought of the impossible mess it used to be, I had to wonder: Why did it take me this long?

The bottom drawer

This year's quest to reduce my time in the kitchen has been a success. The Thermomix is used 2-3 times a day, the ingredient labelling system is fantastic and finding lids in my container drawer is super easy. But, there was one drawer I hadn't yet had the strength to touch: The miscellaneous bottom drawer. Here is a photo of it. ARGH!!

It took me ages to start decluttering this drawer but the whole thing was emptied, sorted, cleaned, repacked and photographed in less than an hour.

The best part of all about my spurts of two-hour decluttering is that my husband Matt and friend Rae also joined in. Between them they filled up the trailer. How's that for impressive! Goodbye clutter! Hello SPACE. I'm looking forward to starting 2019 with a cleaner, more organised home.

2018 has been a good year. My kitchen is more efficient. My goals for 2019 are to keep my family healthy, re-paint the inside of my home and get back on the growing veggies wagon.

Wishing you a safe and happy Christmas, and a prosperous New Year!

All the best,

Fiona

PS: If you like these free money saving tips, imagine how many more you can learn when you purchase a Vault membership! The Vault contains thousands of tips to save you money on just about anything you can think of, all neatly categorised for you to browse the areas that interest you most easily. It costs a tiny $21 per year to join, and will save you much, much more throughout the whole year. To learn more and become a member, click here.

February 16th 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Hello,

Thank you for all your wonderful feedback about the changes to our newsletters. We're so glad to hear you are enjoying the new, shorter format!

"Love the new format & determined to make some positive changes this year, both in lifestyle & finances!" Tracy C

"Just want to say what a great idea it is to send smaller emails more often, I get withdrawal symptoms waiting for the monthly ones!" Trish B

As always, if you have any feedback - good or bad, please write in and tell us. What would you like to see in your Simple Savings emails? Which savings topics which you most like our help with?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many grins,
Fiona

Sally and Hanna: What's the World Coming To?

"Oh good grief, it just gets worse!" Sally said, looking at her computer screen in panic. "What gets worse?" asked Hanna, through a mouthful of sandwich. "What do you think? All this stuff about Donald Trump, it's all over Facebook", Sally waved a hand at the screen. "Honestly, I haven't slept properly in days! Don't you worry about what's going to happen to you?" she looked wide-eyed at Hanna.

"Why, what's going to happen to me?" Hanna smiled, still calmly eating her sandwich. "Don't you know what this could mean for us? We could lose our jobs, our homes, anything! Honestly Hanna, I thought you of all people would be up with the play", Sally glared. "I am up with the play!", Hanna replied. "But there's no point worrying about it; we're already doing everything we can. It's business as usual in our house."

"What on earth do you mean?" Sally asked. "I mean things don't have to change", smiled Hanna. "We just live frugally the way we always have. When you know how to survive on a tiny budget, you are always prepared for whatever life throws at you. Relax, Sal! It will be alright." "Do you really think so?" Sally looked hopeful. "Yes, I do", Hanna replied. "If you're really worried, grow a few vegies in the yard and get some chickens. Balance your budget and focus on building yourself a nest egg. You'll get through." "Well - that makes sense. I feel a bit better now", said Sally "Thanks Hanna! Build myself a nest egg, you say? Guess I'll definitely need those chickens then!"

Next time: In our next newsletter we will talk about some easy ways you can get started building your own nest egg. Chickens are optional ;-)

Savings Tip: My '$10 top-up' challenge saves up to 2/3 on groceries!

I am spending a fraction of what I used to on food and other groceries since I set myself a $10 top-up challenge! Every few days I would go to the shops to top up bread, milk, butter, tomatoes and other essentials. However I found invariably I would need this or that that hadn't been included in my regular grocery shop and I would end up spending about $20-$30. Not any more though! Now I walk in with only $10 and stick to the $10 top up budget. For example, today it was bread on sale, chicken drumsticks and hot cross buns, which came to a total of just $8.50. I am much happier with the new, lower amount! Walking in with $10 for top-up groceries is challenging but also saves us money as we use whatever is at home and there is a lot less wastage. Happy me, happy wallet and happy environment!

Contributed by: PlanB

Got a great money saving tip? Send it in to us and you could win!

We love to hear all your favourite ways to save money. Share them with us today and you could win a year's free membership to the Simple Savings website! All it takes is a few minutes to enter and the winner gets to enjoy access to thousands more brilliant money saving tips and resources in our precious Savings Vault, as well as everyone's favourite, the Savings Forum. To be in to win, send your tips in to us here. You can enter as many times as you like, so don't be shy!

Bye for now

That's all for today. If you want to get a head start on building your nest egg before the next newsletter, visit our website - there are stacks of brilliant tips waiting to help you save money right now!

Until next time,
Fiona

February 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Sally the Super Saver!
March is Hidden Gems Month
This Month's Competition: Share Your Best Hidden Gem and WIN!
$21 Challenge Update
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Hidden Gems Galore
Best of the Vault: Thinking Outside the Square
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Hooray for Hidden Gems!
Homeopathy Corner: Disaster Remedies Part II
From Last Month: Too Many Tomatoes
This Month's Help Request: Go Away Silverfish!
Savings Story: Don't Give Up

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you have had a good month. It has been a month of ups and downs in the Lippey household. This month, I did eight library talks, which was both really scary (I hate talking in public) and absolutely wonderful. The best bit was meeting so many Simple Savers. A lot of really lovely people turned up to the talks and it made them a lot of fun. I also learnt many new tips from the audience including some new hidden gems (special places to shop) in my area that I didn't know before. Such as; ALDI is the cheapest place to buy environmentally sustainable fish on the Sunshine Coast and the best place to get fruit and vegies is at Fisherman's Road market at 4.30am on a Sunday! I also found out how brilliant our local librarians are. It was wonderful to meet so many members in person for the first time, and to top it all off, we received awesome letters too!

"Imagine how perfect it was to receive your newsletter this month, perfectly timed! I've been away for 10 days and came home late last night to nothing 'fresh' in the house. I was wondering what on earth to have for lunch, when I read the pantry salad recipe. In an hour's time I will have a healthy and nutritious lunch at 'no cost'! Also, imagine my surprise to discover that I can actually make chocolate syrup! As the mother of two 'starving' teenage boys who are constantly guzzling milkshakes, it had been getting quite expensive to buy the topping. Now I can make my own from a few simple ingredients which are also in my pantry!

"I'm still grateful for learning that I can freeze pumpkin, and now freeze all sorts of vegies prepped and cut up, ready to just toss into a stew or soup. I recently discovered that you can also freeze garlic! Many, many thanks to this month's contributors as once again I've learned heaps! Keep up the great work." (Belinda Lee)

"I've borrowed 'The $21 Challenge' twice from my local library. I don't generally buy books but I've made an exception for this one. I have been managing our household shopping for over 40 years and thought I was a very wise shopper. I was brought up with the mantra 'waste not - want want' ringing in my ears. My mother was a born recycler and I realise most of it has actually rubbed off on me. However reading your book made me see that I was falling into some bad habits and the two big supermarket chains were causing me to make unwise purchases. I've always shopped with a list, but I was falling into the 'special' trap and buying stuff I didn't really need immediately. When I took stock of my pantry I found I had too much of everything!

"The turning point for me in my decision to actually lay out some cash for your book was all the fantastic information on how to substitute ingredients. Especially herbs; there's always one that I haven't got that appears to be a key ingredient in a recipe. I look forward to the many times I know I'll be dipping into your book for ideas on how to use up the odd bits and pieces that we all end up with, no matter how good we think we are at not wasting anything.

"I no longer rely on my memory for the contents of the freezer. I bought a special notebook and I list the contents of the freezer right down to the last lonely sausage or bits of herbs. Use it up/cross it off, add something/write it down. It's made a huge difference to the way I menu plan and shop. I use one section of notebook for a permanent shopping list. I buy nothing for the pantry until I've opened the last of that particular item and it's then written on the list. Now before I go shopping, I plan the week's meals using the freezer list, check what's on the permanent list for any key ingredients and only go and buy what I really need for that week. Thank you a thousand times over for the wake-up call!" (Anne Whiteway)

"I have been a member for about three years now and in November of last year I was thinking about not renewing my membership. I didn't think I was using the site or your information much. I didn't think I was much of a Simple Saver. Then, at the end of last year, I did a financial overview of where we're at for my husband. I've been a stay-at-home-mum since July 2008 and in that time we've managed to live OK; we've had two kids, still managed camping holidays and we are over $20,000 ahead in our home loan. OK so the GFC assisted with that but if I hadn't been a Simple Saver I may not have capitalised on it! So after this I realised that I AM a Simple Saver and I do need this membership. I've used and eagerly await my new calendar at the end of each year, I use the Bill Payment System each week and I use the Vault for gift ideas and really, ideas on anything. So, although I may not be as hard core as some, I am very proud to be a Simple Saver and thank you very much for a job well done and for helping me to spend precious time with my babies." (Kylie-Ann Martin)

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We are working on the follow up book to the $21 Challenge now which is focusing on long term food savings. If there is anything you would like us to cover in this book, please send us an email and we will do our best to include it.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Sally the Super Saver!

Sally had to stop herself from running into her Savings Group meeting! All month she had dedicated herself to finding the best deals and the best shops in her area. No stone had been left unturned and now Sally was reaping the savings. All her findings had been recorded neatly in black and white and now she couldn't wait to show the others.

"I've done it!" she announced proudly. "Since our last meeting I've been EVERYWHERE working out the best place to buy things in our area. I know the best place to buy my vegies, the best place to get my meat, the best op shop and I've even got the best insurance plan!" she beamed triumphantly, tapping her folder.

The rest of the group clapped and cheered in surprise. "Well done, Sally! You really are a Super Saver!" Hanna gave her friend a hug. "That's a fantastic effort, Sal, congratulations! We would love to see what you came up with. Any chance we could have a look at your folder?" "Of course, I'd be happy to show you!" Sally's eyes sparkled. "You could save us all a fortune by the time we leave this room!" grinned Hanna. "Thanks, Sal, you're a real gem!"

2. March is Hidden Gems Month!

Sally has taken a huge step in the right direction. To be a smart consumer you definitely need to do your homework and shop around. However, you also need to work together with friends so that everyone can benefit from each other's knowledge and help one another. This month is Hidden Gems month, where we share our favourite little-known shops and encourage others to share theirs too!

What exactly is a 'Hidden Gem'?

For those who haven't heard about them before, Hidden Gems are shops that save you time and money every time you go there but the specials are rarely advertised. They are the best shops in your area - but you have to go looking for them.

How do I find a 'Hidden Gem'?

There are two ways to find the best shops in your area. There is an easy way and a hard way. The easy way is to ask around. So start your quest by asking your frugal friends where they shop. They will know the best places and will be happy to help - but they will only share their knowledge if you ask them. Note - it is important to make sure the people you ask are actually frugal. Asking your spendthrift friends to recommend cheap places to shop just doesn't work!

This is the easy way; if this fails, you will have to do it the hard way. Start with the phone directory. Work out all the shops in your area that sell the goods you want, then put on your Simple Savings hat (that's a metaphorical hat, not a real one; we don't sell hats!), get in the car and check out each shop in person. Chat to the staff. Check out the goods, check out the prices and work out which has the best value.

Why are 'Hidden Gems' so brilliant?

Not all shops are equal. Hidden Gem stores can save you a heap of money compared to other stores. Imagine if, like Sally, you shopped around and got the best deals on vegies, meat, insurance and everything else. Imagine how the savings would add up each week, each month, each year. You could save an absolute fortune! I recently met a woman at a library talk who spent three hours researching and calling a few stores and lowered her yearly bills by $1280. Not bad for three hours' work!

So celebrate the Hidden Gems in your area this month! Find them and, importantly, SHARE THEM in our new, improved Hidden Gems Directory. This is a special feature which is available to Vault members only. Why? Because it takes time and effort to find really good Hidden Gems. Our frugal members have worked hard to dig up these bargains and are not willing to give them away to all and sundry. We respect their wishes, which is why the directory is, and will stay, exclusive to Vault members. If you would like to become a Vault member and enjoy all the benefits it has to offer, you can do so right away! Simply click here to join and access a wealth of tips and advice from thousands of savvy members who shop at Hidden Gem stores every day. Good luck hunting for your Hidden Gems this month - and when you find them, be sure to tell us about them!

3. This Month's Competition: Share Your Best Hidden Gem and WIN!

Hidden Gems may be hard to find but they stand out a mile from other stores with their consistently good service and value for money. Stores such as these deserve rewarding with your custom and support. They deserve to be given credit for doing the right thing by their customers. In this month's competition, you get the chance to do just that! We want you to tell us all about your favourite Hidden Gem shop. Who are they? Where are they? Most importantly, WHY are they your favourite Hidden Gem? Why do you like them? What is it that makes them so good? The more information you can give, the better. There will be a first prize of $500 and three runner-up prizes of $100 each. Awards wil be given for the most entertaining and well-written accounts of your favourite store. We can't wait to see all your wonderful Hidden Gems! You can enter the competition here. The closing date for entries is March 25th.

4. $21 Challenge Update

It's been a busy month with the $21 Challenge! Fiona has been flat out doing library talks and we have been working with the lovely ladies at Healthy Food Guide magazine to help spread the word that the $21 Challenge IS indeed healthy! Check out this month's issue, which has a brilliant eight-page feature including tips for surviving the Challenge, some favourite recipes from the book and heaps of ways you can use up all kinds of leftovers from your fridge and turn them into yummy, filling dishes. This is the second time that the $21 Challenge has been featured in the Healthy Food Guide magazine - big thanks to Georgia and Niki for their support!

5. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a cash prize of $100 each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log into the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is Tracey D (or should we say Tracey's hubby!) for this extract from their blog 'Happy Little Blogger' where the family find a real gem of a second hand piano. Or do they?!

Scaling dizzy heights

Given the musical bent of our children - they know all the words to Mary Had A Little Lamb and I caught Miss 7 tapping her foot the other day - we have decided to buy a piano.

Oddly, the only comment we've managed to illicit from both Tracey's mother and my own when we mentioned this is, "Where the heck are you going to put it?"

They have a point. We only just manage to fit the children in.

Naturally I gave each of them the same answer, "Wherever Tracey says."

Another reason we MUST get a piano is ever since Tracey came up with the idea I've been entertaining a secret desire to learn to play Billy Joel's Baby Grand (only I would sing both Billy's AND Ray Charles' parts cause I'm needy and want attention).

Sadly I also secretly know that as I have stumpy fingers and no rhythm it would be nothing short of a miracle if I learned to play chopsticks.

Weeks of searching on eBay finally secured us a slightly used Beale Upright for $50, and only 5km away from where we live.

Getting it here turned out to be a problem. All the Internet sites I visited called for four blokes with experience and muscles. Well, that's not going to happen. Master 19 has gone to Brisvegas and between the two of us he's the only one with muscles. I plead guilty to having the piano moving experience though, but only because I've watched the YouTube videos...

So I rang a local removalist. Only an hour's work, tops. Couldn't be more than $100, right? Oh, so wrong. $220 - plus extra for each step. Added onto the $165 for tuning the beast when it arrives and this $50 piano is becoming serious money for a bunch of as yet unproven virtuosos!

So I'm thinking, maybe if I grab a couple of young fellas and give them beer? Four blokes at a carton each will cost us $120, steps included. Actually, five cartons: forgot to pay myself.

But then Tracey calls up the seller and discovers the description, "The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended," was a little exaggerated and the old Joanna would play everything in the key of O (as in 'O no that sounds awful') cause we would also need to re-felt the piano. Whatever the heck re-felting is. Cost? Something like a kidney.

Needless to say we're still looking for a piano.

And the kids - Elton, Tori, Kate, Ray, Carol and Alicia - will have to wait a while longer until they belt out their first number one hit.

Congratulations Tracey and hubby, keep up the great work! To read more from Tracey, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

6. Best of the Forum: Hidden Gems Galore

The Savings Forum is a great place to find all sorts of Hidden Gems as our savvy members share them with each other all the time! Whether you want to find the best deal on car rental, the best phone or Internet plans or the best place to buy a new computer, look no further than the Forum!

New Gilberts in Midland, WA

Mum of E&A is excited to share one of her new favourite stores, where she managed to get fantastic deals on everyday groceries and saved a fortune on a fortnight's worth of food!
read more...

La Manna at Essendon

Want to know how good a particular store is? Ask the Forum! You can guarantee honest reviews and can save time and money before you even start!
read more...

Save on gluten-free products in Adelaide

A gluten-free diet can be hugely expensive without a reliable Hidden Gem! In this thread Julie shares her favourite gluten-free shop in Adelaide.
read more...

Sharing bargains, specials, discounts, free...#4

Want to know where the best bargains can be found right now? These members have been busy digging up Hidden Gems all month!
read more...

Online perfumes

Jemma likes the look of the savings she could make by purchasing her favourite fragrances online but is hesitant to buy without recommendations. Fortunately the members are quick to help her sort the best from the rest!
read more...

The Ahh Bra

Salli desperately wants some new bras but is wary of paying a fortune for ill-fitting, poor quality garments. She sees an advertisement for the 'Ahh Bra' but wonders could they be too good to be true? The Forum members give their verdict!
read more...

Which bank are you with?

Time for a Major Change needs some help deciding which new bank to choose. Which offers the best service and value in ongoing fees? The members are happy to help!
read more...

Best health insurance

Salt & Pepper wants to know 'what do you like about your insurance?' Read on for a thought provoking discussion!
read more...

7. Best of the Vault: Thinking Outside the Square

It doesn't matter HOW you find a Hidden Gem, as long as you find one! These tips from the Savings Vault show how a little creative thinking can result in some massive savings.

Prepping floor for tiling saves $1205

We saved $1205 by removing the old lino and carpet ourselves when we had our house tiled. When we received our quote from the tiler we noticed a charge of $1250 to remove the old flooring. Instead, we went to Bunnings and bought a heat gun, Stanley knife, wide chisel, sharpening stone, bolster, paint scraper and a hammer, all for $45. We then spent three days of fairly strenuous work, but it was worth it for the $1205 saving! Removing lino is fairly easy. Cut a strip down the lino about 50cm wide, run a heat gun over it in a sweeping motion until the lino is warm then in a steady motion peel the lino up. When it gets hard again, re-warm it with the heat gun. If the lino separates from the backing, stop and use the chisel to scrape underneath it until it is peeling off smoothly again.

Contributed by: TayNicJam

Enjoy Ssssuper Ssssavings with a Drain Snake!

We've saved hundreds of dollars on call-out fees for a plumber by hiring a 'Drain Snake'! Our pipes often become blocked and require clearing out, which, until recently, was always done by a plumber. Although we were getting 'mates rates', the cost still came to $150 for less than an hour's worth of work. (I dread to think what the normal rates are for a plumber!) So, instead, we hired a heavy-duty 'drain snake' from an equipment hire centre for $45, and it worked better than the hand-held one the plumber used. Our drains are working better than ever and have done so for the last few months since we hired it.

Contributed by: Elkebelle

Passport to free kids attractions in NSW

If you live in NSW sign up to kidspassport.nsw.gov.au for free kids' passes to over 70 museums, galleries, art centres and attractions across the state. After registering online you will receive a passport for each child which allows them to enter for free. This has saved me heaps over the school holidays. The program runs until April 26 2011.

Contributed by: Sarah Rakow

Enjoy constant discounts on iTunes cards

I always buy iTunes cards at a discounted price thanks to a handy website I found that keeps track of when iTunes cards are on sale at all the different retailers. I have found the site invaluable when buying presents for teenagers. I simply check for the best deals currently available and always get between 10% and 25% off the full retail price. I have been following this for about eight months and during that time there have only been a few weeks where there wasn't a sale on somewhere. The site's called 'iTunes on sale' and is also available on Facebook and Twitter. Check out: http://www.itunesonsale.com.au

Contributed by: Jacinta Shanahan

Book Depository a big book saver

Check out UK website www.bookdepository.co.uk for the cheapest books. I am a uni student and always find this is the cheapest source of books. I recently bought copies of A Christmas Carol for $7.43 when the local retailers were selling it for $19.99! The Book Depository ships anywhere in the world for free. The only downside is that you may have to wait up to two weeks for your books, but it's worth it!

Contributed by: Morgan Dwyer

House-sitting allows your savings to grow

I have saved $5580 in just five months on rent and expenses by becoming a house-sitter. When I recently lost my job I was forced to reconsider my finances and immediately registered with a house-sitting website for an annual fee of just $65. On my personal profile I entered my details and nominated my preferred areas to house-sit. House-sitting means that you are providing a service to someone in exchange for accommodation. Although some will ask for a small fee to cover utilities, I have not been asked to do so as yet. I simply purchase my usual groceries for myself.

I asked a family with a spare room if I could use it as a base between house-sits. I pay a small weekly rent and my share of the electricity and land line and the costs are very modest compared to what I'd pay whilst living alone. I also found a great 12-month storage deal for the bulk of my belongings where the company gave me four months free because I paid up-front, in full (saving me $1000).

Over the last 20 weeks, it has cost me $2320 for storage, rent and utilities when it would have cost me $7900 had I continued to rent on my own - a saving of $5580. Five of those weeks were rent-free house-sitting where I've paid absolutely no utilities expenses. There are numerous house-sitting websites but the one I registered with is www.housecarers.com.

Contributed by: Neene

8. Cooking with Mimi

This month is Hidden Gems Month so I wanted to tell you about two little gems I've found. The first is in my own backyard!

Do you remember picking nasturtium flowers as a child, and sucking the nectar from the little side stems? I certainly do, but it never occurred to me that the rest of the plant was tasty too! In fact the entire nasturtium plant is edible - leaves, flowers and seeds. The leaves have a flavour very similar to rocket, and the seeds can be used like peppercorns. You can also toss the pretty sunset-coloured flowers through a salad or use them as a garnish. I have several recipes for you this month that show how to use nasturtiums as an ingredient to spice up some of your meals; as well as one which makes a tasty and unique gift.

As for my second 'gem', Hidden Gems was a title destined to send me searching for another 'undiscovered' ingredient, and it was inevitable that my friendly local butcher would get in on the act! I complained to him that it is hard to find an inexpensive cut of meat that isn't minced or made into sausages, and that's when he introduced me to another little treat.

Many of us would remember our neighbourhood butcher giving the lamb shanks to Mum or selling them for $0.20c. No one wanted them back then but now they're a gourmet item! However, the lamb shank of the new millennium is beef cheeks.

Beef cheeks are inexpensive and respond well to braising and slow cooking much like lamb shanks. They need time to become flavoursome and tender, but you'll be well rewarded with a beautiful, melt-in-the-mouth dish, bursting with flavour. This recipe combines both my Hidden Gems!

Slow Braised Beef Cheeks with Nasturtium Leaf Salsa Verde

You may need to order the beef cheeks ahead of time. Some butchers still call them ox cheek. They should cost between $0.50c and $1.50 each. A larger one can be split in half lengthwise and will easily feed two people.

Equipment:

Slow cooker (crock pot) or casserole dish with a firm fitting lid
Sharp knife
Frypan and tongs
Medium bowl
3-4 cup capacity jug
Measuring cups

Ingredients:

½ to 1 beef cheek per person
1 large onion, sliced
¾ cup plain flour
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups boiling water
2 stock cubes, chicken or beef flavour
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

Turn the slow cooker on to 'low' or if using a casserole dish, preheat the oven to 175C fan forced or 190C non fan-forced. Put the flour into the medium bowl.

Trim the beef cheeks of most of the sinew. There will be some fat remaining and that's fine. It makes the cheeks extra tender. If your butcher has supplied larger pieces, cut them lengthwise in two.

Toss the meat and the onion rings in the flour.

Add the boiling water to the stock cubes in a jug, and stir until dissolved.

Heat the frypan over a high temperature, and sear the beef until golden brown. Set aside in the slow cooker or casserole dish.

Panfry the onion rings for about one minute until golden.

Add the stock, balsamic vinegar, sugar and mustard to the onions in the pan, and stir until the gravy is slightly thickened.

Pour the mixture over the beef, ensuring it's well covered.

Seal the casserole dish firmly with a lid or foil, or place the lid on the slow cooker.

For slow cooking: cook for 8-9 hours on low, 3-4 hours on high.

For oven bake: cook for 2-3 hours, checking for tenderness after 2 hours.

This is a dish that actually improves if made 1-2 days ahead of serving. Reheat gently in the oven or slow cooker for up to an hour, ensuring you have plenty of gravy. Add more liquid if necessary. Be certain that the meat is well heated through before serving.

For extra compliments, serve the beef cheeks with salsa verde, made from ingredients in your own garden!

Nasturtium Leaf Salsa Verde

Salsa verde is a paste-like green sauce, often served with meat dishes to add a bit of a savoury flavour. A little like pesto without the nuts, this one will add a real peppery bite to your braised beef cheeks.

Equipment required:

Food processor or blender or mortar and pestle
Jug for storing
Measuring cups

Ingredients:

1 cup smallish nasturtium leaves (the large ones have a very strong flavour but are fine if you wish to use them)
1 cup other green herbs, such as basil, rocket, mustard, shallots or cress
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp sugar

Method:

Add everything except the oil to the blender or bowl of the food processor. While the blender or processor is running to puree the ingredients, slowly drizzle in the oil. The finished consistency should be similar to thick gravy.

Check for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper if necessary.

Serve some drizzled over the beef cheeks with a little extra on the side.

Salsa verde is best used fresh and when a new batch is just a few steps away, with the ingredients abounding in your own garden, why wouldn't you use it to spice up sausages, chicken, fish or rissoles as often as you like!

While we're on the subject of using garden greens, let me share a recipe for a gorgeous herb infused oil that adds a real burst of flavour to dressings, soups, salads and mayonnaise. This makes a lovely gift, presented in a pretty bottle. I source most of my gift bottles from the local Lifeline store for under $2.00. I also scour supermarket shelves for unlikely items stored in a bottle with a pretty shape. There are often some great finds in discount stores and on the clearance tables at department stores too.

Nasturtium Leaf and Lemon Infused Oil

Must be made two weeks ahead before use.

Ingredients:

25 freshly picked nasturtium leaves
Zest of 4 lemons
1 litre extra virgin olive oil
Pinch or two of salt

Method:

Roll the nasturtium leaves into a cigar shape and feed into your chosen storage bottle.

Zest the lemon, being sure to not get any of the white pith as it will make your oil bitter. Feed the zest into the bottle.

Gently heat the oil, to kill any bacteria present

Pour the oil over the leaves and zest, and seal. Store in a cool, dark, place, swirling the bottle around every few days. After two weeks pour a little onto a spoon and taste test. If the flavour has developed enough for your liking, strain the oil, discard the leaves and zest, add seasoning and bottle into a suitable small container. If you would prefer a stronger flavour, leave for a few more days, testing every third day, until the flavour has developed to your liking.

This oil is used as a condiment, much like tomato sauce. Swirl a little into soups on serving, or use as an ingredient in salad dressing. It's also delicious drizzled over steamed potatoes, rice or pasta. It has a strong flavour though, so use sparingly.

It is important to heat the oil gently prior to adding the zest and leaves, to kill any bacteria present. Once the oil has infused with these ingredients for several hours it can then be bottled for use. Please use within one week.

To make a longer lasting oil, you must dehydrate the leaves and zest first. You can do this simply by peeling the zest from the lemon with a vegetable peeler and arranging it, along with the nasturtium leaves, in the sun for several days. When completely dry, you can then add these ingredients to the oil, leaving to infuse for several weeks, before straining and bottling for gift giving. Use within three months.

And...

Finally, you might be surprised to know that nasturtium leaves are a perfect replacement for Rocket in any recipe. They have the same peppery, savoury bite as Rocket, and frankly are far easier to grow!

Here's my new twist on a cafe favourite salad.

Mignonette and Nasturtium leaf salad with Pear and Parmesan

Serves 1

Equipment:

Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler
Serving bowl
Paper towels

Ingredients:

2-3 leaves mignonette lettuce (any lettuce or greens will do)
4-6 young nasturtium leaves
1 pear
A few curls of parmesan cut from a larger piece with a vegetable peeler

Method:

Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces.

Trim and shred the young nasturtium leaves if desired, or do as I do and leave them whole, stems attached.

Slice the pear thinly, leaving the skin intact.

Use the vegetable peeler to slice a few curls from a wedge of cheese. Parmesan is best for this, but any will do.

Place the lettuce in the bowl. Place the pear slices on top in a fan shape. Decorate with the nasturtium shreds and parmesan curls.

Serve immediately, seasoned to taste.

9. Penny's Blog: Hooray for Hidden Gems!

February 16th

As any long suffering parent knows, shopping is a far more enjoyable experience if you don't have children in tow. Not only is it far less stressful, it's also so much cheaper! The novelty of the supermarket wore off for my children a loooong time ago so for some years now I have been spared the embarrassing tantrums at the lolly aisle and random objects mysteriously appearing in my trolley, followed by yet more tantrums at the checkout. However, my two boys have now reached the delightful age where they refuse point blank to go shopping with me at ALL!

The main reason for this is that at 12 and 14 respectively they tell me it is definitely not cool to go shopping with your mum - especially in a small town like Whangamata where EVERYONE sees you! However, they have also made no secret of the fact that they hate shopping with me these days because I spend more time talking than shopping. I can't help it; I've met so many wonderful people since moving here! They are real gems and I'm proud to say that to date I've discovered them all myself.

Take Daryl and Gail for instance. They own the boys' favourite shop, Roar. Long before we moved here I was impressed with their service. As soon as you walk into the store it's obvious that these two love what they do. Like us, they're just so glad to be here! This dedicated couple employ no other staff; it's just the two of them working long hours all year round but you are always guaranteed a warm welcome. Having made the move to Whangamata with their children a few years previously, they were happy to answer any questions Noel and I had with regard to the area, in particular the school and how their own children had made the transition. They were both so helpful and never forgot our faces. Every time we popped in when on holidays or checking out real estate they would immediately ask 'So are you here for good yet?' I couldn't wait to go into the shop to tell them when we had finally made the move!

Since then I try and support their business wherever possible. They always go out of their way to help people find what they're looking for and if they don't have it, they do their best to get it in for you. I love the fact that their shop is 100% devoted to local brands, that they play cool music in store and they are always nice to my boys. Daryl even helped Ali fix the new watch he got for Christmas when he was having trouble with it! They always truly appreciate our custom and have often given us discount on our purchases. Their shop is a one-of-a-kind, true hidden gem!

Another firm favourite is the Whangamata Surf Shop, owned by the Williams family. These guys are awesome! When the boys wanted to learn to surf there were several places we could have gone to for advice but I thought we would try them first and I'm so glad we did. They have been surfing for decades and really know their stuff. As soon as Ali and I walked in, Braedon made us feel welcome. We learned so much from him in that one visit that Ali was able to get up on his surfboard within around 15 minutes of taking it out in the sea. Since then we have also had the pleasure of dealing with Braedon's parents, Dean and Janine and his sister Ella, all of whom work in the shop. Nothing is too much trouble and they always make time to chat and offer help and advice even when the shop is heaving with people. Most of all though, I love their infectious enthusiasm. They make the most of every single day and support each other in everything they do. They are an extremely tight-knit family and their love for each other, their business and their passion for surfing and helping others just radiates from them. Whether Ali needs new wax for his surfboard or Noel needs a new wedding outfit, you can guarantee they will always see us right. I've lost count of the times they've offered to teach me to surf - one day I might just take them up on it!

The thing about Hidden Gems is, when you find a good one, you will keep going back. I remember years ago I had a job as a Saturday girl in a shoe shop with some other girls from school. We were always on hand to help and would approach customers with a smile if it was obvious they needed assistance but apart from that we would let them browse in peace. Until a new manager was appointed, whom we immediately christened Tiny Tim. Small man, huge ego! He insisted that we all jump on the poor unsuspecting customers before they had barely got in the door. We hated doing this and would try to avoid it wherever possible under his ferocious glare but it was obvious that the customers didn't like it. Nine times out of ten they were just coming in for a nosey in their lunch hour and didn't even know what they were looking for but so desperate was our manager to make his sales figures look better than his predecessor that he would do anything to try and manipulate people into buying. We were literally driving customers away! I couldn't bring myself to do it and it wasn't long before I left, as did the rest of the girls I worked with. We had barely handed in our stripey blouses and name badges before we heard that Tiny Tim had been 'let go'...

Fortunately I have yet to come across any Tiny Tim's in Whangamata! Instead I love to support people like Leith and Ange at Stirling Sports, who travel to other stores especially to get things for us, give us discounts AND invite me running. Or the bubbly Sarah from Saltwater who is always 100% honest when she says 'Yes, that dress does look crap on you,' but is nice enough to add 'But it's not you - it's the dress!' Not to mention she invited me to go along to her Zumba class twice a week the moment she learned I'd just moved here. Or EJ, the brilliant hairdresser at Sorenson's who cuts my hair like nobody else. I never have to worry about leaving the salon with that 'Look everybody! I've just had my fringe cut!' look - and to top it off, my first haircut was free!

So those are my favourite Hidden Gems - am I allowed to mention cafes too? I know cafes aren't very SS but if you want brilliant value for money you can't go past Vibes cafe for fantastic breakfasts and Cafe Rossini for awesome lunches. Last time Noel and I went there for lunch we ordered an open chicken sandwich and almost fainted at the price but when it arrived it was MASSIVE! Neither of us could eat it all and we were so full we couldn't even think about eating dinner hours later! Well worth treating yourself if you're ever in town - and if you are, let me know and I'll meet you there!

February 2011

10. Homeopathy Corner: Disaster Remedies Part II

The last couple of months have been horrible. It feels like we have had one natural disaster after another, so we have asked Fran to share with us the homeopathic remedies that can help people in times of distress.

11. From Last Month: Too Many Tomatoes

Last month Kathryn asked:

"I would like some information on preserving or freezing tomatoes. I have too many in the garden to use and do not own a cannery or special jars. I made some pasta sauce last week and reused old pasta sauce jars. I am a mum of five kids, including six-month-old twins, so the ideas need to be fairly simple please. Thanks in advance."

Thank you to the masses of people who responded with their terrific tomato tips! Unfortunately we cannot possibly print them all but here is a selection of some of the huge number we received.

Cook up your tommies on a smokin' hot BBQ!

I came up with a solution to use up the glut of beautiful grape tomatoes we have in our garden. Whenever my husband uses our Weber kettle BBQ I cut a tray's worth of tomatoes in half and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil. I then cover them with basil, oregano or rosemary (or any combination of herbs) and put them in the Weber once my husband's finished barbecuing, to cook in the residual heat. Alternatively, they can be slow roasted in the oven, but by using the heat in the Weber after it has cooked something else we save on energy. Once the tomatoes have cooled, I transfer them to a jar or container and freeze them. We had some tonight with pasta, mushrooms and cream and they were delicious!

Contributed by: Margaret Eade

Oven-dried tomatoes are bursting with flavour

I love to oven-dry our seasonal tomatoes. It's such a simple process, but the resulting flavour is fantastic and they can be stored in jars in the fridge for up to two weeks afterwards.

Ingredients:

2kg ripe tomatoes, cut in half
Sea salt
Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 140°C (120°C for fan forced ovens) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Scoop out seeds from tomatoes, and if they are large, cut them into quarters.
Place onto trays, flesh side up and sprinkle liberally with sea salt.
Roast tomatoes for 2½ hours. Check tomatoes every half hour after the first 1½ hours of cooking.
They are ready once the edges are just starting to look charred but the tomatoes are still soft and pliable.
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Place into a large preserving jar or sealable container and pour over enough olive oil to cover.
Seal jar and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Contributed by: Toni McPherson

Sensational stew is quick and easy too!

I have vivid memories of my mum's mouthwatering tomato stew we used to enjoy as kids. She's since told me how easy it was to make and that it was a lifesaver on the nights when she was too tired to do any fancy or laborious cooking. She simply placed a saucepan full of tomatoes in hot water on the stove, added finely chopped onions, salt, pepper and any herbs she had and just boiled it down to a stew. She sometimes took out the skin (but not always) and it didn't matter if it was a bit sloppy, as it was just great on toast with a bit of cheese on top! These days I make up a large amount and freeze it for an easy breakfast or tea option.

Contributed by: Leonie Moore

Frozen pureed tomatoes replace countless tins

Whenever I have a lot of extra tomatoes in the garden I make use of them in recipes that would usually require a large amount of tinned tomatoes.

To prepare them I score the bottoms and place them whole, into boiling water for about two minutes to make them easy to peel. Once peeled, I slice them, place them in a saucepan and cook them for about fifteen minutes. When they have cooled, I either leave them 'chunky' or use my stick blender to make a fine sauce with them.

Then, using a soup ladle, I transfer the sauce into sandwich resealable bags, squeeze out the excess air and seal them up. (Each bag takes about two ladles.) By laying them all out on a baking tray and popping them in the freezer they freeze flat and stack nicely when frozen. Any time a recipe requires a tin of tomatoes I have the perfect amount ready in my freezer.

Contributed by: Bronnie Cartledge

Cut out the hard work and freeze them whole!

Nothing is as simple as freezing tomatoes whole! I don't peel, slice, dice or jar sterilise, I simply give my tomatoes a rinse and pop them straight into the freezer. I freeze them in a single layer overnight then bag them up to avoid freezer burn.

When I need them in my cooking, just a few minutes out of the freezer will allow the skins to peel away easily. (If you don't mind the skins you can put them straight into the pan as they are.) While they're still mostly frozen I chop the tomatoes and use them as I would tinned tomatoes. As they heat through, they mash down easily and the resulting meal always tastes delicious.

Contributed by: Carol Penglis

Relish the thought of those tangy tomatoes

My sister-in-law passed on a delicious tomato relish recipe to me a few years ago. It's now a family favourite and I try to make a batch or two of it every season. It is great in sandwiches and a tablespoon added to rissoles or scrambled eggs produces a lovely flavour.

Tomato Relish

You will need:

1.5kg tomatoes
500g onions
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups vinegar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp salt
Pinch pepper

Method:

Chop the tomatoes and dice the onions finely. Place them in a large saucepan and add sugar and vinegar.

Bring to the boil and then simmer slowly until the liquid reduces and the sauce thickens. Blend flour, powders, salt and pepper with a tiny amount of water and add to saucepan. Stir until boiling again. Allow to cool for five minutes. Bottle into warm, sterilised jars.

Contributed by: Sharon Blanck

Bag up your tomatoes for freezing

Whenever I have a large amount of seasonal tomatoes at home that I don't have an immediate use for I just pop them all into a clean plastic bag and put them straight into the freezer. They can be frozen whole until I'm ready to process them into sauce. If I just need one or two, I give the bag a good knock to dislodge a couple.

Contributed by: Lauren L

Ask around and borrow a dehydrator

If you do not have access to a dehydrator, ask around and see if you can borrow one. If not, you can use your oven on fan-bake. The temperature should be at the lowest setting and you should leave the door propped open with a wooden spoon. Slice tomatoes and dry at 40C for maximum enzyme retention. Dehydration should take twelve or more hours depending on how thick the slices are. Dry tomato slices until pliable but not moist. Store in plastic bags or jars. They can be marinated in olive oil and slices of garlic (the oil can then be reused). I use my sun-dried tomatoes in a range of recipes to add that authentic Mediterranean flavour.

Contributed by: Christine Smith

Bonus tips for Vault members -

Wonderful Watties tomato sauce Contributed by: Dale Findlay

The perfect pot of homegrown pasta sauce Contributed by: Ali-cat

Tomatoes make a souper-tasty meal! Contributed by: Bridget Mcleod

Make your own DIY dehydrator! Contributed by: Maths Nerd

Recycle your jars for cost-free preserving Contributed by: Maria Sigal

Authentic sun dried tomatoes Contributed by: Kelly Kohlhardt

Slow cooked tomato sauce is worth the wait Contributed by: Lyn M

Keep your cool with this tasty Gazpacho soup Contributed by: Valerie Georgeff

Introduce a 'produce-swap' day! Contributed by: Greg And Sue Brunner

12. This Month's Help Request: Go Away Silverfish!

This month Merrilyn asks:

"I am looking for a non-toxic way to eradicate and deter silverfish from my house. Has anyone got a solution for me?"

If anyone has any advice which could help Merrilyn, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: Don't Give Up

This month's story is taken from our Savings Forum. Our Vault members found it so inspirational, we hope you will too!

"It's been some time since I last posted in the Forum. Since the last time I posted, I have:

Broken up with my girlfriend (and her daughter) which was a huge relief financially and emotionally.
Reduced my total debt last year by approximately $22,000. ($6500 credit card gone, $12,000 off car loan, $1000 off another credit card, $2000 off loan to Aunty, $3000 from HECS).
Most importantly I've lost 31kg since I found out that I have a ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) - or hole inside my heart, about 14 months ago. It's slow progress, I've done it totally on my own, as no doctors or fitness people are game to touch me. But soon I'll have lost enough weight and be eligible for corrective surgery to repair it.

How have I done it all? Sometimes I really don't know myself. Education, determination, constant vigilance and stubbornness. Sure, that all sounds like a load of marketing hype but it's the truth. Those ideals and the resonating thought in my head that I am in a war with my debt. Until I win, or die trying I will attack from every angle and chip away at it until I completely obliterate it.

Education. I have educated myself continually. I read Simple Savings and all the other financial sites that people recommend every week, sometimes daily. I look for good deals everywhere I go. I watch for the good deals on TV, newspaper and Internet in every financial aspect. There is no one method that will save enough money to get any person. It is the conglomeration of hundreds of little savings (soldiers) and new ones being added all the time that add up to an army of different ways to destroy the enemy that is debt.

Determination. I am completely determined to reduce my debt and lose weight. I have to do it so I can start a new life for myself. I have to do it because I have no other viable choice. I do it because the alternative is a life of debt, misery and as far as my health goes, death by the time I am 50 if I am lucky. Being in debt is like being dead. You cannot do those things your heart desires. You are not free to make your own choices about where you want to go, and what you want to see. Money can buy you happiness. It seems to be the logical opposite side of the equation. Lack of money brings nothing but misery. The opposite I believe must be true. It split up my relationship and has imprisoned me in my own home for too long.

Constant vigilance. I work out of a spreadsheet which I look at daily to remind me and motivate me. I equate everything to a dollar amount. I scrutinize everything I spend money on by keeping EVERY receipt and chastising myself when I see some frivalous spend was a bit of the line lost. I re-evaluate the situation all of the time so I know which side is winning. As time goes on, companies offer new deals, which you won't know about if you just sit on your hands and hope that you've got the best deal.

Stubborness. I sit at home, I don't go anywhere often other than work. I've built my own little fortress of solitude. I have put my blinkers on to the world around me, as until I am debt-free I do not want anything to distract me from my goal. I am stubborn and will not be swayed. I have changed my entire outlook on life and I know that if I stick to what I have learnt, I will win this war. I have set myself clear goals to keep motivating myself.

I set weight loss goals - how much I want to lose and by when. How far I will walk. How many steps I will take. How many times a week I will exercise and what my ultimate goal will be. I have set myself a goal of having this debt cleared and weight loss achieved by the end of next year. $48,000 to go and another 40kg to lose. When I started out on this seemingly un-winnable battle, I was looking at $90,000 in bad debts and 150kg starting weight. I know I will win. I have no choice but to keep trying.

I have already started to look to the future. Started to think of new goals to work towards as I overcome this seemingly less insurmountable pile of debt. I want to have enough money saved to cover myself if I were to lose my job for any reason. The day I can see as much in my savings account as I see in my debts will be a sweet day. I also want to go on a well deserved overseas holiday.

What I want to say to anyone who is in a similar situation, is don't give up. I've tried to get help from banks or personal trainers and been knocked back repeatedly, but never let it stop me. I only let it make me more resolute in my attitude. No matter how much you think your situation cannot get any worse right now, believe me it can. Look at all the flood affected people around Australia. It puts your own problems into perspective and you must stop and give thanks for what you do have. Imagine having all you have fought for wiped away in a surge of water in a matter of hours. Keep strong and fight the good fight and eventually you can win your own war. Declare war now on your debt, or weight loss or whatever other personal battle you might have. I wish you all the best of luck Simple Savings Warriors.

Paull Mitchell

February 2013 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2013

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Just When You Thought it was Safe...
February: Control Your Cash
How to Make a Basic Budget by David Wright
Best of the Vault: Best Budget Bits
Best Members' Blog: Paper Days and the Pledge
Best of the Forum: Stash That Cash!
Hidden Gems: Lexatonia Tiles
Homeopathy Corner: An Introduction, Part 3
Cooking with Mimi: Budget Busting Egg-free Pancakes
Claire's Corner: No More Primary School for Us!
50c Indulgences: New Beginnings
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Trying to Beat the Heat in the Patch
From Last Month: Yeast and Wheat-Free
This Month's Help Request: Outdoor Makeover
Goodbye For Now

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you are having a lovely February. Things have been very busy in Simple Savings land. This month we have been flat out moving into our new office/warehouse. Wow! Can you believe it! After ten years of running Simple Savings from the corner of our lounge or spare bedroom, we finally have an office! And, the kids now have two bedrooms between the four of them; a boys' room and a girls' room. They are in heaven!

This month our focus is on budgeting and we have been working with our favourite budgeting expert, David Wright from Simply Budgets. I really enjoy working with David and I have been able to wrangle some great discounts on his budgeting software for our members. His software costs $127 on his site, but he is allowing us to sell it for just $97. And, I have even talked him into giving all our subscribers a free trial for 30 days. (See below.) How cool is that! :-)

I love being big enough that we can negotiate good prices for you :-) I also love your emails and Facebook messages. Here are some of this month's favourites:

"I was really happy to receive your first 2013 newsletter, as always it is full of wonderful, helpful information. It has started me on a new growth spurt. I was reading 'See it, Be it!' and started to think of the page I would set up. I picked saving money. For me that would mean not gambling on poker machines. I searched the web for a picture that would portray not gambling on poker machines - there were pictures of gamblers at poker machines but nothing that was not gambling. However, I found a book called 'Addiction by Design'. Well, I am now looking honestly at my gambling addiction and I have you to thank for that.

"I also read '2013 the year to...'. I really felt like something tasty to eat - ahhh a packet of chips, I thought. The article talked about substituting. I looked in my cupboard and there were some packets of noodles which had been there for a while unused. I opened one and crunched them up and put the sachet of flavour over them. Well, I can tell you they are a very satisfactory substitute for a packet of chips. I feel well satisfied. Again, thank you for a wonderful helpful newsletter." (Lois)

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my love for your site and the difference it has made to me and my family. Thank you. Each day I learn something from this site. I believe I also have become a better person because of all the giving and sharing that takes place in the Forum. You cannot but feel inspired and also not want to be involved in some way by support, suggestions or in helping others once you start reading the Forum. This is such a wonderful outreach for the whole community not only in the savings area. Thank you from a grateful subscriber." (Janet)

Have a great month!

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. FREE BUDGETING SOFTWARE TRIAL

We arranged a free 30 day trial of Simply Budgets software for all our subscribers. (PC only.) There are no strings attached to this trial. None at all. Here is the link:-

simplesavings.com.au/simplybudgets/download

If you have never seen this software before and you would like to see how it works, here is a video explaining the software on YouTube:-

youtube.com/watch?v=FOj5N5oEO5s&feature=share&list=UUiWgZQg6k3vYJqKXnuBZ11Q

(Important, you can only get the FREE trial from this newsletter. Elsewhere on our site you will be asked to pay for the trial. I had to twist David's arm behind his back to get him to agree to the free trial. ;-) )

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Just When You Thought it was Safe...

Sally and Pete were sharing a quiet glass of wine after dinner. Sally sighed contentedly. "You know what, Pete, have you noticed how much less we argue since we started using a budget?"

Pete harrumphed, "Oh no, we still argue Sally, just not about money!" Sally laughed, "Well that's true, but you know what I mean - all our bills are paid on time and we have even started SAVING money each month."

Pete agreed. "Yes, it certainly feels great to be able to control our cash and now we can finally afford that new bathroom."

"Hmmm," said Sally dreamily. "I'm thinking black slate tiles and gold fittings..."

"Oh no," said Pete, shaking his head. "It has to be white tiles and chrome!"

"Black and gold," growled Sally.

"White and chrome," grimaced Pete.

"Black and gold..."

2. February: Control Your Cash

Wow. How far has Sally come?! Once upon a time she and Pete would have been fighting over Sally's hidden credit card statements, or her latest shopping spree. Pete would be begging Sally to please, PLEASE stop buying things with money they didn't have, and Sally, bless her heart would have only looked more confused and desperate as Pete got more angry and frustrated.

Of course, Sally and Pete are not the only couple in the world ever to have fought about money. Money problems are after all the number one reason for divorce. Even Matt and I have been known to clash over the cash! One of the best arguments we ever had was about adding a verandah to our house. I claimed we had the money - Matt argued we didn't. As it turned out, Matt was right.

It wasn't easy to convince me - he had to prove it to me with hard numbers before I begrudgingly agreed with him - but that was the clincher. Matt KNEW we couldn't afford to build that verandah because he had all the numbers in black and white to prove it, whereas I was only guessing. When it comes to deciding when you should or shouldn't spend money it is important you base your decision on hard figures. Don't just guess!

In our case we were fortunate. Matt had our budget under control; he knew how much money we did or didn't have but many couples are not so lucky. Most just wing it - and that is a dangerous way to be. It's like Russian roulette - you just guess, go ahead blindly and hope for the best. You have no way of knowing if you have the money and whether that purchase is going to cause yourself a big headache in a month's time or six weeks' time - unless you have a budget.

So what we want you to do this month is to make your own budget. In the following article, our friend David Wright is going to explain how you can do your own budget. You can create one in an Excel spreadsheet, bits of paper or use his software, do whichever way is easier for you. But, make sure you do your budget!

3. How to Make a Basic Budget by David Wright

I am going to show you how to make a basic budget so you can predict, and pay for, all your bills months before they arrive. It is a bit like having a crystal ball for your finances so you will never be caught short, or accidentally run out of money again.

To do this I'm going to ask you to do the following -

Collect up all your bills from the last 12 months
Sort them into categories
Add up the numbers
Create a 12 monthly spending plan

Sounds complicated? You'll see it isn't at all. Sure, this part takes a little time but the pay-off will be well worth the effort because once you have finished you will have gained absolute control over your finances. No more just guessing! Let's get started.

STEP 1. Gather Your Expenses

First, grab all your bank statements and receipts from the past 12 months. Next, you need to begin sorting them into date order and separate categories, as described in step two:

STEP 2. Categorise Your Expenses

The easiest way to do this is to lay your statements and receipts out down your hallway in a long chronological line, month by month. Once you've done that, use highlighters to colour-code similar expenses, such as marking all the electricity payments with yellow, all the health insurance payments in blue and so on. You will immediately see that patterns emerge for your recurring expenses. Stand back at the end of your hallway and you'll be able to see your big bill months and your little bill months.

Once you have them all laid out and highlighted, you should notice that they fall into these three categories:

Regular Expenses:- Predictable expenses that fall within a yearly cycle, such as the electricity bill occurring every three months or the grocery bill occurring weekly.
Long Term Expenses:- Semi-Predictable expenses which fall on a much longer cycle. These will be things like buying a new refrigerator or replacing tyres on your car.
Unpredictable Expenses:- These are expenses that require 'Savings' to be put aside, such as paying for physio bills after a broken leg or paying for a daughter's wedding.

So now you need to separate all your bills into the three categories mentioned: Regular Expenses, Long Term Expenses and Unpredictable Expenses.

STEP 3. Add Up the Numbers

Each of these three expense categories will affect your budget in different ways. So we are going to treat them differently.

Regular Expenses

Your Regular Expenses are very consistent and happen several times per year. So it is easy to work out how much the item costs you each year by multiplying the amount with the number of bills you received. For example:

Electricity $200 x 4 times a year = $800/yr
Telephone $50 x 12 times a year = $600/yr
Petrol $80 x 52 times a year = $4160/yr
Home insurance $80 x 12 times a year = $960/yr

Once you have worked out what every item costs, add up the total cost of all your Regular Expenses for the year and then divide it by your number of pay days (52 for weekly, 26 for fortnightly and so on).

This figure is the amount of money you need to put aside each pay day to pay for your Regular Expenses.

For the sake of this exercise, let's say the amount we need to cover our Regular Expenses is $654 every pay day.

Semi-predictable Long Term Expenses

Some of the Long Term Expenses you will need to budget for can be found in last year's statements and receipts, but many will not be. So you're going to have to walk around your house and write down all the things that you will need to replace when they wear out or rust out. Think about how long a new one should last, think about how old your items are now and try to estimate when you think you will need to replace them and what each one will cost. Then work out how much you need to put aside each year for your future Long Term Expenses.

Do it like this example:-

Refrigerator replacement $1000 every 10 years = $100/yr
Washing machine replacement $1200 every 8 years = $150/yr

Add up the total cost of all your Long Term Expenses per year and once again divide by the number of pay days in a year. This figure is the amount of money you need to put aside each pay day to cover your Semi-Predictable Long Term Expenses.

For the sake of this exercise, let's say the amount we need to cover our Long Term Expenses is $80 per pay day.

Unpredictable Expenses

After you have planned for your Regular and Semi-Predictable Expenses, there is still a need to put money aside for expenses that are just not predictable at all, even if they are 'once in a lifetime' expenses. Doing this will pick up anything not covered already and will then give you a complete picture of your total household budget.

(Nominate a weekly amount for each item - some will be an estimate and some you can calculate fairly accurately.)

For example,
Daughter's wedding $10 a week = 10 x 52 = $520/yr
Retirement fund $50 a week = 50 x 52 = $2600/yr
Round the world holiday in two years' time $100 a week = 100 x 52 = $5200/yr

Add up the total amount needed per year. Now divide this by your number of pay days. This figure is the amount of money you need to put aside every pay day for your Unpredictable Expenses.

For the sake of this exercise, let's say the amount we need per pay to cover our Unpredictable Expenses is $180 per pay day.

Now, it is time to add all your categories together.

Regular Expenses - $654 per pay day
Long Term Expenses - $80 per pay day
Savings - $180 per pay day
Total required - $914 per pay day.

If you have done all this, when you get to this point you will know how much money you are supposed to put aside each pay to cover your bills into the future.

Perfect in theory, however, the biggest revelation for me was when I found there is no guarantee that doing what I have outlined above will ensure you will always be able to pay your bills when they are due!

I got really frustrated when I did all the calculations, worked out my budget and I still had bills arriving that I struggled to pay. I'd be tearing my hair out wondering what I had done wrong!

Bills would come and I would find myself short of money.

I had to sit down and really think about what was going wrong. And then I worked it out. The answer was that I had not done anything wrong; I had just not quite done enough right. There was one more piece to the puzzle! The job was not quite finished off and I set about working out the perfect system to get it right!

I had done a two dimensional budget. It balanced Income and Expenses perfectly! What I went on to discover was the need for a three dimensional budget which not only looked at ins and outs but also brought timing into the plan. That's when we went from a financially struggling family to a low-money-stress family!

Taking Shortcuts

When I first started this 'three dimensional' budgeting I did it all on bits of paper using a calculator and a calendar. I'll explain how to use the calendar next month. It worked so well I got VERY excited, even if it did take me a lot of time. It made such a difference I just wanted to tell everyone about what I had discovered.

I eventually made software to speed up the process and do the calculations and I started doing budgets for other people who were suffering the same way I had been. I changed many people's lives for the better.

If you would like to trial my budgeting software, Fiona has harassed me into letting her give you a 30 day trial for free. Here is a link to the software:

simplesavings.com.au/simplybudgets/download

(If you want the trial for free, hang on to this link. If you try to get the trial from David's site or from our Ye Olde Shoppe both will try to charge you.)

4. Best of the Vault: Best Budget Bits

There are so many ways to help you control your cash! The Vault is full of fantastic ideas to help you keep your money in your pocket - some are clever, some are cool and some are just downright kooky! Here are a few to get you started:

A better way to budget

We have learned how to save $372 per fortnight, or almost $10,000 a year, on our living costs!

Since having a baby, I have been dipping into our re-draw from our home loan for the last three years. On top of my partner's salary, we have spent about $30,000 extra since our baby was born. Because our savings were dwindling, I had to do something about it. We were using EFTPOS to buy everything and usually by mid-fortnight, we had spent our salary and then started using the re-draw facility.

I decided to draw up a budget. The first thing we did was to open three bank accounts: a savings, bills and a pay account. I used a free budget manager from www.alphalink.com.au/~sergeb/smart-budget.html to help so that I could see the 'big picture' of where our money was going.

To make it easier, I over-budgeted our expenses. This is our weekly budget:

$150 food
$20 each pocket money
$50 weekend money (shared)
$55 petrol (two cars)

Each pay day I divide the money up and put it into labelled jars. If we don't use all of the allotted money, I take it back and put it into the savings jar.

I also used the budget planner to calculate all our bills, including rates and mortgages, electricity, gas, registrations and insurances, so that we put money away each fortnight. Expenses like gifts, clothes, postage and other sundries have to come out of our food budget.

Simple Savings provides very innovative ways to save on these expenses. I looked around and found a butcher's shop that was cheap with staple foods where I now buy meat ($20 a fortnight) eggs ($1.00 per dozen) and bread ($2.00 for three loaves). I have found a cheap fruit and vegetable shop, where I am buying crates of apples ($8.50) and 10kg bags of carrots ($5.00) to juice instead of buying juice.

Since doing this, we feel like we have more money, more fresh food and we are not broke a week later - plus we've been saving $372 EVERY fortnight, which equates to $9672 a year!

Contributed by: Elizabeth

Stick to a budget night and reap the benefits

By doing my budget on my payday every second Friday I have found that I have stopped overspending or impulse buying because the money is already allocated. My budget is already drawn up so as soon as my money goes into the bank I immediately transfer any money for savings into my savings account (bonus interest of course) and I pay as many bills online as I can. Then I subtract my direct debits (mortgage, life insurance, car insurance) from my balance and work out exactly how much money I have left to physically take out of the bank. This way I only use the ATM once a fortnight, saving on fees, and the only money I have is the cash in my hand. With that cash I disburse it to bills which can't be paid online, gifts, whatever is due that fortnight and all I have left then is my pocket money, which I also divide up into different amounts for different outings I have planned for that fortnight. This only works if you do your budget the very day you get paid, otherwise it is easy to spend money without thinking about where it's coming from and finding it later isn't easy.

Contributed by: Elisa Simpson

Some brilliant, and timely, budget advice

Have money, will spend. Only problem was, we were spending too much!

My husband and I wanted to make major renovations to our home, so I went back to work. We had been doing just fine on his income but the extra money I was making disappeared into thin air. We are fortunate to have free daycare, courtesy of my mother-in-law, so that didn't explain the mystery of my missing money! What we were doing, quite simply, was spending too much of that extra income. Time for action.

First, I opened a separate bank account and had my wages transferred into it. The interest rate is not that flash but the fees are low.

I set up an Excel workbook with a calendar style budget. I can see how much money is coming in and going out on any given day, and I include estimates of upcoming bills. I always make the estimate slightly more than the previous bill. If the new bill is less, it's a bonus.

I keep an inventory of what is in my pantry and write a proper shopping list so I don't buy what I don't need.

My Excel workbook also includes a price list of everything we buy so when I go shopping I know exactly how much it should cost me. This helps me keep to my budget and if it goes over I see if there is something we can do without for another couple of weeks.

I regularly have a big cooking day when I make enough meals to last three weeks. We no longer buy takeaway as there is always something quick and easy in the freezer. My goal is to eventually cook enough meals to last for four weeks. I'm getting there!

I take snacks and lunches to work. I buy a loaf of raisin toast for $4.00, stick it in the freezer and take two slices to work each day. Better than paying $3.00 for a couple of slices in a cafe. Lunch can be tasty leftovers or a sandwich from home. Snacks consist of fruit and nuts and to satisfy that afternoon chocolate craving, I buy a 'fun size' packet of Milky Way bars. With 20 bars in each pack, this is much better value.

Instead of buying new shoes, I have found a place that will re-sole my favourite shoes for $6.00.

We are now saving my entire pay packet and a fair chunk of my husband's as well. Our renovation dream is much closer to becoming a reality.

Contributed by: Irene Knezovic

No more stress with budgeting

My husband hates not being able to spend money, which has made saving a bit tricky! I was stressing about money but then I discovered Simple Savings and began to find ways to get on top of our budget.

Now I put his petrol and spending money in an account that is just for him. Another account, which we both access, pays all the weekly expenses and a third account is not touched for anything but the bills. As I do all the banking, I then go through at the end of the week and transfer any leftovers into the 'sealed' account. It's a bit fiddly but it removes him from temptation and keeps the budget running smoothly.

Contributed by: Bernadette S.

Old fashioned price tags help keep budget on track

We are saving literally hundreds of dollars a month by putting price tags on all our food. Until we had our baby nine months ago my husband and I really had no budget. We'd just buy things as we needed/wanted and would visit the supermarket numerous times a week. I wanted to be a stay at home mum to our daughter but on one income this was proving really tough. We sat down to work out where all our 'disposable' income was going and we realised we were spending an extreme amount of money on food. My husband liked to cook adventurous meals that included countless extravagant ingredients and we were spending around $200-$250 a week for just the two of us!

So we decided to focus on how much money we spent on each meal. I started writing the cost of each item on the jar, container or tin when we brought it home from the supermarket and it was quite incredible how much of an effect this had on our spending habits. Seeing the dollar signs on every item that we were cooking with helped us recognise the bargains at the supermarket and get the best deals available. We then set a dollar limit for each meal of $5.00 for breakfast, $8.00 for lunch and $15 for dinner. Each week we challenged ourselves to reduce the cost of each meal by a dollar and are now managing on around $2.00 for breakfast, $2.00 lunch and often under $5.00 for dinner. It also makes meals more interesting as we're always looking for an ingredient that fits inside our budget. Once a week we have a 'Friday Night Feast' where we don't stick to the minimum spend, yet we still find ourselves trying to make the most cost-effective meal!

Now we're buying less tinned and pre-prepared food, we've stopped buying chips, biscuits, desserts and pasta and are making our own wherever we can. We buy meat every second week and if we run out we just supplement with beans and legumes. Now we can survive on under $150 one week and $100 the next. We've found we're now cost cutting in every aspect of our lives and have saved $400 in the last fortnight alone.

Contributed by: Sally McQuillan

Here are a few more ideas for our valued Vault members:

Hold on to your cash with Mojo's help! Contributed by: fatbottomedgirl

Stay within food budget, aisle by aisle Contributed by: Faye June

The 'Better You' Budget Contributed by: Heather F

5. Best Members' Blog: Paper Days and the Pledge

This month's winner is Faye for her blog on getting organised and saving money!

I did something that I've been putting off for far too long yesterday - I had a paper day.

It took me a whole day but I managed to achieve SO much! For example, I made a 25% saving on my gas and light bills combined. I rolled three superannuation funds into one. I re-activated my ING account and set it up for my emergency fund... I was on a roll!

I also went to the library today and borrowed a home energy audit kit. I have an LED LCD HD 3D TV on order from Castle Hampers so until the end of the year I will still be using my old televisions with set top boxes. I think they will give me the biggest shocks in my energy audit.

I also read some time ago that anything with an element is brutal for energy consumption. So when my toaster died I just didn't replace it and now use the griller on the gas stove. I recently cut all my hair off and no longer use a dryer or straightener either.

So that leaves the kettle. Every morning I have a couple of cups of tea and then a coffee, all in fairly quick succession. That's a fair bit of boiling (element) time. So I'm taking The Pledge. I'm going to fill the kettle full (instead of just one cup's worth) and put it in the thermos. I'm looking forward to seeing if it makes a difference. I started doing this once before, but petered out but this time I'm deadly serious!'

Congratulations Faye on getting organised and making changes!

To read any of our members' blogs, click here

6. Best of the Forum: Stash That Cash!

We are continually amazed by the huge numbers of kind, helpful and resourceful members who make up our fantastic Forum community. If you have a problem, someone will have an answer! And when it comes to money - careful, stand back - you are going to get stampeded with information and support! If it's one thing our members do well, it is supporting each other, so this month we'd like to highlight a few of our favourite long term savings threads - it is never too late to join in.

$140,000 mortgage down to $0 in 12 months #14

It is ALL HAPPENING in Freedom's thread and to borrow one of her sayings, 'When one little thought turns wild, magic can happen :)'
read more...

2013: The lowest we can go #3

Can you hear the squealing? That is the sound of dollars begging for mercy as this amazing group and their fearless leader s-t-r-e-t-c-h them to breaking point!
read more...

Feb '13: Babysteps mortgage, CC and savings challenge

Another friendly and fantastic group of Financial Freedom Fighters who strive to make every dollar count.
read more...

Babysteps with Dave Ramsey #13

This series of threads kicked off in 2010 and is still going strong!
read more...

7. Hidden Gems: Lexatonia Tiles

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members source the best deals in their area. This month's Hidden Gem is Lexatonia Tiles, Sydney as nominated by Simmy.

Lexatonia is a family run business specialising in tiles but we used them for most of our bathroom renovation. They have a huge (almost overwhelming!) range of tiles, but if you don't find one you like they can order in pretty much anything. They also order by the metre rather than the box so you can order as little or as much as you like without having to pay for a whole lot of extras you don't need.

The service is wonderful. They will order in anything for you from their bathroom suppliers and find the best price they can. They price matched a few things for us and threw in a couple of upgrades for free too. I must have been in there ten times over a fortnight and they were always helpful and understanding of my limited renovation knowledge! If you tell them your approximate budget they will work hard to find a solution within that range.

Where: 6/2 Abbott Road, Seven Hills, NSW
Contact: (02) 9674 1944

Well done Simmy on locating such a fantastic hidden gem and thanks so much for sharing.

8. Homeopathy Corner: An Introduction, Part 3

Sometimes I wonder where my family would be today without homeopathic remedies and without Fran. And it is not a nice thought. Fran has helped us through some very difficult and worrying health episodes. However, so many people still do not understand homeopathy or how it can help them and that is really sad. So I am very pleased that Fran is doing her best to help as many people as possible. She really is worth her weight in gold. And then some!

This month Fran is unraveling some of the mysteries of homeopathy by explaining all the different forms remedies come in and how frequently you should give remedies. Here is a link to this month's article:-

homeopathyplus.com.au/homeopathy-made-simple-how-would-you-like-your-remedy-part-3

Thank you Fran!

9. Cooking with Mimi: Budget Busting Egg-Free Pancakes

It's the end of the school holidays, which means it's the start of the school term. The bank account is empty courtesy of Santa and the school uniform shop and the kids still want a treat. Hells bells, as my Aunty Myrtle used to say!

When I was a kid, pancakes were the ultimate Mother Hubbard meal. You know the one where she looks in her cupboard and it's bare but she still has to feed herself and the dog and goodness knows who else? That was our place on weekends. In fact, that's still our place, but thanks to my humble childhood, I still know how to rustle up something from nothing.

I've actually managed to trump the family dynasty's secret budget busting pancake recipe though, by eliminating the need for an egg. One egg + flour + oil + a little milk and sugar used to be the recipe of choice for us, and probably for you too.

No egg = no yummy pancakes today.

But with the simple addition of some white vinegar and a little rest for the batter, we can now have pancakes even without an egg in our Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

Here's how:

Budget Busting Pancakes

1 1/2 cups plain flour (GF flour works well too!)
2 tbsp milk powder
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp oil or melted butter or margarine
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence or vanilla extract

You'll also need a non-stick pan, a plate to hold your cooked pancakes, cooking spray or a little butter, oil or margarine, and a spatula. Of course honey, maple syrup, fruit and yoghurt or ice cream and caramel sauce are all an excellent idea for satisfying pancake consumption too. Our favourite used to be a little butter whipped in a bowl with honey to sweeten it, so steal our idea if you wish. It's certainly a frugal option!

A much neglected secret I learned at my grandmother's knee on the subject of perfect pancakes, is to have a thin, neat edged spatula with which to flip them. A metal one is best. Basically, dodgy plastic egg flip thingy with rough forward edge = rough looking pancakes with nasty blobby edge. And one more? Only cook one neat pancake at a time. Do not be tempted to try and fit three in the pan. It's difficult to flip 'em, and it just gets messy.

Now, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix well with a whisk until smooth.

Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes. You'll notice bubbles forming on the surface. Do not be tempted to stir the batter again. You'll be scooping it straight into your hot pan, fluffy air bubbles intact.

Heat a non-stick pan over a medium-high hotplate and spray it liberally with cooking spray or just a smidge of oil or butter. Honestly, you don't want them to 'fry' as such. The dryer the surface of the pan, the better. If you don't have spray oil, melt a little butter or margarine in the pan, then remove it from the heat and wipe the melted butter away with a paper towel. That's how little you need. And that pan has to be nice and hot initially, but you'll be turning it down to about 2/3 of full power after the first pancake bites the dust.

Accept that the first pancake, for reasons only known to the cosmos, will always fall into the aforementioned dodgy category. If you can get a picture perfect pancake on the first go, I want to hear about it. I think it's the universe's way of keeping us humble...he-he!

Take a large serving spoon or 1/3 cup measuring cup and scoop it full of bubbly batter. Plop the batter into the middle of your hot, lightly greased pan, and spread it quickly with the back of the spoon or the edge of the measuring cup, into a nice, even circle.

Watch for the edges of your pancake to cook and rise slightly and for bubbles to form on the surface. Do not try to flip your pancake until a nice firm edge has formed or you'll end up with aliens, not pancakes. Slide your lovely thin spatula under one edge of the pancake and if it lifts easily with no ensuing dribbles messing up your neat circle, it's ready to flip. At this stage, your pancake is pretty much done, and you're just browning the other side, so give it about thirty seconds, lift it to check for a nice golden colour and slide it onto a waiting plate.

Turn the hotplate down to 2/3 full heat.

Continue with the rest of your batter, cleaning the edge of your spatula thoroughly after flipping each pancake. It's a simple thing that really makes a difference.

Keep cooking and stacking those pancakes till the batter is all used. This quantity makes 6-10 decent sized pancakes, so enough for one good pancake eating session, whether for two big kids or 10 littlies.

Pat yourself on the back for being such a great parent. Kids fed, takeaway visit averted, happy tummies... it doesn't get much better than that!

You can discover more of Mimi's yummy creations in our Members' Blog area.

10. Claire's Corner: No More Primary School For Us!

So, here we are one month in to the New Year... last month I resolved to achieve three things this year: lose weight, pay off the credit cards and get the bathroom sorted. And I've made a good start, well... a start of sorts! I've signed myself up with MyFitnessPal (thanks to a member suggestion some time back!). It's a great little site that helps you track your calories and help you think twice about what you're eating. I don't know if I've actually lost any weight because we don't have any scales, but I have definitely been more controlled with my eating. Think I'll pop up to the doctor tomorrow and use their scales and see what the number is! I've also transferred my credit card debt onto a lower interest card (1.99%) and have budgeted to pay it off over the next six months. And as far as the bathroom goes, we've planned to buy what we need over the next two months and do the bulk of the work over Easter. So I guess all the planning is there... just need to make it all happen!

With just a few days until the kids are back at school, my youngest is preparing for her first day at intermediate - she's a bundle of nerves! I'm working hard to help her feel relaxed about it, but I guess it's just one of those things that she'll have to go through. I'm pretty sure she'll come home after her first day feeling happy. With any luck she'll have a few friends from primary school in her class and her teacher will be nice! Deep down, I'm just as nervous as she is! We were lucky to have a wonderful primary school that we loved, so it's a bit of an adjustment. I admit that I shed a few tears on her last day, I feel like we've entered into a new era as a family - we no longer have primary school-aged kids!

Meanwhile, Miss 14 has morphed into a fully-fledged teenager over the holidays. She now stays awake most of the night and sleeps all day. When she does emerge, she's either hungry, bored, grumpy or tired... or an unpleasant combination of all of the above! Just before Christmas, she was using my laptop when she 'accidentally' (read - carelessly!), walloped it into the wall while carrying it - decimating the delicate screen! She was extremely sorry and spent a few very anxious hours worrying about how I'd react when I got home. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled - I use my computer for work every day, so it was a scary feeling not to be able to use it!

I had been considering upgrading, so I decided to take advantage of a very good deal at The Good Guys and got myself a newbie (my Christmas pressie to myself I guess!). She then paid to have the screen repaired on the broken one, and now has it for herself. The upside is that I no longer have to put up with her wanting to use mine all the time, the downside is that she now uses hers ALL the time! She's back at school in a week, so I've decided to start enforcing limits now so that she will be back into a good sleeping routine when school starts... this will be easier said than done!

So I have one child entering her intermediate years, one in the midst of teenage-dom and one who is becoming an adult - of sorts! My eldest turned 19 on Christmas Eve, it staggers me how quickly time goes by - everyone tells you when they are babies that they grow up fast, but you don't believe it until it happens before your very eyes! Mr 19 has been labouring for the past four or five months building fences, but he's just applied to join the Navy (after much deliberation over which one of the forces he'd go for). He has the prerequisites, so now it's just a matter of passing the intake tests. He's just waiting to hear back about the date, but he's as keen as mustard to get in so that's a good start!

I'm now off to do some internet searching for budget bathroomware, update MyFitnessPal and switch off madam's computer!

For this month, I've chosen a quote that touches on the topic of kids growing up... seems to be on my mind a fair bit this month!

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."
- Angela Schwindt

You can read more of Claire's warm and wonderful words in our Members' Blog area.

11. 50c Indulgence: New Beginnings

Our Indulgences under 50c thread started the year with the theme of 'New Beginnings'. Along with the Simple Savings Calendar theme of 'See it, Be it' we went about setting our intentions for the New Year and hopefully, for the whole year ahead!

I have used the tips in the Calendar and they really work! For example, if you are trying to give something up, you need to replace it with something else. Another great idea is to tell other people so you get some support for the changes or new habits you are trying to create. In the thread we have shared and encouraged each other as we have worked our way into the year. Telling everyone my intentions has really worked for me and the support has been wonderful!

A beautiful way to keep your goals in mind is to make a vision board. As was discussed on the forum this is a brilliant way to keep reminding yourself of your goals. I keep several vision boards and had a review and update for the new year. I had to really think about my goals and my wish list this year. Amazingly there is nothing I really want except time with my family and some little holidays with my husband. So my updates include the cutest caravan and happy gatherings, picnic baskets and the ocean. From past experience I will most likely find all these things come into my life as the year goes on.

My other vision boards are to give me joy and inspiration every day. I want to keep the things I adore and treasure somewhere I can see them all the time. The one in my bedroom has photos of the girls when they were little, love letters they wrote me, flowers and trinkets. It makes me smile every day. I have another of beautiful times with my husband, our wedding and concert tickets we have been to and so on. They really bring me joy every day and add a great deal of gratitude to my life as I am reminded how lucky I am. Positive images and thoughts have to be good for us!

Another form of vision board for me is my yearly diary. My daughter makes it for me by covering a diary with pictures of things she knows I love. Every night when I write in my diary I see all these lovely things that are somehow personal to me. It's a very easy and inexpensive treat and making one as a gift is a beautiful idea! For example, horse pictures for the little girl who loves horses or dinosaurs for a little boy.

Scrap booking or having a photo album just to collect images of things you love and inspire you soon creates a sort of inspiration file. I started these when I was 12 and when I look back through them I see the life I have is the one I cut and pasted for so many years! Looking through my current one is total therapy. My heart just sings seeing so many lovely things in one place! This is a great project for teenagers to help them focus on the life ahead of them and feel excited about it.

So as you make your plans for the year, use reminders to help you reach your goals. Helen and I have great plans for a thread each month that will help us achieve those goals. Our next thread will help by looking after our health AND saving money at the same time so come and join us!

Annabel

You can drop in and join Annabel, Helen and the Under 50c Army here: Heaven scent... under 50 cent indulgences February 2013

12. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Trying to Beat the Heat in the Patch

Saving plants from the heat

With the heat wave that some parts of Australia have had, I thought I might share with you how we are trying to minimise its effects on the plants in our patch.

We are expecting six days of 35-40°C temperatures so hopefully the wicking beds will provide enough moisture to keep most of our plants well hydrated. We have a number of plants in pots; some are irrigated using Wetpots, while others are relying on us to keep the water up to them on a regular basis. All of these will be feeling the sting from the heat so, in an attempt to keep some water up to them, I have placed a few in trays. Keeping pots in trays with a centimetre or two of water in the bottom is a great way to ensure that the plants have access to water. It is best not to leave them in direct sunlight as the water will evaporate quickly.

All our potted plants will be getting a small watering every morning before the heat sets in. The wicking beds will be filled on the Monday afternoon (last 30°C day) and the beds will get a bit of a hosing so the mulch can soak up some moisture as well. They will be checked again on Wednesday and Friday evenings to see if they need a top up. Some valued plants will be given a spot water if needed but I am prepared to lose a few of the older or poor performing ones. My biggest concern will be the seedlings that I am nurturing in the trays.

One idea that might help vulnerable plants is the use of a plastic bottle with a small pin size hole in the base.

The water will slowly drip out ensuring that the plants around it receive a little moisture during the day. I have seen bottles like these at the local community garden used to keep potato plants moist during times of extreme heat.

Shade is something that will also help your plants survive the heat. We are lucky in that we have the shade house but it isn't doing the best it could in some areas.

The capsicums under the 30% cloth are already showing signs of 'sunburn' so we will be adding some 50% cloth over the top just to make sure we don't lose any more. There are a few different ways to shade plants using things you may have on hand. A portable pergola would make a fantastic shade structure that could be situated over a garden bed or two. A sheet tied to a few stakes or to the side of a building would make a great cover for plants. An outdoor table (lay a cloth over the top if glass) or even outdoor chairs would be good enough to give vulnerable short plants a bit of cover from the harsh sun. Moving pots under the eaves of the house, a large tree or veranda would also decrease the plants' stress levels. I hope that may give a few ideas on how to help plants withstand heat over a hot period.

Chilli paste from the patch

We have managed to save all the chilli crop from the fruit fly this year (does a joyful jig) so I decided that the first lot would be used to make up an Asian-style chilli paste. Most of the ingredients came from our patch with the galangal, lemongrass, lime rind and leaves all being stored in the freezer from the last harvests. Only the coconut vinegar and sugar came from the shops **: )»** I must also thank Joy for sharing her recipe with me and while I didn't follow it to the 'T' I used it as a portion guide.

Sambal Oelek

500g chillies
300g galangal (ginger would work just as well)
300g garlic
4 stalks of lemongrass, chopped
2 tbsp grated lime skin
Small handfull of Kaffir lime leaves
350ml coconut vinegar
200g rapadura sugar

Place all ingredients except for the sugar and vinegar into a food processor. Slowly add the vinegar while processing on high until all ingredients become a paste.

Bring the paste to the boil in a saucepan. Slowly pour sugar in and stir until dissolved.

Reduce heat and let the paste simmer for five minutes.

This made enough to fill three sterilised pint/500ml jars, two of which were added to a hot water bath for 10 minutes so they could be stored for later use or used as gifts for friends. I must say that I was very pleased with the flavour and I am still hanging out to try it with some locally farmed black tiger prawns.

I ♥ my Asian curries. **: )»**

Read more of Rob Bob's garden blogs in our Members' Blog area.

13. From Last Month: Yeast and Wheat-Free

Last month Sue Izard emailed us about yeast and wheat-free recipes. She said:

"My daughter has just been told she needs to spend a few months yeast and wheat-free to give her adrenal glands time to recover from a whole range of foods they were reacting to. I've looked in the Vault but most of the dietary info is about gluten-free foods. Does anyone have any ideas about yeast-free?"

We got some fantastic ideas for Sue - thank you for sharing your wisdom! Here are some of our favourite replies:

Learning to live yeast-free

Many years ago my elderly dad was advised to eat a yeast-free diet to treat a skin problem. He was overwhelmed by the long lists of food he should avoid. However, I went online and found some good ideas.

Firstly we wrote down his current diet. Next we substituted the things he normally ate with yeast-free options. The biggest initial challenge was bread but he substituted oat porridge for toast; rice cakes, crackers or crispbread for sandwiches and we found lots of yeast-free snacks. Vegemite had to go but he was happy to avoid it along with beer and wine in order to recover. When in doubt he ate a variety of fresh meat or fish with lots of fresh or frozen vegetables (except mushrooms and olives) and tea with milk but no sugar.

Most difficult of all was cheese which he loved. However, as his skin cleared he felt it was worth it and has now developed a new appreciation for nuts like almonds, cashews, macadamias, pecans and walnuts.

Contributed by: Marg Mansfield

Spelt bread may suit if yeast-free

If you're on a yeast-free diet, here are a few products that I have found to be very good. Orgran have a good range of yeast and wheat-free products - some are available in the supermarket and others can be bought from organic shops. I like their gravy mix, especially when mixed with meat juices. I also use Healthybake or Ancient Grains spelt bread. This uses a sourdough base so it has a small amount of natural yeast but less than regular bread. They also do breads made with other flours such as rye.

For more good ideas and yeast-free recipes, visit www.theyeastdiet.com.

Contributed by: Lesley Smith

What to avoid/enjoy if you're yeast-free

If you're on a yeast-free diet, here are a few tips on what to avoid and what to enjoy:

Avoid gluten-free breads as these are usually still baked with yeast.
Avoid soy sauce on sushi as the sauce is fermented.
Avoid Marmite or Vegemite as these both have yeast in them.
Avoid fermented drinks like ginger beer.
Avoid having a lot of sugar as this can cause an overgrowth of yeast. This includes dried fruit, fruit juice and pasta sauces.
Enjoy plenty of rice, quinoa and potatoes.
Enjoy meat, fish and chicken.
Enjoy a few pieces of fresh fruit each day, but not too much as it is high in sugar.
Enjoy plenty of fresh vegies each day.

Contributed by: Belinda Lansley

Tricks to living yeast-free

I had to live yeast and sugar-free for about six months when I was in my thirties. There were two key tricks for me - the first was to focus principally on eating meat and vegetables. I ate a lot of meat and salad during summer, then as winter came I ate a lot of soup (by cooking up lots of vegies in a pot with stock or water plus rice or barley). This was followed by grilled fish, chops or steak and potatoes or rice of all kinds (risotto makes a nice change) with cooked vegies.

The second trick was to make social time with friends that involved something other than food (such as a movie, an art gallery or park). This helped me to avoid the foods I wasn't meant to eat!

I also explored vegetable patties with nut butters as the thickener and fish patties made in the food processor (egg holds them together). I delved deep into Asian food styles (which use no wheat and no yeast) and I explored wheat alternatives such as oats for biscuits and so on. For breakfast I feasted on smoothies, home-made bircher muesli (soaked oats, mashed banana, honey and milk, mixed up and topped with fresh fruit) and in winter I made fresh porridge every day. The main thing was to be prepared so that I was not caught hungry and tempted to eat 'off plan'.

Contributed by: Jo Verity

Super quick yeast-free bread recipes

For a quick yeast-free bread fix, here are a few helpful recipes:

Wraps

1 egg
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp LSA or ground almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder
Salt and pepper to season

Mix all ingredients well and spread onto a flat dinner plate. Microwave for about three minutes. Remove carefully, cool and fill. This recipe can also be used in a waffle maker to make 1-2 waffles.

Nut & Seed Bread

1 egg
3 tbsp almond meal or LSA
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp nut butter
1 tbsp linseed

Mix all ingredients together and pour onto greased bread and butter plate. Microwave for 90 seconds. Remove from plate and cool. Slice carefully to make two thin slices.

Mugmuffin

1 egg
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp milk
3 tbsp almond meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Mix all ingredients well in cup or mug and microwave for 90 seconds. If using a mug it will rise over the mug but settle down when cooked. This recipe works best in a medium to large tea cup. Change flavour as desired.

Contributed by: Janice Giddy

Menu planning key to special diets

When my son was reacting to wheat, gluten and numerous other things, my naturopath suggested that I base most of his meals around protein, fruits and vegies, and rice (instead of pasta and breads). It's actually really easy to do and just requires a menu plan that is followed to the letter.

For example, breakfast was a basic omelette made with egg, water, corn or peas, or leftover shredded chicken with a little cheese. For lunches some ideas include: home-made kid-friendly fried rice, chicken or boiled eggs, tinned tuna with vegie sticks and home-made beetroot dip and chicken and corn soup with rice instead of noodles in.

Dinner was the most simple of all and included things like chicken, pork or fish with salad or vegies with mash or home-made wedges. Snacks were always yoghurt and fruit. Home-made frozen yoghurt popsicles were great for dessert, just mix and freeze mixed berries with any flavoured yoghurt and add some honey. And for smoothies, mix yoghurt, milk, a banana and a little honey and cinnamon.

Contributed by: Brooke

Yeast substitute for everyday baking

Here's a quick and useful tip if you're on a yeast-free diet... use equal parts lemon juice and baking soda as a yeast substitute in everyday recipes! You can still cook your regular meals and stay yeast-free. Just make sure you add them last so they work properly.

Contributed by: Squishy Squishy

Home-made yeast-free pan-fried bread

It can be hard going without sandwiches when you're yeast-free but there are some great alternatives such as corn cakes, rice crackers, scones, pancakes and pikelets made with some of the alternative flours like buckwheat that are all yummo!

Many gluten-free flours (which also mean wheat-free) are now superior to what they used to be. As a treat to die for, try Melinda's Heavenly Chocolate Fudge Brownie packet mix - honestly, it lives up to its name! I found it at Coles.

However, my favourite is pan-fried bread, especially with home-made soup. Mix up assorted flour (go easy on the rice flour as it makes it gluggy, I always include a good portion of buckwheat) with an egg, some dairy (yoghurt makes it airy, I like to use ricotta or cottage cheese myself), a grated carrot (optional) and enough water to make a dough consistency. If you're not using a self-raising flour, use a raising agent. For a savoury version, add mixed herbs, grated vegetables and fresh pepper. Or if you like a sweet version, use grated fruit or sultanas. Avoid honey though as it will make it burn.

Cook in a hot frying pan that can be covered. I use olive oil for savoury breads and butter for sweet. Put in the mix and press evenly. Cover with the lid, turn the heat down a quarter and wait about five minutes. Turn the heat down another quarter and turn bread over. Wait another five minutes then turn the heat down to low and give it a few minutes each side until you get a hollow sound when you tap the bread with your knuckles. If you like a crustier finish, leave the lid off when you turn the heat down to low. I find you get a better loaf if you do smaller ones than a large one. It is a bit of trial and error to get it right but from then on it is easy. Cut into wedges to serve.

Contributed by: Jacki Perry

Yeast-free bread options

If you need to be on a yeast-free diet, my tip is to be careful as there is often yeast 'hidden' in many sauces, flavourings and sandwich spreads.

There are several yeast-free breads available (they taste best toasted or in a sandwich press). They are quite expensive so I buy a loaf and freeze it in two-slice packs as it's very difficult to separate the pieces if you freeze it as a whole loaf.

There are several yeast-free options for wrap-style bread including mountain bread. I also buy roti bread from my local fruit shop which is very cheap. Plain potato chips and plain corn chips (without flavouring) are yeast-free. You can also buy yeast-free pizza bases in Coles and Woolies and make your own pizzas.

For a yummy savory treat, I mix tinned tuna, shallots, chopped cherry tomatoes and grated cheese and spoon them into Yorkshire pudding cases from Aldi. You then bake them in the oven until the cheese turns a golden brown. Yum!

Contributed by: Sally H

14. This Month's Help Request: Outdoor Makeover

N. Carson has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"After six years of indoor renovation, we are finally ready to begin on the outdoors! The prospect of ripping up 4x32m of concrete driveway and replacing it with bitumen, digging out 35sqm of unwanted dirt in the backyard, erecting a front brick fence, building a deck and also general landscaping is extremely daunting - and costly! Any advice regarding cost-effective concrete demolition, skip hire, dirt removal or waste disposal - and also outdoor renovation advice would be incredibly appreciated!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share, please send them in to us here.

15. Goodbye For Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for February 2013 and we hope you have enjoyed it and have been inspired by all the money saving tips. Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say, 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

February 2015 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - February 2015

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: How Nude Are You?
February: Nudity Quiz
Best of the Vault: Fresh is Best
Best of the Forum: Back to Nature!
Best Members' Blog: Being Organised Saves Thousands
Mimi: Roasted Vegetable Salad With Spicy Sausage and Honey Mustard Dressing
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Crook Plants and a Wander Through the Patch
Penny Wise: Going it Alone
From Last Month: Recipes Using Non-Perishable Ingredients
This Month's Help Request: Secret Linen Business!

Hello!

We hope you had a fantastic January sourcing great local deals. Matt and I worked out we were still very happy with our local grocer and butcher but it was good to see what others had to offer. This month we're asking a very personal question about how 'nude' you are - you'll have to read on to find out more! We also say goodbye to Penny Wise/Jackie Gower in this newsletter and we wish her all the best. Thank you, Jackie!

I always love hearing your savings ideas and stories and tips! Here are some of my favourites this month:

"I joined Simple Savings not quite sure what to expect - I'd never been on a forum before! I was so surprised to see how friendly everyone was, and how helpful. I've already saved money on my bills and am about to do my first $21 Challenge. Thank you, Simple Savings - I'm glad I took the plunge and joined." (Lynette)

"Hi Fiona and Matt. I just wanted to thank you for your fantastic website - my daughter may have Facebook, but I have Simple Savings!" (Trudy)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We need to find homes for lots of $21 Challenge Books! $5 each, plus postage!

P.P.S.S. We have a new public Facebook Group. Check it out!

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: How Nude Are You?

Hanna sipped her coffee at her desk while she scrolled through her emails. She yelped and put her coffee down quickly. "Sally? Did you just send me an email?" she asked over the desk.

Sally fought to keep a straight face. "Yep. It was from me." Hanna looked at her and whispered worriedly, "It has the word 'nudity' in the subject line. Are you sure it's safe to open?" Sally rolled her eyes - she loved getting one up on Hanna and this time she had her! "Of course it's safe. And, you're going to like it!"

Hanna gulped... she knew she wasn't going to like it! Sally was sitting right next to her now and she couldn't get out of this one. She clicked the link and sighed, "It's about food?!"

2. February: Nudity Quiz

The Nudity Test!

Have you ever wondered how nude you are? And I don't mean whether or not you have clothes on. I mean how nude your diet is. Well, it is time to find out.

From looking at people's different, shopping, spending and eating habits we have observed there are four levels of food nudity. We based these levels on the types of clothes the food is wearing. To help people evaluate their own habits and have a bit of fun, we have put together a little Nudity Quiz.

But first let's start by looking at the four levels of nudity. They are:

Tarted Up

You've heard the expression, 'mutton dressed up as lamb'? That pretty much sums up Tarted Up food. It's a subterfuge. Tarted Up food is so artificial and over-packaged that the original ingredients are no longer recognisable and you can't really tell what's on the inside. The Tarted Up diet consists of very little or no nude food. Food is often tinned, frozen or packet products. Takeaway food and drink also feature strongly.

Well Dressed

Well Dressed food is higher quality - but it still comes at a hefty cost to your pocket and the planet. Well dressed food often poses as nude food, but it isn't due to the resources that have gone into presenting the food. This category covers items such as gourmet paninis, posh salads and barista coffee. A good portion of this diet is still heavily packaged and disposable.

Comfortably Nude

Who wouldn't like to be Comfortably Nude?! Comfortable nudists have the balance right. Sure, the odd packet might make its way into their trolley and they may succumb to the occasional takeaway but on the whole this diet ticks all the right boxes. Comfortable Nudists know that real food is not only the best food but also the cheapest. They cook from scratch wherever possible and enjoy both the health and financial benefits of their chosen lifestyle.

Totally Starkers

This diet is as close as you can get to being completely and utterly nude in this day and age! Those who are 'Totally Starkers' are pretty much self-sufficient and grow as much of their own food as possible. Everything they need comes from the yard and they keep their own chickens and livestock. Supermarket visits are a rare occurrence and takeaway is non-existent. This diet - while being the most labour intensive - is by far the cheapest, healthiest and most eco-friendly way to eat.

Now you have read the levels. It is time to take the test...

Here is a link to the test. I hope you have fun doing it!

P.S. Don't forget to join in the fun in the Forum!

3. Best of the Vault: Fresh is Best!

Your challenge this month is to get nude! Take a look at your menu plan, shopping list and shopping habits to see how you can get more fresh ingredients into your fridge and cupboards.

Four easy-to-grow herbs

Herbs are very expensive to buy, so it's well worth growing your own. Here are four of the easiest herbs to grow:

Parsley grows very easily as a border along paths and can be chopped and frozen.
Mint grows well in pots near a tap. Lots of recipes require fresh mint so it's a good herb to have on hand.
Basil can be grown in pots or in a sunny spot in the garden. A good trick is to freeze basil in ice cubes for later use.
Rosemary thrives almost anywhere and even makes a small hedge!

Many other herbs grow with a minimum of fuss, but the four I have listed above will make a great start to your garden as they are used in cooking nearly every day.

Contributed by: Julie Chissell

Fruity ice adds flavour

My family has never been water drinkers as we don't like the bland taste. To keep our water intake up, we resorted to buying expensive bottles of flavoured water. Not anymore!

We recently had a baby, which means my water intake is very important, plus we must pay extra attention to our budget. So, I've come up with a way to still enjoy flavoured drinking water without the cost. We bought a few cheap ice trays from The $2 Shop and now use cheap fruit and vegetables to make flavoured ice cubes.

For example, strawberries were on special the other day. I cut them into quarters, placed a couple into each section of the ice tray and added water. The end result is pretty little ice cubes that clink delightfully in my glass of water - and the strawberry flavour is lovely.

We experiment with different flavours, like cucumber, lemon juice or blueberries. Sometimes we even use two different fruits in each ice cube. I love serving cool drinks to guests as I often receive positive comments!

Contributed by: Kallie

Start a buying club

We have started a friends' buying club and are saving hundreds of dollars on groceries!

Each week one person goes to the wholesale market and buys fruit and vegetables in bulk. They then separate the produce into boxes and distribute the boxes to the other club members. Every month, we also buy household products in bulk lots, such as shampoo, soap and washing powder. We then repack these products into our recycled bottles and containers!

We save over $200 per month on these simple purchases and we don't impulse buy as we hardly go to the supermarket anymore. It's so easy to do. Just get five neighbours or friends together, work out a roster and a few simple rules and start saving money.

Contributed by: Danielle

YouTube video shares secret to 'free' chicken

A simple YouTube video has helped me get a fantastic saving on buying chicken! We eat free range chicken, but my daughter loves it so much it has started to do our budget in. Just two chicken breast fillets at a total of 600g at $17.99 per kilo costs $10.79. Ouch!

In contrast, a 1.5kg whole free range chicken at $6.99/kg costs $0.28c less at $10.51. By using the techniques in this video, 'How to bone a chicken' I can get the two breast fillets I need, with the rest of the chicken thrown in for free! I'm sure this works equally well with ordinary or organic chickens. These days I buy four chickens at a time - and I'll never buy fillets again!

Contributed by: Silly Mummy

4. Best of the Forum: Back to Nature

For many of us, life is hectic and busy and cooking a fresh, nutritious meal is just another chore at the end of the day. Here are some ideas to kick-start your own nude food revolution!

The ho-hum of eating the same vegetables every day

It's just not Deliberate Creator who has a severe case of 'vegie boredom', but there are some great ideas in this thread to put some crunch back into your cooking repertoire.
read more...

The cost of convenience

Jenelle W's 'fritata experiment' shows us just why nude food is less expensive than 'convenience' shopping - great read, thanks Jenelle.
read more...

Using the whole bunch of celery

This thread takes a different look at 'waste' - definitely food for thought!
read more...

Spiced carrot salad

This quick, easy and delicious summer salad is a perfect example of nude food!
read more...

5. Best Members' Blog: Being Organised Saves Thousands

This month's winner is Lil ol me for sharing her 'Once a Month Shopping' adventure!

"My BF and I took our first big step into Once a Month Shopping. I don't mind saying it was both exciting and a little scary. But when we saw the money saved at the bottom of the receipt, we were thrilled.

I scanned all the catalogues for specials, especially lunchbox specials, and wrote a list of all the items that were 40% savings or better or available in a reduced bulk pack. I then worked out how much we'd need for four to eight weeks, depending on the item. Some of the quantities were scary. Buying five of anything that is already a 20 pack is A LOT! But then a family of seven does eat a lot too! In total I planned to visit four stores, luckily all within close proximity of each other. I didn't bother with the 'what do we need this week question', it was all about what is super cheap that we use all the time.

Knowing we only wanted specials actually helped prevent any impulse buys, and having my BF possibly helped as well. ;-) All up it was actually quite a fast adventure; no wandering through the aisles as at most shops we only needed four to five items, just a lot of them. We did spend our entire weekly food budget, but we confidently know we don't need any lunchbox fillers, beverages, toiletries, cleaning supplies, washing supplies, meat and frozen vegies for at least a month. What this should mean is now we have the next three to four weeks to save what we normally would have spent.

In the end, we may have spent $322, but we saved $187, in just one shop. Whilst this isn't our entire monthly shop as we did have a lot of meat already in the freezer, even if we only save this much each month, that's an extra $2244 in our pocket each year, just by buying the same regular items on special.

I did get to enjoy another delicious saving today, just by knowing my consumer rights! A couple of days ago I went to put an item on layby for my son's birthday in February. I had done my research online and headed to the store that had the best price. When I got there, I discovered they had the better model advertised on a sign at the lesser model price. I asked for the better model at the advertised price, and was told it was a typo. I didn't bother arguing instore but took a photo on my phone to email their customer service when I got home. They were incredibly fast at responding and within 30 minutes I was given an apology and was able to return to the store to get the better model at the reduced price. I saved $30, plus the added bonus of a loyalty card giving me an extra 5% discount, so overall it was a saving of $40. I had my SS hat on, and instead of using the credit card, I put the item on layby, giving me five weeks to pay it off with no interest.

I always knew being organised saved you money, but never really embraced the concept until now. I'm sure if I wasn't so organised, I would have bought the same item two days before his birthday, paid full price, and used the credit card. Being so close after Christmas, I was also able to find clearance covers for the device reduced from $17 down to $2! Even more money saved, just by being organised."

Well done Lil Ol Me on getting organised and making some huge savings!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

6. Mimi: Roasted Vegetable Salad With Spicy Sausage and Honey Mustard Dressing

Yummy, easy, colourful, healthy... what more could you want?

You'll need:

An assortment of vegetables to roast... I chose potato, pumpkin and carrot, cut into similarly sized chunks, tossed with oil and seasoning and roasted at 180-200C until tender.
Red capsicum, torn into large chunks, tossed with oil and seasoning, and roasted at the same time, until the skin blackens and bubbles.
Baby spinach or salad leaves
Fresh herbs, any kind
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white vinegar
Spicy sausage, for example, kabana, cabanossi, chorizo, black pepper and beef or Thai chicken, pan fried and sliced thinly

Then just:

Skin the capsicum, discard the skin and slice into strips.

Heat the honey for just a few seconds in the microwave to liquefy it, and add the vinegar and mustard, whisking well.

Set out your plates and add a layer of greens as a 'bed' for the vegies.

Toss the roasted vegetables and cooked and sliced sausage and divide equally between your plates.

Top with the roasted capsicum strips and drizzle with the dressing.

Enjoy!

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

7. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Crook Plants and a Wander Through the Patch

A virus in the patch :-/

Plant diseases can be a persistent problem in the vegie patch if you don't get on top of them quickly. Luckily enough for us the most common diseases we have to face in the patch are powdery and downy mildew. Both of these can easily be treated and controlled with a simple spray made of bi-carb soda (baking powder) and water. Plant viruses are unfortunately a little bit harder to deal with as there are no effective treatments once the plant is infected. They first became an issue in our garden a year or so ago when we started to notice that the leaves of some heirloom tomatoes were not developing correctly. The same deformation of the leaves started to quickly appear on two lots of potatoes and a few eggplants.

The infected plants all had a noticeable symptom of a fern-like curling of the leaves. This severely stunted all growth and stopped any flowers forming on the fruiting plants. I was lucky that at the time I had a visit from a knowledgeable mate (cheers Sir Dave) who identified the cause of the weird leaf curling as a plant virus, possibly cucumber mosaic virus, although we never had an official diagnosis made.

Plant viruses are normally spread by sap-sucking insects like aphids, whitefly and thrips, as well as some leaf-eating insects, so it does pay to stay on top of them if you see them around the patch. I have read that it isn't a good idea to spray the plants for pest insects once a viral infection has been identified, the reason being that this will quite often make the insects carrying the infections flee to other plants, in turn infecting them.

There is no treatment for a plant once it's infected other than to remove the plant material and dispose of it outside the garden. I have included a link to a webpage/PDF download that has more information to help identify different plant viruses you might encounter in your patch, the plants they can infect and the means by which they are transmitted. This summer we've seen infections pop up in a few spots in the garden. The 'giant tree' tomato was the first casualty; from there it spread to a few nearby capsicum seedlings. We have also seen the symptoms show up in a few other plants like the celery and some potatoes down the back, again all located within a few metres of each other. Most of the plants have already been removed so I hope we have stopped or at least slowed down its spread.

After chatting to some gardening friends online recently (cheers Nathan & folks), I narrowed down the weird cupping of the leaves on the yacon to be most possibly caused by a plant virus as well. I think it may be the cucumber mosaic virus as it is known to affect many different types of plants but, as I said above, I haven't had any samples tested. On the upside, I got to do an early harvest and ended up with a few sweet yacon roots to juice and munch on.

I hope that helps a few folks that have come across similar issues with their plants but were unsure of what they were.

A wander around the patch

I thought I'd give you a bit of a walk through the yard in this blog, we have a few new plants on the go as well as a few upcoming changes we want to implement around the patch.

Bits out the front

I have let some of the beds out the front have a bit of a rest over the past few months so there isn't a lot going on out there. Most beds were given a bit of a feed with some stable scrapings with a few then going on to provide us mini harvests from volunteer plants which has been great. The asparagus bed slowed down its spear production for a while but has bounced back nicely after a few doses of compost tea (funny that). The spear size we are now getting is a lot smaller and would normally be let go to turn to fern by most folks. One way you can continue to get a small harvest from your plants once the spear size is too small for harvesting is to 'tip' the thin young spears once they reach a certain length.

I like to let them grow to about 600-800mm (2-2½') and then pinch off the tender growing tip. This way we can extend the harvest while also allowing the plant enough greenery to provide energy for the crown to grow and thrive. It also keeps the plant ferns from exploding onto the lawn. While the small tips look a tad scraggly they taste just as nice as the large juvenile spears.

The perpetual spinach in the bed next to it were knocked around by the recent hot weather.

We have been using the spinach as chook fodder mainly and will be sowing a few more to replace these plants. I am looking at turning this bed into a corn bed in a month or so after the other corn matures a bit.

The next bed has had the yellow cherry tomatoes removed as it was starting to look a bit scrappy and the production slowed down. Half a dozen field peas were sown out in there along with a couple of tromboncino (trombone) zucchini.

To get the bed ready for the zucchini it was top dressed with some commercial compost, then a 100mm/4" layer of aged horse manure and topped it all off with some mulch. The manure will not only feed the soil but will also keep the compost worms in the bed well fed. A mesh wire trellis will be added so the zucchini has something to climb on once they put on a bit of size.

Kira's bed is booming at the moment.

It's looking rather jam-packed with two volunteer Thai basil and LOADS of French marigolds. The Thai basil is covered in flowers and it won't be long before the same can be said of the marigolds. It has been great watching all the hoverflies and the different bees come in to feast on the basil flowers.

The next bed was planted out with some sweet corn a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the high temperatures we had last weekend knocked a lot of the new shoots off, so I decided buy some seedlings to fill the gaps.

With Sunday's temperature said to be reaching 38°C/100°F I decided to pop some small sections of shade cloth up over both the corn and zucchini beds. That way I won't have to replant then both again. ;-)

The next bed has a volunteer rockmelon pop up in the corner while the corn was in there. Since the corn was removed it has decided to take over the front corner of the yard including the bed next to it.

So far we've had two fruit ripen on the vine, the first one was unfortunately split and infested with bugs but the second was perfect. :-) I have a feeling that these are the offspring of a store-bought fruit as they are nowhere near as sweet as any of the varieties we have grown before. They do have a very strong rockmelon flavour though and taste great in the morning juice.

Bits out the back

Things out the back have been going a bit slow lately as a few of the beds are being allowed to rest for a few months like some out the front.

A first for us this year is using green pawpaw/papaya in salads.

It has a mild flavour and went really well in an Asian-style salad we made up the other night. It was definitely a lot better received by the girls than the ripe fruit we picked. ;-) I will be making up a green mango and pawpaw salad tonight to try out a Thai-style dressing. Far too hot for an Australia day lamb roast/BBQ methinks. ;-)

Bianca and I have also decided to remove the longest wicking bed in the patch as we are 99% certain that the reservoir membrane has been compromised and is allowing water to escape.

At this stage we will be replacing it with a series of smaller wicking beds that will all be connected to an auto top up reservoir which will make them easier to fill. I'm thinking they will be built along the lines of our Auto Top Up Wicking Barrels. I am contemplating plumbing them up slightly differently though so they might also be suitable to add into the aquaponic system at some point in the future. Before that happens we will need to harvest the potatoes and transplant the chilli bush from the bed.

One lot of plants I'm very pleased with so far this summer has been the spice plants. We have five stands of turmeric in various wicking gardens and barrels with all of them putting on some great growth. One barrel in particular has even managed to dazzle us again with some very beautiful flowers.

The flower on the left with the pink tinge to the petals is a newly emerged Madras turmeric flower and the one on the right shows how it fades into a green tinge after a week or so. We also have four types of culinary ginger around the patch as well.

The Kencur ginger is a low-growing ginger that has a rather stunning little flower. We haven't cooked with this or the Chinese keys ginger, as we are trying to grow enough rhizome to get larger yields next season. I am sure that a small amount will be set aside once the plants die back at the end of the season this year to go into a meal or two. ;-)

A fishy update

I have finally set the fish farm up the way it was meant to run a few weeks ago when the silver perch were removed and added into the aquaponic system. That left 59 Jade perch to split between the two fish tanks of this system. Between the fish farm and aquaponics we should be having a few meals of fish a week once they put on a bit more size, something that we are looking forward to. Might even pop a few in the smoker. ;-)

I did a bit of a clip showing how the fish were moved and also covered how much feed the fish are getting for folks that might be interested.

That's about it for this month. Hope you enjoyed the quick walk around the patch and that summer is treating you and your patch well. It is crazy to think sitting here in 36°C heat that we are only six or so weeks away from starting off some of our cool weather crops.

Cheers folks & have a great one.

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

8. Penny Wise: Going it Alone

I didn't know what to call this post - 'Going on holiday?' 'Putting Penny to sleep?' I'm still not sure! Still, we'll go with this one. You may have noticed that my blogs on Simple Savings have been getting fewer and farther between. This is largely due to the fact I have been working so many jobs but (and this probably sounds a bit weird) on the rare occasions I had time to sit and put 'pen to paper', I just couldn't tune into being Penny any more. My own head was so full of stuff that I just couldn't think of a thing to say! It took a while to realise what the problem was but I can see now that this was the real me trying to get out. As soon as I realised what I had to do, the urge to write immediately came back again! And, what I need to do is give Penny a rest and let Jackie take over. I need to put my head down, bum up and get both Penny and me out of the financial mess we're in. And, not being one to do things by halves I am also saying goodbye to the budgeting ladies. They have been wonderful and I have been so lucky but I want to stand on my own two feet now and be 100% focused without - well, without anyone telling me what to do I guess. It's time to step up, do things my way and see how fast I can reach my goal.

So this will be my last blog as Penny, at least for now. The thing is, the real me still has a lot going on in her head! And, I'm a writer. I have to write stuff, I can't help it. I'm never happier than when I'm writing heaps, even if nobody else reads it. So the real me has started a new blog and you are very welcome to pop in any time. It's called Riches Have Wings and it feels like a breath of fresh air to me right now. I shall miss Penny, she was a bit of a sweetie lol but I like to think the new, more focussed me will have more to offer, both as a writer and a money saver. I guess time will tell! I'm sure I will still pop my head into the Forum now and again so it's not goodbye. I still know where to find you and now you know where to find me. :) If you would like to stay in touch with me or keep posted on how I'm doing in my mission, the best way is to 'like' my official Jackie Gower, Writer page on Facebook. I wouldn't have made it this far over the last couple of years without the help and support of all of you so please don't be strangers and I'll try not to be too!

See you all around. :) xxx

9. From Last Month: Recipes Using Non-Perishable Ingredients

Last month Cherie emailed us about ideas for non-perishable recipes:

"A group from our church wants simple recipes for meals made from non-perishable ingredients to give to families who find it a struggle after Christmas. Some ideas we had were pasta bake and tuna casserole but we'd love some more."

Thank you for your wonderful ideas for Cherie; here are some of our favourites:

Cream corn and corned beef make easy 'cupboard' casserole

Tinned cream corn and tinned corned beef make a nice casserole mixed together. You can also mix coconut milk and corned beef, add chopped onion and lots of spinach or any other greens. I base this dish on a Samoan one called Pulisami. Another good combination is a tin of green curry tuna and a packet of rice risotto.

Contributed by: Honora

Don't overlook meals from tins!

If you're looking for non-perishable meals, don't overlook tins! You can get non-perishable 'luncheon meat' in the form of tinned sausages, chicken and corned beef. You can have tinned mushrooms with rice, noodles or potatoes, as well as baked beans and creamed corn. Don't forget hard boiled eggs! You can stretch these meals with tinned soup, pasta/noodles and a dash of imagination to make casseroles, bakes and risottos. (From 'Cooking with Soup'.)

Contributed by: Doreen

Make a bake for goodness sake!

'Bakes' are a fantastic way to make non-perishable meals for camping or hampers for those in need. Think of pasta/tuna/cheese bakes!

Use macaroni (elbow pasta) for the best results and cook it as usual. Meanwhile make a cheese sauce with (powdered) milk, (processed) cheese and cornflour. Grate some extra cheese. Drain the pasta and put into a casserole dish. Open, drain and break up the tuna and mix into the pasta. Gently stir the cheese sauce through the pasta and tuna, and top with the extra grated cheese. Bake in moderate oven until casserole is hot and cheese topping is golden and melted. This is also nice with curry powder stirred through. No exact measurements, as you use what you have, but it goes a surprisingly long way!

Contributed by: Brenda

Delicious vegetarian meal - just look in the cupboard!

I have a vegetarian recipe that can use tinned/fresh sausages/hot dogs to replace the vegetarian ones. It's really quick to make, hearty and freezes well. The only real cooking is for the rice but packets of pre-cooked rice could be used (doesn't taste as good).

1 packet of Sanitarium hot dogs OR 6 cooked sausages OR one can or jar of hot dogs
1 tin corn kernels
1 tin 5-bean (or 3-bean, etc) mix - the ones with no vinegar
1 tin crushed or diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste (more if you want)
3 tbsp Ayam brand sweet and sour sauce (more if you want)
1 and a half cups cooked rice
1 beef stock cube (or more)

Method:

Slice hot dogs into 1cm lengths and toss in frying pan on low to medium setting.

Open and drain the corn and beans and add to pan, stirring lightly.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sweet and sour sauce. Then crumble the stock cube over this and stir well to mix the flavours evenly.

Add cooked rice and stir through, allowing to simmer for a few minutes. If you prefer, you can leave the rice out of the pan and serve it as a side dish.

Serves 4

Contributed by: Xymonau

One minute meals from next to nothing

You can make a very quick and easy macaroni cheese using pasta, cream cheese spread and garlic salt. Just as easily you can make a tomato-based pasta sauce. You can cook a 'baked bean stew' with baked beans, dried onions, tins of tomatoes, peas and corn. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve over rice. Yummo!

Contributed by: Sinders

10. This Month's Help Request: Secret Linen Business!

Siobhan has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I need some help with linen! I cleaned out my linen cupboard recently and sadly realised everything was mis-matched, poor quality and bought without much thought. For example, the fluffy white towels for our family of mechanics was probably a bit silly, as were the brightly coloured (cheap!) sheet sets that feel awful and don't wear well. It's time to do some shopping to buy replacements that will last, look and feel good and, well, spoil us just a bit! So I need your BEST ideas for linen - what brands to buy, what to look for, tips, storage, washing and so on. Please let me know your 'secret linen business'!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Siobhan, please send them in to us here.

11. Goodbye for Now

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for February and we hope you get a chance to do the Nude Food Quiz and see if you can make any changes!

Remember: We also have a new public Facebook Group for you to check out!

Till next time...

All the best,
Fiona

February 2018 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - February 2018

This issue includes:

March is Start a Nest Egg Month!
Calendar Challenges
Tips For Building a Nest Egg
Supporting Each Other in the Forum
Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!
Vault Memberships

Hi,

How are you going? Did you save lots of money in February? I hope so :-)

March is "Nest Egg" month. In this newsletter I hope to show you how Nest Eggs are more than just money. They are freedom.

If you already have a Nest Egg: Well done! Read this newsletter and then send it on to a friend who you think might find it useful.

Have a great month!

Many grins,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. While writing this newsletter I found out that none of my children knew what a Nest Egg was. Every time I said the words "Nest Egg". They said "What is a nest egg?"

Put simply, a Nest Egg is a sum of money saved for the future.

P.P.S.S. Competition Update
We had some lovely entries for last month's No Spend Challenge Competition. But everyone has entered Category 1 and 3. We have had no entries for Category 2. Originally, the competition closed Midnight, March 1st. We have extended the date by one week to midnight, March 8th. More information below.

1. March is Start a Nest Egg Month!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everything in your life was ALWAYS rosy? If everything always went as planned? You never got ill, you lived till 99, your fridge never broke, your car always ran and you were never, ever, ever whacked with a large "Oh #$@%!, I missed that one!" bill.

Life doesn't work that way. Life throws us curve balls. Bad things happen, and whether they leave you completely hammered and scraping for spare change under your car seat or feeling really lucky because you can still afford to pay for the kids' sport comes down to one thing: The size of your nest egg.

A nest egg is important because it gives you freedom. No one wants to be controlled by their lack of bank balance, and if you don't have a nest egg when disaster strikes this is exactly what happens. Instead of being able to make wise, good for your future, wealthy choices you are forced to make poor, poverty-driven, payday-to-payday choices.

To show you the sort of poor decisions people are forced to make simply because they didn't have a nest egg, I have made a quick table of the curve balls I have seen thrown at people and the sort of decisions they were faced with dependent on the size of their nest egg.

Curve Ball

With Nest Egg

Without Nest Egg

Car dies and isn't worth repairing

Pay cash for good quality second hand car. Total $6,000

Get an unsecured personal loan for $6,000 car. Total cost of car after interest, $7,560. End up another $1,560 behind.

Fridge dies

Pay $400 cash on Gumtree for a high quality, second hand fridge.

Buy a new fridge with a Buy Now, Pay Later scheme. Total cost of new fridge around $2000.

Auto-immune disorder

When your GP and the public system was unable to help you, you were able to pay for a good homeopath and recover your health.

When you were still ill after visiting the GP and going through the public system. Took the drugs on the PBS, couldn't afford anything else, had no other options and remained ill.

Drug addicted family member

Pay $10,000 for rehab. Take time off work to help family member. Be able to choose the best treatment for your child.

Cry. Feel helpless. Beg hospitals and doctors to help you. Have them turn their back on your family.

Bad sprain

Pay for private hospital, moon boot and physio. Able to rest and heal quickly.

Wait for 8 hours in public emergency ward. Struggle to pay for physio, have problems with ankle for years to come.

House burned down

Buy yourself some clothes and a toothbrush. Check into a hotel.

Wait for the insurance to pay for some accomodation, clothes, etc while relying on the charity of friends or relatives.

IVF

Get it straight away. Try everything you can to conceive baby.

Wait while your eggs decrease and have to save money to pay for it.

Car accident

Lay in bed, rest and recover.

Dose yourself on pain killers so you can keep turning up to work. Injuries are unable to heal properly.

Teen's Wonky Teeth

You can pay for braces.

Sink further into debt or child has to put up with dodgy teeth till they can pay for their own braces.

Toddler's Chalk teeth

You have the $2,000 spare. Pay for young child to get teeth fixed under a general anaesthetic in a private hospital.

Teeth must be fixed while child is awake in the chair because the government dental subsidies only cover procedures in the dentist's chair.

Vaccination*

Do your research and choose the healthiest option for your child.

Coerced into making a medical decision because government money is desperately needed to pay rent.

All of the situations above are based on real events. They are based on real people and the very real choices they have to make. Can you see how a nest egg makes your life easier? If you have a good nest egg it will shelter you and stop your situation from progressing from bad to worse.

This is why we want you to build yourself a nest egg. We want you to be strong. We want you to be able to face every challenge with your head held high.

Yes, we know this is a hot-button topic. The Australian government has recently made this into a financial issue and there are plenty of families feeling the strain. That makes it our concern.

2. Calendar Challenges

Just in case you haven't seen them, the challenges we set for March are:-

Beginner: - Choose your path. Decide how you want your future to be.

Moderate: - Plan your path. Work out how you're going to make your plans come true.

Hard core: - Walk your path. Start working towards your new future.

When building a nest egg there are some very important steps. The first is deciding what type of future you would like. Do you want a future where you are in charge, or do you want a future where your lack of money rules your life? These are the sort of choices only you can make. This is why the first Challenge is for you to Choose your path.

If you have already chosen how you want your future to look, then it is time for you to make a plan. You need to decide what it is you are going to do to put money away. What are you going to do differently?

Deciding how you want your life to be and planning how to make it happen are two very important steps. The next step is to take action.

Members-Only Worksheets

These worksheets are for Simple Savings members. Please log in to Simple Savings to access them.

If you are not yet a member, it is a tiny $21 per year. Grab a membership here.

Homework!

Would you like us to mark your worksheets? Scan or take a photo of your finished pages and send them in to info@simplesavings.com.au

3. Tips For Building a Nest Egg

Many people believe building a nest egg is too difficult and out of their reach, but nest eggs don't have to be large and they don't have to be complex. Here are some great tips to get you started.

Careful saving and clever investing build impressive nest-egg

We have managed to build a share portfolio worth approximately $30,000 for our two children who are now aged 14 and 15 - and we did not put any of our own money into this.

Not having a lot of money ourselves, over the years we purchased clothes and toys from eBay and garage sales. When the items were not required any more, we put them back onto eBay, along with anything else saleable (and often from garage sales). Any money earned went straight into a bank account for the children. Each time we reached $1000 we purchased shares. We have been both lucky and unlucky in our choices, but over the years, we have built a substantial nest egg for our children that only took our time to build, not our money.

Contributed by: Kerry R

Get $500 from Smith Family Saver Plus

Joining The Smith Family's Saver Plus program is a great way to start a nest egg. If you save $500 over ten months with The Saver Plus program and complete their financial literacy course they will give you $500. To be eligible to join Saver Plus you must:

have a Centrelink Health Care or Pensioner Concession Card
be at least 18 years old
have some regular income from work (self or partner) including casual, part-time, full-time or seasonal work
have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself, and
live, work, study or have a child at school in an area when Saver Plus is delivered.

Once eligible participants sign up for Saver Plus they:

are assigned a Saver Plus Coordinator that provides personal support and guidance throughout the program
identify a savings goal
make regular deposits over 10 month period
attend MoneyMinded training to improve their financial skills, which consists of four informative, fun and informal workshops

Upon completion of the program, ANZ matches the participants' savings dollar-for-dollar up to $500 which can be spent on educational expenses including computers, text books, uniforms, excursions , music and sports costs.

Ditching disposables kick-starts a nest egg

I've saved hundreds through not buying disposable nappies! When my baby was born, I made the decision to buy Coles Comfy Bots nappies and Coles refill pack wipes instead of buying Huggies. After one year, the saving was a staggering $410! I put the money into an ING savings account. Once she was toilet trained, I kept putting the money into the same account, which earned 5.85% interest. Over five years, I've saved $6,572! A great start to an education fund!

Contributed by: Joanne D

Steal money from yourself

If you tend to spend your money till it's gone, the best way for you to build a nest egg is to steal it from yourself before you have chance to spend it. Set up a separate savings account which automatically deducts money from your main account the same day your pay goes in. Then the money will be gone before you have a chance to miss it.

Create extra money

With a little smart thinking I have found a way I can turn a few minutes' extra effort into 12 days of extra income! I work full time, have three children and a husband and am also studying part time for a Uni degree. Each day I work an extra 20 minutes at my full time job. My work allows me to accrue this so that one day per month I am able to have a 'creating extra money day'. I spend this day doing all the bits and pieces that bring extra money and/or savings in to the house. Examples include:

claiming health rebates (Medicare and/or private) due to my family;
completing market research questionnaires on free trial products I have received and tested;
touching base with key budget conscious sites such as Simple Savings and Government sites so I know changes to entitlements and so on
entering competitions; and
claiming 'cash back' or gift cards on frequent/user/membership cards.

I really enjoy doing this and look forward to seeing how much 'income' I can make one day each month. To me it is truly a fun and creative day off work and study!

Contributed by: Tania Lee

Discount jar a great way to save

I've found a way to make my discounts work twice as hard - and earn me over $1000 in a year! I work for a large supermarket group and have a staff discount card. Around seven years ago I decided to start a "Discount Jar". Whenever I got a discount, I put the same amount into my discount jar - with the idea being to save towards a family activity at Christmas time such as going to a theatre restaurant or a Ghost Tour at St Helena Island.

The first year we saved just under $200 but each year it grew as I also started saving any discount I received from petrol and other similar discounts. On 1 December 2012, we opened the discount jar and, to everyone's surprise, discovered we had $1,052.75!

Due to family members being away just before Christmas we didn't do our normal outing, so we decided to put it towards our new kitchen that we'll be getting shortly. This year I have already saved at least $250 in the jar so it should be another good year. I've even started jars for our sons!

Contributed by: Fay Howard

Fill a treasure chest with gold!

One year a friend gave me a money tin and on the side of it was printed, 'If you fill this tin with only gold coins by the time it's full you will have at least $500'. It really didn't look big enough to hold that amount of money, but I love a challenge so I decided to find out if it could!

We started in March and any gold coins we had went into the tin. Our goal was to open the tin at Christmas and use it to pay off lay-bys plus have some spending money over the Christmas break.

November rolled around and the tin wasn't quite full. However, when we opened it up and counted our 'gold' we were very surprised and extremely happy to discover we had collected $700 in our little tin!

Because of that little treasure chest of gold we enjoyed a fantastic stress-free Christmas! I was able to pay for all the presents for our immediate and extended family as well as cater for a great Christmas day feast, AND we had spending money left over for the holidays.

Now it's a family tradition. My sceptical husband happily donates all his gold coins to the tin and my 12-year-old will go hunting for gold coins just to add them to the collection! I know that I don't have to worry about the financial strain of Christmas any more as my tin has it covered.

Contributed by: Nicole

Coke bottle challenge

Stashing your $2 coins in a coke bottle is a great way to start a nest egg. You'll be amazed by how much money you can get in each bottle.

$350 saved in a 250ml bottle
$880 saved in a 600ml bottle
$1,510 saved in a 1 litre bottle
$1,580 saved in a 1.25 litre bottle

(IMPORTANT: You can talk about your challenge in the forum but DO NOT TELL OTHERS about your coke bottle challenge on Facebook. A few Group members have already had their Coke bottle savings STOLEN.)

If you like these tips and want more we have another 18,659 of them in our Members' Area. If you would like a membership, it is a tiny $21 per year. Grab a membership here.

4. Supporting Each Other in the Forum

If you would like a helping hand to find your Savings Mojo with your No Spend Challenges, or if you are No Spend Master ready to guide others, pop into our paid members' forum.

Here are a couple of recent threads, for members:

Need to find at least an extra $1000/mth

When leaem asked for help getting her budget back under control, Simple Savers were there to help with kind, detailed and very useful suggestions.
read more...

Money tin challenge 2018

Simple Savers have been cheering each other on in this thread for five years. The good thing about sharing your savings in this thread versus sharing them on Facebook is... no one knows where you live.
read more...

5. Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!

We had some lovely entries for last month's No Spend Challenge Competition, but everyone has entered Category 1 and 3. We have had no entries for Category 2. Originally, the competition closed Midnight, March 1st. We have extended the date by one week to midnight, March 8th.

The winners will be the most inspiring entry in each category. Please send your No Spend Challenge tales to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by midnight, March 8th. Here are the three categories:

Category 1: Show us how you avoided 20 non-essential purchases to win $25
Category 2: Show us how you avoided 50 non-essential purchases to win $50
Category 3: Show us how you avoided all non-essential purchases to win $125

Please make sure your emails states which category you are entering. The full competition rules are here.

6. Vault Memberships

This is a free newsletter sponsored by our paid members area the Savings Vault. If you would you like to become a paid member, you can do so here.

Till next time...

Goodbye for now... I hope you have a fantastic month. I'm really looking forward to seeing your worksheets and hearing about some fresh warm nest eggs in the coming weeks. :-)

Many grins,
Fiona

February 2020 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - February 2020

How are you going this month?

In February we are focusing on de-cluttering. It is my husbands favourite month. I like to collect and hoard, he likes to throw things out. This month, we will be working together to make our home a nicer place. (Don't ask what happens other months!)

We have good news about our Leg Up program. It is now officially up and running. Here are some of the stories from people we have been able to help by giving them a Vault Membership so far:-

"I had unplanned twins in 2019 and now need all the $ help I can. (They are cute though)"

"I'd love a leg up subscription please!! I was a vault member a few years ago and loved all the info and the community. Had to stop working and become full time carer to my youngest son (special needs) while he is undergoing chemo. Just had to cut out the extras I'm afraid."

"I'm in need of financial assistance as I'm going through a very difficult time currently (messy divorce) that is financially crippling myself and my children."

In case this is the first time you have heard about our Leg Up Program, from now on for every full price Vault Membership purchased we are giving one away to someone who could do with a helping hand. If you would like to apply to the Leg Up program, click here.

And, if you are interested in decluttering, keep reading.

All the best

Fiona

Challenges: De-cluttering month

This month we want you to read through the newsletter, take a look around your house and set yourself some challenges. You can choose from the calendar challenges below or set your own.

The calendar challenges for this month are:

Easy: Find new homes for 50 items
Medium: Find new homes for 200 items
Difficult: Find new homes for 1000 items

Read through this newsletter, have a look around your house and decide, what will your decluttering challenge be?

Guide on how to de-clutter from someone who hates de-cluttering

This is an "If I can do it, so can you" kind of guide.

Some people love cleaning, they really enjoy it. That person is not me. It will never be me. I doubt there is anything anyone can do to get me to enjoy cleaning or decluttering. But I enjoy the results. I like it when the kitchen is clean, I like it when I can find things in the garage and I like how it makes life easier.

If you like collecting things and hate throwing them out, if cleaning is something you usually have on the bottom of your to do list, then this is the decluttering guide for you.

The first step will be examining your house

The next, working out how decluttering could help you

Then making a plan

And, choose your challenges

Let's begin..

What parts of your home annoy you?

If everything is absolutely fantastic about your house and your life. If you have all the free time you need to do all the things you want, stop reading now. But, if there are days that you can't find the lid for a container, you can't remember what you own, your time is being wasted and the space in your home is being hogged by things you never use. Then it is time to turn those annoyances into a plan.

Grab a few sheets of paper and at the top of each page write down the name of each room, such as kitchen, kids bedroom, parents bedroom, hallway etc.

Then take a stroll through each room and make a list of things that bug you. They don't have to be enormous things. It could be a paint chip, a mess on the floor, a cupboard too full to be useful or kids always leave their shoes in that spot..

Another way to look at it. Write down all the things you would change about your house if you had $5,000 to spend and unlimited labour.

It could be things such as messy bookshelf, sad furniture, paint is tired, walls are dirty, screens need a wipe, unorganised, larger verandah, don't know what is in the garage, laundry pile is a midden, anything that is holding you back from enjoying your home.

The reason I want you to write those things down is because later that list is going to form the backbone of your plan. But, before we go there. Ask yourself the question...

What is your stuff costing you?

This is a really important question, because everything has a cost. The sooner you work out that cost, the sooner you can decide whether or you would like to keep paying the price. To work out the costs some questions to ask yourself are:-

Is your stuff holding you back?
What is it your clutter is stopping you from enjoying?
Is it costing you a tidy house?
Is it causing you to buy things you don't need?
Is it wasting your time?
Is it causing you to lose time?
Is it stopping you from enjoying your home?
Are you having to pay cash for storage?
Could you rent out a room if you cleared away?
When was the last time you used things you have stored?
Is it costing you brain space?

NOTE: If you have any suggestions for other ways clutter creates costs. Come share them in this month's challenge Vault thread.

Have a think about the costs and and write down what you will be losing if you allow your life and house to remain the way it is.

After you have written it down, think about the next question.

What is in it for me?

This is a really important question. Why should you stop doing something else you probably love and make time to declutter. I want you to think about the list of annoyances you have made of your house and how changing the things on that list will improve your life.

Will it make you feel happier?
Will it free up your time?
Will it make you more content?
Will it give you more space?
Will it help your budget?
Will it give you more control of your life?
Will it save you money?

Think about it and write down three ways improving your home will improve your life.

Getting the most bang for your buck

Going through your whole house has probably given you a long and very daunting list of annoyances that would take years to change. I doubt anyone can get through that list in one month and keep their sanity.

The good news is you don't have to do everything on your list, you only need to do a few things. But which things? Which things are going to get you the largest rewards for the least effort?

To find this out, I want you to sort through your list and rate each item on the list from 1 to 10. 1 being the easiest to do and biggest reward and 10 is the hardest to achieve and least impact.

For example, helping my boys sort their clothes is easy to do and it will reduce the time it takes them to get ready in the morning. So, it is high on my list. Let's say one.

Cleaning the entire garage will take some time, but it is affordable and being able to place my hand on the thing I need in ten seconds, would be heavenly. So this gets a 2.

Getting rid of the awful furnishings in our laundry that we don't really use and probably should have been thrown years ago. Isn't that hard to do and will make me feel good. But, I may need replacement furniture. It is a three.

Stripping and painting cornices in the lounge room. Is too difficult to do this month, but I'll feel so much better after they are done. So, it is getting a five.

Stripping and painting the cornices in the bathroom is easier. It got a 3.

New lino throughout the house is a dream of mine, but costly, difficult and it won't change the way our home functions. So, it gets a nine.

This ranked list is the start of your plan.

On a separate piece of paper write down everything you gave a 1 or a 2.

This is now your 'Improve your home, Improve your life' to do list.

Manageable chunks

The next step is to break any of the big items on that list to digestible two hour chunks.

For example, cleaning the garage is a big job and the idea of doing it all at once does my head in. So instead I have broken it into two-hour chunks such as:

Sort camping gear
Sort tools
Sort wood stash
Sort junk in corner

You get the idea.

Choose your challenge

Once you have read the newsletter it is time to choose your challenge. Will you gently dip your toe in and do an easy challenge or try something harder? I've chosen to challenge myself with 8 two hour decluttering/house improvement sessions.

What will your challenge be?

Help, Support and Guidance

If you would like more ideas and people to talk with about decluttering. Join in Claires' Monthly Challenge thread. This is where Vault members support each other on their challenge. If you can't afford a Vault membership at this time, apply to our Leg Up program.

Extra inspiration from the forum

Members have been helping each other declutter for years. Here are some information-crammed threads to help you declutter:

2008 July: Decluttering Month

2009 - War on Debt: Nov - Decluttering Month

War on Debt 2010 - September: 100 Item Challenge

2014 - Calendar Challenge - September - Declutter

2018 October - CHUCK OR FLOG - SS Calendar Challenge

2019 July - CHUNK OR FLOG - SS Calendar Challenge

Kon Mari method of decluttering #1

Competition: Cook's Challenge

Often decluttering our pantry or fridge involves throwing out a big pile of food. This is pretty wasteful. Instead, I'm giving you a challenge to grab some ingredients out of your pantry, fridge, freezer or yard which you would not normally cook with or eat, and turn them into something special.

This month we are giving away 2 x $50 prizes to the best creations.

To enter the competition send the story of your food with before and after photos to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by 23rd February.

Decluttering tips from the Vault

The Vault is filled with 20,000+ money saving tips. Here are some to help you declutter your home. If you would like to read more tips from the Vault, buy a membership for $21 or apply to our Leg Up program.

Get decluttering help from a 'friend'

I have found the cheapest and easiest way to declutter is to enlist the help of a friend - an imaginary one, that is! Sometimes when cleaning out your wardrobe, it's easier to let a friend help - particularly if that friend is very honest and harsh at culling old clothes. While clothes aren't a problem for me, I have a huge collection of CD's, books and DVD's and was finding it really hard to part with them! Books especially were a problem - I couldn't bring myself to let them go, even though I knew I would probably never read them again.

So I decided to pretend I was someone other than myself! Sounds silly? Maybe - but it allowed me to detach myself enough from the emotional side of me that wanted to keep all the books. In doing that, I was very fast (not giving myself time to think) and went a lot on intuition. I threw out over 200 books! I then closed the door, rang my friends, told them there were a heap of books on the floor in my office and they would be there till 5pm if anyone wanted any. Any that remained I then took up to the Salvation Army at 5pm, so I was not tempted to go through the pile later in the evening. It's definitely been the most successful decluttering method I have ever had!

Contributed by: CC

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Save the important things in life

I live in an area that was recently hit by floods. While we rushed to try to save everything from the water, I was amazed as to how much 'stuff' we had that we just didn't need. Being surrounded by all these items actually made saving the 'important' stuff so much harder. I thought I had already decluttered my home, but I was wrong. The flood has made my whole family more aware of how we accumulate 'things' through our lives - some of which are important and others which are not. As people we tend to hold onto things that we 'might use one day'. I found, however, that it was these items that just got in the way in an emergency. When disaster strikes you need to be able to save your family, then if you have time, the important 'things' in your life. In the coming weeks, we will be having a massive garage sale to clean out our home and sheds and we won't be keeping anything that has not been used in the past two years. Not only will we be able to clear out the unused, non-essential things, we'll also be able to make some money to replace some of the important items that we lost in the flood. Decluttering for me came in the form of a flood - don't wait for Mother Nature to help, she'll only make it harder. Be proactive and start sorting the things that really matter from the things that don't.

Contributed by: Ros Plunkett

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Tears turn to triumph for happy declutterer

My new love of decluttering has finally got me on the road to a house deposit! For years I have had a budget and was very money conscious but still couldn't control my spending habits. I felt as though I had tried a million different things to stop impulsive purchases but hated not getting what I wanted. This led me into frustration and a hate towards everything involving money.

I finally found the answer when my partner expressed his concern with our lack of wardrobe space in comparison to the rate of growth of my wardrobe items. He made a rule that if one thing was to come in, I also had to take out one thing to donate. I had a rocky start and there were many tears but once I decided on a couple of items I seemed more inclined to get rid of more and more and I continued on to declutter ALL my possessions. Going through each item in my house I got rid of a lot of things but before I tossed them out, I first laid them out on my bed and just thought about how much money I had thrown away. How many hours had I had to work to pay for all these things that I didn't even love?

It hit me hard that I had blown all this money on impulse purchases and trends that I got over very quickly. Hundreds of hours of hard work, for me to essentially throw my money in the bin. I printed all my banking transactions for the 12 months prior to my breakthrough and highlighted all my purchases that I probably could have gone without. It all added up to over $8000, over 300 hours of hard work, the cost of my first two cars!

Now when I see something I want to buy, I stop and think back to how much money I've wasted already. And I can feel content in my decision not to purchase. I love fashion, I love shoes and I love bags. But I LOVE my new found freedom and the control over my finances that decluttering has given me even more!

Contributed by: Jaymee Hams

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Toolshed a goldmine for scrap metal

While recently decluttering my husband's tool shed, we were amazed to find he was harbouring a small goldmine! The shed was overflowing with stuff that he didn't use but said he could not do without. After a quick tidy up he discovered he had two or three boxes of wire and cable from a previous job. He took all the unwanted cable off to the scrap metal yard and was handed $101.30 for his trouble. We got paid $1.30 a kilo for stuff that was doing nothing but taking up much needed space! Apparently, they strip the copper out of the wire and then sell it to other companies. So, take a good look at what unwanted items are cluttering up your tool shed - you too could be harbouring a nice little earner!

Contributed by: Mrs J

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Audit your medicine cupboard

Auditing my medicine cabinet stops me from buying unnecessary products. I decided to check the expiry date of all the medications in my medicine cabinet and do some decluttering while I was at it.

To my horror, some prescription medicines had been in there for so long I didn't remember what they had been prescribed for in the first place. As I removed these products, I thought about how much money had been wasted on these expired medicines. Some had cost over $40, so there was literally hundreds of dollars worth of useless medicines clogging up my cupboard.

To avoid further wastage, I wrote up a list of all the still-valid medications along with their expiry dates. I now carry this list around with me and when the doctor recommends certain medications, I can check the list before I head to the chemist and see if we already have that medication at home. This list will also ensure that I can keep track of staple non-prescription medications, such as Nurofen or Infant Panadol. There is nothing worse than having a sick child in need of Panadol late on a Sunday night when the pharmacy is closed!

As you can see, taking 10 minutes to check the medicine cupboard at home will not only benefit your health, but also your bank balance!

Editor's note: All medicines should be safely disposed of by taking them to your local chemist.

Contributed by: Jackel

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Makeover your property without spending a fortune

It doesn't have to cost a fortune to give a property a real makeover. I can recommend the following:

Set aside $10,000 or so for renovating the bathroom/kitchen. Many houses are sold with dodgy old bathrooms or kitchens. Of course, if you find a house without this problem, you'll still have this money set aside to use on other things!
When we bought our property, the gas hot water system was 25 years old. Because of the money we had set aside as above, we could buy a solar hot water system for about $3,000 (no solar rebates at the time).
Paint is the cheapest facelift.
I have never met anyone who was satisfied with the job done by a professional painter. A careful amateur can do the job very well. Borrow a home handyman book from the library and all it will cost you is for the paint, sugar soap and equipment. Take it slowly and a room at a time.
Decluttering before you move makes it cheaper.
A few good possessions (instead of quantities of junky knick-knacks) will make the space look bigger, even if it's not!
Take the time to research the history/period of your house so that your decorating is well-informed.
Do up the front of your house last. An expensive 'look' encourages thieves.

Contributed by: Ellen Hrebeniuk

(Vault members are discussing this hint here.)

Sell your unwanted stuff and achieve your dreams!

Simple Savings and Gumtree have changed my life! Whilst at uni as a mature age student, my then partner (now husband) and I bought our first home together. Although excited, I was also slightly terrified. I was a full time student commuting to a university two hours from home using public transport and now we had a mortgage!

This is when I found Simple Savings and started to use as many hints as I could. I also implemented everything my grandmother had either taught me or I had seen growing up. We started a vegetable garden, we collected rain water, we sold plants on Gumtree and everything we did helped us to live a comfortable life. The best thing I did was follow the advice from a uni friend and join Gumtree. It's been almost four years since I graduated and we have decluttered our home, been to Bali FIVE times on what we have earned in sales and are heading off to Bali again in November whilst I'm currently selling items to fund that trip too! It's the best thing we've done; some people find it time consuming but I've made it a part of our life. I love seeing someone getting an item that is of use to them rather than it ending up in landfill and we have a spacious, clean clutter-free home as a result!

Contributed by: Loz

There are plenty more decluttering tips in the Vault.

Kon Marie Method

In this newsletter we have talked about my methods of decluttering. But we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the god of decluttering: Kon Marie. Many of our members have been following Kon Marie's methods for some time and Beth is the best person to explain Kon Marie's genius to you.

Keep only what brings you joy

I am saving more than ever before thanks to a brilliant book which has helped me declutter and totally review my spending and shopping habits. I am using the KonMari method of tidying. The author gets us to review what we own, picking up every item and thinking about whether it 'sparks joy'. If it does, we can keep it, but it must have a place, a home where it lives. If it doesn't, then get rid of it.

She recommends that you learn how to do this by starting with your clothes. Find every top (excluding hanging blouses at this stage) that you own in the whole house and work out which ones 'spark joy', get rid of the others, then stack the kept ones nicely in one or two shelves or drawers (one for summer tops, one for winter tops).

Then do the same for all your 'bottoms' (trousers, jeans and so on). Try them on. If they don't fit nicely, donate them or chuck them.

Next is all your hanging space including every coat you've stored somewhere around the house, then socks, then underwear, then handbags, then extras (scarves, belts, hats), then special items like swimwear or ski gear (I think I did my pyjamas at this point because I had them stored with my swimmers), and lastly shoes.

Take your time, but be thorough as you process each category. By the time you have finished your clothing, you'll have a new sense about just how much money you waste on impulse buying. It becomes embarrassing to think about how much money you didn't need to spend, how much we get fooled into thinking something is right for us, but then we never wear it.

After that, she recommends searching the house for all the books you have. Some of us have way too many, but I have found that I can have sections of my house for the different types of books, and as I go through them, there are quite a few that get discarded along the way. Most have just gone straight into the recycling bin, as unless a book is less than three years old, or an absolute classic, even op shops can't sell them.

While you are hunting through the house, you'll find other stashes of things which embarrass the heck out of you. For me, I had to get a great big plastic storage bin and as I stumble across face creams, deodorants, shampoos and makeup, it all goes in the bin. I'm not trying to sort them yet, but it is obvious that when I finally get to that category, it is going to be much easier to sort through them and think honestly about which ones still 'spark joy' and which ones are so old that I'd never want them on my skin.

I will stop writing this novel at this point but if you have read this far and are still interested, please find 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' by Marie Kondo, a young Japanese lady. There's also a second book applying the philosophy, entitled "Spark Joy".

Since I started on the process, my spending has dropped dramatically. I can suddenly see how many magazines I have bought and never read, how many items are in my pantry waiting for me to apply the $21 Challenge to make them into scrumptious healthy meals, how many art supplies I have bought and hidden in various cupboards around the house, how many jumpers I really didn't need...

I feel clearer, healthier, happier and richer in so many ways. I am so thankful that I stumbled on these books. Slowly the word spreads as my sister and friends become affected by my enthusiasm and start working through their cupboards as well. Life changing stuff!

Contributed by: Beth T

Competition Winners: What is your best water-saving tip?

Choosing the best water saving tips for this month's competition was a real challenge. I love reading everyone's stories and learning something new for each and everyone. This month's winners are Carmela B, Lorraine S, Margaret M, Susan T and Jane T. Each won $20.

If you missed out on this month's prizes, we are giving away two $50 prizes this month. The information is above.

The never ending water can

Keep a watering-can outside the backyard door.

If you empty the kettle every morning to refill it with fresh water. Empty the kettle into the watering-can.
If you boil eggs in a pot.When the water cools, empty the pot into the watering-can.
If someone leaves a glass of water from, say, the night before; empty the glass into the watering-can.

You'll be surprised how this so-called 'waste-water' piles up. You'll never have an empty watering-can. It beats throwing the water down the sink!

By having the watering-can just outside the backyard door, you won't get put off by having to go out far on a cold winter's morning.

You can power the planet on waste!

Contributed by: Carmela B

Catching the overflow from your hot water tank

Did you know that hot water systems automatically expel water from their overflow pipe. We questioned the plumber who installed the unit only to be told to read the unit information about our hot water system and we found that many, if not all tanks, pass out lots of water as a natural process. We have now removed our outlet pipe from the invisible system where the water just disappeared down the drain and we catch the water in an ice cream tub and put it on a rose tree which is close to the tank. We have been amazed at just how much water we are recycling.

Contributed by: Lorraine S

Living in a camper

We live in a slide-on camper travelling Australia so we use water frugally.

Just some of the many things we do:

I make my own sprouts and the rinsing water is used for cooking potatoes, rice, dried legumes, soup base, etc.
We don't shower every day and when we do we heat water in an old 10litre saucepan, that showers both of us easily.
Dirty dishes get wiped off with cut up old clothing rags, before washing, so less water is needed.
A spray bottle with a bit of detergent, sprayed onto non-greasy plates etc and then wiped with a rag works wonders.

Contributed by: Margaret M

Stretching every drop

We live on a property with no connection to town water and are completely dependent on tanks for our domestic water supply. I learned very quickly that there's nothing like watching the water level drop below half to make you aware of water usage! Because of this, we've always been careful with how much water we use, but after no rain for six weeks this summer I've started to get creative in how we reuse water.

My very handy hubby plumbed in a grey water system made of an old plastic drum for our washing machine (which only runs full loads on water saving cycle) and he's diverted the water from our bath/shower and basin through a pipe directly onto the lawn (check with council before you do this, in town grey water must be treated or bucketed out).

Inside, I leave the plug in the basin so my small daughters only use one sink of water to wash their hands all day and their very shallow bath water is used to clean the worst of the farm grime before we shower. Rinsing toothbrushes provides enough water to clean the basin at the end of the day.

My newest (and simplest) change is a 4L icecream container in the kitchen sink. It catches water from washing hands, rinsing cloths or cooking utensils, etc, and I then tip it into a 20L bucket to go on the garden. Some days I can fill the bucket 2 or 3 times! And all that water was running down the sink… Just seeing the wastage makes it so much easier to curtail.

Contributed by: Susan T

Sucking water from the air

With the recent bushfires near us, we have noticed a significant increase of wildlife, particularly birds, in our garden. It took a little while to realize they were increasing in numbers, and in need of water.

Our bird bath is filled by rain under normal weather patterns and takes around a whole good sized watering can of fresh water to fill it. I cannot justify filling it from the tap each time because of the cost and the drought.

However since dehumidifying our bedroom each day, we have a 10 litre bucket of water every 2 days, which we now use to fill the bird bath. We get a good sleep, and they get their thirst quenched. On the days when rain is available, we save the bucket water to pour into the watering can.

Contributed by: Jane T

Til next time...

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and if you know someone you think could do with a Vault membership, encourage them to apply to our Leg Up program.

If you have anything you would like to say or ask us please write to info@simplesavings.com.au

All the best,

Fiona

January 18th 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Hello,

In our last newsletter, Pete said it takes him three days to earn enough to pay $80 for pizza. To this you may have thought the same thing as James; "Three days!?!" How can it possibly take an average wage earner so long to get ahead? Here’s how:

Three Days to Earn $80

If you are an average person working with a single income, average expenses and a mortgage it can take you a very long time to earn a small amount of spending money.

To show you how long it can take, we pulled together some numbers from various government websites such as the average spend per household from MoneySmart.gov.au, average mortgage repayments from yourmortgage.com.au, average pay according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics and how much tax you would pay on that amount from the Australian Tax Department.

Average Wage - $41 per hour income

Essential Spending - (per hour spend)

$10 on tax
$13 on mortgage
$1 on fuel and power
$5 on food and drink
$1 on clothing and footwear
$6 on transit
$2 on medical

Sub total - $38

Left Over - $3

So $38 of the $41 average earned per hour is gone on necessary living expenses. This leaves you earning only $3 disposable income for every hour worked.

This in turn means the average person working with an average family/couple with single income, average expenses and a mortgage will have to work 27 hours or three and a half days to earn $80 of disposable income.

Of course, this number changes for each individual depending on a range of factors, but you get the idea. That is how Pete and many others have to work three days in order to free up $80 for pizza. They just don’t realise it.

(Numbers used came from average mortage statistics and the Weekly Spend by Life Stage table at moneysmart.gov.au)

Let's look at the average pay rates around Australia and New Zealand.

Average hourly pay rates in Australia and New Zealand

Per hour

Per year

Tasmania

$35 AUD

$ 69,477 AUD

South Australia

$37 AUD

$ 73,757 AUD

Victoria

$38 AUD

$ 75,634 AUD

Queensland

$38 AUD

$ 75,936 AUD

New South Wales

$40 AUD

$ 80,132 AUD

Northern Territory

$41 AUD

$ 81,624 AUD

Western Australia

$45 AUD

$ 88,327 AUD

Capital Territory

$46 AUD

$ 89,846 AUD

New Zealand

$29 NZD

$57,710 NZD

If you would like to calculate how much "spending money" your household earns each hour, we will show you how in the next newsletter.

Great Tip: Our Profitable Pact

My husband and I made a pact to reduce our spending and cut up our credit cards this year. We now have to pre-arrange all purchases with each other, either before we leave for work in the morning or by phone during the day. This works for many reasons:

I rarely take my mobile phone with me so, more often than not, my husband can't reach me to ask if he can buy something. In the time it takes for me to listen to his message and get back to him, he has usually changed his mind about the purchase anyway!
If I have to call my husband before buying something frivolous, I choose not to simply because I don't want to justify buying a trashy magazine, a custard tart or an eBay bargain. I just do without, and I don't give it a second thought once I leave the shops or go offline.
We can give each other a second opinion on whether or not we really need to buy that item. One of us might know of a cheaper alternative, of someone who can lend us the item or even remember that we already have the item at home.

Our strict pact certainly works for us - we have paid $1,500 off our credit cards in the last three weeks!

Contributed by: Science Nerd

From the Forum: Preparing for Income Cut but not Lifestyle Cut

Forum member 'Price of a loaf of bread' knows just what she wants from life - and isn’t scared to make sacrifices to get it! This thread will have you thinking outside the square.

Preparing for income cut but not lifestyle cut

Bye for now

That’s all for this newsletter. If you have any questions, pop into our Forum where there are always tons of great people to lend an ear and help you out of a tight spot.

I look forward to catching up with you again in a few days.

All the best,
Fiona

P.S. Renewing Vault Memberships only costs $21 per year. Start the New Year off on the right foot!

January 2011 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2011

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going 'Without'
February is No Spend Challenge!
Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: Feel Great About Not Spending!
Best of the Vault: No Spend Month Motivators
Cooking with Mimi
Penny's Blog: Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk
Homeopathy Corner: Grief and Trauma
From Last Month: Holiday Food for Hungry Teens
This Month's Help Request: Too Many Tomatoes
Savings Story: Working Mums Get the Balance Right

Hello,

How are you doing? I hope you haven't been affected by a flood, cyclone, earthquake, bushfire or a tornado this month. OK, well I don't think any of us had to battle a tornado! Jokes aside, I hope you are well. Simple Savings and our staffers pretty much escaped the floods unscathed. A few of us went without power or had extra house guests, but we are all well.

A couple of days ago, Matt, the kids and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. As we all gathered around the cake, Matt and I looked first at each other, then at the four excited faces staring at us, then back at each other - and realised those four adorable faces weren't there ten years ago. Simple Savings wasn't here ten years ago. It has been a very busy, exciting and fun ten years. Thank you for being part of it and coming on our journey with us. It has been a ball!

"To the team at Simple Savings, you guys are simply fantastic! I love, love, LOVE reading your newsletters, they are so inspiring. I may only be 17 years old but your tips are so useful even for me! I am currently saving for a deposit for my first home and I know that once I achieve that goal I can still use all your helpful hints to help me pay off my mortgage faster and keep loving a great life as a Simple Saver! You have so many tips and useful ideas that you should really write another book with lots of the stuff from your newsletters and the Vault in it! I know I would be one of the first to put an order in. Keep up the good work." (Jessica Kilsby)

"Just wanted to say thanks for always bringing me back on track. I've just had a read of the articles in the Vault for keeping credit card debt under control and immediately applied online for a low rate balance transfer for my current credit card debt. Repayment of the total balance will now occur sooner thanks to a very low interest rate for the first 18 months." (Kerry Bebendorf)

"Just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with your site. I have been receiving the free newsletters for a while now and finally bit the bullet and joined the Vault last night through your $37 special. I must say I wasn't sure about joining as there is so much great info and tips in the newsletter I was questioning myself if it would be worth it but I wanted to know what was hidden in there. Well I am so glad I joined. There is so much great stuff. I have spent nearly one whole day scouring the site. I love the Forum and all the hints and tips. I still have so much more to read. What a fantastic idea and I love the fact that many of your members are so pro-active by posting comments/replies and links to great deals. Thanks again and Happy New Year." (Wendy Ashcroft)

"I just wanted to let you know that we have recently survived the Brisbane floods. During the four days of being stranded in our home without power, I often thought of what a life changing experience your book and site has been. It was truly sad to feed the contents of our family meals to the chickens, but heartening to know that we will have eggs each day. When the power came on, we made some bread, and whilst others are without essentials our new focus on a simpler life means we will recover sooner than expected, and be back to replanting the garden. So, many thanks to helping us through the process." (Kim Aitken)

All the best,
Fiona Lippey

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Going 'Without'

"Oh heck, we've run out of dip!" groaned Pete as he peered into the fridge. "Sal! Can you get some more French onion dip next time you go shopping?" "You'll have to wait a while!" grinned Sally. "It's No Spend Month remember? We can only buy what is absolutely essential - which doesn't include dip. Dip is a luxury item. Sorry!"

"Yes but it doesn't apply to me and my dip!" Pete said indignantly. "I don't need help to stop spending. You know I love French onion dip! It's my nightly treat. And it's such a small luxury. Can't we bend the rules a little? The kids don't need to know," he wheedled. "Oi! We heard that!" came two indignant voices from the lounge. "No chance, Dad. If we have to follow the rules, so do you!"

"Oh great," Pete rolled his eyes in defeat. "Guess that's it then. I'm going to have to go without for a whole month." "Honestly, Dad, don't be such a girl's blouse!" Sarah walked into the kitchen. She went to the pantry, grabbed a packet of French onion soup and a carton of sour cream and quickly mixed them together in a bowl. "Here's your dip. See - you don't have to go without," she winked. "Try thinking outside the square next time!"

2. February is No Spend Challenge!

Just like Pete, some of us have a very warped view of what is an essential item! We all have little luxuries which we claim we can't live without. Mine is tea (we grow our own coffee but not tea. Only because every time I go to buy a tea plant they've run out). Penny swears she can't function without her nightly glass of wine. But it's amazing what we can survive without when we try. The great thing about doing a No Spend Challenge is that it removes your blinkers and helps put things back into perspective. It helps you to distinguish between a want and a need and helps you to see how much money we throw away on things which frankly just don't matter.

What sort of luxury items do you confuse with being an 'essential?' Take a look at this list of examples. How many of them do you regularly buy that you could live without, if push came to shove?

Takeaway food of any sort, including coffee
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Clubs (for example, music and book clubs)
Frozen dinners
Movies or DVDs
Games
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol
Online shopping
eBay / Trade Me
Perfume and make-up
Plants and garden decorations
Haircuts
Raffle tickets and Lotto
Alcohol and other drugs
Bottled water
Hardware

And so the list goes on. Last time we drew up this list we had people handing it round the office. What were essentials? What couldn't people go without? Everyone's responses were different. 'But I need my weekly magazines for the puzzles'... 'Nope, couldn't go without dip'... 'You mean you can make dip?' Yes, Pete isn't the only one who didn't know you could make dip! I used to think that if you wanted dip you had to buy it in a tub from the supermarket. Especially hommus. Now I am older and wiser and know I can make it myself from basic and much cheaper ingredients. This is one of the great things about No Spend Month; it teaches us to look outside the square. It teaches us to be creative. It forces us to use our brains. It helps us to break our addictions (yes, even the SS team!).

So this month, take a good look at the list above and see what you can go without during February. Even if you don't take part in the No Spend Challenge, look at the list and ask yourself 'Do I need these things? Or do I just want them?' Think about what you normally spend on these items and how much money you could save in a single month if you went without them. The No Spend Challenge is an opportunity to re-assess your life. We think so many things are important when in truth, they just aren't.

Make sure you write in and tell us how your No Spend Challenge went! We would love to hear how much you managed to save and the changes you made. The No Spend Challenge has become an annual favourite among Simple Savers. If you want a good laugh, read through our No Spend Challenge newsletters of old! They continue great information about how to succeed on your challenge, some lovely articles by Sophie Gray, brilliant blogs by Penny and the Sally and Hanna stories are hilarious.

January 2008 - http://new.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2008/1/

February 2009 - http://new.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2009/2/

January 2010 - http://new.simplesavings.com.au/newsletter/2010/1/

Don't forget you can track your success with our free Savings Diary!

One of the great things about No Spend Month is that it's a fantastic way to save a truckload of money in just one month. How do we know this? So far, 4771 people have logged their savings in our free Savings Diary. Keeping a Savings Diary is a very important part of this challenge because it will show you how well you are going and help to keep you motivated. You will be able to look at it and say, 'WOW! Look at that! I saved $3000 this month. My gosh, I never realised I had been wasting that much money!'

You can make your own savings diary with a little note book, or you can use our online version which is free for all subscribers. No personal information such as bank details is given in this diary; it is simply a place to record what you spend each day and what you spent it on.

If you need more information come and join us in the Vault. There are 14,000 money saving tips to be found there and the Forum is always buzzing. If you have struggled to save money in the past, this is the place to go to keep you focused and moving in the right direction.

If you would like to become a member of the Savings Vault, it costs $47 to join for the first year and just $21 to renew each year. We also have a 365 day no questions asked guarantee, so if you do not like our members' area (as if! *grin*), you can have your money back. As an extra bonus for Vault members, we have also introduced gift memberships at a special price. From now on, if you are a current Vault member you can give your friends or family a full year of membership for just $21! Click here to order.

3. Best Member's Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Kitty for her post '23 days alcohol free - one day it will be 23 days debt free too!' taken from her blog 'Debt free in five years'. It just goes to show what you can achieve when you start choosing needs over wants!

23 days alcohol free - one day it will be 23 days debt free too!

23 days alcohol free. Nearly at the end of the month and although there have been plenty of chances to raise a toast and have a glass of something, I have lost the urge completely. I just wanted to prove to myself that I have discipline in one thing! That one thing spreads to other things, hopefully!

It seems to take about one month to form a good new habit and the savings habit is almost that old too. Seems I also have developed a morning blog habit too. This seems to set my mind on track to make plans for each day. Putting something down in writing is making a commitment. No-one will judge my success or failure, but I know that I have told someone else, and that counts.

It is not easy to achieve a long term goal. Lots of us sign up for gym memberships, diets, investment schemes, etc at the beginning of the year and not many last out the first month, or even the first week. We are told that our aims are too ambitious and that we should aim lower and then build up. I don't agree with that. If we aim low and fail it is too easy to say, it didn't really matter after all!

Here's a few sobering facts:

Most people do not (or are unable to) save enough for a comfortable retirement
Most working couples would not be capable of living on the age pension (less than $26,000 pa)
Very few of us exist without the use of credit cards and other short term debts
Many of us eat too much, drink too much, smoke or indulge in habits which are harmful to our long term health

So, here is the plan. Hubby and I have set a five year plan in action. At the end of that period, we will be debt free, or as close to that as possible. We will have worked hard on our home-based business and it will be a saleable asset. We will sell that, and also by then our modest super will have increased. Then we will downsize, sell our home and buy a smaller, new one, with room to park a caravan. We then store all our belongings, rent out this home for 12 months while we travel all over, becoming grey nomads. After that, we will return, and invest some of our savings into starting up another micro business, until retirement age. (Another 5 year stint)

I could say, we will just do this until we are at retirement age, but I think 10 years is too long to see a reward, and the striving isn't intense enough to have meaning. I think unless every day is a challenge, you don't make progress. It has to be tough to make us stronger!

By the way - I have a break even figure on my computer where I record every transaction. The break even figure is current super value plus savings minus debt. Today's figure is -$83,094. That means, if we cashed the super and paid out the debt we would still owe the above figure. We should get to 0 after about 2 years. Sweet!

Congratulations Kitty, keep up the great work! To read more from Kitty, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

4. Best of the Forum: Feel Great About Not Spending!

There's no need to spend money to have the good life. Read how these members get through on limited funds and feel good about it in these inspiring threads from our Savings Forum.

Help me to stop spending

Danielle is looking for areas to stop spending as she analyses her family's expenses.
read more...

My personal no-spend challenge

Emma has made it public - she wants to stop spending! She wants to be accountable for every cent she spends so she has announced it in the Forum. Brilliant idea!
read more...

No spend fortnight

Judy is overwhelmed by a whole month of no spending so she attempts a no spend fortnight instead. Will her husband's DVD addiction get in the way?
read more...

Our no spend Valentine's picnic

Who says you have to spend money to be romantic? Yazza_Mattazz and her husband plan the perfect Valentine's Day picnic in this fun thread.
read more...

5. Best of the Vault: No Spend Month Motivators

No Spend Month might sound tough but it is one of the most popular challenges among Simple Savers because it's so rewarding. Here are some of our favourite tips from the Vault to get you in the mood for NOT spending!

Hubby gets into No Spend

After finally managing to convince my husband to try No Spend Month, he still needed a little encouragement. So I stick pictures of the 'dream things' he wants on the fridge, so every time he goes there he can see what we're doing this for.

After a bit of whinging about how stupid and hard it all was, he has finally come around and we now have No Spend Month every month! He didn't even spend money on my birthday present and made me some yummy cupcakes with ingredients already in the cupboard! I guess he really wants that fishing boat!

Contributed by: Joelene Watson

Re-acquaint yourself with your wardrobe

Before you hit the shops to splurge on a new wardrobe, check what you already have first! For a shopaholic like me who loves to buy clothes, shoes and accessories, this tip is essential to saving money. Every few months I find myself whingeing that I have nothing to wear, but determined not to spend any more money, I spend a few hours going through my clothes and re-acquainting myself with them. I soon realise I actually have clothes to wear and with the addition of some $2.00 accessories from bargain stores and a little experimenting with combinations, I end up with a whole new look for less than $20!

Contributed by: Jackie Woods

Purse-free, clutter-free

Leave your purse behind and stop buying things - it works for me. During my work breaks I would go out to the shops at least a few times a week and I find myself buying the odd magazine, getting a few groceries or just buying stuff. I would always take my lunch from home so it wasn't lunch purchases, this was more like the 'clog up your life with stuff' stuff.

One day I decided not to carry my purse with me to the shops, that way I could not spend what I didn't have. Now I just look around instead of shopping around. And it works - I find I spend so much less! I get back to work and have second thoughts about buying those things that just minutes before, I had felt were so important to buy.

Even when meeting a friend for the odd coffee I now take just enough money from my purse and put it in my pocket; again purse-free and I can't spend what I don't have. Guaranteed to work every time!

Contributed by: Sonya Gibson

More tips for Vault members:

Time well spent Contributed by: Karen Mcaulley

No-spend recipe scrapbook Contributed by: Corrie Bovenkamp

Ho ho ho! Happy no-spend Christmas! Contributed by: Kerriann

Calendar budget tracker keeps spending on right page Contributed by: Nedina Davies

6. Cooking with Mimi

The long term effects of the recent floods that have devastated many areas of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria are yet to be felt by those of us not directly involved.

One thing is for certain. The big supermarket chains will have to make some tough decisions on whether they stock local produce, some of which will be 'imperfect' and blemished, or whether to continue supplying consumers with the 'perfect' product we've come to expect, by importing our fruit and vegetables.

I grew up on a farm, and my vote would be for local produce, however blemished or imperfect. There are many ways of utilising produce that is less than pretty, by preserving, stewing, and turning it into jams, chutneys and relishes.

Maybe it's time to rediscover these old arts, using that which is still highly nutritious, but perhaps not as good-looking and shiny as we've come to expect in the modern supermarket era.

One way of turning a bowl of less than perfect fruit into a delicacy worthy of any table is by making your own jam. The bottles of brightly coloured spreads in the supermarket are far from real 'jam'. Once you've made your own, there'll be no turning back and the Jams and Spreads aisle will become another one you'll never need venture down again!

Jam making is as easy as 1-2-3. One kilo of diced and deseeded fruit, two lemons, and three cups of sugar are the only ingredients you'll need. You can use any combination of fruit in season, in any condition. Of course you can halve, double or triple those quantities, according to how much fruit you have on hand.

Seven Fruit Jam with Coconut and Vanilla

This is a microwave recipe and one kilogram of fruit is as much as you can conceivably microwave at one time without making a huge mess... take my experienced word for it!

Equipment required:

One large, deep microwave-safe bowl or jug, around 1.5-2 litre capacity
Sharp vegetable knife for dicing and deseeding fruit
Several sterilised recycled jars with the type of metal lid that has a little pop-up button in the centre. See note for sterilising instructions.
Measuring cups
Potato masher
A chilled saucer and spoon for testing jam done-ness. Just pop them in the refrigerator before you start.

NOTE: To sterilise jars, wash well in hot, soapy water. Rinse in hot water. If they have a residual smell from the original contents, a teaspoon of vanilla essence in the rinse water will help disperse it. Do not dry with a tea towel. Put the oven on the lowest setting and place the jars upside down on a baking tray. Stand the lids, leaning on the jars. Leave until dry, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Ingredients:

1kg fruit, deseeded, and diced. (I leave grapes and blueberries whole and mash them a little with a potato masher. For this particular batch I used blueberries, seedless green grapes, passionfruit, a nectarine, plums that had gone soft, some leftover tinned cherries, and a couple of sad looking strawberries.)
2 lemons, halved
3 cups raw sugar

Optional for this particular recipe:

1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
2 tsp coconut essence

Method:

Place the fruit into the microwave-safe container. Mash any berries or smaller fruit a little with the potato masher.

Juice the lemon halves and add the juice and the empty lemon halves to the fruit.

Add the sugar and stir well.

Microwave on high for 10 minutes at a time, stirring every five minutes.

After the second blast of 10 minutes, test the jam. Place a spoonful of jam onto the chilled saucer and allow to cool for a minute or two. Push it with the spoon, If it wrinkles like a piece of Cling Wrap, it's ready to bottle. If not, continue to cook on high for a further five minutes at a time, checking after each blast of five minutes. Depending upon the microwave, this can take up to 40 minutes altogether. Be careful as the jam will be very, very hot.

Once cooked, add the optional ingredients if you wish and allow to cool slightly.

Spoon the warm jam carefully into the sterilised jars. Fill the jars almost to the top, then screw the lid on very firmly and turn them upside down on the kitchen bench for five minutes. This creates a vacuum to seal the jars correctly for storing and makes the little pop-up button, pop 'in' as they cool.

Label with the date and a description and store in a cool place.

Home-made jam makes a great addition to a gift hamper and, along with a few other home-made goodies, gives you an endless supply of teacher, thank you and impromptu presents.

Mimi's Mum's Lush Home-Made Chocolate Syrup

Easter is not far away, and already the foil wrapped goodies are making an appearance in the stores. Why not do things differently this year? A bottle of this chocolate syrup with a hand decorated glass in a basket with a big ribbon on it would put a smile on anyone's face.

Makes 750ml

Equipment required:

Measuring cups
Dessertspoon
Teaspoon
Whisk
Large microwave-safe jug or bowl, at least 1.5 litre capacity
Sterilised recycled bottle or bottles for storing (sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce and soy sauce bottles are all ideal). See previous notes on sterilising.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups raw sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups water
3 tsp vanilla extract or essence

Method:

Combine the sugar and cocoa in the microwave-safe jug using the whisk. Whisk in the water until combined well and smooth. Microwave on high for four minutes, whisking every one minute.

Allow to cool and stir in the vanilla.

Pour into prepared bottles. Date and label for future use or gift giving. Keeps indefinitely in a cool place or in the refrigerator.

It's important to be able to survive on staples in our pantries in times of ill health, unemployment, unexpected expenses or, as it has occurred recently, times of natural disaster.

A well stocked kitchen cupboard is a true asset and one that shouldn't just be considered a Simple Savings strategy, but a sensible living strategy too.

Pantry Salad

Here's a fantastic, quick salad, using only pantry items, that's tasty enough as a meal on its own, as a side dish to take to a barbecue or a great healthy lunch for the kids' lunch boxes.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish, 4 as a meal

Equipment required:

Large strainer or colander
Large spoon
Small jug
Teaspoon
Small whisk or fork
Container or bowl

Ingredients:

1 tin beans or bean mix, for example, borlotti beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans or bean mix, drained well and rinsed in a strainer until the frothing subsides.
1 tin corn kernels, drained well
1 large tin of tuna or chicken in brine, drained well
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp honey, sugar or maple syrup

Method:

Tip all tinned ingredients into a large bowl and mix well with a spoon.

Put the remaining ingredients into a small jug and whisk with a fork or tiny whisk until combined.

Tip the dressing over the salad and mix well.

Refrigerate for one hour before serving to allow the flavours to develop.

This salad keeps well for up to four days, refrigerated and covered.

To vary, add to tossed salad leaves, add bacon or diced deli meat, or serve over baked potatoes.

7. Penny's Blog: Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk

January 28th

Lately it appears I've had more in common than I'd like with one of my favourite movie characters, Austin Powers. For starters, we're both British, have crooked front teeth and share the same disturbing penchant for toilet humour. However, just as Austin famously lost his 'mojo', lately I appear to have lost mine. My money saving mojo that is. I guess with everything that's been going on the past few months it's impossible to be all things to all people. When the kids don't think they are getting enough attention they throw a tantrum. Come to think of it, when the husband doesn't think he's getting enough attention he throws an even worse tantrum! But unlike my family, my money saving mojo doesn't throw a tantrum or demand immediate attention. It just skulks in the corner, watching you make stupid mistakes, watching you throw good money away and saying nothing. Until one day you check the bank balance and almost have heart failure. 'Where's all the money gone? Eek, someone must have hacked into my bank account! Quick, check the transactions!' And realise to your dismay that there is no hacker. The only saboteur is you.

And you sit there, staring at the evidence in black and white, kicking yourself for every stupid thing you could have done differently. At which point there's not much you can do. There's no point beating yourself up; you just have to dust yourself off and move on. I've been through the scenario enough times to know! But one thing I've learned is that it's not hard to get your money saving mojo back. That's the stupid thing. As Fiona has said all along, saving money is SO easy when you know how. And I do know how - so I'd better get to it!

Of course the great thing about being Simple Savers is that we know how to save money faster than anyone else. Whilst other poor souls are struggling with complicated budgets and losing sleep because they don't know where to start saving, we just throw ourselves headlong into fun stuff like the $21 Challenge or No Spend Month. So that's exactly where our family is going to start next week. In fact, we're going to do both at once!

What I both love and hate about No Spend Month is that it makes you cringe sooo badly. Every time you fill in the Savings Diary and the little box which says 'Essential' next to each purchase doesn't get ticked I feel like a total plonker. No matter how small and insignificant the amount is, if it's not classified as essential when I enter it in the diary I feel like a failure. It's such a huge wake up call when you are forced to be accountable for the number of times you get sucked in every day! It's great for the kids too. They both have jobs and earn their own money and while it's not a huge amount, what they do with it is up to them. Most of the time they do pretty well; now we don't live near any major shopping centres all the big 'wants' such as video games have disappeared off their lists. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of their hard earned cash goes on Koola Bear frozen drinks and macadamia nut cookies from Subway! So they will be taking part in No Spend Month too and I think they will be surprised at how much their bank balances will have increased by the end of it.

As for the $21 Challenge, what can I say that hasn't already been said? What I love about the $21 Challenge is that every time you do it, it reminds you exactly what you are capable of. My favourite chapter of the book is actually Chapter 2, firstly because it was so unexpected; Fiona and I never dreamed the benefits of doing the Challenge would be so huge or so many but also because Chapter 2 acts as a memory trigger. I see what other people are achieving and it reminds me of what I have also been able to achieve in my own household and makes me strive to do it again. What with the Challenge AND No Spend Month, I reckon my mojo will be back to full power in no time!

Actually, for the first time ever it was Noel who suggested we do the $21 Challenge! So there you have it; for all the women who complain that their husbands would never let them do a $21 Challenge in a million years, you may be surprised! I can't say I blame him though; even with our extra storage shelves in the garage our tiny pantry is a total mess yet again. We can't find anything, we can't see anything, it's just a big jumble. So we're doing the Challenge to help us unearth what the heck is lurking in there and use it up so we can make some space and restore a little order.

One thing that Noel and I have both wondered out loud is that now we have achieved our dream of living in Whangamata and our lives (apart from the obvious as outlined in the last couple of posts) have become so much easier, am I going to run out of things to blog about? I would like to think not; I think it's purely because we've lost our mojo over the last month or two. When it comes to saving money there is always more you can do. Look at Lynda Hallinan, the author of NZ Gardener - she's inspired half of NZ to 'get growing' from her vegetable patch in urban Auckland. Moving to the beach is no excuse. If she can do it, so can we!

January 2011

8. Homeopathy Corner: Grief and Trauma

Hardly a day goes by without a disaster making headlines somewhere in the world - they are an inescapable part of life and whether natural or manmade have always been with us.

Disasters cause physical and mental traumas. This month Fran shares with us economical remedies that homeopaths use around the world to help people through these tragic events.

To read Fran's article go to:- homeopathyplus.com.au/first-response-homeopathy-remedies-to-use-in-a-disaster

9. From Last Month: Holiday Food for Hungry Teens

Last month Jennifer asked:

"Help! School holidays are here and I'm already being eaten out of house and home by hordes of active teenage boys! They are all great kids who love hanging out at our place and I don't want to make them feel unwelcome, but constantly feeding extras is really hurting my food budget. I don't feel as though I can feed my own children and not the others when they are around so I always end up giving in and making food for everybody. If I tell them to fend for themselves for lunch they simply go into town and waste their money on takeaway, my kids included! Does anyone have any suggestions for cheap fillers I can have on hand or whip up quickly so we can all save money?"

Wow! This request received one of the biggest responses ever! Unfortunately there's no way we can print every tip we received but a big thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute. Don't forget there are also heaps of terrific snack suggestions in the $21 Challenge book too! *cheeky grin*

Super cheap noodles from Asian store

It pays to check out your local Asian supermarket if you have hungry teens to feed! My local store sells big packs of 30 two-minute style noodles for under $15. They are tastier than the ones from the supermarket; a little more spicy. At less than $0.50c per pack, even when my teenage son cooks up three packs at a time for a snack, they're still cheap!

Contributed by: Wendy Pryor

Send hungry teens to the supermarket

If you are being eaten out of house and home by hordes of teenagers and you know that they have money and can afford takeaway, why not suggest to them that they pool some of their money and send them into town to purchase some of the following to bring home and cook/eat?

A couple of loaves of fresh bread
A dozen bread rolls
1kg mince meat or sausages
Bottle of tomato sauce
2 litres of ice cream
A box of icy poles
2 litre bottles of soft drink
1kg grapes or other fruit
Large packet potato chips

All of these could be purchased on special from the supermarket and are much cheaper than buying individual takeaways!

Contributed by: Margaret Gray

Stock up and they won't starve

Trust me, teenage boys aren't useless and they will never starve! When I had teenage boys boarding with me I found the best thing was to go to the supermarket about half an hour before closing time. All the bakery goods were reduced to $0.50c each and I would bulk buy for the freezer. This way I always had heaps of bread, rolls, cakes and buns ready to eat whenever. I also stocked up on tinned goods (on sale) that could be made into Jaffles or toasted sandwiches. I bulk bought the cheapest two-minute noodles I could find and would just use stock powder if no flavour sachets were included. I also showed them how to make their own pancakes and fritters. Once they learned that, they became pretty adept at helping themselves!

Contributed by: Bronnie Cartledge

Simple food and plenty of it for happy teens

When feeding teenagers I find that they don't want fussy food - and unfussy food is always quick and cheap! I make a whole batch of mini pizzas and cocktail sausage rolls from scratch. I have a bread machine which is really quick and easy to use. With a single batch of pizza dough I can make up to 70 mini pizzas and with one tin of sausages and two sheets of frozen puff pastry, I can make up to 80 cocktail size sausage rolls. Teens love this kind of food!

Contributed by: Ruth Barringham

Keep teens well fed with leftovers

I also constantly have a houseful of teenage boys, even though only one of my own is still living at home! I manage by getting creative with leftovers. For example, the leftover Christmas turkey became roast turkey and gravy rolls, turkey and salad sandwiches and finally, diced into a pasta sauce with some vegies from the garden. There was absolutely no waste. I buy almost everything on special, so two loaves of grain and wholemeal bread (low G.I. - keeps them full for longer!) for $4.00, a bottle of pasta sauce for $1.50 and a bag of pasta for $0.69c made the above meals very affordable.

A dozen eggs for $2.50 will make six good-sized omelettes. Add in a sprinkling of bacon, a little grated cheese and two slices of grain toast each and you have a hearty meal that will keep them satisfied for ages. A bag of rolled oats for $0.99c will form the basis of a mountain of Anzac biscuits and those soft bananas in the fruit bowl make great banana muffins. I recently bought a 2kg bag of potatoes for $2.00 and made baked, stuffed potatoes using a little bacon, onion, grated carrot, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese and a touch of light sour cream. The boys love these and I used the leftover salad to make chicken burgers the next day.

I only have water to drink, so there's no cost for soft drinks, cordial and so on and as a commercial cookery teacher of many years, I have observed that behaviour is greatly enhanced by the absence of these beverages. Having said that, if I have the opportunity to purchase milk cheaply, milkshakes are a great filler and the protein will keep them satisfied. Rice pudding made with low G.I. basmati rice is another favourite. You might be interested to know that I insist on the boys cleaning the dishes and also on them taking turns to help with the preparation. It's a win-win situation as they're learning both social and life skills and I don't feel as though I'm a slave to someone else's children!

Contributed by: Fiona Flanders

Sneak more vegies into your teenage male!

A good stretcher for lunch or dinner is savoury mince. Simply brown some mince and onion, then add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. A tin of baked beans will stretch it out, and a little Mexican chilli powder will vary the flavour. Any sauce bottles with just the last bit in the bottom can be rinsed out into the mix to add flavour too. Serve on toast with pasta or rice or mashed potato. A little grated cheese on top is nice and might distract the teenage male from noticing that there may be more vegetables than meat in his savoury mince!

Contributed by: Gwen Stanyer

Bread cases make great teenage hunger busters

Nothing beats bread cases for filling up hungry teens. So cheap and versatile! Great for using up that day- or two-day-old bread that's no longer sandwich worthy. Makes a great lunch box filler too! To make, simply cut the crusts off each slice of bread and spread the squares with butter or margarine. Place butter side down into a muffin pan and bake at 180C for around eight minutes until crisp. Once cooked, fill with your favorite topping, sprinkle with cheese and bake again until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted. Favourite topping ideas include tinned spaghetti, baked beans, bacon and egg, leftover bolognese sauce, in fact leftover anything really!

Contributed by: Y Lane

Teach teenagers how to use the breadmaker

My husband and I are raising five hungry sons. When they all lived at home it was easy to fall into the trap of 'instant' food for them as they tend to graze constantly. However, I taught the boys to keep the bread maker going all the time, so that when one loaf was cooked and cooling on the bench (not for long) the kid on the spot threw together the batch of ingredients to start the next loaf. Biscuits and cake do not fill hungry teens up but a constant supply of home-made bread does!

Contributed by: Melanie Jones

Frugal and filling food for teens

When feeding hungry teenagers, go for food that is filling and can be made with whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. American-style muffins are a great option - try this recipe from taste.com.au:

taste.com.au/recipes/368/savoury+texas+muffins

It's worth reading the comments at the bottom of the recipe for great ideas on variations on the recipe too.

Pies are another way to use leftovers for a filling meal for teenage boys - and you don't have to use much meat if you want to keep the cost down; just make sure there are plenty of vegies, especially starchy ones like potatoes or sweet potato. In warm weather, you can probably also take advantage of the BBQ and fill them up on plain old BBQ sausages in bread. Always a big hit with teens!

Contributed by: Anita Coia

If they're hungry, they'll eat healthy!

When feeding extra kids, keep it simple. Often kids are 'hungry' for junk. However, carrot sticks with dip, cut up apples with cheese and general fruit and crackers are always a surefire hit. If they are hungry they'll eat it and not notice it's healthy. If not they stop asking and keep playing!

Contributed by: Rita Williams

Super duper bumper breakout box for Vault members!

Budget-friendly, teen-friendly snacks Contributed by: Kerrie Patrick

Fill teenage tummies quickly with scones Contributed by: Sindy Schmidt

Feed the crowds with Quick Fried Rice Contributed by: Adi Ryan

Souper filling food for teenagers Contributed by: Veronica Collins

Healthy home made wedges with zing Contributed by: Renee Denham

Stick to your guns when feeding extras Contributed by: Yvette Markham

Avoid teens eating you out of house and home Contributed by: Leeanne Giffin

Economical baked bean nachos Contributed by: Michelle Walker

Hungry teenagers? No problem! Contributed by: Mel Burgess

Quick links to easy snacks Contributed by: Trublue

10. This Month's Help Request: Too Many Tomatoes

This month Kathryn asks:

Do you have a simple solution to Kathryn's excess tomato problem? You can send them in to us here.

11. Savings Story: Working Mums Get the Balance Right

I have been receiving your free newsletter for a few years now and have really enjoyed the information you share. Recently, however, I have noticed a trend towards the opinion that 'it is cheaper to be a stay-at-home-mum' and I wanted to share my experience.

I agree that it is important to empower families to find ways to have a parent at home to care for young children. There is no compensation for missing out on important milestones of our children, not to mention handing over our kids for someone else to care for and raise for vast portions of the day. Raising children is a parent's most important task! However, as a mother who now works part time I would offer a word of caution for your consideration. Women constantly judge one another for the choices other women make when it comes to parenting style and whether to work or not. We tear each other apart with our judgments. As a young stay-at-home-mum it took me a while to realise that other choices were not 'wrong' and that I was not 'right'. We just do things differently.

For me, working has not altered my ability to continue with money-saving practices and has actually saved us money. Let me share with you some examples:

I work at my children's school. I only make one trip to and from school each day that I work, instead of two, which saves us money on petrol.
Because I work, I am less inclined to go out for lunch or a cuppa with my friends.
I continue to cook healthy meals from fresh, raw ingredients. If I am too tired my girls (who are 13 and 14 years old) are all too happy to help. I usually plan for one of them to cook a whole meal every couple of weeks. This way they are also learning vital living skills.
My girls do a lot of our baking, ensuring that they always have lunch box snacks for school.
My wardrobe for work crosses over with what I wear when I'm at home. Therefore I do not require expensive 'work only' clothing.
I continue to menu plan. I began this practice in 1999 and for some silly reason have kept them all! I use previous year's plans as inspiration.
I combine errands to do in one trip. We live in a semi-rural area, a half hour drive from the suburbs. We have a weekly trip down there for a kid's activity so I drop them off and get all my grocery shopping and other errands done in one evening. This saves me so much time and petrol. But it also means I'm not having to dash up the street for this, that and the other thing during the week.
Working also means I don't have much time to shop. If it doesn't fit into my one weekly trip, it just doesn't happen. A huge money saver!

As you can see, being a working mum does not have to mean our family spends more money or makes less financially efficient choices. Even when I worked four very full days each week (last year) I was able to maintain the things that are important to us, as listed above.

Thanks again for sharing ways that we can be good stewards of our resources. You do a great job!

Tracy Williams

December 2017 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Simple Savings Newsletter - December 2017

This issue includes:

January Calendar Topic: Eat Together at the Table
The Savings Vault
Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!
Funky, Affordable T-Shirts
Free 2018 Calendar
Hint from the Savings Vault

Hi,

Merry Christmas! I hope you are having a lovely December and you like your Simple Savings calendar for 2018. We made a slight error in the calendar on the month of December. If your December doesn't start on Saturday the 1st, please download our revised calendar.

All the best,
Fiona

1. January Calendar Topic: Eat Together at the Table

Did you know that eating dinner in front of the tellie makes you fat, and eating dinner around the table together as a family makes your kids smarter, healthier and wealthier? That may sound hard to believe but it is true. Researchers have found that children who enjoy eating dinner at the table with their family:-

Have a lower Body Mass Index
Get higher marks at school
Are less likely to take drugs
Are more likely to be wealthy
Eat more nutritious meals

But these are not the reasons why my family eat dinner together every night. We do it because it is FUN! We laugh. We tell jokes. We play games. We tease each other. We chat. Eating dinner together is our favourite part of the day.

I believe encouraging others to spend more time at the dinner table in 2018 is the simplest way we can help each other have a happier and healthier year.

There are many reasons why 36% of Australians admit to eating most of their meals, when home, on the couch while watching their favourite TV programs. 33% of teens and 50% of people aged 20-34 never eat together.

Some of these reasons include: they live alone, they are busy, and they don't see eating together as a priority. We want you to make it a priority. Eating and meeting at a screen-free table for an hour each night is the most important thing we can do.

But how can you go from never eating at the table and always having the tellie on during meals, to screen-free table time? Start by making it fun to eat dinner together. We are helping you do that by making some printable games, jokes and conversation starters for you to use at the table.

Download them and give it a go!

2. The Savings Vault

Remember us? A Savings Vault membership is your entry ticket to nearly 19,000 hints, our fabulous Forum and our premium Downloadables. Membership gives you access to all of this, and more, for 12 months.

Vault memberships are our only source of income. We do not accept money from advertisers because we want everything we do to be in your best long term interests. If you like hearing from us please show your support by getting a Vault membership.

3. Competitions, Competitions, Competitions!

We have many competitions planned for you in 2018. Starting with these three:

Show us your shirt!

We would like to see more of the funky, affordable t-shirts everyone has been making. If you have made a shirt with an iron-on transfer and an inkjet printer, take a photo of it and email it to us and/or post it to our Simple Savers Facebook group.

The best photo sent to us before 15th January, 2018 will win $50. The competition terms and conditions are here.

Photos at the table

We would like you to share photos of your family and/or friends at the table in January with our Facebook group. We are giving a $50 prize to the most popular photo/post at 10pm on the 31st January.

The competition terms and conditions are here.

Hint of the Week

We give away one 12-month Savings Vault membership per week to the person who sends in the best money saving hint. Everyone can enter. If you are already a member you win an extra 12 months added on to your existing membership.

Enter your hint here.

4. Funky, Affordable T-Shirts

In case you missed it in last month's newsletter we have started making t-shirt transfers so you can make your own funky, affordable t-shirts.

T-shirt transfers are a great way to have funny shirts for an affordable price. This is how they work.

This week we have added...

Two New Designs

See all the other designs here.

5. Free 2018 Calendar

Start 2018 organised, happy and ready to go with The Simple Savings 2018 Calendar

To any early birds that have already been there, done that, please note there has been a correction to December 2018 (the calendar version, not the actual month in real life). Thanks to one of our eagle eyed members, we discovered December started on the wrong day. Please download the amended version.

6. Hint from the Savings Vault

Thank you to Allen, just in time for Christmas:

Perfect pork crackling

Rescue cast iron crackling easily and quickly by using the microwave. When the roast comes out of the oven, remove the crackling, wrap it in paper towel and pop it into the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove it and check. If it needs more, repeat until the crackling is all puffed up, but be careful not to overcook it because it will burn if left too long. The finished product is perfect crackling every time.

7. Merry Christmas

Thank you for your support this year. I hope you have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Many grins,
Fiona Lippey

91eac76449dea00de3011f5309e3

December 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

Newsletter for December 2021

Merry Christmas! How are you going? I hope you are well. It has been another strange topsy turvy year. Even though the world around us has been weird, everything has been going well at our place. Everyone is healthy, everyone is happy and we are incredibly grateful.

Grateful we looked ahead. Grateful we spotted the con. Grateful for being frugal. Grateful that I'm surrounded by a gorgeous family. I feel incredibly lucky and looking forward to the year ahead.

The last two years have really brought home to me how important the Simple Savings way of life is because it makes us strong, resilient and prepares us for whatever life throws at us. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

This year we have made you two Christmas gifts. The first gift is a calendar (surprise, bet you never saw that coming) from me and the second is an OMG pancake slice recipe from Sandra.

I hope you enjoy both of them and have a fantastic year!

Merry Christmas!!

Fiona and Sandra

2022 Feeling Fantastic Planner

This year every monthly challenge has been chosen to build people up from the inside. Not just a quick fix. But, soul building and heart filling challenges. Or, as I like to call them "REAL GOLD".

Before we talk about the monthly challenges. Let me introduce you to the concepts of "Real Gold" and "Fool's Gold". Real Gold are things that make you feel fantastic right down to your core. Fool's Gold is something that you think is going to build you up but leaves you depleted instead. Real Gold is harder to find, where Fool's Gold is being sold to you on every corner. Real Gold gives long lasting satisfaction, where Fool's Gold is a quick fix.

Here are our challenges for this year:-

January: Ready, set , go

February: Friendly food

March: $21 Challenge

April: Hands in the dirt

May: Beautiful space

June: Craft and create

July: $1 treats

August: Outdoor joy

September: Kindness

October: Christmas organised

November: No spend

December: Take a rest

Click here to download your calendar.

Sandra's OMG Pancake Slice, with Apple, and Salted Date Caramel

This recipe turns a Pancake Shake and Bake into an impressive slice. It looks so delicious.

Pancake Ingredients

1 x 325g bottle of Pancake shake mix.

For the bottle used, it needed 300mls of water.

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced very thinly.

1 heaped tablespoon of Pecan nuts

Maple syrup

Pancake Slice

Method

Preheat oven to 200 ºC

Add the water needed to make up your pancake mix and shake the bottle until it is well mixed.

Line a 12cm x 27cm loaf pan with baking paper, leaving a 5cm overhang around the edge of the pan.

Pour the pancake mixture into the prepared baking pan.

Gently even it out with a spatula.

Arrange the apple slices on the top of the pancake mixture. Scatter the pecans on top.

Pour a little Maple Syrup over the apples and pecans so they don't dry out while they are cooking.

Bake for 27 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle of the pancake, comes out clean.

Remove the pancake slice from the pan and cut diagonally into slices to serve.

Serve with Salted Date Caramel.

Salted Date Caramel

Ingredients

¾ cup ( 115g) of fresh, halved dates

¾ cup (185mls) water

½ cup (125mls) milk

½ teaspoon salt

Method

Place dates and water into a pan.

Cook over medium high heat, then bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes until soft.

Let it cool a little.

TAKING ALL DUE CARE

Transfer to a small food processor and add salt.

Add the half cup (125mls milk)

Whiz until smooth.

Serve with the pancake slice. Enjoy!

NOTE - you can use your favourite pancake mix if you have one and you would prefer to.

The pancake slice idea will also work for Gluten Free pancakes.

You could also use salted caramel sauce instead, if you are in a hurry. If you would like to try it, you can prepare it for up to 2 days beforehand and it will keep in the fridge.

Slice served with the caramel sauce and ice cream and yes, it might have been for breakfast with guests. They said it was yum!

This recipe served 4 adults. You can easily double it to serve a larger family.

February 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Financial Freedom?
March is 31 Tip Challenge Month!
NEW! Short Story Competition
Best of the Vault: Small Changes, Big Differences
Best of the Forum: Starting Afresh
$21 Challenge
Sophie Gray: The Basics
Penny's Blog: Ministry of Savings
Homeopathy Corner: Response to the Sceptics
From Last Month: Fair Share for Singletons
This Month's Help Request: Keeping My Chin Up
Savings Story: No More Nightmares!

Hello,

Guess what? At five months old, Elora is crawling and my goodness is she in a hurry! The moment we pop her on the floor, yippee, she is off and racing! That baby has places to go and toes to suck. Yes, toes to suck. Don't ask me why but she has a thing for big toes. No foot is safe. One minute she is on the other side of the room and the next she has latched on to your toe. Talk about unhygienic! She isn't fussy either, any toe will do! If she can't get to any of ours she simply lies there and sucks her own. Only a baby can be content lying there and sucking their own toe for hours on end!

Elora is not the only one learning new skills this month. These members have been trying out some fantastic new ways to save money and couldn't wait to tell us about them!

"Just a few months ago I made a new friend. When she told me she needed to learn how to become a smarter shopper, I told her I could help. I presented her with a new folder which included the Simple Savings Bill Payment System, with instructions how to use it and a reusable shopping bag with $21 worth of food in it. We sat down together and wrote out her and her partner's bills. The first thing she said was "Right - we are quitting smoking, buying no more takeaways and we'll be taking our own lunches to work from now on!" While I don't think her boyfriend was very pleased initially, he came round very quickly when he saw what a difference it was making. My friend was so happy and touched when I gave her the Simple Savings folder and thanked me for giving her life changing help. All I can say is thanks Simple Savings for your good work and for helping me make a new friend!" (Chloe Murphy)

"For the first time since we signed up to Simple Savings, my husband read the monthly newsletter before me. He immediately got on board with 'No Spend Month'! We sat down and agreed on what we considered a need and a want and I discovered he was actually very good at it. We are only six days in but he has already stopped me from spending money. It wasn't a huge amount of money, but it has resulted in a big change of thinking.

"I'd had a rough day, the kids had just had their first day at school, and the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner. I suggested I go and get fish and chips. However, he told me it was 'No Spend Month' and we were not having fish and chips. I argued that it was food and therefore a necessity, to which he replied that we had food at home and he would cook. Which he did!

"Thanks to Simple Savings, my husband has now realised that he doesn't need to spend money as often, and he will also cook dinner! In one week, two miracles have occurred!" (Catherine Scott)

"Thank you Simple Savings for changing the way I think. Today I was out shopping with my two daughters and a friend's two children. I wanted to give them an ice cream each as a treat, but I stopped and thought about it and added up the cost of purchasing four ice creams at around $3.50 each. Instead I went to the local supermarket and bought a box of four ice creams for a total of $5.00, giving me a huge saving of $9.00. The kids were happy and so was my bank balance!" (Amy O'Meara)

"I think your website is awesome and I have used lots of the ideas that I have learned. For example, I keep a file full of recipes plus the ingredients I have in my fridge, freezer and pantry. I regularly check my file to see what I already have. Instead of menu planning being a hassle, I find it a lot of fun and a chance to be creative. We have made some amazing salads and my sister loves to see what we are going to enjoy each week when she eats with us. Instead of feeling a failure, I feel stimulated and interested." (Angela Tayler)

"Having read your website for many months, I decided to follow your suggestion to look in my cupboards and see what was hiding in them. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found in there - there was lots of food that I had forgotten about! I followed your lead and made meals from what I already had, and ended up with a whole week's worth of meals for my husband and me, as well as for guests that were already booked in to eat with us. So, come on everyone! Look in your cupboards and use what you already have, rather than buying more of the same!" (Marilyn Weber)

All the best,

Fiona Lippey

PS. Savings Vault Memberships on Sale!

To make your 31 day Challenge easy we have dropped the price of the Savings Vault to $31 (usually $47). With almost 14,000 tips on absolutely everything you can possibly think of, choosing a new tip each day should be a breeze! You only need to implement a couple of those 14,000 hints to get your money back. Plus, if you aren't happy we have a 365 day no questions asked guarantee. You can join the Vault here. The discount will apply through to 31st March.

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Financial Freedom?

Sally tore open the envelope in excitement and anticipation. This was one credit card statement she didn't have to hide! 'Balance owing? ZERO! I've done it! I've finally done it!' She felt like dancing round the kitchen. At last that blasted credit card was paid off! The timing couldn't have been better either. Today was Sally's day off. 'All that scrimping and saving was worth it,' she smiled to herself. 'Now I can go out and enjoy myself!'

Sally didn't know what to do first so she bought herself a cappuccino and a huge slab of carrot cake in the café while she thought about it. 'Now this is more like it,' she thought happily. 'No more lukewarm coffee and soggy sandwiches for me!' No more Pete on her back nagging about saving money - and no more Savings Group meetings either! She had reached her savings goal. She was free!

Hours later, Sally arrived home exhausted but happy. It had been so much fun being able to shop with her credit card again! It was amazing how quickly she had managed to rattle up a few hundred dollars but what the heck? She had no reason to save any more. She could pay it off again in no time! She walked through the door, bags in hand, took one look at Pete's questioning eyes - and the bubble burst. 'Oh heck,' Sally wailed in remorse. 'I've done it again, haven't I? I'm back to square one!'

2. March is 31 Tip Challenge Month!

Sally has every right to be proud of reaching her savings goal, but she has saved money only to be able to spend it again! If you're saving money simply so you can buy more 'things', you are saving for the wrong reasons. 'Things' do not make you wealthy. Happiness does not come from owning lots of stuff.

Simple Savings isn't so much about saving money as improving your life. Sally sees saving money as being repressed; she feels that she had to 'go without' just so she could pay off her credit card. But saving money doesn't repress or limit you - it frees you.

Having the skills to be able to live off very little money is the ultimate freedom. The less you can live off, the less you can get by on, the less you have to earn, the more freedom you have. Being careful with your money will give you the freedom to be who you want to be. But that is not the only thing it will give you. Being a thoughtful spender will also mean you can:

Be generous when you want to
Help the planet
Be empowered instead of being a sucker
Pass on skills to your children
Be a fantastic cook
Work less
Have more family time and
Relax more.

Saving money is not repressive, it is a fun and exciting way to improve your life. Be excited each time you save a dollar. That is one dollar you will never have to earn. Becoming frugal will mean you can do and be things other people can't because they wasted their money. Becoming frugal will improve your life. So let's see how much progress you can make in 31 days. This month is 31 Tip Challenge Month. Your mission is to find 31 new tips that will improve your life whilst saving you money. Try a new one every day. It is time to liberate yourself and be less dependent on money.

To help get you going we have dropped the price of the savings Vault from $47 to $31 through out this Challenge. (The discount goes till 9pm, 31st March.) So there is no excuse. (We have a full year guarantee, so if you are disappointed for any reason we will happily give you your money back.) There are 14,000 tips in the Vault. Go to the Vault categories that are relevant to you and make a list of 31 tips to improve your life. Then challenge yourself to do one tip each day for the next month. It will be so much fun! Let's go for it.

You can join the Vault here.

3. NEW! Short Story Competition

This month's competition is a little different. It's a short story competition! A romantic short story, to be exact. Who can write the best Simple Savings style romance? 'It all started when he was ogling the marked down meat in my trolley...' - er, we're sure you can do better than us! There is a prize of $300 cash for the best entry so get those fingers typing! You can write about whatever you like - as long as the story is based around saving money. Maximum 1000 words please. We can't wait to read your stories! Send them to us here.

4. Best of the Vault: Small Changes, Big Differences

The best thing about the 31 Tip Challenge is that you don't necessarily have to make big changes to improve your life and your savings! Here are some of our favourite 'small but smart' tips from the Savings Vault. Give them a go this month!

'Use it Tuesday'

Here's a hint to use up those food items which end up at the back of the kitchen cupboard.

Every Tuesday, use one or more of the ingredients that are hiding in the pantry. These are probably items you bought because they looked interesting or were on special, but have never got round to using. You'll save money by using what you already have, and free up space in the cupboard. By doing this, I estimate I've saved about $3.50 per week, or $182 over the course of a year.

To get you in the habit, you can even give this day a special name, such as 'Use it Tuesday'.

Contributed by: Liz Thomas

Pseudo smokers save price of a pack a day

We save $25 a day by pretending to smoke! My husband and I don't smoke but we have many friends who do, and they always buy their cigarettes first thing each day before they purchase anything else. We decided if they can do that, then we can 'buy' our savings before anything else. If we smoked a pack a day we would spend $25 a day, so each morning we transfer this into our savings account. We save $9125 each year with this savings plan - a pretty good holiday for a family of six!

Contributed by: Cindy Franklin

Share tips with everyone

Please don't assume that some of the things you are doing to save money are things that everyone knows about.

I was recently talking to a grandmother who only wanted one lemon from a pile of giveaways for her evening meal of fish. I suggested that she take a few more and squeeze the juice and freeze it in ice-cube trays, giving her enough to defrost for her dinner for months. She was absolutely delighted with the idea, while I thought it was something everyone would know to do.

I continually go through the Vault and take a few ideas for cutting costs in the budget and run with them, and then come back for more. It is part of my monthly list of things to do. Most of the ideas I already know, but sometimes something jumps out at me that I had forgotten about or had simply never got around to doing.

Contributed by: C.W

5. Best of the Forum: Starting Afresh

There's no denying, Simple Savings is a massive money saving resource and a question that often gets asked in our Savings Forum is 'where do I start?' If you feel a little overwhelmed and you are not sure what tips to start off your savings with, here are some threads from our helpful Forum members that will set you on the right path.

Where to start?

Mel is a brand new member and wants to get on top of her finances. There's just one problem - where on earth does she start? Which threads are the 'must-reads'? What parts of the site are the most helpful? You'll find all the answers here!
read more...

Motivational saving stories

There's nothing more motivating than reading of others' saving successes to spur you on towards achieving your own goal. In this thread, Frangipani asks other Forum members to share their stories. A fantastic read that shows it really is possible to live the life of your dreams.
read more...

Name your top savings tip

Linda asks the Forum members - out of all the saving tips they use, which one saves them the most money of all? This brilliant thread will give you heaps of suggestions for your 31 Tip Challenge!
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What is the best SS hint you have learnt?

Simple Savings members use countless tips every day - but Kaz wants to know, which one is their favourite. As the replies soon show, it's pretty much impossible to choose just one!
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My manic savings challenge

Do you have a personal challenge you need to save for quickly? This member is trying new tips and using every available resource, all while using the Forum to keep herself accountable!
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6. $21 Challenge

It's been a fantastic few weeks for the $21 Challenge, with hundreds of families giving the Challenge a go for the first time after attending one of a series of talks given by Penny (Jackie) at libraries around New Zealand. The libraries were packed to the rafters with people wanting to learn the secrets to feeding their families with just $21! You can read all about them here.

From the library talks we discovered that many people genuinely don't realise how many of the most regularly bought items on their shopping list can be made from scratch for a fraction of the price. It was fantastic to see people racing to grab a copy of the book so they could learn how to make their own yummy sausage rolls, muesli bars and crumpets! Why not give a new 'make it from scratch' recipe a go for your 31 Tip Challenge? To get you started, here is a fantastic recipe for muesli bars from The $21 Challenge book, contributed by Sara Dias. Once you've tried these, you'll never go back to 'bought' ones!

Muesli Bars

1 ½ cups toasted muesli (whichever type you have)

2 ½ cups Rice Bubbles (any brand will do)

½ cup coconut

¼ cup crushed nuts

125g butter

½ cup honey

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup raw sugar

½ cup choc chips (optional)

Grease and line a shallow baking tray (we recommend a 28cm x 36cm tray, which makes 30 standard muesli bars). Mix your muesli, Rice Bubbles, coconut and nuts together in a bowl. Put your butter, honey, peanut butter and sugar into a small saucepan and stir over a low hear until melted. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer without stirring for five minutes. Pour melted ingredients into the bowl with your dry ingredients and stir well. Leave to cool for 20 minutes or until it reaches room temperature. Add choc chips if using and mix well. Spread mixture into the tray and pack in tightly, smoothing with a knife or spatula. Pop in the fridge until firm. Slice and serve. These bars will keep in the fridge for three weeks - if they last that long!

To order a copy of The $21 Challenge, click here.

7. Sophie Gray: The Basics

I am teaching my kids to cook, a process that began as soon as they were able to stand. They're taller than me now, so they are not learning very fast. Sometimes the outcome is edible, occasionally it's even palatable, but some days I despair.

I also worry. I'm a mummy and worrying is part of the job description but I do it to international standards. I lie awake at night worrying frantically - what will become of them when they are on their own? Will they die of food poisoning, develop scurvy or goitre or anaemia? (And will that reflect badly on me!)

I also worry - and this is far more frightening - about what they'll feed me when I'm old and can't cook for myself. Will they serve me salmonella soup and botulism beef? Will they clog my aged arteries with fat and finish me off for good? I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than eat some of what they are most enthusiastic about.

They love junk food - never mind it's all fried, to them fried is the 'secret ingredient' they love. There is little hope for me!

Last night the girl child cooked as her young chap was around for dinner. I rather lose my appetite when I am confronted by 16-year-olds in love - sooo many more things to worry about! However, it was interesting to see her ratchet up the effort, so maybe all is not lost. She also discovered that if she, or in this case he, doesn't eat vegetables you need a lot more main course. That the vegies in your meal aren't just nourishing, they're filling. An important and fundamental thing to know about preparing meals that she now understands, hurrah! Here are some others in the vain hope that one day she'll read them:

Learn to chop onions properly so they cook evenly and distribute easily though the dish, no nasty slippery chunks please!
- Chop vegetables and meat into even size pieces, so they cook evenly and in the same amount of time
- Use good quality equipment- heavy based pans distribute the heat evenly so you avoid 'hot spots' and burning
- Taste before you season. Ingredients vary, depending on their age, freshness and storage method; always taste before you serve
- Plan your meals so you don't over stock, run out of time or miss out an essential ingredient
- Read the recipe through before you start so you know what order to proceed in (it's all too easy to drain the stock you needed for the sauce down the sink or miss turning on the oven)
- Eat in season - fill the plate, sandwich, stew, snack box or whatever with seasonal fruit and vegetables. They are the cheapest and healthiest way to fill up.

Pasta Sauce

This pasta sauce can be as simple or elaborate as you choose to make it. It is very low in fat, can be made in bulk and frozen or bottled and can be meat-free or used with a small quantity of meat left over from a previous meal.

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 rashers of bacon - optional
2 celery sticks or a couple of courgettes, chopped
1 capsicum, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 400g tin tomatoes
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp basil pesto or 1 tsp dried basil or a handful of torn basil leaves
¼ tsp dried chilli seeds, optional
Black olives, optional

Sauté onions, garlic, celery, bacon if using and pepper in oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add olives, pesto and chilli seeds and mix into cooked pasta.

Any green vegetable seems to work well so use what you have got.

Other options - add a dash of wine or a couple of chopped sundried tomatoes, add some cooked chicken or seafood, add other vegetables like asparagus tips or chopped steamed spinach... Think of the sauce as a base and use your imagination. This is so quick, easy and inexpensive you need never open a jar of sauce for pasta again.

Friday Night Frittata

Serves 4

This style of meal is very quick to make and will work well with a wide variety of flavours. You could add bacon or cheese, salami or seafood - the possibilities are endless and the results are delicious.

4 medium potatoes, scrubbed
6 large eggs
1 tin whole kernel corn
1 onion, chopped
6 tbsp oil
2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper
Handful of chopped herbs - whatever you have, parsley, chives, thyme...

Cut potatoes into 2cm cubes and boil in salted water until just cooked. Drain and return to element for a few seconds to dry out.

Heat a little of the oil in a heavy based frying pan and sauté the onion till soft. Toss it in with the potato then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, herbs and lightly beaten eggs.

Heat the remainder of the oil until very hot, give the potato, egg mixture a gentle stir then quickly pour into the hot pan and reduce the heat.

Cook the frittata on a moderate heat till the edges are quite set.

Heat the grill and place the pan under the grill until the centre is set and the top golden.

Run a knife around the edge of the frittata and give the pan a gentle shake to ensure that it is not stuck before turning out onto a warmed platter. Place the platter over the pan and quickly invert. Remove the frying pan and serve the frittata immediately with a salad and tomato sauce or salsa.

Sophie Gray is the author of the range of Destitute Gourmet cookbooks. www.DestituteGourmet.com

8. Penny's Blog: Ministry of Savings

Feb 19, 2010

Today looks pretty much like any other from where I'm sitting. Out of the window to my left I can see Lake Waikare, dotted with white caps. Out of the windows right in front of me I can see farmland stretching as far as the eye can see, right up to the Bombay Hills. Out of the window to my right I can see a ring of shady trees and bright orange poppies waving in the wind. What makes today different from yesterday and the two thousand or so days before that is the 'For Sale' sign at the end of the drive. It's taking some getting used to, I can tell you! After almost three months in limbo, we have finally got the go ahead to move to Whangamata. Yesterday we put an offer on the house we have been dreaming of all summer and it's been accepted! Woohoo! Now we just have the small matter of selling our place to attend to...

Already I'm wondering how we can possibly bring ourselves to leave this place. It doesn't help that everyone I talk to asks how on earth we can bear to leave it either! There's no doubt it's a pretty special place. The hardest part for me is knowing that once it sells, we'll never be able to get it back. Somebody else will be picking fruit from our trees and sitting on our deck with a glass of wine, watching the incredible sunsets. But it's time for a change and in our case, it really is a seachange. Noel's ready for a new challenge, the kids are chomping at the bit to get to their new school - and me? I'll be a writer who lives at the beach! How cool does that sound? I think even I can learn to live with that!

Still, now is not the time for resting on our laurels. We've got a house to sell and who knows how long that could take in the current economic climate? For all we know I could still be looking out of these same windows in two years' time! Hopefully not but in the meantime we've got some serious goals to work on. The first one is to make our property look totally irresistable to buyers without spending a fortune. The second is to save as much money as humanly possible. From now on, every month is going to be a 'No Spend Month!' A small house on a 659m2 section in Whangamata costs the same to buy as our big house and two acres. Even if our house sells at the full asking price, we are still going to have to borrow more than $17,000 to cover the agent's commission fees and any other expenses which will no doubt crop up. If it sells for less than the asking price, we could be looking at considerably more. OK, so even if we do have to borrow it won't be a huge mortgage by any stretch but I hate owing the bank money, hate it!

So I'm really glad that my War on Debt calendar is showing a '31 Tip Challenge' for March, I reckon it's going to be a big help. I've already started digging out tips which will help me declutter and give the house a bit of a revamp for little or no cost, such as The Power of 'Sparkle'. A friend also told me about 'home staging' and gave me the link to a website called Homebase. While my budget doesn't stretch to having a team of professionals come and give my house a makeover, their site contains heaps of free tips and photos to show how you can achieve terrific results yourself. After checking out their website I decided to give it a go and I honestly can't believe the difference just moving a couple of bits of furniture around has made, I wish I had done it years ago! I look around this tidy, uncluttered house and can't believe it's mine. The only problem is, now I love my 'new' house so much, it's going to be even harder to leave!

A couple of years ago, a lovely lady wrote to me and said 'Do you realise what a wonderful legacy you are leaving your family with your blog?' I honestly had never thought about it that way so I decided I really should start printing my five years' of ramble off so that my children and even grandchildren can read it some day. I've yet to set a spare three weeks aside for putting the pages all in order, but as the printer churned out page after page I caught sight of all kinds of tips and snippets and it struck me 'Penny, when was the last time you tried something new to save money?' I mean, don't get me wrong, like many Simple Savers there are countless things I do every day to save money but it's all so automatic these days. While I'm patting myself on the back for making muesli bars or chucking baking soda down the loo for the hundredth time the Vault is still being topped up constantly with tips I've never tried or heard of before. The Hint of the Week email is a great reminder to give a new savings tip a go and I often do follow through with those but I confess I am guilty of spending too much time catching up on the Forum and not enough time catching up with new tips in the Vault. Which is criminal really because I'm missing out on the opportunity to make some brilliant savings! I mean, honestly Penny how hard is it for you to click the 'Recent Hints' button once a week and spend a few minutes taking some new tips on board? I'm the kind of person who would forget her head if it wasn't stuck on so I have just written 'CHECK NEW HINTS!' on every Monday in my diary for the rest of the year. That should keep me going for quite a while and that way I won't miss out on brilliant ideas like 'Sustainable Streets' - now that is something I would LOVE to do! *Sigh*, if only I wasn't moving!

As well as learning new tips, I've been learning just how rewarding it is to share tips with others. This week I gave a talk at Dinsdale Library in Hamilton. Once again it was packed and once again it was packed with people who desperately wanted to learn how to save money. So many lovely people stick in my mind from that day - such as the delightful pensioner who was on holiday from Australia and came up to tell me he and his wife put a quarter of their weekly pension into savings. 'That's how we were able to afford to come here!' he said proudly. Then there was the lady who confessed to me that she loathes baking, as I used to, and wanted to know what it was that changed my mind and made me learn to enjoy it. 'Easy', I told her. 'Pride! Instead of resenting the fact that the family keep scoffing your baking, be proud that they love what you make. Be proud that you have the skills to make yummy things for them and do such a great job of caring for them and making sure they have good food to eat. There's not too many people like us around, so be proud!' I also loved talking to the lady who came up to tell me that her pre-school daughter calls packaged food 'stale food'. 'I don't know where she came up with that from, but she insists she only likes her food fresh and will only eat home baking and fresh fruit and vegies. She even grows her own tomatoes in a pot!' A Simple Saver of the future if ever I saw one!

Without a doubt my favourite, however, was the lady who waited behind for ages until everyone had gone. 'I just wanted to say thank you for coming,' she said shyly. 'Oh, not at all, thank you for coming!' I laughed. 'No really - I only came here today to use the Internet because mine's been cut off. Instead I walked in and found you. I had a job interview this morning and I got the job. Next thing I know I'm sitting in the library hearing all these wonderful tips. I'm feeling so positive; I can't wait to give them a go. From now on, I think things are on the up for me!' Boy, that lady made my day! I guess my point is, it's not just learning new tips that makes a difference, it's SHARING them too which is just as important. Every single person who takes a few minutes to share a tip in the Vault or Forum is potentially making a huge difference to someone else's life, even if they don't realise it. I love Jamie Oliver's idea in his book 'Ministry of Food' where he encourages everyone who tries a new recipe to pass it on so that it helps someone else. In that case, we must all belong to the 'Ministry of Savings'!

February 2010

2nd - Fast food

10th - No SAVE Month?!

16th - Gordon Ramsay where art thou?

9. Homeopathy Corner: Response to the Sceptics

We are often attacked by the septics for supporting homeopathy in this newsletter. Some say that it has nothing to do with saving money, it only works by placebo (people's imagination), it isn't a 'real' science and it is only practiced by charlatans.

So this month, Fran has called in reinforcements in the form of Robert Medhurst of Brauer Natural Medicine (www.brauer.com.au).

Robert refers to almost 500 real scientific studies testing homeopathic remedies including one supporting my personal observations that the 'costs of homeopathic treatment were significantly lower than conventional treatment'.

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/hplus/research/homeopathy-works-and-the-skeptics-cant-stand-it.html

10. From Last Month: Fair Share for Singletons

Last month Julia asked:

"As the only single person in our family I feel the constant pressure when it comes to gift buying or even eating out when we are together. I constantly end up paying more than I should because I don't want to look like a scrooge but I really can't afford it. I have a well paid job but am trying to save as well which doesn't seem to be getting through to the rest of my family. I love spending time with my family, but I'm struggling to afford it. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Thank you everyone for your swag of wonderful suggestions. With savvy ideas like these, Julia can relax and look forward to making some great savings, without fear of being labeled 'stingy'!

Tight but generous

I earn more than anyone in my family but I'm also the 'tightest'. I don't get any stick for it though, because I'm generous with my time and emotions instead.

Several members of my family are financially challenged, so we discussed things and came up with a few rules. For Christmas, we only buy for one adult each, by drawing a name out of the hat and buying a gift with a limit of $50 to $70. We can all buy for each of the kids - there are only three nieces and nephews so far - but I'm happy to buy a combined present for around $30, such as a board game which they love. When they were really young they were just as happy with the paper and box that the present came in, so keep that in mind too! And always buy from discount retailers such as The $2 Shop.

I'm lucky that when we eat out as a family, Dad still pays. He's proud that he still can, even though his family is an average age of 40! But if he didn't, I'd be dividing the bill, because if I only buy one glass of wine then I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for the others' alcohol habits.

My final message is that if you are honest with your family they will be supportive and proud that you're being so goal oriented and focused.

Contributed by: Justine Stewart

Split before you sit

Most restaurants only allow one bill per table, so you invariably end up subsidising someone else's meal. So if you go out for dinner, speak to the head waiter before sitting at your table and make it quite clear that you require a separate bill for your food. If you sort out the bill paying routine before you eat, there will be no dramas at the end of the meal and your family and friends will soon follow suit.

As for gifts, how about putting a monetary limit on all gifts or, if the family is large enough, do the 'names in the hat' routine, so you only have to buy one gift with an agreed price limit. That way, no one person can be seen to be miserly if everyone plays the game!

Contributed by: Caroline Marryat

Simple gift-giving rule

In our family, we have a simple rule for gift giving. Only one gift for each couple if they have no children, and if they do have children, then we only buy for the children, not the adults.

When eating out, try to go to places where you can pay for your meal in advance, or where they will split the bill for you. It's also a good idea to purchase your own drinks, rather than getting into shouting rounds.

Contributed by: Amanda Brent-Kay

Put your foot down

When I was single, my family didn't understand that I wanted to save for a house instead of forking out lots of money on gifts. They laughed at me and joked that I should simply marry a rich husband!

In spite of their 'advice', I went to the bank and opened a first home saver account, putting a small amount away each week. I know I'm some way from buying my own home, but my savings are growing and I'm happy to see that I'm earning $5.00 interest every month, which increases as my savings grow. You may not be saving for a house, but you need to secure your own future, which some in your family might not see. They think someone else will fix it or sort everything for you, so it's good to see you doing it for yourself. I think you should also put a portion of every pay towards your savings goal; count it as a bill which must be paid with your other bills. Then, you can enjoy what is left over.

Don't be afraid to buy gifts in variety shops and discount retailers. They have lots of different stuff for low cost gifts. For example, buy some cheap glass jars, fill them with lollies or home-made bickies and decorate with some ribbon and a gift tag.

You never know! Once you put your foot down and take a stand, others may say they feel the same and want to change their gift giving practices.

Contributed by: Chloe

Look for meal deals

I'm a single person who enjoys dining out with the family. To make this experience affordable as well as enjoyable, I collect shopper dockets that feature meal deals in my local area, for example, 'buy one main meal, get one main meal free'. I use these dockets with other family members to share the cost. In this way I might only pay half of the regular cost of my meal!

Contributed by: Annette Nott

Give them your time

Spending quality time with your family is better than money and gifts - but are you giving quality time to your family? Are they giving quality time to you?

Perhaps you need to develop a better line of communication with your family. If you've been over generous, then you have to pull back instead of giving lots of gifts in the name of love!

You don't need to spend money to show love to your family. I know you feel you should - I have felt that pressure too - but has it occurred to you that they may just want you to turn up and say 'how's it going?', or perhaps offer to help cook dinner that night? That costs nothing, and your family would be so pleased to have you there!

In my case, my nieces jump all over me when I see them, probably hoping for a gift. But when I don't have a gift for them, I simply say, 'Sorry, no pressies today. But let's do this instead!' We then go and blow bubbles with a smidge of detergent and water, jump in puddles, or whatever! By diverting their attention away from money and gifts, and onto a fun activity, the lack of gifts becomes a non issue.

So, if you think you have to outlay a ton of cash each time you see your family, think again! You may find that your family doesn't expect financial outlay from you, just your time! So be open minded and give it a try - it may just work.

Contributed by: Lisa Delace

Change is good

I am a single person with one child. When I spend cash during the week, I always break a $10 or $20 note and put the change straight into my coin purse. When I go out for dinner with other people, I take my coin purse so I know that when the bill arrives, I will always have exact money to contribute and won't feel embarrassed about asking for change; I also don't have to leave a larger tip than I'd like.

Before the menu gets taken away, I make a mental note of the cost of my meal and drinks. When other people order garlic bread, alcohol or other extras that can mean an extra $10 or $20 on the bill. If they then suggest that we share these extras, and if that's not what I want to do, I just say I don't like garlic bread, tell them that I just want my main, or say I'm having an alcohol-free weekend. By doing this, I don't feel obliged to contribute to dishes or drinks that I didn't want to order.

When it comes to gifts, my strategy is to save up points on my credit card reward program and redeem the points in store gift vouchers a couple times a year. With all my household bills set up as direct debit on the credit card, I usually earn enough for a $250 voucher each year. I wait for sales and buy gifts with these vouchers. I get to buy nice presents for people without feeling like it's a big out of pocket expense. Of course, I always pay my credit card balance monthly so I never have to pay interest.

Contributed by: Tania Orum

Save up when dining out

To save money when dining out, I always buy an entree size meal for my main, and either share a dessert or have a coffee. It costs far too much to have every course. I also pay for my own meal, and I never offer to split the bill evenly, especially when the others eat up large. I also choose somewhere affordable, and only dine out once a month. Works for me!

Contributed by: Colleen Parr

Learn to say no!

If you can't afford something, say so!

I had friends who constantly wanted to go out with their kids to indoor parks and other money wasters. I knew I couldn't afford it, and I had the guts to say NO. I am cutting debt due to this simple word, while the others are getting deeper into debt. Believe me, you will feel good when you see your money piling up... so learn to say no!

Contributed by: Julie E

Affordable family activities

My family often organises get-togethers once a month, doing inexpensive things like:

Enjoying a picnic at a centrally located park. Everyone brings a dish such as sandwiches, cake or fruit salad. Parents should bring slightly bigger dishes, to cover for the children. Just make sure you coordinate with your family, so you don't end up with six bottles of soft drink and no food!
Games night at someone's house. Again, bring a dish, whether it's a cheese platter or yummy home-made dip with some crackers.
Pot luck dinner. I'm sure someone else will suggest this but you can't beat a pot luck dinner. Pick a theme for the night, for example, 'Mexican' and everyone brings a suitable dish such as nachos, tacos and burritos. There are plenty of options here.
Go to a local attraction - my family recently did the Quarantine Station ghost tour in Sydney - where each person pays for their individual entry. Something like this works well when paired with a picnic.

If these things aren't an option, maybe talk with your family about how you feel, and explain your financial situation. They may not even realise that you feel pressured to spend beyond your means. Or when eating out, divide the bill according to what you've actually spent. If you've had one glass of wine and pasta, only pay for that. This isn't being a scrooge; it is a fair way to cover your meal that doesn't see needless money coming out of your pocket. For shared dishes, like garlic bread or side salads, split the cost fairly.

Contributed by: Caitlyn Murphy

11. This Month's Help Request: Keeping My Chin Up

This month Kate C asks:

"I've just been told by my boss that I'll be working 20 hours a week from next month instead of 37. I have no choice - it's either 20 hours or nothing and everyone else has been told the same thing. But I won't be able to make ends meet and my husband cannot work at the moment because of a knee reconstruction. The mortgage is the biggest worry, but if I pay that I am really scared I won't have enough pay the rest of the bills. What should I do? I really don't want to lose our home."

Poor Kate! Many of our members have found themselves in similar situations so we know you must have some helpful answers. Send in your tips for Kate here.

12. Savings Story: No More Nightmares!

Last Wednesday night I couldn't sleep. My wasteful and muddled book-keeping ways had haunted me for the past year or more and got me terribly into debt. I had dollar signs and numbers running through my head - what to pay when, who I'd forgotten to pay and how much I was wasting in overdue charges - all from being disorganised and overspending. It was a total nightmare! I woke up in a cold sweat in a genuine state of anxiety. I could bear it no longer!

At 3am I got out of bed and sat in my PJ's in my little study ready to take action. Between 3am and 5am I crunched numbers, drafted a simple budget and ploughed through all my disordered paperwork - unpaid bills, reminders, threats...the lot! I set up all recurring credit card and regular bills on my Outlook program in bright colours. Then I downloaded the Monthly Bill Summary, Monthly Bill Planner and Pay Day Planner from Simple Savings and got them all up to date. I have a lovely new folder which has become the centre of my Home Accounts now! There were two long standing accounts I was really worried about. I wrote an email to both, saying I intended to pay and asking if I could pay via a weekly schedule (as both were threatening to start legal action). I have now earmarked 20% of my salary to go to these so I do not incur a bad credit rating. I have also just faxed off a request to Veda Credit Advantage to get a current report to ensure all my details are accurate and up to date. I have also just emailed my tax accountant to make an appointment next week to get my late tax up to date.

Those couple of hours were very busy - but oh how well I slept when I returned to bed at 5am! I am not out of the woods yet but I have made a very good and determined start. I am ready to put my old ways well behind me and move forward!

Contributed by: SmileyJo!

February 2012 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - February 2012

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: First Date
March is Hidden Gems Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner
Best of the Forum: The Best Shops Ever!
Best of the Vault: Smarter Shoppers
Cooking with Mimi: Hidden Supermarket Gems
Penny's Blog: Happiness is a Pair of Red Shoes
Lin's Garden Diary: Best Mates Grow Well Together
Homeopathy Corner: Is it Normal?
From Last Month: Radishes!
This Month's Help Request: Home with Pets
Savings Story: On My First Challenge!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Hello,

How are you going? Good I hope. Today it is a bit of an exciting day in the Lippey household. My Omi, (grandma) Hannah Lippey turns 99. How is that for a brilliant age! Ninety-nine! I love my grandma, much of her wisdom shaped Simple Savings. Whenever I'm lost I ask my Omi for her advice. She is a very special lady and if I can be just half the lady she is then that would be one fantastic life. Cheers to Omi! A truly wonderful lady!

While we are raising our cups of tea I would like to propose a toast to you and all the Simple Savings members. Thank you for your help throughout the years. We have achieved some fantastic things working together and the following praise is for you and the whole Simple Savings team.

"I just wanted to share my gratitude! I ordered the $21 Challenge book and a year's membership for the Vault and I am already inspired! I just checked the inventory of both my freezers and discovered about two weeks' worth of meals and snacks! I will only need to buy bread, eggs and milk to top us up so I guess that's the $21 Challenge! Thank you so much for the inspiration. I'm looking forward to receiving my book in the mail. This has come at a perfect time for us too as I only get paid monthly and my husband isn't getting paid regularly at the moment.

"Thanks again for showing me how resourceful I can be." (Kristy Steel)

"Dearest Fiona and all the amazing team of SS. I want to tell you how grateful I am, I got your book, The $21 Challenge and I got it signed - wow! It has changed my life forever. I am married for four years, I am very bad as a housewife, to be honest too much to do and I don't know where to start. Plus, at the moment, we are having lots of financial problems so my hubby and I live on a very tight budget. So I decided to put into place my action plan and change for a better housewife. I want to have a wonderful clean, organised house and be an excellent cook! I found myself spending lots of money on lots of ingredients that in the end I did not use in my cooking, due to the lack of knowledge. Now, with my $21 Challenge book and my membership to your amazing website I finally got it! I have now a better looking home, I use lots of vinegar and bicarb soda, and I am starting to feel more confident in my kitchen. My husband is noticing these changes and he is very, very happy, mainly because the food I am creating from scratch and it is yummy and cheap. I am cooking lots of casseroles and quiches and home-made pizzas. My hubby eats very well and I am losing weight too since we don't buy cheap snacks! So really you have to know you have a place in our lives and in my heart and I can't wait to buy more of your books to give to my sister in Mexico and my parents-in-law in Western Australia! Thank you with all my love and keep up the fantastic work. I loooove Simple Savings!" (Jenny and Richard)

"I live in the USA. I came across your site a while back. I have followed your yearly calendar and used some of the $21 Challenge meals. When I started using your site my family was deep in debt. My spending was out of control. Well, this year my debt is half gone. We were able to re-mortgage most of our debt, have only used cash for all our spending over the years and have been able to save money instead of spending it. We can live better, not be so stressed worrying about how to pay for all those bills etc. My food bill is high. I use menu planning and a price book from each store that I shop at.

"For example, at Aldi, I keep my receipts from the store and write in a small note book for prices for most staples like milk, eggs etc. (list eggs $0.99c, milk $3.00). I look up store flyers and plan my weekly meals. So if I was to be at Wal-Mart shopping and they have milk on sale I can open my price book to compare if it's a deal or not. I only use cash; no plastic, no bank checks or debit cards. For all my groceries I shop with a list. I use a number clicker that adds up close to my budget amount. Sometimes I need to put food items back, which isn't fun. But we eat well and it's nice to live within our monthly income. We wanted to thank you for sharing your site with others." (Tracy Walters)

"I would like to say thank you very much for my book, I received it yesterday, I can't wait to read it. I would like to congratulate all of your staff for all of your helpful hints and your calendar, as these have helped me save a lot, get my GE CC paid off, start to save some money and get all of our bills organised and paid off each month on time. My DD is the one that got me into SS a couple of years ago as a Mother's Day present and she renews it each year for me. I love her for that, and I love what SS has done for DH and myself." (Julie Beattie)

Wow! Congratulations everyone! We make a great team.

Many grins,
Fiona

PS. $21 Challenge books for $10 plus postage. ALMOST SOLD OUT!

We have been selling NZ copies of the $21 Challenge book to people in Australia for $10 per book plus postage for the last couple of weeks and we are close to running out. So if you want one please click here and be quick.

(Once these books are gone, we will not have any more books for a month or two.)

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: First Date

Tom looked at Pete and shook his head. His date with Chloe had started so well, but before he knew it, he'd stuffed everything up. The night was a disaster! "Mate, she is never going to talk to me again!" Pete struggled to find something to say to make him feel better, "Oh come on Tom, it can't have been that bad!"

Sally had been waiting all day to hear about Chloe's date. Her heart sank when she saw Chloe at the door looking like she'd just had the worst night of her life. "It was awful, Sal. The garlic bread was burnt. The waiter knocked the wine over, then the chef abused us and for some silly reason I started crying. I can't imagine what he must think of me! I actually cried. I cried on our first date!"

"She'll never go out with me again. The restaurant was a disaster, I bet she's telling her friends right now about the worst date she's ever had!" Tom wished he could block out the memory. "Oh mate, I'm sure she's over it by now," Pete said, hoping to get Tom in a better mood. "She hates me so much that she cried!" Tom sunk his head into his hands. "So what's your plan Tom?" Pete asked. "I'm thinking I might shave my head and join a monastery - at least I can't go upsetting any more women there!" Pete smiled wryly. "If that's the case, mate... can I have your tools?"

2. March is Hidden Gems Month!

Save us from McDonalds

Imagine how different their night would have been if Tom had known of a fantastic restaurant where they would have received impeccable service! But, that's the thing about restaurants, it can be hard to judge which ones are good. Often the best way is to ask a local - or go to a chain restaurant where you know exactly what to expect. This is why so many people go to chain restaurants. They see them as risk free; they know what is on offer before they even enter. It is also why they are so boring. There are no exciting surprises. No Hidden Gems!

Last holidays we drove from Buderim to Eden and back (4000 km's total!). My favourite stop was in Ulladulla. We found a beautiful Vietnamese bakery called Vince's Bakery. The food was stunning, it was affordable, it was delicious, it was hidden in the Franklins car park. If you're from Ulladulla, you may be reading this and saying, 'Of course, everyone knows Vince's is brilliant!' But if you're not, I hope you've made a note to visit Vince's if you're ever in Ulladulla. It is a true Hidden Gem!

I wish I'd found more Hidden Gems on our trip. I know they're out there! I know there are fantastic places where the 'locals go' in every town. So we're going to see if we can build up a list of the best places to eat when travelling around Australia and New Zealand. So when Simple Savers are on the move, we will all know exactly where to stop in for a tasty treat and no one will have to resort to Maccas!

If you're new to Simple Savings, you might be wondering what are these Hidden Gems that I keep talking about! Hidden Gems are shops that can be hard to find but stand out a mile from the competition because of their consistently good service and value for money. Because these stores are hard to find, we've been putting together a directory of them in the Vault so you can enter a postcode and it will give you a list of stores other Simple Savers have recommended in that area. We call it the Hidden Gem directory and you will find the link to it on the left hand side when you are logged into the Vault.

The directory is good, there are some great places in it, but we want to do better! So this year we are going to focus on improving one area of the directory each month. This month we are running a competition to uncover the Hidden food Gems in your area. What places would you recommend to eat at? This way we can put together a list for all Simple Savings Members to enjoy. We are offering six prizes of $50 each for the best entries received. So send us your best Hidden Gem here.

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members find it easier to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you'll be in the running to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better.

This month's winner is Harvey's on the Bay as nominated by Bianca Nicholls.

Harvey's on the Bay - 11 Buccaneer Drive, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia

The service at this restaurant is second to none. From the first time I had to bring a bunch of rowdy little girls out for lunch and they had water, glasses and colouring-in pencils and paper on the table before I had managed to sit everyone down, to the last time I visited with just my son and they gave him a free kid's lemonade because he was behaving so wonderfully. Meals are about on par with elsewhere in Hervey Bay (although some are divine) but the prices are about $5-$10 cheaper than elsewhere and the view out of the windows at the marina are pretty special too. Kids' meals are only $8.50 and come with a free frog in a pond dessert.

Last time I went I was telling our waitress how impressed I was with the service and she called the owner out to hear it. He actually praised his staff and told us how happy HE was with them which I liked.

The one time our meals took longer than about 20 minutes to get to us the staff came and warned us it could be a little longer because they had just had a rush of orders. But they still got the kids' meals out in about 15 minutes and ours were only 10 minutes behind.

My biggest tip is to just be nice to the staff. They truly do seem to appreciate it. They have $13 specials every day or every other meal is only $15. We quite often go after church on Sunday as they do a $10 Sunday roast!

Congratulations on being this month's winner, Bianca and a big 'well done' to Harvey's on the Bay for friendly customer service and great meals at a reasonable price. If you know somewhere special that others would like to know about, please write in and tell us. Send in your hidden gem here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Tracey D for this extract from his blog post 'Hello World. I'm a Girl':

I rolled over this morning and nearly jumped out of my skin - Tracey was sitting up in bed facing me.

"I think you better have a shower," she said.

Fifteen minutes later I'd also managed a shave.

"Call your mum," said Tracey, "but don't tell her I'm in labour. I don't want to jinx it again. Just invite her up for a coffee."

At 4.30am.

An hour later we were ready to head up to the hospital: not to have a baby, mind, just because it looks so nice in the early morning light and Tracey thought I should see it.

At the hospital, which was quite lovely nestled beneath the morning rain clouds, we stop-started our way towards the emergency entrance.

Up to the fourth floor: the mid-wife directed us into the waiting room. "It's time, is it?"

"Yes," said Tracey. And then it all stopped. "Oh, s***!"

Fortunately it started up again an hour later, only this time with instant vigour.

And at 8.35am this morning, little 'soon to be named' arrived at a healthy 7lbs 3oz. Miss0 is 51cm long with an apparently deceptively large head and is the most beautiful little cherub in the whole world. Both are doing well and as we speak the Devereaux and Lawrence clans are converging on the hospital to welcome our latest wonder.

Is there a feeling in the world to compare with a day like this? I'm forty-four and this is the seventh time I've been privileged enough to experience it, and I think not. I must say though that as a father, witnessing your wife endure the pain and being unable to do anything much about it, you do feel quite useless and unnecessary. All you can do is mutter encouragements, rub her back and make sure there's always cold water handy for sipping. Which I'm told is heaps, but every time we go through this I think 'When this is done she's going to hate me.'

Then today, same as every time, when I was leaving to tie up some loose ends, Tracey grabbed my hand.

"Hurry back," she said.

You girls really do forget everything just as soon as the baby comes out, don't you?! Our marriage is, I think, a testament to that innate ability.

Thank you to everyone who has been so forthcoming with their encouragements and blessings on this journey. But mostly, thank you to my sweet, darling wife for all she endures so willingly so we can have this big, wonderful family. x

Congratulations Tracey D! To read more from them, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Best of the Forum: The Best Shops Ever!

The quickest way to uncover your local Hidden Gems is to ask family and friends for their favourites. Our Forum is another superb source for discovering the best shops ever!

Attention Dunedin/Otago members - Hidden Gems

Sarah S. has been sharing her favourite stores with all her local NZ Simple Savers. Follow her clever lead and add your own 'best ever shops' to our Hidden Gems directory.
read more...

Brisbane best cheap bits

No one knows the insider secrets about a place like a local. Be guided to all the best bits of Brisbane by our Queenslander Simple Savers.
read more...

Best place to find a cheap flight to England in September

When looking for the best websites to help you book cheap flights, these online Hidden Gems are priceless!
read more...

And, for even more ideas...
Best site for last minute cheap airfares?

Educational toy shop?

Searching for first-rate toys and educational gifts? Our members have these excellent suggestions for both online and bricks and mortar shops. Take a look!
read more...

Op shops in Brisbane

If you love to dig up discounts at op shops, here is all the local knowledge for our Brissy based members. Go and bag yourself a bargain!
read more...

6. Best of the Vault: Smarter Shoppers

Many of our members put in a lot of time and effort uncovering the Hidden Gems in their area. Be guided by their experiences and rewarded with the savings you can make. Here are some of their tremendous tips from the Savings Vault so you too can be a smarter shopper!

Best value whole chickens at ALDI

The marinated whole chickens at ALDI are so economical! For around $10 you get the BEST tasting, best quality and so much meat! I usually buy two large chickens when I have a roast to feed my family of five, but I only need to buy one when I cook these. They are absolutely delicious and full of flavour. I recommend them to EVERYONE!

Contributed by: Leisel Finlayson

Don't miss the best pie bargains in NSW!

For the best pies at the best prices you have to check out Sargents Pies located on 3 Roper Road, in Colyton, NSW. They are only open on the first Saturday of the month from 8am until 11am. But they are so popular, people get there early (from 6am) to grab their ticket ready for the sales! It really is 'first come, first served', but the early start is worth it. You can pick up a box of up to 50 pies for just $13, a box of up to 90 assorted bread and rolls for only $5.00, or if you're planning a party, grab their boxes of party pies and sausage rolls in boxes of 72 for only $13! What unbelievable bargains! (Remember though, it's cash only.) www.sargents.com.au

Contributed by: Getting Better

Best and Less bargains

I have found that shopping at Best and Less is cheaper than shopping at Kmart or Target for things like underwear, manchester and especially children's clothes. I bought some outfits for my daughter the other day: these two-piece sets were only $12 each. After I bought them, I went into Target and for something similar they were charging almost double the price! I've also noticed that most Best and Less stores are out of the way, tucked around a corner in most malls. So now I check with the help desk to see if there is one whenever I'm shopping somewhere new.

Contributed by: Susan Sharf

Discounted car batteries for Queenslanders

My daughter saved $30 off a new car battery without any effort. The battery was originally $130 from Supercheap Auto, but as an RACQ member (free for under 20 year olds), she was entitled to a 20% discount (provided in the member's discount booklet). And by taking the old battery back, she also saved another $10. So instead of paying $130, she paid just $100!

Contributed by: Laurel Chamberlain

Cheap fish food from RSPCA

I've found a way to reduce my fish-feeding costs by more than a third and help a great cause at the same time!

I have two large fish tanks with approximately 50 goldfish in total that eat a huge amount of fish food per week. I used to buy from my local pet shop at a cost of $12 for a small container. After looking online, I came across the RSPCA store which sells a bulk 3.5kg bucket of good quality food for just $99 including postage, that's a saving of more than triple on what I was outlaying! Now I can put the extra towards other fish care items without blowing the budget! And, of course, I also felt good within myself because the funds were going to a good cause.

Contributed by: Kelly R

Extra tips for Vault members

The joys of small town op shops Contributed by: SB

Amazing free Android app makes shopping a breeze Contributed by: Ms Moneypenny

Best place to buy nuts in Dandenong Contributed by: Karen Bruni

Comcare membership for cheap fruit and vegies, Qld Contributed by: tina h

7. Cooking with Mimi: Hidden Supermarket Gems

When I shop, I usually whiz through the aisles, trying to get through the task as quickly as possible. But I must admit I love scouring the fresh vegie and spice shelves. One spice that I particularly love is sumac. It has a pungently fresh citrus-like flavour that pairs well with chicken, fish, pork and vegetables.

Another Hidden Gem in my cooking repertoire is pickling and brining. It can turn a few basic ingredients into gourmet fare! This month I'll share one of my favourite pickle recipes. Then, using the brining method and that one special spice, sumac, I'll share my secret method for turning a plain chicken breast, so often overcooked and tasteless, into something succulent, juicy, and bursting with flavour!

Five Minute Fennel and Pineapple Warmed Pickle Salad

(makes about 500g)

Serve this fragrant pickle warm as a side dish, or store in the fridge and allow the flavours to develop before using as you would any other pickle or relish. Prepare a day ahead for best results.

Equipment:

Small saucepan
Mandolin style slicer or very sharp knife
Dessert spoon
Measuring cups
Apple corer (if you don't have one, just use your knife)
Container with lid for storage

Ingredients:

2 small or 1 large fennel bulb
1 fresh pineapple
2 cups white vinegar
4 dsp sugar
12 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 tsp pickling spice or an equivalent amount of spice seeds
1 large red chilli, cut into fine slivers (optional)

Method:

Place the vinegar, spices, sugar and chilli in your small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Wash your fennel bulb and remove the stems with foliage attached. Slice the bulb wafer-thin with the mandolin slicer or your sharp knife, and use the knife to slice the stems as finely as possible. If you like the scent of aniseed or liquorice, you'll recognise the fresh, sweet smell immediately.

Peel the pineapple using your sharp knife then use your apple corer or knife to remove the core and cut the flesh into four long wedges. Cut each wedge into fine slices.

Carefully drop your fennel and pineapple into the warm vinegar solution. I love the fragrance of tangy pineapple and the earthy fennel mingled together. It's utterly mouth-watering!

Bring your ingredients to a simmer. Turn the heat off and remove your saucepan, allowing your pickles to cool slightly. Transfer to your container and store in the fridge allowing the flavours to develop for at least 24 hours. The longer you leave it the more flavoursome it will become. To serve warmed, just remove the amount you need and microwave on high for about a minute.

Your Fennel and Pineapple Pickle can be served with any meat dish, but is particularly delicious with chicken, pork or fish. It'll be sublime with your Brined Sumac Chicken Skewers!

Brined Sumac Chicken Skewers (serves 4-6)

Brining is a little like marinating and a little like poaching. It gives the chicken a wonderful succulence and delicate flavour. You'll need to start preparation of your skewers about three hours ahead of serving. This is one recipe where you can get away with cheaper quality brine ingredients as you'll be discarding the liquid after resting the chicken breasts in it.

Equipment:

Large saucepan
Large deep bowl or container that will fit into your fridge
Measuring jug or measuring cups
Sharp knife
8-12 skewers, trimmed at the blunt end to fit into your frying pan
Large non-stick frying pan

Ingredients:

2-4 chicken breasts (or 1-2 double breasts) depending upon your family's appetite
1 litre water
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt (sounds like a lot but it's not in the context of the other ingredients, and you need it to balance the flavours)
Sumac
Extra vegies for the skewers like capsicum, onion, zucchini and so on
2 trays of ice cubes
Cooking oil

Method:

Place the water, soy sauce, oil, and sugar into your saucepan and stir over a high heat until the sugar is dissolved, then remove immediately from the hotplate. Add the ice cubes to the liquid to cool it to room temperature as quickly as possible (it can't be warm or it will start to cook the chicken). Transfer the liquid to your container, immerse the chicken breasts completely and refrigerate. Leave to rest for about two hours. In fact, you have a rest too. You deserve it!

After two hours, remove the chicken and discard the brine. Use your sharp knife to cut the chicken into fairly substantial chunks and thread on to the skewers. You can also thread wedges of onion, capsicum or other vegies between the chicken pieces if you like. Sprinkle the sumac liberally on every side of the chicken. It's not a 'hot' spice like chilli or curry, so use as much as you like. It's also a lovely reddish-brown colour, so your chicken will look really exotic!

Cook your skewers in the frying pan over a medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. When they're this thick, it's better to cook them a little slower and turn them often. The great thing about brining is that you'll impart a wonderful new flavour and succulence without worrying about burning the marinade in the pan, a common problem with many marinades due to their high sugar content.

Serve with a yummy salad and some rice or couscous and, of course, your fennel and pineapple pickle on the side.

Accept compliments with a cursory wave of your hand, because you're used to compliments at the dinner table by now! You'll never look at another chicken breast without wanting to give it a nice brine bath... mouth-watering and delicious!

8. Penny's Blog: Happiness is a Pair of Red Shoes

I have a confession to make. Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the wagon, I am still happily alcohol-free! But for the last 35 or so years I have felt something has been missing from my life - a pair of red shoes. You see, when I was little I had the most awkwardly shaped feet; they were so narrow it was almost impossible to get shoes to fit me. I dread to think how many hours my devoted mum and I spent getting measured in shoe shops and how many hundreds of pounds we must have spent on getting 'special shoes' ordered. Top quality, sturdy things they were indeed but the problem with these kind of 'special' shoes was that they looked anything but special. Whilst my other friends pranced around in beautiful red shoes and spangles, I clumped around in hideous brown T-bar creations. Never mind that I probably had the most expensive, highest quality leather shoes in the whole school, they weren't RED and when you're a five-year-old girl wanting to be like all the other five-year-old girls, things like that are nothing short of catastrophic.

Eventually I did grow my way out of those T-bars and into regular shoes like everyone else but never once did I become the proud owner of a pair of red ones. Until recently - and it's all thanks to a fellow savvy saver - Linda from the SS team! Like me, Linda is a beach chick. She has her own funky style and is the queen of groovy beach wear. Little did I know, however, that some of her most gorgeous outfits come from one of her favourite Hidden Gem stores! Unlike lazy old moi, as soon as Linda moved to Whangamata, she threw herself into finding out as much as she could about the area - the best place to buy fruit and vegies, the best place to buy meat - and obviously clothing. I swear after two weeks here she knew more people than I did! But that's how you find Hidden Gems, you have to get out there looking and once you find them, you're all set to save yourself a lot of money.

I was keen to investigate this mysterious Hidden Gem called 'The Changing Shed' but if there's one thing I have learned over the years it's that I should never go clothes shopping by myself unless I want to end up with a pile of ill-fitting, ill-suited garments I'm never going to wear again in a million years. An honest second opinion was what was needed and so Linda and I spent the morning of my 39th birthday op shopping (and eating cake). Never had op shopping been such a fun experience! The Changing Shed is an Aladdin's cave of rack upon rack of women's clothes and accessories. Most of the garments are top brand labels and all are in great condition. Linda whizzed around like a whirlwind picking out things for me to try and the two of us tried on one thing after the other, giving each other the thumbs up at the 'must haves' and cackling with laughter at the 'heck no's!' A fun morning indeed and I also had the pleasure of meeting the shop owner Liz, a lovely, friendly and helpful lady who went out of her way to make us welcome and show us where the best bargains were. I prepared to leave the shop clutching my new skirt, t-shirt and bag (this shop has the BEST collection of bags you can possibly imagine!) - and then I saw them. The most perfect pair of red shoes I had ever seen in my life and they were MY SIZE. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz would have been proud for sure! And there they were, sitting, waiting for me. It doesn't matter that they had impossibly high heels and I knew my mum would tease me forever for walking in them with bent knees. I had waited almost my whole life for a pair of shoes like this and now, on my 39th birthday they were to be mine. What a wonderful present!

Since then I have been back to The Changing Shed and had a ball stocking up on summer singlets. People always comment on my Ripcurl, Roxy and Billabong tops and can't believe it when I tell them they only cost $3.00! In addition, Liz also takes in good quality second hand clothing and you can either trade in your garments for money or choose to have store credit. Having lost 22kg in the past year I have a LOT of clothes I can no longer wear so for me this is perfect, I can take in all my clothing which no longer fits and walk out with a whole new wardrobe! I still have $70 to spend in store so I have a feeling I'll be back before too long! I'm so grateful to Linda for sharing her Hidden Gem and especially for my red shoes. Even now, their decadent red-ness makes me smile every time I look at them!

9. Lin's Garden Diary: Best Mates Grow Well Together

My two kids, Zoe and Seb, are best mates, they do everything together including tending the vegie garden! I love watching them plant seeds, watering the garden and having fun together. And just like Zoe and Seb, some plants get along really well together too. It's known as 'companion planting' and it's a great way to make the most of your garden. For example, carrots and peas go well together, as long as the carrots are on the sunny side! And of course, there are plants that need to be kept at separate ends of the garden too - as we found out when Seb decided he wanted to plant his beetroot next to the runner beans. The end result was dwarfed beetroots!

We have learnt so much about gardening over the past six months and part of our success is due to companion planting, it has huge benefits and is definitely worth trying! So before you get planting, think 'what' and 'where'! Spend some time planning what you want to plant and where you want to plant them!

Here are some great reasons to give companion planting a go:

Some plants release toxic materials which other plants can't handle.
Some root systems thrive off being next to their 'best mate'!
Best mates' produce better-flowering and heavier crops.
You'll have fewer weeds, pests and diseases, and therefore need fewer chemicals.
More crops! For example, we planted carrots with radishes on top. Because radishes grow quickly, they are harvested before the carrots really begin to grow! Great for people with limited garden space.
Just like mates help each other, so do some plants! Beans and corn are good companions as the beans use the corn as a climbing frame.

As you can see there are lots of benefits to be had by planting 'mates' next to each other. Here is our list of what's good and what's not!

What's good:

Basil and tomato
Runner beans, corn, carrots, peas and lettuce
Beetroot and lettuce
Broccoli and potatoes
Lettuce, strawberries and marigolds
Marigolds, I have lots of these in the garden as they go with just about anything and they help keep away the eel-worm and dogs! Dogs hate the smell!

What's not:

Beetroot and runner beans
Onions and beans
Strawberries and tomatoes

You don't need to be an expert; you just need to find the right information! I gathered mine from various sources including the book 'Get Fresh' by Dennis Greville and my favourite magazine 'Your Home and Garden'. Some of my best information was from the Forum and Vault!

So come and join us in the Forum, share your tips and together we can plant 'best mates forever'!

10. Homeopathy Corner: Is it normal?

Homeopathy is the ultimate Hidden Gem for the health of your body and mind! We often just accept illnesses, moodiness and odd behaviour as something that we have to put up with. However, what we often don't realise is that these odd behaviours can be a sign that the body is trying to fix itself. With the right homeopathic remedy, we can help speed up this process and see a return to normal behaviour.

There is a great example in this month's article. Fran talks about how she uses a remedy known as Hyoscyamus niger (Hyos) to treat children and adults who are displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour. Here is a link to this month's article:-

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/inappropriate-sexual-behaviour-in-children/

11. From Last Month: Radishes!

Last month Michelle Obama asked:

"I'm having real trouble with my organic vegetable garden. The secret service agents keep digging it up and planting listening devices in my radishes. Does anyone know how I can fix this?"

We received some great response from last month's silly help request. Here is the best one. It was sent in by Julie B.

Dear Michelle,

I'm sure we all understand how pesky those secret service agents can be. While they can be annoying sometimes, it is important to remember that they are really very playful and energetic and in most instances, quite easy to train. This may require a little patience but the girls may be able to help after school and on weekends.

First, provide them with their own special place to dig to their hearts' content. I would suggest a nice, large sandpit. Put it on the other side of the lawn, away from the radishes. Add a few spades and buckets and embed a few wires for them to trace and they should be happy for days. If you can toss in a few fake terrorists now and then, they will have hours of harmless fun.

If they continue to play in the vegie garden, there are a few things you can do to make it seem unpleasant to them when you don't have time to shoo them away (and what busy, working mother does?). Pepper spray is quite harmless but the average secret service agent is generally happy to avoid it. Set up a few cans at the corners of the garden and rig them to infrared beams. When the beam is broken by an agent heading into the garden, the spray will be released and the agent will run back to the safety of the sandpit. You don't even need to set it up yourself, the boys at the FBI love a good party prank and are always trying to get one up on the secret service boys. They will be only too happy to help.

For the more stubborn members of the group, a row of dummy landmines will do the trick. While not actually dangerous, they do make a very loud noise and will frighten off even the hardiest of agents. If Barry doesn't feel capable of doing it himself, I'd suggest calling in the marines. This is one of their favourite games and for the price of a good crew cut; they will work all night for you.

In no time at all, you should be enjoying a lovely crop of radishes.

Best regards,
Julie

12. This Month's Help Request: Home with Pets

Leonie from Canberra asked:-

"How can a couple with pets and without children reduce the costs of owning a home - mortgage and associated running costs, bills and so on? Nowhere seems to cater for people like us. We don't need a huge home but we do need a yard for our dog and chickens. How do people like us find affordable housing?"

If you have any tips which can help Leonie, please send them in to us here.

13. Savings Story: On My First Challenge!

I'm doing my first $21 Challenge and have already discovered great new recipes and great new ways to save!

After receiving The $21 Challenge book for Christmas, I sat down and read it and was totally inspired. I hadn't done a big shop for Christmas as there was only going to be my husband and myself so I decided I couldn't wait to take the Challenge!

I went through my pantry, fridge and freezer and documented everything in alphabetical order. I discovered I had all the ingredients for the Cream of Anything Cup-a-Soup recipe in the book (page 179) so that was the first thing I made - and it was very tasty too! Next I made the Toasted Muesli with all sorts of tasty ingredients including nuts, seeds, sultanas and craisins. Delicious! I also have enough ingredients for the Bulk Biscuits (page 176) so will make them next week.

We have lots of tasty vegies, herbs and berries growing in our garden including beans, peas, silverbeet, potatoes, spring onions, basil, parsley, corn, cucumber, cabbage, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries and rhubarb. Plus we get two dozen eggs from our chickens each week! This has given us a huge head start. And to fill our freezer, we managed to purchase bulk meat from a friend who sent a steer to market a few weeks ago.

So far this week, all I have had to buy is:

two litres of Ashgrove milk ($4.06) which I made up to four litres with skim milk powder in pantry
a loaf of bread ($2.00)
two packets of Arnotts crackers (on special, $1.89 each)
a piece of cabana ($1.77)
four bananas ($0.85c)
two litres of orange juice ($3.17)
a kilo of onions ($1.80)

That is a total of just $17.43 with two days to go!

We have so much home-grown produce that I'll be doing the Challenge again in two weeks' time. It's a great feeling to get exactly what we needed for the week without trudging around the supermarket aisles! Thank-you so much for the inspiration!

Margaret Blair

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Thank you for dropping by for another month of saving fun! I hope you enjoyed it!

Best of luck finding your Hidden Gems. We look forward to seeing you next month!

All the best,
Fiona

February 2014 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - February 2014

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Wake-Up Call
February: No Spend
Ye Olde Shoppe: The $21 Challenge - The Ultimate No-Spend Guide!
Penny Wise: The Low Cost of Joy
Best of the Vault: Stop, Think, Save!
Best of the Forum: Hey, Big Spender!
Best Members' Blog: I Just Paid off My Mortgage!
Cooking with Mimi: Wind Down With Herbal Iced Teas
Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Home Grown Compost
From Last Month: Party Time!
This Month's Help Request: Help With Grime Fighting!

Hello,

Hello! How are you going? It has been wonderful to see so many of you taking on the Challenges in the January 'Get into Gear' Newsletter on the Forum and we'd like to thank Claire for the wonderful job she does putting all the information together - thank you, Claire! Here's to making your February a 'No-Spend' one - we hope you'll find some tips, ideas and motivation here to get you going.

We love hearing from you - here are our favourite emails this month:

"I have been a member of Simple Savings since 2008 and have recommended your site (and gifted the $21 Challenge book) to many friends. I always look forward to your newsletter and read it from top to bottom. I find it really helpful for keeping sensible spending top of mind! I download your 'Calendar of Awesomeness' every year and incorporate into our lives. You always provide something fresh and invigorating. In short, you have provided so many of us with the means and mechanisms to really get in control of what we spend (and therefore what we save) and I am so grateful to you for making it simple, fun and community friendly. Please keep up the good work." (Melanie)

"I just wanted to thank you for this wonderful site. It keeps me motivated to stay focussed, especially the newsletters I receive via email. This year I am hoping to stick to my goals and learn to save more. I have learnt how to save money, be frugal and live sustainably. With all the January sales happening (and that Dyson vacuum cleaner I really want!) it is a great feeling to think, 'Do I really need this, or do I want this?', and walk away knowing it can wait or it is an impulse buy." (Stephanie)

Have a great month!
All the best,
Fiona Lippey

P.S. We have reached 15,000 likes on Facebook - come and join us for even more hints and help!
Simple Savings Facebook Page

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Wake-Up Call

"Hanna - how do you hide things from John? You know, as in things you've bought?" Sally asked from across her desk. "Um, I don't know, I don't really hide anything from him!" laughed Hanna. "Apart from birthday and Christmas presents of course - what sort of 'things' are we talking about?" "Oh, nothing really," Sally tried her best to sound casual. "I've just got this friend you see. She bought some things - sort of big things - and she thought she needed them but then she realised her husband wouldn't approve and now she's stuck with these things that she can't show him and still has to pay for them too...".

Hanna smiled kindly at Sal. "Sal, are you sure it's a friend you're talking about?" "Ohh it's me," Sally groaned. "I went shopping with Chloe last month and bought a heap of bargains at Henry Newman's but I got the bill this morning and it's almost $700! Honestly Hanna, Pete would go mad if he knew, we're supposed to be saving!" "How come he doesn't know already? Surely he would have noticed all the new stuff?" asked Hanna. "No, he hasn't seen it yet. It's still in the boot of Chloe's car - I haven't dared take it out!" Sally confessed. "I mean, how do you hide something like a vacuum cleaner?"

Hanna couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing. "It's not funny! What should I do?" Sally scowled. "How on earth am I going to come up with that sort of money?" "Well if everything is still boxed and in Chloe's car and you still have the docket, why don't you return it? That way it won't cost you anything and Pete need never know. It can be mine and Chloe's secret," Hanna grinned. "But Sal - you've had a really lucky escape. Why don't you show Pete just what an awesome saver you can be. Time to pull out all the stops lady!"

2. February: No Spend

It would be lovely if life was smooth sailing ALL the time! Unfortunately for most of us it has a habit of throwing a spanner in the works and whether it be through unforeseen circumstances or through our own doing as in Sally's case, sometimes the need arises when you really do need to 'pull out all the stops' in order to get through. Fortunately at Simple Savings we know the perfect antidote for senseless splurges and monetary messes - No Spend Month!

Believe it or not, this year marks FIVE years of No Spend Months at Simple Savings! When coming up with the challenges for the 2014 calendar, this was the first 'must have' challenge we picked to go in it. Why? Because members love it and it really does work. The results speak for themselves year after year. It's drastic, it's regimented, it's harsh - but it can also be great fun, it can bring out the creative streak in your household and bring you closer together in a common goal and very importantly, it can get you out of a financial hole.

What is No Spend Month?

If you haven't heard of or participated in No Spend Month before, the rules are simple. Your mission is to avoid spending money on ANYTHING in February other than the absolute essentials for your work, education or survival. Obviously there will be some things you cannot avoid, such as basic food and prior bills but apart from that your mission is to make sure you don't buy anything that is not essential.

For example, this month you should NOT be buying:-

Take away food of any sort
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Frozen dinners
Movies or DVDs
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol

Things you CAN spend money on:-

Rent or mortgage
Basic food
Utilities
Insurance
Petrol
Car
Health care
School essentials (meaning uniform, camps or stationery requirements, NOT money for the canteen!)
Other prior bills (we don't want you incurring late fees!)

It may sound harsh but that's because it's meant to be! No Spend Month brings results. Instead of thinking about 'going without', focus on the positives and imagine how much you would save by NOT buying anything on that top list for a month. Imagine how much headway you could make. Imagine all the things you could do to get ahead financially if you managed to keep all that money in your bank instead of automatically handing it over to shopkeepers for things you don't need. You could use it to pay off a credit card. You could pay some extra off the mortgage and save yourself some interest. You could use it to create an emergency fund to bring a little extra peace of mind. You could use it for a reward or holiday for your family. Put like that, isn't it worth the effort for a few short weeks? It's also a great way to teach younger family members the difference between a 'want' and a 'need' because let's face it, we all get a little confused between the two sometimes and confusion can be very costly!

Time to step up!

We started the year gently by using Get into Gear month as a time for planning, organising and goal setting. Now it's time to show what you can REALLY do! Join us in No Spend Month by doing the following:

Fill in your free Savings Diary. If you haven't already been doing this in January it's not too late to start. This is a particularly valuable tool during No Spend Month as it really helps to highlight where every cent is going, how much of what you spend is essential - and how much isn't. Brilliant for strengthening that steel resolve! You can fill in your own personal spending log every day of the year here.

Print off your free Purchasing Planner. Being organised is one of the big keys to saving money. Planning your day in advance will help you avoid getting caught out and having to part with money unexpectedly. Download and print off your planner here and fill it in each night or before you leave the house to make your No Spend days as easy and productive as possible.

Fill in the Save-O-Meter. Every time you find a way NOT to spend, enter in your results on the communal Save-O-Meter on the Simple Savings website. All those 'we were going to but we didn't' amounts really add up! Seeing your savings mount up this way also makes it easier to fill in your own personal Save-O-Meter for your household (found in your 2014 calendar). Watch those dollars grow!

Join us in the Forum. The Simple Savings team is always on hand to support and advise you but if you are a Vault member you can get even more from our monthly challenges by keeping an eye on our Forum challenge threads. You will be inspired, you will be motivated, you will be encouraged and most of all, you will be welcomed! You can't miss these threads; you'll find them at the top of the Forum every day of each month and are brilliantly run by Simple Savings superstar Claire M. Whether you choose to stay in the background or jump right in, there is much to be gained from these friendly discussions.

Last but not least - Don't spend a cent you don't have to! Best of luck with your No Spend Month - be sure to let us know how you go!

3. Ye Olde Shoppe: The $21 Challenge -

The Ultimate No-Spend Guide!

"The $21 Challenge" book is the ultimate No-Spend Guide! Find instant money by doing a $21 Challenge and make meals from next to nothing from ingredients lurking in your cupboards, freezers and fridges. Find out why everyone is talking about 'Baked Heaven Pastries' and learn the tricks of stretching those grocery dollars until they twang!

You can read the first two chapters for free here

Or purchase your own copy of The $21 Challenge here.

4. Penny Wise: The Low Cost of Joy

It's 8.30am and the smell of freshly baked banana cake is wafting around me as I type. It's for a certain sleeping giant, who is blissfully unaware, still tucked up cosy with his beloved little dog. Yes, Liam is home! It's been a week already and the wonderful thing is, it's as though he's never been away. He's happy to be back and Ali and I are very happy to have him back. And, as another bonus (well, kind of), he cannot stop eating! Whilst this is not so good news for the budget, it's certainly good news for this worried mum, as in the weeks before he left, he literally existed on next to nothing so I'm hoping that this massive increase in appetite is due to the fact that my boy is finally feeling settled and happy. Long may it last, hooray!

Everything just feels better now the three of us are back together - even the dogs are happier! We've been going for walks on the beach all together in the evenings and it's just lovely. The boys kick a rugby ball around, Hubble rushes about like a mad thing and Minnie trudges along stoically next to her mum, nose to the ground, completely oblivious to everything and everyone around her. As any Simple Saver knows, it's the simplest things which are often the greatest and most precious and it's times like these I treasure. We still have a long road ahead - Nawtypoo is still ours but we still have to work hard to keep her! Still, at least now we're all together and on the same page, understanding and supporting one another it doesn't seem quite so daunting. And, as the saying goes, there is always someone worse off than yourself. I sent an old school friend a Happy New Year message the other day on Facebook. Like me, his marriage had ended last year and he had also just been made redundant from his job as a chef before Christmas to boot. I wished him a happier and far less stressful year than the previous one. My heart broke when I received a message back almost immediately, 'I had to make myself bankrupt today'. And I thought I had it tough! I wanted to slap myself in the face. I've always known I had it easier than a lot of solo parents but this really made me count my blessings a thousand times over. Even so, I was really impressed by his positive attitude. If anyone deserves a break this year it's this chap and I really hope he gets one.

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately - that's a whole other blog! But one of the new joys Ali and I have discovered is tramping. We've been quite a bit over the past few weeks and love it. We're fortunate to have plenty of beautiful walks in our area and we can pretty much take our pick from 90 minute tracks to three and a half hour hikes and beyond. Apart from the teensy cost of petrol to get there it's basically free, we just pack a few snacks and water bottles and off we go! The other day we went to a place called Luck at Last Mine, less than 10 minutes drive from our house. It was beautiful! Although I have to say it has definitely been given the right name because you're flipping lucky if you ever find that mine. After four hours of puffing, sweating and climbing seemingly to no avail we had seen enough of the great NZ bush and traipsed our way back but even so our enthusiasm has not been dampened and already we are planning our next adventure!

Not a bad way to spend a weekend. I just wish there were more weekends in the week! The school holidays are flying by and the boys have been working crazy hours but Ali has just enjoyed a wonderful week being a Simple Saver the best way he knows how - by catching his own food. In the five days he has shot a deer for the freezer, waited patiently in a creek and caught, prepared and cooked his own brown trout for dinner, then went fishing with a friend and brought home two snapper, which we simply pan fried in butter and lemon pepper and served with broccoli, beans, potatoes and salad, ALL freshly picked from my garden. Made me feel very self-satisfied and abundant I can tell you! Although I'm off to the op shop this morning to see if I can pick up any old net curtains as the pesky birds will NOT leave my tomatoes alone. I wouldn't mind if it was just the odd one but they get to EVERY ripe one before I do - and I feed the little blighters every day as it is!

If there's one thing all three of us seem to have learned from being apart it's that we appreciate each other and what we have a lot more. The best times we spend together cost nothing and whereas it was always me who seemed to do everything when it came to taking care of Nawtypoo, the boys are also more pro-active around the place now and like to keep it looking nice. With all the trees and gardens to take care of it does feel like a large and never ending job but they have really stepped up with things such as pruning back trees, chopping firewood, weeding and mowing lawns - even if it means we have to have a cricket pitch in the middle of the back yard! We were fortunate enough to meet some lovely neighbours just before Christmas who have a holiday home next door to us. They only come to stay every few weeks and often less but they have been so sweet to us from the start. The first time they popped their heads over the fence it was to ask us if we wanted a free Christmas tree as they were about to chop down two large pine trees on their property. Unfortunately we already had a Christmas tree - but we did need firewood! As it turned out, the husband is a qualified arborist and the boys went round to help with the felling of the trees. In return we got a whole shed full of firewood for the winter and an enormous pile of free mulch for the garden. In fact, there is so much mulch that they even offered it as a money maker for the boys, selling and delivering it to keen gardeners in the area. Such kind and generous people! The boys and I have been mulching the gardens together and it's a great feeling to know that even though it's the height of summer, we already have all the dry firewood we need to keep us warm all year when winter comes around.

As you can probably tell, I'm feeling a lot more positive than in recent blogs! The pressure is still on though of course and I'm still hoping to get an evening job. Unfortunately whilst Whangamata is still relatively busy it is a lot quieter this year; the volume of people has already diminished a lot (which is brilliant if you're a resident but not if you're a business owner!) This means that most of the businesses are not having to take on any more extra staff but still, will keep an eye out for anything which comes up and the boys are very supportive as they understand how important it is. They both get paid weekly and were flabbergasted recently to learn that it's not the same for everyone and their mum has to make her payday last a whole month. 'That's such a long time! How do you DO it?' they asked. Exactly, I winked! All of a sudden they understood far better why NOT spending money really is so important and that Mum isn't just a boring old party pooper!

Amazing to think that this year I will have been a Simple Saver for 10 years! And I have to say that with the exception of the first year, where the concept of saving money (and indeed HAVING to) was almost an alien subject to me and I was like a sponge, soaking up every tip I came across, this year is proving to be the most valuable and rewarding - and it's only January! The tips are just as important now as they ever were and I love seeing all the new ones which come in and taking on board the ones which are relevant to me - but this year it's the inspiration from other members I am finding most valuable. I was so excited to read of Claire M's thoroughly well-deserved new kitchen! And GoGo Goanna's post-Christmas vow 'Re-evaluate luxuries and enjoy as you save' has already saved our family so much money - it really is so true. So many wonderful stories, too many to mention but my ultimate dream is to be a Shane O'Donnell. Shane is a Simple Saver from several years back who saved $30,000 in a single year. While this might be a far-off dream for me at the moment, I really like how Shane went to the trouble of sharing exactly how she managed to make such a huge saving, even including some of the frugal recipes which helped her. I remember Fiona interviewing Shane in a podcast back in the day when Simple Savings had its own weekly broadcast and it was amazing to listen to. If I can be a Shane O'Donnell in the home and a Felicity Kendall in the garden I will be one very happy and productive Penny Wise!

You can get updates on Penny's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

5. Best of the Vault: Stop, Think, Save!

Make the most of No-Spend month by planning and tracking every dollar. Ask yourself if you are about to spend your precious dollars on a 'need' or a 'want'? Even 'needs' can often be done less expensively by substituting, op-shopping or borrowing from friends and family. Here are some great tips to get you started on your 'No Spend February'...

Set a cash limit

I have just started doing the $21 Challenge, and today when I went shopping I took only the maximum amount of cash I was willing to spend. In the past, I've found it was too easy to just keep putting items in my trolley, and I'd come out being disappointed for spending money I didn't really have. That meant, of course, that I had less money to pay my bills. So today, I went in with my list and only the cash I was willing to spend and still came out spending less than I had planned!

Contributed by: NightOwl

Our daily money watch

This year is the year for improved financial diligence and discipline in our family. My husband and I both work full time and watch our money - although in the past, we sometimes felt that we were watching it disappear! Not anymore.

We're continuing to watch what we spend, but with a twist. This year, we're keeping track of how much money we spend each day and writing that amount on the calendar. It only takes a few minutes to do and is eye-opening and motivating!

Not only are we challenged to reconsider what we buy, but we've also worked out on which days we spend the most money. For example, by the end of the working week we're more likely to buy our lunch, so we've put steps in place to combat this by taking extra lunches to work on Wednesday so they're already in the work fridge for Thursday and Friday. Our daily money watch also motivates us to increase our number of 'spend-free' days.

This trick is free, takes very little time, and is working well for us. It makes saving money more fun as we try to come up with creative ways to spend less money and, of course, it's very rewarding to look back over the days and see the amounts we've spent getting smaller.

Contributed by: Katy R

Take a second look at your shopping list

After reading 'The $21 Challenge', I now take a second look at my shopping list to see if I can make further savings. For example, I had butter on my list recently, but realised I could extend what I already had by beating it in warm water. This is a trick my mother used during the Depression, but such extended butter cannot be used for baking. This enabled me to take butter off my list!

I swapped raisins for sultanas, which are cheaper, and decided I could make an eggless cake, so the eggs came off the list too. I also had condensed milk on my list, but crossed that off when I saw the condensed milk substitute in 'The $21 Challenge'.

By taking another look at my list I was able to make further savings of around $8.00 - a real help on a tight budget.

Contributed by: Brenda Winchester

6. Best of the Forum: Hey, Big Spender!

It can be hard to change ingrained habits without support, ideas and inspiration. Look no further than our resourceful and encouraging Forum members to get some help with your 'No Spend' February (and don't forget to use your Save-O-Meter to watch those savings grow!)

2014 - Can WE go any lower?

Your 'No Spend' challenge is incomplete without a word from Cheshire Cat and fellow members who continue Joan's legacy of living fully and frugally! (We miss you Joan!)
read more...

2014 - I will not buy my lunch in February challenge

Poppy and friends have some wonderful ideas to help you break that expensive lunch habit - get organised and get saving!
read more...

No Pain, No Gain Frugality 3... small leaks sink great ships

Mimi and fellow members help each other with those everyday spending decisions that can make or break a budget - some great motivation for your 'No Spend' challenge.
read more...

What are the best ways to reduce spending on groceries?

Share your ideas with Claire and other members... substitute, reduce and a bit of imagination are all ideas to keep those dollars in your pocket!
read more...

Under $5 dinners - healthy, tasty and frugal!

Don't think it can be done? Well, let Persephone and friends show you differently with ideas for frittatas, crunchy Asian salads and stuffed potatoes!
read more...

7. Best Members' Blog: I Just Paid Off My Mortgage!

One of the many benefits of being a Vault member is that you can win a $100 store credit in Ye Olde Shoppe, or $100 cash each month for your Simple Savings blog! Starting your own blog on the site is easy. All you have to do is log in to the Vault, click on 'My Desk' at the top left, then 'Your Blog'. Then get writing! We love reading all your money saving trials and tribulations and really appreciate the effort that goes into each one.

This month's winner is one of our members Frogdancer who reached a longed-for milestone with this triumphant announcement!

Seventeen years ago, I bought a little 1950's weatherboard with my then-husband in a quiet suburb in Melbourne's South East. We had four sons aged five, three, two and a three-week-old baby. The house had one lounge, one bathroom, one toilet but four bedrooms and we figured that as time went on we could extend. The mortgage was 96K.

A year later we divorced and I had to buy him out. The court set the figure at 18K so the mortgage rose to 115K. The next few years were very hand to mouth as I was a single SAHM till the last son started primary school. I then started teaching again casually and then got a nine month full time teaching contract at my local high school. Our car was falling to bits so I bought a three-year-old Ford station wagon. The mortgage went up another 15K. I vowed to have the mortgage down below pre-car levels by the time the contract ran out. I did.

I kept getting contract after contract. Meanwhile, I cleverly fixed the mortgage for five years, only then to see interest rates plummet. D'OH! Still, I consoled myself with the fact that at least I knew how much my payments were. I kept on. When the school offered me a permanent position, I knew that now we were safe. I took the boys on a holiday to Bali (then Thailand the next year because we had so much fun) and I started renovating. I was going to pay off the house first and then save for a new bathroom and kitchen but then I thought it'd be better to get it done while they were all still living with me and we could all get the benefit. So the mortgage rose to $199,995. There's no way I was going over the 200K level.

Since then I have been chipping away at it, enjoying each time it fell another 10K. At first it was slow, but then momentum started to build up. I chose not to do a lot of things on my way towards freedom, but one choice made a huge difference. I went to a Thermomix demonstration and I bought one. Three weeks later I became a consultant. From memory, my mortgage was hovering around the 100-90K mark. This was two years ago, just before Christmas. During 2012 I worked full time as a teacher and was a demonstrator on the side. I earned a free trip to Hong Kong which I was rapt about. Travel was one of the sacrifices I'd chosen to make to get rid of the mortgage.

Last year I swapped my mortgage to a different bank. It was 77K and the lower interest rate made a HUGE difference. The principle started melting away before my eyes. I re-doubled my efforts and started hurling every dollar I could at it. My house has a leaky spot in the guttering, it needs painting and my curtains are so dated it's embarrassing. It needs awnings out the front. But I kept patting her, saying, 'Don't worry, hold it together. Let me pay you off, save for Europe in 2015 and then I'll look after you.'

In 2013 I took on a Group Leader position in Thermomix and dropped a day of teaching so I could attend fortnightly meetings. I was scared to drop my wage, but I gave it a go, thinking that if I was able to double what I was losing, then I'd be happy. I did that. I also earned another free trip, this time to Sun City, South Africa.

Yesterday I looked at my statement and couldn't help but notice that my savings were $10 more than my mortgage of $12,330. It was more than flesh and blood could stand. I paid it all across.

I have no emergency fund, no holiday savings; nothing. But I have my freedom. It took 17 years.

Well done Frogdancer - we salute you!

You can read more of our members' blogs here.

8. Cooking with Mimi: Wind Down With Herbal Iced Teas

Lighting a few candles at dusk, enjoying a chilled champagne flute of lightly sweetened herbal tea, the gentle tinkle of ice cubes with fresh mint suspended in them adding to the enjoyment. It's our new favourite way of winding down.

Add a little crystal dish with a tablespoon or two of Rice Snacks in it, a conversation with our daughter about her day, hand watering our pot plants, picking a few fresh herbs for the evening meal, and you've got the perfect scenario for a peaceful evening.

Relaxing and winding down doesn't have to mean drinking alcohol. When I was young, no-one we knew routinely drank alcohol in the evenings. We were aware that other families made it part of their routine, and their budget, but it wasn't on most families' list of priorities. Things are different now, and these days, relaxing means a glass of wine. Socialising means a few glasses of wine. It doesn't have to be the case.

We're making a stand against this idea in our house. We love a nice cold glass of Sav Blanc as much as the next person, but it's a poor example to set for our 14-year-old daughter, and we're determined to show her that 'relaxing' or 'socialising', doesn't have to mean 'alcohol'.

Our strategy is to have other options available. Most evenings it will be an iced herbal tea of some sort. Other nights, it might be a chilled soup in little teacups like a Gazpacho (chilled tomato soup) or a Vichyssoise (chilled potato soup) as a sort of early entré, which means we'll only want a light evening meal too. A light mocktail like a Virgin Mary or a fruity punch may make an occasional appearance. If we have guests, they'll be offered the same, and I actually think they'll enjoy the change.

As with everything, the presentation is important to make it really feel like a treat. So break out the fancy glasses, a pretty tray, a sprig of flowers and some serviettes.

Here's my favourite recipe for herbal tea, served chilled.

You'll need:

1-2 litre jug or container of some sort
Ice cube trays
1 lemon, sliced
1/2 small cucumber, sliced (you can replace the lemon and cucumber with other fruits or herbs to enhance the flavour of your tea if you prefer)
Sprigs of fresh mint, berries or other sweet herbs or fruit
6 herbal teabags of choice; a combination is nice. Try mint and chamomile or peach and raspberry
Sugar or Stevia
Pretty glasses or champagne flutes and a tray or platter of some sort

How to do it:

First thing in the morning or the night before, pick some fresh mint, hull some berries or halve some grapes and add them to ice cube trays, filling the trays with water and freezing them.

Then fill a pretty jug or container with water and add lemon and cucumber slices. Let that steep for a couple of hours.

At around lunch time or when you get home from work, get your six herbal teabags... all the same or a mixture and make up the tea 'concentrate'. Add the six teabags to about 500ml boiling water and allow it to brew for about 10 minutes. Add two to three teaspoons of sugar or some Stevia to the brew if you want a touch of sweetness, remove the teabags and chill it well.

Remove the lemon and cucumber slices from the water, drink a glass or two of the flavoured water to make room for the tea brew and add the brew to the chilled jug of water. Then it goes back into the fridge.

Get a tray ready with a little crystal dish of rice snacks or similar if you wish, a flower or sprig of herbs for decoration and set up your champagne flutes or pretty glasses.

Then all you have to do is add the ice cubes and pour out your herbal iced tea. Top up your glass as desired, guilt-free.

You'll feel more refreshed and relaxed and you'll be doing your waistline and your wallet a huge favour.

Enjoy!

You can get updates on Mimi's new blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

9. Rob Bob's Gardening Blog: Home Grown Compost

We've had to reign in the garden budget at the moment due to the cost of setting up the new re-circulating aquaculture system (fish farm). I'm lucky that we have free fertiliser just lying around and growing in the yard just waiting to process and use.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways we can feed up the beds is by cleaning out the chicken pen and yard. Greens from the patch, tall grass from the fence line, kitchen scraps and lawn clippings from the back yard all go in to their pen on a regular basis. At the moment they are also being treated to a self service tomato bar and a fair few mangoes that have been knocked down by possums and flying foxes.

What isn't devoured by the girls is scratched around the pen, mixed with manure and then composts down. Their varied diet means that the manure is rich and when added to the composted scraps/clippings in their pen makes for a very rich additive for the garden. It's packed with organic matter to help feed the compost worms in the garden beds which is another bonus. The last lot that was collected was added to our sweet corn bed which was sown out on the 7th of January and I think the results speak for themselves. :)»

We've also been composting garden and lawn scraps and out in the front yard we have a pile that is mainly lawn clippings under a stand of pigeon pea bushes. This pile, if left alone, would eventually break down but as I'm impatient I have been boosting it with some other prunings from the yard. As the pile is mainly a cold composting grass clippings heap it does tend to dry out a little and become slightly hydrophobic, not allowing water to penetrate deep into the pile. To combat this I like to give it a water whenever anything is added and turned over. A few different bits from around the patch have been added to this heap. The first lot of goodies to go in was the old pumpkin and spaghetti squash vines that had been growing out the front. They were run over with the mower to make the composting process faster and then buried in the centre of the pile.

I was most surprised to find that the composting process had started the very next day with the centre of the pile hitting 60°C/140°F. I think the fresh greenery added the nitrogen and moisture that the pile needed to boost the composting process. A few weeks ago we also started to add the pips and skin from the mangoes we harvested. We have found that mangoes and pineapple in particular attract black soldier flies into the compost where they lay their eggs. These flies are great to have around as not only are their larvae great composters, the adult flies release chemicals that tend to keep house and blow flies away.

In no time at all these little composters can devour your scraps (including meat and some dairy if in a purpose built farm) into waste that can then be composted down further into a great fertiliser. We actually have a fair few mangoes that have been blown by Queensland fruit fly so they too will be going into the pile. Before adding them we put them into a bag or bucket with a lid and leave them out in the sun for a few days. The heat kills the fruit fly larvae that would otherwise continue their life cycle in the compost pile and become pests later on.

Over the weekend some mulched up weed tree branches and pigeon pea bushes were added before giving the pile a good turn over and soaking. The pigeon pea will help add extra nitrogen to the mix and the leaf mulch will add beneficial microbes as it had already started to break down in the barrel. When the next batch of mangoes go into the pile another load of pigeon pea mulch will also go in as well.

Mulch is another product you can grow, chop/mulch up and add to the garden to save you some coin. Some good sources for home grown mulch that we have used in the past are lemongrass, comfrey and pea plants. A new one we have been able to try this Summer is corn stalks. Rather than trying to compost them down, I thought it would make a great mulch on the bed it was grown in. That way it can slowly break down and become food for the compost worms in the bed. So far I think it's doing a great job and it will be interesting to see how long it takes to break down.

Hope that gives folks a few ideas on how they might use plants and prunings from the patch in different ways to help them out and save them some coin. Let me know if you have any other great ways to processes organic matter for free on site.

That's about it for this month's blog. I should be able to introduce you to some new residents in the patch next blog.

Cheers all,

Rob : )»

You can get updates on Rob Bob's new gardening adventure blogs on the Simple Savings Facebook page

or in our Members' Blog section.

10. From Last Month: Party Time!

Last month Petra emailed us asking for ideas on holding a unique but Simple Savings-inspired birthday celebration for her dad:

"My dad's 60th birthday is coming up and although I don't have a lot of money to spend, I want to put on a really unique birthday party for him. I'm not very creative and would love some ideas about where, and how, to cater for about 50 people. We have a bit of money put aside to hire a hall if necessary but all the invitations, decorations and food will be 'home-made'. I really want this to be something he'll remember, so need your help!"

We got so many fantastic ideas for Petra - thank you! Here are some of our favourite replies:

A little credit goes a long way

When trying to keep party costs down don't be afraid to ask prospective guests to help with the food. Perhaps a friend or relative is good at making cakes - ask if they would make one as a gift. Also you can ask others to 'gift' their time to help with decorations - especially if you know they are on a budget and may struggle to find the money for a gift. Most will be happy to be involved directly with the party; it will save them having to think what to buy the person and they know their 'gift' will be appreciated. Give a little credit where due on the day by making tags such as 'Table decorations made by Auntie Flo', 'Sausage rolls hand-made by Aunt Jane', 'Crockery loaned and will be washed up by Fred' and so on. The party VIP will be delighted that everyone has got together to plan the day and everyone will enjoy the party better knowing there's no big bills to follow!

Contributed by: Helendt

Rock around the frugal clock

Since your dad was born in the 50's, why not have a 'back to the 50's' fancy dress party? This way you can let people's costumes and the theme be the focus for the night, rather than a large cost. Do some research on what sorts of things were popular in those days and decorate as frugally as possible by borrowing where you can and scouring op shops. Some cheap ideas for decorations:

Laminate black and white 1950's photographs printed off from the Internet. You don't even need a laminator to do this; your iron will seal the laminate pouches - just remember to put a tea towel over them first.
Hang old fashioned vinyl records from fishing line from the ceiling - you can pick these up super cheap from the op shop and garage sales.
Google photos of the 50's for decorating and fancy dress ideas. Like this link.
Make the menu all finger foods to save on making it a formal sit down event. Most people have more fun mingling anyway, and you can do funky 'back in the day' finger foods like mashed potato wrapped in Devon and so on. A 50's dinner party should have lots of toothpick finger food which will make catering and clean up easy. You can try this website and similar for ideas on toothpick finger foods.
Make sure you have some 50's and 60's music on hand, you can usually pick this up fairly cheap and might be lucky to find some at the op shop or be able to borrow some from the library for free!

Contributed by: Wishful thinking

Throw a thrift shop party

For a low-cost party idea which is heaps of fun, how about a 'Thrift Shop Elegance' theme? All outfits must be bought at op shops and evening wear is preferable. Keep your guests giggling with various small prizes throughout the night such as 'Best Dressed', 'Most Tacky' and so on. It costs so little to throw such an event but the memories and photos are priceless!

Contributed by: Dee

Have a picnic in the park

A picnic in the park makes a great low-cost party - we did this for my mum's 70th birthday. A few months beforehand, go and find a nice, shady park or beach area and check out what will be the best time of day - we had a brunch and the closest family members all brought platters of food. Decorations were limited, but not needed as the bush scene was perfect and there was no major cleaning up. Mum didn't want any presents so we put this on the invitation, however, we did quietly mention that Mum could use a gardener so with the money she received we were able to get a gardener to come in once a week for a year!

Contributed by: Louise

Slow cook your way to party savings

My daughter's 18th birthday party for 80 guests cost me just $150! I borrowed a few slow cookers from friends to do the catering. We had five different meals in the cookers and I then just cooked large pots or rice and pasta to go with them. We had beef bolognaise, sweet and sour pork, Thai green chicken curry, beef and red wine casserole and a vegetarian pumpkin risotto. All were packed with lots of vegies to bulk it up and the bolognaise also had some lentils to bulk it up even further. It was a great way to feed plenty on a budget and all with wholesome home-made tucker. For dessert we had birthday cake and I made some individual shortbreads dipped in chocolate and a bowl of 'Favourites' chocolates. Everybody loved it and has since used my idea too!

Contributed by: Selsbels

Show the love on a special birthday

We recently went to a friend's 80th birthday party and were really impressed with the simple yet special touches his family put together for him:

The family hired the local hall which was air conditioned on a very hot weekend, great thinking!
They had several tables set aside on which they had grouped photos - one of his family (starting with his grandparents and including a little written history of his ancestors), one of the occupations he had held, including a brief history of his jobs accompanied by newspaper clippings, and one of his main interest which is horses so there were stacks of photos of his racehorses or work horses and again, newspaper clippings. All these were covered with clear plastic to protect the photos.
On the dining tables were laid tablecloths with little cut-out horses scattered over them. It was brilliant; I think you can get them and others like them from Spotlight or a $2 type shop. The family also placed two or three boxes containing stars and happy birthday signs (the stars were on long sticks so the display was like a floral arrangement) and the boxes were covered in sparkles.
At the front of the room there were two blackboards on which the family wrote little messages about their father/grandfather; it was lovely to read the messages. They included little gems such as how he can't swim. These along with the photos I think were the best touches.
The music was a mix of modern and older (today and up to 80 years ago) and it just felt right on the night!
The family elected to pay for a caterer who kept it simple with lovely boards of nibbles, followed by cold chicken, ham and salad and finished with plum pudding, custard and fresh fruit (The plum pudding was a favourite of the birthday boy's!).
The family offered free beer or soft drink but was BYO spirits (given it is a hall, that would have got around the licensing conditions); however, you do not have to have alcohol.

I think the love of the family really showed through on the evening and has definitely provided me with plenty of ideas for future special events!

Contributed by: Summer Breeze

Picture collage doubles up as decoration and gift

A picture collage makes a great low-cost decoration which can also be given as a gift after the event. Buy a fairly large framed cork board. Then ask your guests to bring along a photo of the party VIP and ask them to add it to your collage. It can be photos from any era; when they were at school, at work or a work party, whatever! We did this for my hubby and added photos of his fishing trips, his boat and 4WD which tows the boat to Cape York and so on. It's proudly displayed in our lounge room.

We did a similar thing for my mum's 80th birthday where my siblings and I got photos over the years including some with my late dad, and used an online photo site (in our case Big W) to make a collage, sharing the cost between us. As I live in a different town to Mum, we arranged for the collage to be collected from my mum's local branch of Big W, so when we made a surprise visit for her 80th birthday, we collected it and brought it to her for her birthday gathering. Lots of surprises and laughter that day!

Contributed by: Lexie

11. This Month's Help Request: Help With Grime Fighting!

Jacqueline has emailed asking for some help! She writes:

"I am what might be described as a 'well-endowed' lady. I also love my food, which undoubtedly contributes to my endowments! I am also a grot. Not a wash goes by that I don't have at least three tops that need serious de-staining somewhere down the highly visible front. I find no joy in spending hours examining dirty clothes or undertaking laundry detective work to match the right stain remover to the right stain, particularly as I'm often unsuccessful. I am heartily fed up with forking out money for new clothes unnecessarily.

Any tips out there for quick and cheap multi-purpose, all-in-together stain removal? Or culinary behaviour change, other than tucking the tablecloth under my chin? Breast reduction is too expensive!"

If you have any pearls of wisdom you'd like to share with Jacqueline, please send them in to us here.

12. Goodbye for Now!

Well, that's your Simple Savings Newsletter for February 2014 and we hope you have enjoyed it. Kick-start your 'No Spend' by joining us in the Forum challenge and get some inspiration from our Facebook hints and tips. We know you can do it!

Till next time...
All the best,
Fiona

February 2016 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money" Free Newsletter - February 2016

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day
January: The 100 Million Dollar Challenge
New Year, New Hints!
Best of the Vault: Little Bits DO Add Up!
Best of the Forum: Every Saving Counts
Best Members' Blog: The Little Bits Are Adding Up!
Best of Facebook: We Saved $18,000 in Six Months!
Mixing It Up a Bit: Mimi and Rob
Saving Story: A Series Of (Un)fortunate Events
Goodbye For Now

Hi,

How are you going? I hope you have had a great January. Things have been very busy around here and I have been having a ball recording my savings every day on the 100 Million Dollar Challenge. Our group total so far is $168,700. How cool is that?!

If you haven't popped in and checked out the 100 Million Dollar Challenge yet, please do so. The URL is:
www.simplesavings.com.au/100mc

We would love you to join in the fun!

Many grins,
Fiona

P.S. Joining the 100 Million Dollar Challenge is free now. It will cost money to sign up later.

P.S.S. A few people have written in saying they are having trouble working out where to submit hints. I'm sorry, that is my fault. If you have a great tip, the best way to send it to us is from this hint submission page.

1. Sally and Hanna: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Sally sat down heavily at her desk. Her head flopped on the table. "This is IT!" she declared. "I have had enough. NO MORE SAVING FOR ME. I have been on this saving kick for years now and where has it got me? Tell me that, Hanna! Where has it got me?"

Hanna cast her mind back to the beginning. She remembered how Sally worked back every night. She remembered the food Sally used to eat. She remembered how sad Sally was. She remembered Sally's credit cards, her massive home loan, all the shopping bags, and thought about how much Sally had improved. She had come such a long way! But Hanna didn't know what to say or how to make her friend see the huge difference all her years of effort had made.

Sally had forgotten all her improvements. She had lost track of her savings. She had even lost track of her goals. Then, quite by chance, Hanna opened an email from Simple Savings reminding her about the 100 Million Dollar Challenge. The timing was uncanny! And, Hanna smiled to herself; she knew just the thing to get Sally back on the savings bandwagon...

2. January: The 100 Million Dollar Challenge

Sally has a short memory, bless her. Anyone who has kept up with her antics over the past decade knows she has achieved some wonderful things and made some fantastic changes. Sure, it hasn't all been plain sailing (nobody's perfect!) but overall she has come a long, long way. Over the years Sally's efforts have saved her a fortune. So how come she seems to have forgotten?

It is because she hasn't been recording her savings or keeping track of her progress. Imagine if Sally could see all the money her decisions had saved her; all the money she didn't have to earn to stay afloat; all the extra hours she didn't have to work.

If that was the case Sally wouldn't be hitting her head on the desk in frustration. She would be sitting tall and proud. That is what we want you to do this year; to stand tall and proud with us. To add up your savings and see how well you are doing. It is time to celebrate each cent and every action.

Our motto for this year is 'little bits add up' and our goal is to prove how quickly making tiny savings can add up to huge amounts of money with our 100 Million Dollar Challenge. What is that? It's a celebration of each and every saving you make, no matter how small. Consider this your personal invitation to take part and see just how much of a difference your efforts DO make to your finances this year.

For those of you who have previously used our Save-O-Meter, the principles are the same. Every time you make a saving, don't keep it to yourself! It takes just a few seconds to type it in and add it to our challenge tally. The great thing about doing this is, not only do you get to affirm and feel good about each saving you make (not to mention have a well-earned brag about it with the rest of us), you also get to inspire others and be inspired at the same time by sharing ideas to help us strive even further. You also get to see just how much all the little bits you save here and there really do add up. The big difference between the Save-O-Meter and the 100 Million Dollar Challenge is the goal figure at the end. We've already managed to save over 45 million dollars with the Save-O-Meter without even trying. This year we've raised the bar even further and set a total. Let's see what we can all achieve when we all REALLY put our minds to it!

You can get started entering all your savings (both regular and one-off) with the 100 Million Dollar Challenge. At the moment signing up to it is free but as we come up with more functions to make it an even better savings tool it will become a paid feature, so take advantage of it now and get logging in those savings! And, if you ever find yourself feeling like Sally, think about all the changes YOU have made, how much money you've saved. Remind yourself how far you've come and then, like in Finding Nemo, 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming'. Keep going in the right direction - and you will get there.

3. New Year, New Hints!

Now be honest, when was the last time you sent in a money saving tip to us? For many people, the New Year heralds new commitment and enthusiasm to saving money and squashing cash-draining habits. If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you! What is your favourite money saving tip you have learned or created for yourself so far this year? What was your favourite tip from last year that you never got around to sending in? What's your favourite tip EVER? Take a few moments to send them in to us and you could be a winner! Every hint which gets picked for Hint of the Week wins a free 12 month Vault membership, valued at $27. If you don't currently have one, this means you get instant access to all the whistles and bells Simple Savings land has to offer, from brilliant financial resources and all sorts of other cool stuff free members don't get to play with, to being part of the hub of the Simple Savings community, the Savings Forum. If you already have a paid membership, no problem - your winning tip will still earn you another whole year once your current membership expires, for free!

So don't delay, send us your tips today! It's super easy, all you need to do is fill out the hint submission form here and our friendly staff will await your tips with eager anticipation. The Vault is growing constantly with new and exciting ways to save money, why not add yours too?

4. Best of the Vault: Little Bits DO Add Up!

If you need any proof of just how much all those little savings here and there add up, look no further than the Vault. Be warned, however, once you dive in and start reading all those motivational tips, you may find yourself glued to your screen for hours! Here are just a few to give you an idea.

10% less on everything means more

Save money by using the 10% principle! Instead of trying to change your lifestyle, just try cutting down on everything (and I mean everything) by 10%. Reduce your travel by 10%, reduce electricity, water usage, even takeaway by 10%. In turn, stretch groceries by 10% and get that extra 10% wear out of things. By using the 10% principle on a $25,000 take home pay, you end up with an extra $2500 in your pocket!

Contributed by: Sandra Glusa

Always room for improvement

I have been a Simple Savings member for years and by using the tips and hints from the Vault in our everyday life, we have knocked $80,000 off our $180,000 mortgage in just a few years!

My husband is a police officer and I'm a teacher so we earn an average combined wage. We bought a house within our means and have paid triple repayments since day one. We have also enjoyed overseas holidays every year for the past five years (including six months around Europe and a five-star trip to Egypt)! I always think, 'Yeah, we're doing okay!' but on a recent visit to see my wasteful parents(!) I noticed they were going to the supermarket every day for bits and pieces. I came home and looked over my bank statement and was disgusted to see that for the month of August, we went to the supermarket 23 times! And spent $1225.90! That's $306.48 per week, for two adults and an eight-month-old, which is beyond ridiculous!

Here I was being all smug and thinking we were nailing it! My advice for everyone is to be honest with yourself, review what you are doing periodically and use the tools available on this website. Menu planning, stock-taking and shopping once a week with a list are good places to start. Even though we employ lots and lots of SS principles, are way ahead on the mortgage and about to head to the USA for the next big holiday, there is always room for improvement!

Contributed by: Peaches come in a can

Cheap is good, cheaper or free is better!

I have saved hundreds of dollars by using my 'Cheap, Cheaper and Free' spreadsheet! Basically I set up a simple spreadsheet with four columns. The columns are headed Regular, Cheap, Cheaper and Free. Every time I buy something in my budget, I try to come up with the cheapest possible option, for example, when watching a DVD:

Regular would be buying a DVD.
Cheap would be renting instead.
Cheaper would be using a discount voucher to rent a DVD.
Free would be borrowing a DVD from a friend or the library.

On my spreadsheet I highlight the option I'm currently doing and challenge myself to eventually have only highlighted options in the 'Cheaper' and 'Free' columns. It's fun and challenging to try to come up with cheaper and free ways to do everything. Sometimes there may not be a free way, but there is ALWAYS a cheaper way!

Contributed by: Tracey Blume

Fill a treasure chest with gold!

One year a friend gave me a money tin and on the side of it was printed, 'If you fill this tin with only gold coins, by the time it's full you will have at least $500'. It really didn't look big enough to hold that amount of money, but I love a challenge so I decided to find out if it could!

We started in March and any gold coins we had went into the tin. Our goal was to open the tin at Christmas and use it to pay off lay-bys plus have some spending money over the Christmas break.

Contributed by: Nicole

Happiness and honesty saves on splurges

The easiest way I have found for me to save is to be honest with myself. After becoming aware that I was saying 'this will be my ONE indulgence while I save' at least once a day (with savings going nowhere - strange that!), I had to face the facts. I am not happy with what I am doing work-wise at the moment, therefore I vent my frustration by spending money on trifles. This simply keeps me in limbo, just numbing the 'pain' enough to go on and on. I now have a choice - either I change my job, or my attitude. Either way, all these 'deserved indulgences' will no longer be necessary. Estimated savings - between $3.50 per day for my coffee, with shoes and designer hair shampoo thrown in, I come up with a way to instantly save an easy $300-400 a month!

Contributed by: Maienkind

Money tin savings work online too

I have discovered that regularly checking the balance of my everyday bank account and putting just a few cents away into savings each time adds up to some big savings. How it works is this - I check the balance of my everyday account online and then transfer every amount under a dollar showing on that balance, to my savings account. For example, if my everyday balance showed $300.45, I would transfer that $0.45c to my savings account.

If I transfer $0.05c every day, then I save $18.25 per year. But if I have as much as $0.99c to transfer each time, I save $361.35! The more often I log on, the more I save. It works on the same principle as the Money Tin Challenge - except that I had let this spare change slip down the back of the virtual couch for too many years - not anymore!

Contributed by: Anita H

Sacrifice your vices and save $10,000

Our family are all set to save $10,000 this year! My husband, three children and I have decided to give up the foods that we like the most for the sake of our health and our bank balance. Hubby Steve is giving up iced coffee, which he was drinking as much as four litres of a day, at a cost of $15 a day! The children are giving up tuck shop snacks, which will save us a further $60 a week and I will give up cake, chocolate and lollies, saving yet another $50 a week. Making these changes should save about $850 per month. If we can keep this up all year we will save $10,200 and be healthier too - a small sacrifice for a terrific result!

Contributed by: Jenny Hodge

$3 a fortnight makes mortgage $1800 cheaper!

I have discovered how just $3.00 a fortnight can make a big difference to your mortgage! Check out the www.moneysmart.gov.au mortgage calculator. Here you can see how increasing your mortgage payment by even $1.00 a fortnight will change the total interest paid over the life of the loan. From the Tools & Resources tab, select 'calculators & apps', then 'Mortgage calculators'. Use the 'How can I repay my loan sooner' option to select this calculator. Next, enter your current mortgage balance, interest rate, repayments and frequency. You'll see the capital in one colour, then the interest and fees in another. Click 'Compare alternative', then enter your repayment plus $1.00 more. Now you'll have two bar graphs to look at. By rolling your mouse over the fees and interest section you will see the total sum. Subtract the higher repayment sum from the original to calculate your saving in interest over the loan term.

In this way I have worked out that for our mortgage, just $1.00 extra paid every fortnight equates to approximately $600 in interest saved over 24 years. In addition, as ours is a variable rate loan, every extra $ paid now reduces the future impact of rising interest rates. The less capital we owe when rates go up, the smaller the increase in repayments. This may seem a small, slow saving but it is money you can use on something else, such as enjoying your retirement!

Contributed by: GoGo Goanna

5. Best of the Forum: Every Saving Counts

New year, new beginnings and new goals. Our Forum members are busy as ever setting their targets for the year and sharing how they're going to reach them!

2016 vision boards

If you are the kind of person who gets motivated to stay on track even further by having a visual reminder of your goal, Clutterhen has some strategies for you. Choose a way which suits you best and watch all those little bits add up.
read more...

We've got no money, so we must think

When you have no money to spare, every little saving counts! GoGo Goanna (with a little help from nuclear physicist Ernest Rutherford) shows how a lot of valuable little savings can be made when you put your thinking cap on!
read more...

Year one of our five year plan

Newlywed Martha has some big goals - and she's super focussed on getting there! Follow her journey as she goes about reaching her first target of saving $40,000 by October and be inspired along the way.
read more...

6. Best Members' Blog: The Little Things Are Adding Up!

This month's Blog winner is MoneyMine for her blog about how all the countless small savings we make really can make a difference. Check out the result!

The Little Things Are Adding Up!

"Only days into my new financial mission and I feel as though I'm doing really well!

YNAB is beyond belief brilliant, I'm on a free trial for now, but will definitely be subscribing. I've cancelled my Cozi app subscription, which will cover half the yearly cost. I've tried other budgeting systems and apps, but YNAB is the first system that has REALLY made sense as far as handling my money is concerned.

To save money so far this week I have:

done a food stocktake
menu planned based primarily on what I had at home
shopped with a list
said no to takeaway, and made alternatives at home for a fraction of the price
taken our own drinks and snacks with us whenever we went out
tracked every cent I've spent in YNAB
made egg sandwiches for us all to have for lunch today, in order to use up a dozen eggs that were nearing expiry
made some snacks for the kids using ingredients I already had in the house
avoided all impulse buys...and stopped browsing the shops for entertainment!

The result? For the first time, in a very, very long time, I'm going to finish the week with some money still in the bank. Not much mind you, as I'm on a very low income, but enough to cover my mobile bill and health insurance (extras only) that's due out on the 1st. I won't have to touch a line of credit to make ends meet. That in itself is huge!

I do have some big bills coming up over the next two weeks with the kids returning to school and ballet lessons, but I now feel confident I'll be able to get those taken care of, and start building my emergency fund."

Great stuff MoneyMine, keep up the good work! You can read more of our members' blogs here.

7. Best of Facebook: We Saved $18,000 in Six Months!

What's the only thing better than joining the Simple Savings website? Joining the Simple Savings website AND our community Facebook group! Double the motivation, double the inspiration and double the enjoyment! We love to hear of your savings triumphs and it made our day to read this post from Kymelise:

"About six months ago I rang up my banks and found out I was $52,000 in debt! I'm 22 years old and felt horrible about it so decided to make a change! Yesterday I rang them again to see how I'm going and I'm now $34,000 in debt! Surprising what I can do when I only buy what I need rather than what I want! This page has helped me a lot. Thanks!"

Before you ask, Kymelise doesn't own a single credit card! Like many people she and hubby just got sucked into the high interest trap on their work vehicles. Changing a few simple habits has already made a massive difference and the young couple aim to be debt-free in two years. Awesome effort!

Joining our busy Facebook community is super easy. Either search up 'Simple Savers' on Facebook or click this link and request to join. Once you're in, let the fun begin!

8. Mixing It Up a Bit: Mimi and Rob

You may have noticed the format of our newsletter has changed this year. We have made it shorter and we are planning to vary its size and contents every month. Unfortunately, this means we have lost our regular bloggers, Mimi and Rob.

If you would like to find Mimi, she has a fantastic blog where she is running frugal gift making workshops and will soon be publishing her own superbly stunning and always classy book. If you would like more of Mimi go to:

atrayofbliss.blogspot.com.au

If you would like more of Rob, his YouTube channel is going great guns and his Facebook Group "Share the Seed" is a great place to hang out. Here are links to both:

www.youtube.com/user/bnbob01

www.facebook.com/groups/305118499498211/

Both Mimi and Rob will be making appearances in this newsletter from time to time, but not every month.

9. Savings Story: A Series of (Un)fortunate Events

"I had been living beyond my means for some time and knew I needed to trim my spending. For the last couple of years I had been pretty careful with purchases, but was not succeeding in 'cutting my coat according to my cloth'. About eight or nine months ago I decided I would only spend cold hard cash. I withdrew what I could afford to once a week from the bank and forced myself to make do with that until the following week. What a shock! The first couple of weeks I was penniless within 24 hours and had long lists of unpurchased 'necessities'. My grocery shopping barely covered the bottom of the trolley. (What a joy when it came to unpacking it!) I discovered I could do without many things and started making all food (including bread) from scratch. Most things tasted better and I enjoyed cooking. I started buying vegetable seedlings and growing them, but have had to trim that back to seeds to supply us with enough. The junk food and alcohol are long gone - the money never makes it that far. I lost weight! But I still wasn't making ends meet, so I had to cut back on contents insurance. The result has been that I am more careful with what I do have and am becoming less concerned about material possessions as I am not acquiring expensive new ones anyway. I had more free time on the weekends as I didn't 'have' to scour the newspaper for the best buys and then rush around putting them on the credit card. However, I still needed to trim my expenses, so I had to forgo my medical insurance. I find I am now so much more careful with my lifestyle, diet and exercise and I suspect it is because my subconscious knows that there is no comfortable private hospital or top specialist waiting for me if anything goes wrong.

Petrol is still a thorn in my side and I am very conscious of the percentage of my hard-earned money that is going on harming the environment just to get me to work. Tomorrow I have an interview for a less 'glamorous', but otherwise similar job within walking distance of my home. This would also increase my exercise. So far, the follow-on effects of spending only cash I have in my hand have not ended. But each time I have had to make a tough decision about which 'necessity' to forgo to live within my means, I have discovered that going without is not as bad as I feared and that, oddly enough, I am now healthier, happier, less rushed, more in control of my life and proud of my resourcefulness than I ever was when I had everything I thought I needed.

Contributed by: Anne Stephenson Piper

10. Goodbye For Now

Well, that's the first Simple Savings Newsletter for 2016 done and dusted! We hope you have enjoyed it. Don't forget to check the Forum and Facebook for challenges and tips to inspire you to keep making all those little savings every day. Be sure to record them in the 100 Million Dollar Challenge too! Let's see how much we can all save together.

Our members are hugely important to us and we love hearing from you all! So next time you're on the website, why don't you get in touch and say, 'G'day'! Let us know what you would like to see more of in our newsletter or any suggestions you have for something new to try. We love receiving your clever ideas!

Keep spreading the love around to your family and friends too by forwarding them our newsletter or letting them know about our website. Help make their lives easier and save them money too! Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page.

Until next time...
All the best,
Fiona

PS: Want to make 2016 your best money saving year ever? Get a Vault membership! All the money saving tips you could possibly ever need available with the click of a mouse and each one is carefully categorised to make it easy to find what you want, when you want it. A Simple Savings Vault membership also makes the perfect thoughtful gift. With a 365 day 'no questions asked' money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose, only big savings to gain. To find out more about joining the Vault and to purchase a 12 month membership, click here.

February 2019 - Simple Savings Newsletter

>> Get Growing in February! <<

Simple Savings Newsletter - February 2019

Growing Online
How to Make Soap at Home
Recipe: Lazy 'Everything at Once' Soap
Save-O-Meter: Watching Your Savings Grow
New Competition: Criticise and Win $50
Competition Winners: Inspiring Others
New: Tools and Downloads Area
Learning With the Lippeys

Hi,

I hope you have been having a fantastic February; learning new things and growing your brain. We have taken "Grow Your Brain" month seriously in the Lippey household and February has been filled with lessons from library books, online videos and articles and offline workshops. We have learned how to make soap, improve the Save-O-Meter, edit video, and we've discovered lots of ways Simple Savings members have been improving themselves.

Keep up the great work! Remember to stay in touch and tell us what you've been up to.

Many grins,

Fiona

1. Growing Online

My kids will tell you the best part of the internet is the games. For me it is learning new things.

I love how easy it is to learn online.

Two months ago I had no idea how to make soap. None!! Soap was this magical thing that appeared in the shops. The trouble is my kids have super sensitive, 'peel off in large chunks' skin and we live in the bacteria-laden sub-tropics. This means we need hypoallergenic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial soap, which is really expensive.

So I hopped on to Google, checked out a few recipes and watched some YouTube videos to learn the basics of soap making. From there I created my own soap recipe from cosmetic grade macadamia oil, olive oil, neem oil and caustic soda.

The results were brilliant. It is the best soap I have ever used. It cleans, moisturises, disinfects and kills fungus.

With the help of YouTube, online blogs and my local library I have learned how to make a 1.4kg batch of incredible soap in an hour, which is fantastic. The best part, though, is what I found after doing some more research. I discovered soap similar to mine sells for $89.95 per kilo. This means the retail value of my hand made soap is about $125. Yet I had only spent $21 on ingredients. This means I had saved myself $104 making soap. How brilliant is that?

2. How to Make Soap at Home

If you would like to learn how to make soap watch this series of videos from Liz from Night Owl Crafts. In it she will show you everything you need to know to make hot or cold process soap.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oN7KuRcmqY

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRX3BB-4ER0

In Liz's video she talks about Hot Process and Cold Process soaps. Here are the advantages and disadvantages I found with each method.

Cold Process

Easier to make. You only need to raise the temperature to 40 degrees, stir it together and pour into the mould
Good for beginners
It is easier to pour into moulds because it is runny
Soap must sit for 6-8 weeks before you can use it to allow the caustic soda and oil to turn to soap
The effectiveness of essential oils is reduced as they interact with the caustic soda

Hot Process

Takes about an hour to make
It can be used the same day
Essential oils are more effective because they are added after the caustic soda and oils have reacted with each other
It is hard to stir because it sets
It is hard to put in the mould

Let's move onto the soap recipe...

3. Recipe: Lazy 'Everything at Once' Soap

It is time for a confession: When it comes to beauty, I'm really lazy. I don't want to have to cleanse, rinse, scrub, rinse, moisturise and then oil my skin. I wanted a product that does all those things in one go. I also want it to kill all the germs, treat dandruff, tinea, thrush and BO at the same.

This soap recipe does all those things, which is why I call it my Lazy 'Everything at Once' soap.

Equipment

Protective gloves
Eye protection
Slow cooker
Stick blender
Stainless steel mixing spoon
Candy thermometer
Scales
Glass jug

WARNING!! The caustic soda is dangerous. Do not get it on your skin. Wear eye protection and gloves. Work in a well ventilated area.

Ingredients

120g Caustic Soda (Lye) from Bunnings
750g Cosmetic grade macadamia oil
260ml Distilled water
200g olive oil
50 drops neem oil

Put on your gloves, eye protection and a long sleeve shirt.

Then take the caustic soda and water to a well ventilated, pet and child free area.

The order you do this is important: Do not pour water into the caustic soda! Mix the caustic soda and water in a glass jug by slowly adding the caustic soda to the water while you stir. It will froth and heat itself up.

Let it cool down while you prepare other things.

Put all oil in a slow cooker and heat it to 40 degrees.

Pour the caustic soda into the oil. Mix with a stick blender.

Put the slow cooker on low and stir with a wooden spoon every ten minutes.

When the soap has thickened how long?, stir in the neem oil.

Place soap in moulds and leave overnight.

Empty soap from moulds.

Cut up soap.

Store it in a sealed container.

4. Save-O-Meter: Watching Your Savings Grow

When you have been frugal for a long time it is easy to take your savings for granted. It is easy to forget that when you are saving money you are doing something AMAZING!! That is why I love the Save-O-Meter.

The Save-O-Meter reminds me that my decisions - learn how to make soap; make school lunches instead of buying them; learn how to film and edit our own videos; mend and keep instead of throwing and buying; learn how to cut our own hair; shop at the factory outlet instead of the supermarket; and cook instead of take away - all make a difference. It reminds me these little savings are valuable and I am valuable.

It does this by adding up every cent saved. Here are my savings I have recorded in the last month.

How cool are they?

Looking at my savings from the last month makes me feel fantastic. I hope this time next month you will be able to look at your Save-O-Meter results and say "Wow! The things I do make a difference!"

5. New Competition: Criticise and Win $50

This month we want you to criticise us. Really, I mean it. I want the Save-O-Meter to be brilliant! I want it to inspire, motivate and teach people how to save money. Not just frugal people, but spendthrifts as well and people who would like to lower their bills but don't know where to begin.

I want all this, but I designed the Save-O-Meter and I have stared at it for too long. I need fresh eyes to see the things we have missed. That is why this month we are giving away 4 prizes of $50 to people who send in the best criticism.

When I say criticism we are open to all types of criticism, such as:-

I think it is crap because...
I would never use it because...
It really needs to be...
You can improve it by...

Send your criticism to competitions@simplesavings.com.au by March 20th to be in the competition.

6. Competition Winners: Inspiring Others

This month we were blown away by members' fantastic stories. From Veronica who turned her life around after reading The $21 Challenge, to Alison who has been learning new languages, Melanie who has learned how to re-organised her whole home, Leah who started with a second hand book found while out walking and Jane who is completing entire courses online.

(This month we increased the number of prizes to five because these are all brilliant.)

$21 Challenge Led to Great Changes

I have learnt so much from Simple Savings book which I bought many years ago and continue to pick up and re-read at times.

Over the years we have made big savings on our gas, power, Sky TV, mobile phone, home phone and internet accounts, grocery purchases and rubbish collections to name a few.

In 2012 we were putting out a rubbish bag on a weekly basis, now we're lucky to put one out every four to five weeks and I am sure we could get that down to once every 6 weeks if we tried harder. We do recycling which has helped a lot plus I shred any papers for use in my compost bins of which I have 10.

We cancelled our subscriptions to newspapers - 2 a day, and have saved over $1000.00 per year. I stopped buying magazines on a regular basis. I used to get Lucky Break and That's Life delivered weekly to do the competitions and those two alone made a savings of $6.60 per week. Yearly that is a saving of $343.20. As well I also regularly bought some other magazines - NZ Gardener, Woman's Weekly, Australian Woman's Weekly to name a few. That also ceased from 2012. I then occasionally bought magazines, usually 3 for $15.00, to read when I was flying to Australia or back but I don't even do that now.

We have made a big dent in our grocery bill over the last 7 years going from spending $10,000 per year to $6,000 per year. I started a spreadsheet in which I write down everything we buy. It includes EVERYTHING for the house, not just edible stuff!! The year I started was the "wake up call". We changed our purchasing and made a special effort NOT to buy what I could make at home as in jams, relishes, sauces, dressings, pesto, biscuits, yoghurt, and occasionally bread. We have a vegetable garden so the produce was at my fingertips!! As well we made a conscious effort to eat out of the fridge, freezer and pantry and it was amazing how long we could survive without a trip to the supermarket. We now do this on a regular basis.

We have also made big savings with our power account going from $1,589 per year in 2012 to $433.20 after discounts and savings in 2018. We just became aware of what was using power and stopped using them - dryer, dishwasher, heated towel rails, and wall heaters. I also do a spreadsheet for the power we use on a daily basis and I am able to accurately work out our bill each month.

Sky TV has been clawed back by $700 by cancelling our sky box when we head away for five months and cancelling programmes we weren't using.

After retiring we had a major revamp of our landline phone, internet and mobile phones packages. The landline phone and internet package has been cancelled saving $89 per month. Now we pay $39 for our wifi per month and can stop it when we head overseas. The cost has gone from $1,736 in 2012 to $463 in 2018 and this year will be less again. I would expect 2019 to cost us $273

Our mobile phones went from being on account to using prepay and we wonder why we took so long to make the change as the savings are huge. We're not big mobile phone users so don't need lots of data, etc. We've clawed that back from $1,000 per year in 2012 to $400 in 2018. Again this year will be less as we change our plan regularly.

My vegetable garden for the last 2 years has cost nothing as I have saved up and converted Westpac Hotpoints, Flybuys points and Perceptive points into Mitre 10 and / or Warehouse vouchers to buy my gardening requirements.

Every little bit helps and we are continuing to try and make changes on a daily, monthly and yearly basis.

Veronica

Learning A New Language

I have always enjoyed learning languages and one of my goals I set in my twenties was to learn more languages but I never got seriously stuck into this goal. I would dabble now and then but did not keep it up. Then in 2015 I started learning Spanish on a whim when it was offered by someone locally. At this time I realised that the internet has allowed language learning lovers to come together, to blog, to share information and provides free or cheap learning opportunities and dictionaries! Now it's easier than ever to learn a language!

Since 2015 I have continued a habit of regular study of the languages I am learning (Maori, New Zealand Sign Language, Spanish and Hindi). Learning languages opens your mind and world. It enables you to have new experiences and meet people you would otherwise not have met and allows you to become more patient and understanding of other people learning your own native language!

If learning a new language is on your mind, I highly recommend reading the blog 'Fluent in 3 months' and considering applying for 'The #add1challenge' which is a three month language learning challenge that keeps you accountable. There is a cost to this but a little cost can keep one motivated to complete the challenge! Italki is a free to join site where you can find exchange partners and tutors for many many languages. Youtube is awesome to get you started on pretty much any language you want. If a rare language native to your country is what you are hoping to learn, you might have to visit a local cultural centre or talk to the local people who speak that language to find out how to learn. I can guarantee that it is well worth the effort.

If you are an SS member, maybe you can start a forum thread to find other SS members growing themselves through language learning to hold each other accountable.

Enjoy your language learning journey!

*please note that I get no rewards and have no affiliations with the links I have provided.

Alison

Learning To Declutter

What and Why

Like most people, I and my family of four have too many possessions and we had reached the point where it was difficult to keep the house tidy due to the amount of clutter. Piles of random items - school bags, wet towels, water bottles, sunhats - would randomly sprout in (in)convenient places and it was rare to have a clear view of the skirting board in any room. Windowsills and any available horizontal spaces were littered with papers, empty snack packets, socks, you name it! Tired of this situation and faced with the opportunity of several child and husband free days, I planned a massive decluttering session.

How I Prepared

I started off by watching several Marie Kondo YouTube tutorials. Marie Kondo, or KonMarie, is a Japanese organization specialist who suggests that people use the question, 'Does this item spark joy?' when considering what to keep in your home. She has written several international bestsellers on organizing and decluttering homes, which will be available at your local library and which I had read previously. She advocates a specific way of folding clothing both to get full use out of your storage space and to easily see what you have available.

KonMarie suggests decluttering by 'type', ie if you want to streamline the amount of books you own, gather ALL your books, from all areas of the house where they may be found. This way, you can see what you are dealing with and gauge the size of the problem!

I also read a new book, 'Declutter Your Life: How Outer Order Leads to Inner Calm' by Gill Hasson, which discusses the physical and psychological barriers that can hold people back from streamlining their possessions. I didn't feel that any of this information applied to me; like most people, I am mainly time-poor, rather than holding on to items for sentimental reasons, but I am sure the information in this book will apply to some people.

In the days leading up to my free time, I made sure I had several cardboard boxes and a plan for the unwanted items. In my case, a friend wanted me to give her first dibs on any unwanted possessions and she would then pass on unwanted items to others or take to an op shop. This was ideal for me as she lives very close by and, each day, I was able to take items to her house to avoid 'stealth reclaiming' by my family, which is to be avoided at all costs!

Results

After a week of decluttering in bursts of up to a couple of hours at a time, I am seeing some serious results and enjoying the oasis of calm created by removing unwanted clutter. I have spent approximately 20 hours decluttering and I have:

Filled a large recycling bin twice over (paper, card and plastic mainly)
Filled 2 rubbish bags with non-recyclable rubbish (hair encrusted 'slime' anyone?)
Passed on to the friend 5 large bags and 4 large boxes of unwanted items, from clothes to games, DVDs, music, kitchen items, etc. She and her children have been delighted to receive new or hardly-worn items of clothing, lunch boxes, kitchen utensils, etc, that they can put to good use.

Tips for Decluttering

Make a list of the priority areas that are bothering you that you want to declutter. Start with these, ideally at a time when you can avoid distractions. Take before and after photos! You will reach a point, mid-decluttering session, when you are knee-deep in one hell of a mess. It's important that you only take on what you have the time and energy to finish in one session. Depending on what you have in your house, you may wish to assign boxes and bags as:

Rubbish (bin at the end of each session)
Recycle (put in recycling bins/stations at the end of each session)
Return (to whoever it belongs to, or relocate to another part of the house at the end of each session, where possible. Put items that need to be returned to other people/organisations by your front door or in your car to remind you to do it)
Sell (store these items away from prying eyes and make a time in your diary to list items for sale)
Give away/op shop (action asap)
Clean/fix/mend/replace batteries (attempt to resolve these items before you start your next decluttering session)

At the end of each decluttering session, cross the area off your list, give yourself a big pat on the back, make a cup of tea and be sure to skite (brag) to your friends! They will be impressed and encourage you to continue.

Ideally, in a family situation, you would include other family members and I did for items that belonged to them or their own spaces. For general household and kitchen purposes though, as the chief cook and bottle-washer (not the mention the person who mainly keeps things tidy), I just made executive decisions. I doubt that anyone will actually miss what I've decluttered as, by its nature, most possessions were stuffed in cupboards or drawers so hardly top of mind.

For a quick declutter, when you only have 5-10 minutes, clear and wipe down windowsills, counters or tabletops, for an instant calming result.

Going Forward

From this point, I am going to be very vigilant about what comes into the house, to avoid a slow return to our previous situation. I have also set up periodic diary reminders to declutter certain items, eg kids shoes and clothes, DVDs and games and books every school term or so.

Decluttering, especially with kids in the house, is an ongoing exercise and, luckily, something I'm usually itching to do along with spring cleaning so there will be a natural continuation of what I've started from this point.

I keep forgetting to take 'before' and 'after' photos but have attached some from when I remembered!

Happy Decluttering!

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Op Shop Inspiration

Last year I was out for my daily walk (aka free, easy, quick exercise), and I suddenly had a thought "what I really need is somebody to tell me how to live my life, like a general set of instructions/coaching for my entire life, that doesn't cost me hundreds of dollars per session."

I walked past a local op shop that had a free book bin outside. I had a quick glance and found three self-help books. Two of these, The Winners Bible and If It's Going To Be It's Up To Me, are books filled with an incredible amount of information which can be applied to anyone and any area of your life. I couldn't believe it. I walked home filled with excitement and planned to read a paragraph or two of one of these books every day. It's a whole year later and I am nearly at the end of If It's Going To Be It's Up To Me. I have grown and changed in so many ways, and I managed to fit in a big overseas trip which I previously thought I'd never be able to do because I wouldn't be able to afford it.

I would encourage anyone on a budget to look around at op shops for books that will help you change your life. Aside from the books mentioned previously, I have also found books about finances, running a business, relationships, and more.

Leah

Massive Online Open Courses

I have found one of the best ways to keep on learning and growing is by taking MOOCs (massive open online courses). With MOOCs you can travel around the world and visit some of the best universities without having to leave your home, or spend a single cent!

I've taken courses on happiness, brain health, learning to learn, nutrition and mindfulness. These courses have completely changed the way I think and live.

I recently completed an online course on brain health and an online culinary course, both of which were life changing. The online culinary course cost me US$10 per month (the first week was free). In 3 months, I learnt how to chop, cook pasta to perfection and cook confidently with a range of plants and whole-foods. This really was the best defence against buying expensive take-away. Eating out at restaurants has gone right down and my nutrient intake has gone way up!

Compared to going to university, MOOCs are incredibly cheap (and usually free).

You will find MOOCs on lots of different platforms (e.g. Coursera, Udacity and edX). But a word of warning: it's easy to get lost on these sites and it's hard to know what's good and what's not so good.

This is why I recommend jumping on a site called class-central.com. This gives you reviews on each MOOC and compares the different MOOCs.

You've also got Degreed. This site is pretty amazing. You type in the topic you want to learn about and Degreed will serve up some great articles, books, videos, courses and people based on your interests and learning habits.

So if you want to learn about a new topic, I encourage you to enter the world of MOOCs. Don't be scared. There is no passing or failing. All you need is a computer and an internet connection!

Here is what I have found helps me to study MOOCs:

Setting aside a couple of hours every week to work through the content
Being organised: Keeping my notes in a file and regularly reviewing my notes
Making sure I apply what I learn (otherwise what's the point?!)
Connecting with others who are taking the MOOCs
Clearing away distractions and closing distracting sites (e.g. Facebook and email) when I am studying

Jane G.

7. New: Tools and Downloads Area

This month we redesigned the Tools and Downloads area. I hope you like it. If not, please write and tell us how you think we could improve it.

8. Learning With the Lippeys

We have been very busy growing this month. To help Jacqui with her 3D pen videos we went to a full day workshop at the Noosa Film Academy. The workshop was run by Academy Award Winning cinematographer Greg Huglin and it was incredible!

It is really unusual for someone as skilled as Greg to run well priced^*, beginner workshops. Which made me wonder, 'What is the catch?' The catch is, when Greg moved to Australia, the Immigration Department made it a condition that Greg teaches others how to become Academy Award Winning Cinematographers. It is called a Distinguished Skills Visa and I would like to thank the Immigration Department for giving us the chance to learn from a master.

Jacqui was so inspired after the workshop she started working on her next video. Here it is..

If you would like to see how much Jacqui learned from a one day workshop with Greg, here is Jacqui's 'Before Workshop' video. We still have a lot to learn, but it is great to see the improvement from a one day workshop.

^*Greg's wife, Andrea, arranges the workshops and she does discount for groups of 10 or more.

That's all for now!

"Get Moving" month begins tomorrow. What ways (or new ways) are you going to get moving in March? Let us know what you have planned.

All the best,

Fiona

February 2021 - Simple Savings Newsletter

February 2021 Simple Savings Newsletter

Welcome,

How are you doing? We hope you have a Fabulously Frugal February. At our place the bills are coming in thick and fast. Luckily, this month is BUDGET TIME. Starting with a short tale about how a medical disaster made me a better budgeter, then we will look at ways to budget with advice, tips and my favourite budgeting thread in the forum. Followed by updates from last month's "Use it Up" challenge.

Enough from me. I hope you have a great month and 'Let's get budgeting!'.

All the best,

Sandra

PS. *Fiona looks embarrassed*

There were errors in 2 pages of your calendar. To download the new pages. Click here.

Here's how I got really good at budgeting by Sandra

In 1997 my Mr was out in the garden pruning some Date Palms. A few days later there was a thorn in his knee. When he went to the Doctor to get it removed we found it out it wasn't a thorn, it was a piece of bone. His kneecap had splintered. The Dr told him he had to quit his job and STOP WORKING IMMEDIATELY.

We went from 2 incomes down to just my casual income. I was scared and had to find a way to make sure I was earning enough money to cover our bills.

I did it by making a 365 day budget. I worked out our bills for the year and divided them by 365 days. This told me how much money I needed to earn every day to be safe.

After I'd worked each day, I added up my hours, worked out my tax and calculated my pay. I put aside the bill money, then worked out what was left over.

The leftover money was divided into grocery money, petrol money and savings (which were put away for the days I never worked and earnt.) This way we made it through and all our bills were paid on time.

Here is how you can get really good at budgeting

Everyone knows they should have a budget. But, many say it is too difficult and they don't have spare time to create or stick to a budget. While creating a budget does take time, we found the biggest barrier to creating a budget is people simply don't want to do it. They don't want to have to think about their money, they don't want to see their finances in black and white, they want it to all take care of itself. Which is a fair thought. But, this is a recipe for disaster.

Another way of saying the same thing is "not having a budget" is setting yourself up for financial failure. We want to set people up for financial success. So here are three simple steps for creating a budget. The first is desire, the second is skill and the third is enjoying the rewards.

Desire

To be a good budgeter, you have to want to be a good budgeter. To help you want to budget ask yourself the question, "What is it you want that a good budget will give you?". Here are some possible answers.

To know how much I can spend each day

To know how much I need to earn each day

To know where I will be ten years from now

To have a holiday

To build a nest egg

To have a financial safety blanket

To always have money for a fridge when I need it

To help me make good decisions

To get out of debt

To know you are going forward

To work out how much you need to earn.

Skill

While there are a lot of sites that teach budgeting on YouTube, Facebook and around the net. Here are two of our favourites.

moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/how-to-do-a-budget

moneyhub.co.nz/budget-planner.html

Rewards

While starting a budget can be hard and some days sticking to it can be tricky, the rewards are fantastic! It is the best way to set yourself up for a life of prosperity.

Sandra's Budgeting tips

Starting your budget-

You can find a lot of the information you will need on your bank statements or credit card statements to start off your budget. You also need to know your income after tax. And don't forget to include any other money you get too.

Some tips of mine are to separate your expenditure -

Your 'fixed expenditure' categories are things that you can't change too much.

Rent and/or your mortgage aren't always quite that negotiable. You can always TRY to negotiate a better interest rate on your mortgage though, as it may assist in growing you some more savings.

Some more fixed expenditure items are things like Council Rates, Body Corporate Fees, Car Registration and Roadside Assist all which simply must be paid in full.

Do make sure though, that if you are entitled to financial assistance for those things, that you do apply for it, or make sure you get any discounts that are available to you.

Then there are 'negotiable items'. Things where there is room for negotiation with your providers, if you care to make a phone call. You will get used to making those calls and most large companies have people who will talk to you and who can help you to get a better deal.

Don't get caught paying Lazy Tax. Lazy Tax is paying more money than you had to because you didn't call to ask for a discount or you receive a fee for neglecting to pay a bill on time. Things you should always ring and ask for discounts on are car, house and contents insurance, Foxtel and so on. Do look around for the best phone providers and best internet deals too.

Electricity and gas providers often offer a bit of wriggle room. I have a 21% discount on both my Usage and Supply charges, with my electricity company and it truly makes a difference to lower our quarterly power bills. As does the solar power and solar hot water that we have, at our place.

Always add a category for 'Discretionary Spending' or 'Sanity Money'. This covers most of the things we buy or choose to pay for, to enhance our lives. It's an amount of money, your choice, to spend as you wish no questions asked. Can be a tiny amount to whatever your budget allows. Often when people are saving up for something special or paying debt down, it can save your sanity.

The personal spending choices can include health, schooling, gym memberships, sports, craft, pets and other more personal, special interest choices. The things which make us happier people for doing them. The things which make us who we are!

Food and groceries are a big expenditure for most people too. Hopefully we can encourage and inspire you to reduce that, through discussion and resources via the Simple Savings forum and in the Simple Savers facebook group. There are many hints, tips and discussions about ideas on how our members do that.

Of course with any good budget you need to know what your debts are, so you can pay them off or you can try to debt bust them and get rid of those altogether.

Here is a great explanation about debt reduction from super saver Katie from over on the forum -

"You need to list your debts with their interest rates. There are 2 methods to pay off your debt.

The first is the snowball method where you list the debt from the smallest to the highest. You pay the minimum on all debt and any extra funds go to the smallest debt until you pay it off. Then you work on attacking the next smallest debt. Psychologically this one works because you see progress quickly.

The second method is the avalanche method. This is where you list your debts in order of interest rates and attack the highest interest rate debt first. You use the same method as the snowball method where you pay the minimums on all debt, but with the avalanche method all extra funds are thrown at the debt with the highest interest rate until it is gone. The avalanche method saves you money in the long run as you are paying the highest interest rates first, but it will appear to be slower because you aren't knocking out those small debts quickly."

Eliminating debt will give you some surplus funds. Surplus funds give you more freedom. They are the funds which really give you a sense of financial peace.

Surplus funds are my absolute favourite category. It is the reason that we squish down all of our other costs to make our budget as low as we can. You can read about my budget here on the Going Lower thread, in the Simple Savings Forum if you are a member. They are in the thread link below, in the second and third posts -

/fora/4359113

Forum: Living on $20,000 and under!

If you would like to get your expense down, check out the thread "Living on $20,000 and under." It is full of inspiring people, great tips and delicious recipes. It is worth reading.

We are totally aware that not everyone can live on so little, but it is very encouraging that people can and do.

Here is a link to the thread: (You will have to be logged into the Vault to read it.)

/fora/2643487

From Last Month: Use it Up

You can also read about how the 2021 January USE IT UP Calendar Challenge went over here in the forum

/fora/4350795

The challenge was to use up what members had in their pantry, fridge and freezers so no food was wasted and nor would it get past it's best and end up in the bin. We used this challenge to also 'check' the goods that were stockpiled. Some stockpiled goods have likely been held for 12 months or so by now pre COVID, so they do deserve to be rotated and checked.

Most Popular in Facebook Group

The most popular post in our Facebook group this month was Sue Byrne trick for creating an affordable raised food bowl for her dog.

To comment on the post or shares suggestions go to:-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/simplesavers/permalink/1811456749003920/

Tasty recipe: Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins

A great way to keep your budget under control is to cook your own food. Here is one of Sandra's tasty, affordable delicious, budget busting recipes for you to try.

Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins

2 cups of self raising flour

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup of white chocolate bits/chopped chocolate

1 lightly beaten, large egg

¾ cup of buttermilk (see notes)

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180° for 10 minutes.

Grease muffin trays or line them with paper cases.

Sift flour into a large bowl.

Add brown sugar and chocolate to the bowl.

Mix dry ingredients together.

Gently stir in egg, buttermilk and vegetable oil.

Add blueberries. Don't overmix.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

NOTES

Don't overmix your muffins. If you stir the mixture too much you will end up with tough muffins instead of light and fluffy muffins.
if you don't like white chocolate, add 2 tablespoons cocoa to the SR flour (take out 2 tablespoons of SR flour if you do add the cocoa) and use chopped milk chocolate or dark chocolate instead of white chocolate.
you can make buttermilk by adding a good squeeze of lemon juice OR vinegar to ¾ cup of milk. Stir and let it sit for a few minutes. This saves you from specifically buying Buttermilk.

If you are lactose intolerant, you can use your Lactose Free milk

to have even sized muffins use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cases/holes
buy Australian Blueberries during January, when they are cheap and plentiful and freeze them to use in other things.
I like a big generous muffin so I only filled 9 muffin holes

Here are some Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins fresh out of the oven.

Bye for now

Thank you for joining us for another newsletter.

Have a fabulously frugal, Budget Time February.

Sandra

January 2010 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2010

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Reality Check
February is No Spend Month!
Best of the Vault: Simple Spend Less Solutions
Best of the Forum: Hey No Spenders!
Sophie Gray: No Spend Lunches
Penny's Blog: Friends in Frugal Places
Homeopathy Corner: Fran's Story
From Last Month: Student Life without Deepening Debt
This Month's Help Request: Fair Share for Singletons
Savings Stories: New Year, New Challenge and Keeping Each Other Honest

Hello,

How are you going? This year, your newsletter is following the challenges set out month by month in the War on Debt calendar we gave you for Christmas. If you haven't got your copy or you would like to read more about it, you can do so here. As you can see, No Spend Month is here again, woohoo! This is one of my favourite money saving challenges. Unfortunately my poor son Sam doesn't share my enthusiasm. I'll never forget him asking me last year, 'Mum, who invented No Spend Month?' 'Er, I guess I did,' I told him. 'Can you make it stop?' came the hopeful reply. Nice try son, but no!

You see, over the past few years, No Spend Month has become one of the most successful and highly anticipated events on the Simple Savings calendar. It first made an appearance three years ago. The goal was clear and simple - avoid spending at all costs! Around this time we also launched the Savings Diary to enable members to track how much they were spending each day and to record how much of it was essential or not. The Savings Diary proved such a valuable tool that members still use it every day to track and justify their spending. You can too!

If you have never given No Spend Month a go before, now's the time to give it a try! Don't forget to let us know how you go. There's nothing that makes us smile more than reading of your success!

"When I joined Simple Savings many years ago, I had no children and was working but had accumulated a lot of debt from having the travel bug for three or four years. Once I found out I was pregnant with my second child, I realised that using the credit cards for everything under the sun wasn't going to help me raise my children properly. I consolidated my credit cards (all three of them) and started paying them off. I lived on basic Centrelink payments whilst raising two children on a single parent's pension and as of Christmas Day have managed to pay off the $30,000 debt that I accrued. I owe SS for the important information and skills that I picked up to be able to do this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"Now I have paid it all off, along with my car as of this month, I can save, for us to go travelling as a family TOGETHER and not have to worry about increasing the debts; I can use MY money." (Kathryn Gwatking)

"Thanks very much for the War on Debt calendar. I used it last year and switched around a couple of months so that the climatic seasons for growing vegies and so on worked here in Canada where I live. Being a hardcore frugalist I didn't think there would be a lot in there for me but the biggest surprise was 'Control Your Cash' month. We don't carry a balance on our credit cards so I was feeling a little self righteous about my credit history. We put our credit cards away and only used debit cards or cash. As of today we have gone 113 days without using credit cards. Visa and Mastercard may think we are dead! I am not an anti-credit card fanatic and would use them for motels or car rentals and so on, but it does feel good not to have to send off a payment at the end of the month." (Lew Harpelle)

"Last year I sat down and set up folders for my finances based on your War on Debt calendar. I didn't follow it as strictly as I could have, yet have still managed to slash a massive $15,000+ off our household debt - and still buy a few big ticket items like a caravan and new bedroom suite that we have been lusting after for years. I have also paid off two credit cards that have been hanging around with large balances for years. I still have one to go but using this year's strategies it will be gone before I know it.

"Today I have printed off this year's calendar and am busily making folders and goals for this year. After assessing last year's success I am going to follow the Simple Savings rules more strictly this year, I can't wait to see what I achieve!

"I believe strongly that one of the biggest contributors to divorce in this country is money problems. I know with finance plans in place there has certainly been a lot less fighting in my household. Thank you." (Elizabeth Glover)

"I have been a member of Simple Savings for two months now and I must say how much of a difference it has made to our lives. Financially we thought I had to go back to work for us to be able to get by but thanks to your website and some careful evaluation of our needs and wants, I am able to stay home and continue caring for our three children. We have done a budget and guess what? We may even get our honeymoon from seven years ago! This is such a wonderful start to the new year! Our big saving has come from the money box that we put all change in. It's almost full! Keep up the good work Simple Savings. We are so grateful for you and all the people who share their wonderful savings hints!" (Angela Hobins)

All the best,

Fiona Lippey

P.S. Want 15 minutes of fame? We are looking for interviewees who are willing to share how their Simple Savings membership has helped them. We know there are some wonderful people out there with incredible success stories who can help and inspire those who are really struggling. If this sounds like you, please get in touch here!

P.S.S. $21 Challenge Update - Book errors.

The great news is we sold out of New Zealand copies of the $21 Challenge book in December and the book is already into its first reprint. This gave us a fantastic opportunity to fix the errors in the first edition. If you would like to print out the error sheet, click here. (120kb PDF)

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: Reality Check

"Muumm," Sally's daughter sidled up to her, smiling sweetly. "I know it's 'No Spend Month' and everything but I REALLY need a new school bag. My old one looks really budget and I've seen this awesome one at Surf's Up. It's like, $80 but it's SO cool! If I don't get it now, someone else will definitely buy it and I'll miss out! Can I get it - pleeease?" She looked at her mum, eyes pleading.

"Well, I suppose if you really need one we should get it while the sales are still on," sighed Sally. Great - there goes the money we had saved! she thought. Sally was feeling down in the dumps after all her hard efforts to save and phoned Hanna. "I can't believe it - No Spend Month is ruined already! I have to buy an $80 school bag," she grumbled. She jumped at the sound of hysterical laughter from Hanna.

"Oh really! Do you HAVE to? Or did she just make you think you have to?" Hanna chuckled. "Let me guess, she looked at you with those big doe-eyes? Yep, mine do that too, they even bat their eyelashes!" Sally didn't know what to say - was her daughter really trying to pull the wool over her eyes? "So you think she can do without it, then?" she asked Hanna. "Most definitely!" came the confident reply. "It's good for us mums to say 'no' every now and then!"

2. February is No Spend Month!

Saying 'no' can be hard at the best of times, but this month it's more important than ever that you say it loud and proud - because this month is No Spend Month!

If you have just joined us, you can read more about what it is and how it works by checking out these links to previous newsletters:

No Spend Month 2008

</newsletter/2008/january/>

No Spend Month 2009

</newsletter/2009/february/>

These links will also give you some handy tips and strategies for surviving your No Spend Month so we highly recommend you take a look but in a nutshell, your mission for the month is not to spend a SINGLE CENT unless absolutely necessary. Obviously this doesn't mean that you are not allowed to buy anything at all, we all have to live! You CAN spend money on items you really need - but only if it is truly essential, such as:

Food
rent or mortgage payments
prior monthly bills
transport to and from school and work.

Unfortunately, most people confuse the word 'want' for 'need' which leaves a big hole for marketers to duck in and persuade you to buy goods you never needed or wanted in the first place. So this month, if you hear yourself or others saying they need something. Ask yourself and them, do they really need it or only want it, because this month you can only spend money on things you need for survival.

Sounds tough? Yep - but it really works and that's why it's so hugely popular among Simple Savings members. You would not believe how much financial headway you can make in just one month, simply by not spending! It's a fantastic opportunity to evaluate your spending habits and *gulp* see just how much money you waste.

Saying 'no' to almost everything for a whole month requires commitment and a steel resolve but you can make your No Spend Month easier and more enjoyable simply by enlisting the help of a friend. As our story above shows, Hanna saved her friend Sally $80 in the space of a single phone call. Next time you find yourself feeling vulnerable and under pressure to buy, buy, buy, instead of giving in or blowing a gasket, reach for the phone and call a friend. A No Spend Friend! Someone who you can openly and honestly discuss money. Someone who understands your desire to get ahead and you know will support you. Someone to help you stay focused and help you to say 'No'. If you don't have someone you can call for advice, come and join our Forum and get help from other members. They've been there, done that and will help you to stay strong.

With the help of a 'No Spend Friend', you will be protected from the two biggest 'No Spend' obstacles:

Kids. Kids are brilliant at ganging up on us and manipulating us in order to get what they want. Any parent knows how convincing those big doe-eyes can be! However, your friends do not have the same emotional attachment to your children as you do. They can spot when your darling offspring are trying to pull the wool over your eyes a mile off and will enable you to stop and think rationally about whether the latest 'must have' is a want or a need.

Marketers. There are so many times when thinking of purchasing something that we could do with the help and honest opinion of a friend - and we don't just mean someone to ask 'Does my bum look big in this?' when out clothes shopping! It can be very hard to resist buying an item which has had an entire team of marketers dream up the best way to make you want to buy it. You need someone outside the ring who has not been hypnotised by the sales pitches, the flashy displays or the pretty packaging. A 'No Spend Friend' will help you get through those tempting times with your wallet intact.

So this month, find yourself a No Spend Friend! Email this newsletter to a friend and ask 'would you like to be my companion in this?' Email your family members and tell them 'I really want to have a go at No Spend Month and see how much I can save. Can I ring you when I am in trouble? I would really like your help.' If you haven't visited our Forum before and would like the friendship and support of like-minded people during No Spend Month, you can become a Vault member here. Don't forget, we offer a 365 day 'no questions asked' money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose - even during No Spend Month!

3. Best of the Vault: Simple Spend Less Solutions

One of the fantastic things about No Spend Month is that you really don't know what you can do until you try. Members are always amazed at just how little they are able to spend once they really put their minds to it! So, no more excuses! Get started on your own 'No Spend Month' challenge with the help of these terrific tips from the Vault.

Tips for No Spend Month

During a No Spend Month, team up with a like-minded buddy or family member to alleviate any unnecessary spending. There are so many things you can do in partnership, or on your own, including:

Raid each others' pantries rather than make a trip to the shops.
When heading out to run errands, make one trip for both buddies/families.
Pay bills online.
Raid each others' cupboards or gardens before buying gifts.
Cancel the lawn-mowing for the month.
When cooking, cook surplus and deliver to your buddy/family.
Cancel or defer any donations for the month.
Make greeting cards from household materials including card and glitter. Use downloadable images too.

As you've seen, no spend is no problem!

Contributed by: Catherine Stevens

The key to simple saving is a spend-free weekend.

Celebrate being a Simple Saver, with a spend-free weekend!

A spend-free weekend saves money in so many ways. Petrol, takeaways, groceries, admission fees and more. With at least one spend-free weekend a month, you will save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. At the end of each spend-free weekend, use the money you've saved to reduce debt or increase your savings account.

Contributed by: Chocoholic Mummy

'Zero spend days' make savings out of nothing

My New Year resolution was to take a close look at the family budget, and we have come up with a great way to motivate us to spend less - we call it 'zero dollar days'. We challenge each other to see how many days a week, then a month, we can spend nothing. We pay all our bills on the same day and try to spend money only on one day of the weekend. It means you have to be more creative about how to entertain yourself, and you sometimes have to go without things until the next shopping day, but it was very satisfying to see that five of the first six days of this year were marked with a big $0 on the calendar. The visual confirmation is important for spurring us on.

Contributed by: Paige Ocean

A simple statement for Simple Savers

This simple statement helps me save money and stops me from buying luxury items I don't really need:

'Every dollar I don't spend is one dollar I don't have to earn again.'

Every $25 I don't spend is one hour I don't have to work! Thanks to this statement, my rainy day account is growing, my debts are going down, and I no longer live from pay cheque to pay cheque.

Contributed by: Linda Keech

Monthly get together without spending

My mother, sister and I have changed our spendthrift ways to help each other out and enjoy quality time and a regular meal together.

We used to spend our weekends shopping. Of course we bought things we did not need. Even worse, we spent tons of money on eating out in the mall! So, we changed our habits! Once a month we spend a day at one of our houses, taking it in turns. The hostess is responsible for lunch and the others help her with a project around her house.

For example, we have painted a playroom, done general cleaning, cleaned a garage, collected items for charity and more!

Contributed by: Kellie Van

Another no spend success story

The No Spend Month has motivated me to complete more craft projects than ever before!

If you can't spend then there is no need to go out as much, so staying at home or taking a portable craft project to the park is helping me get through craft projects I have had on the back burner for a while.

This saves me from going into the dreaded fabric shop where it is difficult to come out without a making a purchase and forces me to make the most of the craft supplies I already have.

Contributed by: Tracy G

No spend days help seek out free pastimes

I have cut back on unnecessary spending by allocating two days a week as 'no spend days'. I recently retired but found I still wanted to go out every day for the social interaction. The problem was that going out would always lead to me spending money on coffee or the odd purchase I didn't really need. I now have two days a week when I do not allow myself to spend money. This makes me seek out free activities like going to the library to read the papers, and saves me heaps on my monthly expenses.

Contributed by: Sue Allen

Ask your housemates to 'no spend month'

Completing a 'no spend month' with your housemates will show them just how much money can be saved on your electricity bill when you all really try. Hopefully the savings will be significant enough to convince your housemates to continue to use less electricity. If you continue to be careful with your usage but your housemates revert back to their old habits, suggest they pay the extra amount each month thereafter. If you keep coming up against negativity, maybe you are not compatible housemates?

Contributed by: Krystal Makiha

For Vault members only:

Our daily money watch Contributed by: Kathryn

Set goals and save together Contributed by: Kim S

Saving money is all fun and games Contributed by: Dale Findlay

Set the right example for our kids Contributed by: Sally Landers

4. Best of the Forum: Hey No Spenders!

No spend? No sweat! Our Savings Forum is full of experienced 'No Spenders' who can be counted on to provide encouragement, praise or even the voice of reason just when you need it most!

No spend challenge - back on the wagon!

We all struggle at times and have setbacks with our spending. If you need some support and encouragement then confess your spending sins here and start again!
read more...

Major no spend challenge

If you found you have gone overboard with your credit spending then you may be in need of a 'major' no spend challenge! Join the members as they discuss how they plan to fight back against debt.
read more...

Need help to stop the spending!

Jules is having difficulty focusing on her long term goals. She would like to renovate her house and maybe take a holiday - but she can't seem to stop splurging all her money on life's little luxuries, such as make-up, shoes, handbags and more! Fortunately, the Forum members are on hand with heaps of brilliant suggestions for bringing her spending under control.
read more...

Help! Stop my eBay addiction...

If you have an eBay addiction you're not alone! Bring it back under control this month with the 'No Spend Challenge'.
read more...

No spend days - how many can you do?

How low can you go? Each month members try and win against the spending monster. Join in and see how many days you can go!
read more...

Reducing our spending

If you are finding the No Spend a little difficult take some tips from these members that have been doing it since November and they are still going!
read more...

5. Sophie Gray: No Spend Lunches

I daren't calculate how many lunches I have made in my lifetime. The fact is, for the best part of two decades I have begun the day with a roll of lunch wrap and a scowl.

My first waking thought every morning has become 'what will I put in their lunches?'

I could just buy the pre-packaged lunch stuff as lots of people do - it's a multi billion dollar industry after all. But I won't. Not only is much of it junk food, it's simply too expensive to waste.

A healthy lunch is cheap to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already, so forget spending up on pre-packed treats and prepare your own. My 'snatch n' grab' lunch box stuffers are prepared in our kitchen on Sunday night. These include:

Making individual jellies with fruit in re-useable containers. These are better for the environment and cheaper than the store-bought ones. Suitable fruits are peaches, pears, banana, apricots and berries - fresh pineapple and kiwifruit can make the jelly runny - something to do with acid I think.
Preparing some similar containers of yoghurt so you can alternate.
Making home popped corn and packing in snaplock bags.
Home baking - mini muffins are ideal as they're a more appropriate serving size of what is essentially cake and 'minis' go such a long way.
Home-made muesli bars or some other bar or slice - flapjacks made with rolled oats are cheap and tasty and really easy to make.
Freezing small sweet or savoury scones that can be pulled out of the freezer as required.
A 'main event'- sandwich, roll, crackers, sushi, rice salad, left over pasta salad or noodles, piece of quiche or pizza from a previous meal, cold sausage or one of my 'mitey cheese scrolls'...

These recipes are made from pantry staple ingredients so hopefully you already have everything in stock.

Lunch box scrolls

This recipe makes a big batch of dough that divided in half makes 12 savoury and 12 sweet 'scrolls' for the lunch boxes. If you prefer you can double the amount of filling and just make them all one flavour or try your own variations.

Makes 12 mitey-cheese scrolls and 12 spicy custard sultana scrolls

For the dough:

6 cups plain flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 sachet instant dried yeast - (8 grams of instant yeast)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 ½ cups warm water

Mitey-cheese filling

1 ½ tbsp Marmite
1 tbsp margarine or table spread
1 ½ cups grated cheese

Spicy custard and sultana filling

1 tbsp custard powder
½ tbsp sugar
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup sultanas
2 tbsp honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
Extra brown sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

In a large bowl combine the sugar, salt, flour, yeast and oil. Stir in the warm water and mix to form a soft dough, turn it on to the bench adding more flour if needed, then knead until smooth and springy, 5-8 minutes.

Place dough into a clean greased bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on low power for 1 minute, rest the dough for 10 minutes then repeat. After the second rest the dough should have doubled in size. (Alternatively set aside in a warm place until doubled in size.)

While the dough is rising make the custard. Mix the custard powder with ¼ cup milk to form a smooth paste, whisk in the remaining ½ cup milk and sugar and heat gently, stirring continuously until the custard is thick - this will only take a minute or two. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Soak the sultanas in boiling water to plump them up and then drain them and set aside.

Beat the Marmite and table spread together with a bread and butter knife till completely combined.

Punch the dough down, knead lightly and divide into two pieces.

Roll each piece out to a rectangle roughly 40 cm x 30 cm or around the size of a Swiss roll pan if you don't have a ruler handy.

Make sure there is plenty of flour underneath the dough so it can't stick.

You are now ready to assemble the scrolls.

For mitey-cheese scrolls

Spread the dough with the Marmite mixture - a spatula or rubber scraper is helpful. Sprinkle with a cup of grated cheese then roll up from the long side to form a log.

Divide the log in half then cut each half into 6 thick slices. Place the slices so the scroll faces up on a greased baking tray and top each one with the remaining grated cheese.

Allow the scrolls to rise for around 10 minutes before baking.

Spicy custard sultana scrolls

These are not nearly as well behaved, so work quickly and if they get a bit loose and soggy don't worry they'll still taste great when baked!

Knock the air out of the dough and roll it out as for mitey-cheese scrolls. Spread gently with warmed honey then add the cooled custard keeping it well away from the edges. Quickly sprinkle on the sugar and spice mixture and the sultanas and pat down gently.

Roll up and slice as fast as you can or the sugar will start to melt and leak out. I often find I have to scoop the last couple of scrolls onto their greased tray with a spatula and rearrange them a little. Sprinkle with a little extra brown sugar and cinnamon.

When baked they will be golden and tasty if a little 'irregular'. They make great lunch box or picnic food - really filling.

Bake both types of scrolls in an oven preheated to 190° for 15-20 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove immediately to a cooling rack so the scrolls don't stick to the trays as they cool.

Cook's tip: If you prefer you can omit the custard from the fruit and spice scrolls and just have them as spicy sultana scrolls. They are great drizzled with a little glace icing. Like a simplified Chelsea Bun.

Flapjack

Not to be confused with fat breakfast pancakes, this flapjack is a Scottish slice and is incredibly simple to make. Oats are very nutritious and Flapjack keeps well, it's perfect with a mug of tea or glass of milk - or try it crumbled over ice cream as a crunchy topping.

Makes 24 pieces

400g medium porridge oats
175g butter
150g brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup

Pre heat the oven to 180°.

Line a Swiss roll tin with non-stick baking paper.

Melt together the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar then mix in the oats.

Press into the prepared tin and compact the mixture pressing down firmly with a spatula or palette knife.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and score into pieces with a sharp knife. Cool completely before removing from the tin. Store in an airtight container.

Sophie Gray is the author of the range of Destitute Gourmet cookbooks. www.DestituteGourmet.com

6. Penny's Blog: Friends in Frugal Places

Jan 12, 2010

Phew, this No Screens Month lark is wearing us all out! Not that we're complaining, we've been having heaps of fun. The dogs are all undergoing a rigorous exercise program, with twice-daily sessions from their masters. The evening board games are currently being replaced by trampoline contests. The boys have appointed me as their judge and I have to give them both marks out of 10 as they go through their various repertoires of forward flips, backwards flips and other contortions. The only real rule is that if either one of them lands on their bottom, then that round is void and they have to do it again. A simple rule but one which makes for much hilarity as the pair of them end up in all sorts of flamboyant poses in their desperate attempts NOT to land on their bum. Rather like Twister for trampolinists! Mind you, the boys are starting to get more competitive and are demanding more rules be instated as time goes on. Still, when I think of what we would normally be doing of an evening, watching our various screens, I'm more than happy to oblige.

Most afternoons are spent at the local pool, which is usually followed by a session at the school cricket nets, perfecting their batting and bowling skills. The cricket pitch at home still gets daily use but now the boys can bowl at around 110km an hour they need a bit more room! Ali is now a fully fledged zoo volunteer and spends every day he can up there, doing anything from raking leaves to chopping up food for the emus or making toys for the new elephant. All the visitors to the zoo chat to him and ask him questions about the various animals, which he loves. He also loves the unlimited ice blocks and chocolate bars he gets for doing a good job!

As for me, I've been overcome by an uncontrollable urge to cook - in particular I want to bake. Unfortunately it's not really the best time of year for spending hours inside a sweltering kitchen. The weather has been so hot - and we've all been so active - the only meals we feel like eating are barbecues and salads. The cosy, candlelit family dinners we enjoyed so much in winter have been replaced by the four of us sitting around the table in blazing sunshine, fanning ourselves with all the windows and doors open. Don't get me wrong, I love this glorious weather! It's just not ideally suited to dishing up sticky, steamed caramel pudding, heavy, calorie-laden lasagnes and all the other things I've been dreaming of making.

So I've been contenting myself with reading recipe books instead. I love cook books! Probably a little too much unfortunately but this is something I am determined to get under control this year. I have a tendency to be mesmerised by their tempting covers and will happily fork out half of the week's grocery bill in my rose tinted pursuit of being a domestic goddess. Sadly, nine times out of ten I get the aforementioned books home, only to find that our motley crew wouldn't touch most of the recipes with a barge pole and I end up selling them for a fraction of the price on Trade Me. Happy Hanna though I strive to be, I have lost count of how many times I did this in 2009!

You see, I have a confession to make. While I consider myself to be a naturally friendly person, I'm a real home body. I'm not one of life's 'ringer-uppers' or 'popper-inners'. It's nothing personal, it's just our family time is so rare and precious that we like to spend our spare time together, rather than visiting other people. So when it comes to 'should I buy this?' or 'is Nigella's latest any good?' I often don't have anybody to discuss it with or to say 'Nooooo!' Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly Penny No-Mates! It's just you can know an awful lot of people without having any actual bosom buddies. That's me, I guess. For a long time I've relied on my own judgement when it comes to what-to-buy-and-what-not-to-buy and unfortunately there are times it has let me down!

Just before Christmas, however, I found a method which really worked. I went to see 'Julie and Julia' at the movies, and like everyone else in the theatre I came out drooling and dreaming of chocolate cream pie and Boeuf Bourguinonne. I NEEDED to buy a copy of 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'! Well, I thought I needed it - I certainly wanted it! I wanted to cook just like Julia Child and Julie Powell. I went straight to the bookstore and there it was, all pristine white and inviting, with dainty little Fleur de Lys. I wanted it! The only thing which put me off was the price at $49.95. The Simple Saver in me told me to stop and think. I had just come out of the movie and was swept up in a whirl of French cuisine. Can you imagine how many books that movie has helped to sell? To people like me, who rush out of the cinema thinking 'I HAVE to know how to make butter sauce!'

This time, however, I held my horses. Instead of buying it straight away, I went home and asked the Forum! Almost immediately they came up with a list of smarter alternatives, shared their own experiences of the book and made me realise that I didn't need it after all. It was great! It's not something I would normally have included anyone else in my decision about but I knew that the Forum would be able to give me an honest answer and it was even better than I had hoped. I rang the local library, who had just got a brand new copy in and excitedly went to pick it up. For one whole month that cookbook I had wanted so much sat on my bookshelf. I didn't make a single thing from it - not even the Boeuf Bourguinonne. Just goes to show how much I 'needed' that book. Thank you lovely Forum friends for saving me from yet another culinary book disaster. I have a feeling it won't be the last!

Fortunately I have a couple of new interesting cook books which will keep me going for a while yet. My mother-in-law gave me 'The Aunt Daisy Cookbook' for Christmas. Aunt Daisy was a beloved voice on NZ radio from the 1930's to her sad passing in the 1960's. 'Good morning everybody!' she would greet everyone each morning without fail, before launching into her daily session of recipes, hints and ideas. During her many years of broadcasting, Aunt Daisy gathered up thousands of recipes and published ten recipe books. While she passed away before I was even born, I imagine us Simple Savers would have still enjoyed listening to her show today! I was really chuffed to receive this collection of recipes from days gone by; then my mum was surprised to find an original copy of 'Mrs Beeton's Everyday Cookery and House-Keeping Book', printed back in 1894! She didn't even realise she had it and unearthed it quite by chance during a decluttering session. We can only suppose it belonged to my great-grandmother but I was delighted when Mum gave it to me. Between Mrs Beeton and Aunt Daisy, I think I'm in for quite an education!

January 2010

6th - Crafty cows and wascally wabbits

25th - No Screens Paradise

7. Homeopathy Corner: Fran's Story

Fran wasn't always a homeopath. In fact Fran was a sceptic. This month Fran shares some of her story about how she was first introduced to homeopathy and why she has devoted her life to it.

To read Fran's story go to:-

homeopathyplus.com.au/hplus/your-story/becoming-a-homeopath-the-early-days.html

8. From Last Month: Student Life without Deepening Debt

Last month Caitlyn Murphy asked:

"I'm a 20-year-old student who has had to move out of home in order to study. I wasn't really prepared for the expenses of living away from home, and as such, have incurred debt. Thanks to your site, I have ideas of what I can do to get rid of this debt, but I'm scared that next year when I go back to uni I'll put myself further into debt. I can't do a lot about textbooks and accommodation - they're going to be huge expenses regardless of whether I buy second hand. However, groceries are a problem I feel could be handled better. My freezer space is about 30 cm x 15 cm x 30 cm - so I don't have a lot of space to buy bulk and freeze meals, and buying fresh food for one person is expensive. Do you have any suggestions about meal ideas or ways I can cut down huge bills?"

Skip meat not classes

Meat is the biggest expense in a meal budget, so why not go semi-vegetarian?

Keep eating fresh fruit and vegetables, and start cooking with beans and lentils. All you need to remember is that if you combine a bean and a grain, you have a total protein. Most nights, aim to have no meat at all and enjoy felafel in pita bread, chilli con carne on rice, pasta with beans and vegetable sauce, eggs dishes and, of course, baked beans on toast.

It's ok to indulge in meat every now and then, but be sure you buy meat that delivers a lot of flavour for not much cash, for example, a single rasher of bacon will add a lot of flavour to salads, egg dishes and potato meals. Also, bulk up meat dishes by adding a tin of cannellini beans or butter beans.

Contributed by: Theresa Whitaker

Asian-inspired budget meals

I encountered budgetary problems during my first year at university, but I discovered that an Asian style diet was a big help.

Rice is a cheap and healthy way of bulking up meals and can even be eaten for breakfast! Buying a rice cooker was one of the best investments I have ever made - make sure you get one with a lid that snaps closed, not just a glass lid like a saucepan lid. You can pick up a rice cooker for around $30 from retailers like Kmart or Target.

The beauty of a rice cooker is that you can simply add things like vegetables, fish and Chinese sausages to the steaming tray above your rice, and in 30 minutes you have a cheap and healthy meal with a minimum of fuss. I calculated that I could cook a meal of rice, steamed lemon fish and vegetables for less than a dollar a serve!

Miso soup is a delicious, healthy and cheap accompaniment to rice dishes, and requires only a small amount of fridge space. You can also add a variety of different dried additives for even more flavour, such as seaweed and fried tofu that can be kept in jars.

Contributed by: Sarah Pn

The benefits of being a nanny

After her first year at university, my daughter had incurred huge costs as she had moved interstate. Things were much better during her second year when she took on a part time position as a live-in nanny to three children under 12. This made her very organised, and she also had access to free accommodation and good food, plus a small allowance to cover costs. Best of all, she was in a loving home and when she came down sick, she had someone to keep an eye on her.

Other friends took on non-live-in nanny positions, while others cleaned homes or took on more traditional part-time work. However, for my daughter, being a live-in nanny was the best solution and she is still very close to all three children.

Contributed by: Chris Hillbrick-Boyd

Interest free textbook loans

Most universities offer interest free loans for textbooks which you can pay back at any rate you can afford, for example, $20 per week. This doesn't cost you any extra but it means you don't have to fork out an extraordinary amount of money in one go. Well worth checking out!

Contributed by: Emma Seabrook

Communal cooking saves gazillions!

When my sister was at university, and cooking for one, she found a few friends who were in a similar situation, so they agreed to try communal cooking.

One person would be in charge of pre-dinner nibbles, someone else did the main course and my sister always offered to do dessert - she could make delicious desserts for several people for less than $4.00, much cheaper than making a main course at up to $20!

My sister loved the cheap meals and the social aspect as they all discussed their lives at university. Many years later she is still close with the cooking crowd, has saved gazillions of dollars and can cook desserts very well!

Contributed by: Anita Kingdom

Boarding beats flatting

Try boarding instead of flatting. I boarded with people that my family knew, and in exchange for cleaning the house once a week and cooking for them twice a week, I was charged a very reasonable board which included rent, basic phone and internet, electricity and food. I was allowed to come and go as I pleased, so it was no different to flatting in that regard and I found that it was a lot nicer to live in a place that wasn't party central all the time!

Contributed by: Mel Boyce

A feast on a shoestring

Here's my suggestion for a week's worth of meals that won't take up much freezer space:

At the start of the week, buy a kilogram of mince, half a chicken breast and a lamb chop - bag the mince into five lots of 200 grams. You will also need a range of your preferred vegetables. Freeze the chicken, the lamb chop and two portions of mince.

Day 1 - Make massive fried rice, using browned and seasoned mince. Proportions should be roughly 1/5 meat, 2/5 rice, 2/5 vegetables. This makes so much rice that you will probably end up with three meals - eat one now, put one in the fridge and freeze the other one.

Day 2 - Spaghetti bolognaise, with a 50:50 mix of mince and lentils. Remove half the mix before adding the Italian herbs and store in fridge.

Day 3 - This is your 'spoil yourself' day. Make a gorgeous butter-chicken, using the chicken breast and a good recipe. Do crispy baked potatoes and vegetables to go with it.

Day 4 - Mix up another batch of mince and lentils, and use it to make a lasagne. You might want a 2:1 mix of meat to lentils for this one. If you put lots of vegetables in it, you'll probably have enough for two meals.

Day 5 - Grill the lamb chop and enjoy with char-grilled vegetables and your choice of pasta, rice or potatoes.

Day 6 - Take the leftover mince/lentil mix; add Cajun spice and pepper to make a Mexican mix for tacos.

Day 7 - Eat the leftover lasagne or fried rice, or use a frozen batch of mince to make another dish.

After all this, you should still then have three meals, or the foundation thereof, left over!

Contributed by: Clare Pascoe

Being bothered pays off

With careful planning, and some effort, you can make ends meet!

Be bothered to make your lunch, instead of buying it. Refill your water bottle and freeze it overnight, then make a salad and put it in a container for lunch the next day. When you pack your lunch, put the frozen drink bottle next to the container and it will act as an ice brick. By doing this, you can save $70-$80 per week.

If you have a part time job relating to your course, take the time to check whether you can claim your text book costs on your tax; there's a savings potential here of around $600.

This time investment could be the best time you will ever spend!

Contributed by: Vicki Crampton

Think of the rewards

I want you to remember that this struggle is only for a short time; by putting yourself through university, you'll be bettering your life by doing something you enjoy, and with a qualification you'll be able to look after yourself for a lifetime! But until that time comes, here's some advice!

To save on utilities, just remember - you can live without a landline! I have a Virgin Mobile month by month plan which costs $30 per month but gives me $170 worth of calls.

When it comes to electricity, you can buy really cheap energy saver globes for everything in your place. Look for them at IKEA or even a discount retailer like The $2 Shop. To save even more on electricity, turn things off at the power point when you're not using them. As for gas heating, only use it if you're really cold! Put on a jumper or use a blanket and try to stay warm that way.

By the way, I got through my degree living alone, renting privately and living on a youth allowance, plus a four hour a week job earning me around $100 pw. It can be done!

Contributed by: Rhonda Pawlowski

Make a meal of it

Find six other people on a budget and then, once a week, you can each cook for seven people. You can choose whether to eat together at the cook's home, or you may decide to collect your meal and take it home. The meals could be frozen for convenience or served hot; the only rule should be that all meals should be nutritious. Even cooking a roast for seven people once a week is much cheaper and easier than cooking seven meals for one person.

Contributed by: Michele Ryan

Think ahead, cook ahead

You can cook a week's worth of meals on a weekend afternoon and freeze individual portions for the week ahead. Add notes to the portions, for example, 'add slices of potato and layer on top; roast 45 minutes' so you know what to do when you thaw out the portion. You'll be surprised how much cooked food you can fit in a small freezer, plus fewer vegetables are wasted as they last well once cooked and frozen.

Contributed by: Beate Teale

For Vault members:

Small freezer is no problem Contributed by: Bj Kirk

Survive and thrive Contributed by: Yummy Mummy

Lots of food for thought Contributed by: Victoria Boulter Groening

The spirit of co-operation Contributed by: Jannine Ord

Top marks to markdowns Contributed by: Michelle Dobell

9. This Month's Help Request: Fair Share for Singletons

This month Julia asks:

Sounds like Julia needs some help and we know you are the right people to ask! If you have any ideas on how Julia can work towards her savings without avoiding the family dinners then we would love to hear from you here.

10. Saving Stories: New Year, New Challenge and Keeping Each Other Honest

New Year, New Challenge

Christmas 2009 was the worst I ever had, having just separated from my husband. At almost 50 I found myself homeless with no money. On the 16th of December I found a share accommodation but had to borrow money from friends to pay for my bond and two weeks rent so that I could have a roof over my head. The only job I was able to do to keep me going was as a housekeeper, yet I could hardly pay for the petrol to get to work.

For four weeks, I avoided going to the shops. I am 90% vegetarian so decided to grow all the vegetables I like to eat at my rented home. I collected some seeds, seedlings and cuttings from friends and customers and decided to spend my last $10 for chicken wire to protect my homegrown herbs and vegetables from possums and bush turkeys. I am spending time tending my garden every day and I now have lettuces, beans, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, herbs and so on for salads and stir fries every day. I even have enough to give some to my friends and customers to thank them for helping me to stand on my own feet and living a healthy life. This week I only spent $16 for organic eggs, milk, a tin of pink salmon and a loaf of bread. These with my homegrown herbs and vegetables will give me a healthy diet for the whole week. I am saving heaps to pay my debts as fast as I can.

At soon-to-be-50 and with no savings, I bought The $21 Challenge book to challenge myself. I am so excited because I spent years of feeding a family of four and now I am alone I have absolute control of what I spend and what I put in my mouth. I feel liberated, I feel young and full of energy. Having less money in 2010 is more enjoyable than my stressful life in 2009!

Contributed by: Eve

Keeping Each Other Honest

My friend and I are enjoying losing weight, saving money and regaining our lives together - even though we live 200 km apart! Whilst we can't do things together, the pair of us have been recording everything we eat since Christmas Eve. At night, we use Skype, which is free, to report to each other what we have eaten during the day, and how much exercise we have done. We also keep each other informed of both our weight loss and measurements every day or two. It really helps to keep each other honest. With each other's help we are both saving on:

Food in the grocery basket which is not necessary or nutritious
fad dieting, which is bad for the metabolism
spending money on diet clubs or programs
long phone calls
a terrible future dictated by the long-term effects of diabetes
any embarrassment of having to weigh ourselves in public.

We have also discovered there are other advantages too, such as:

Giving away clothes which are too big to someone in need
enjoying the acknowledgement of that person for your help each time they wear your clothes
feeling and looking better and stronger as the weeks go by
fitting into the clothes I have bought on eBay in anticipation of these changes in lifestyle
learning that lifestyle is the ultimate choice. This is not a diet; this is my life from now on!

Contributed by: Kay

January 2012 - Simple Savings Newsletter

"Secrets to Saving Money in Australia" Free Newsletter - January 2012

This issue includes:-

Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: You SHALL Go to the Ball!
February is No Spend Month!
Hidden Gems Competition Winner
Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner
Lin's Garden Diary
Best of the Forum: No Spend, No Worries
Best of the Vault: Super Saving Season
Cooking with Mimi: Back to School Lunch Boxes
Penny's Blog: Lime and Soda
Homeopathy Corner: Long Term Savings
From Last Month: Healthy Lunch Box Options
This Month's Help Request: Radishes!
Savings Story: $21 Challenge Wake Up!
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Hello,

How are you going? I hope you are having an excellent month. This month we have one of my favourite challenges - No Spend Month! This challenge is a great way to learn the difference between the words 'want' and 'need', and to save a big pile of money while you're at it. Past years have shown us it is easy to save yourself as much as $1000 in No Spend Month. We love it!

"I probably am one of your oldest readers (just turned 80) but I still enjoy reading all your hints. I am now putting your $21 Challenge into practise and loving it. It's making me sit and look at what I really have on hand, and how I can utilise it in every way possible with plenty of variety. It is simply amazing what people can work out and do when money is short. Keep up the hints." (Betty Threlfo)

"I own a copy of The $21 Challenge and it is an amazing read. I subconsciously used a lot of the information last week as we were very low on funds whilst waiting on two payments to come through. I looked back on last week and realised that I had spent a lot less than I normally would. I hadn't been trying to do the Challenge but I think if I had been taking notice of the amount of money I was spending then I probably wouldn't have been far off.

"Also I wanted to thank all the lovely ladies who have been sending in such wonderful hints and tips. I think they are amazing. My membership has certainly been saved many times over." (Peta Hills)

"I love your calendar; I use it to write all my bills paid and all my weekly expenses on it. I then total them up at the side in categories such as food, household, personal and so on and total it at the bottom of the page. This gives me a record each month of how much my expenses are and when it's time to budget! I use the previous year's calendar to see what bills are coming up the following month too, for example, rates, water, insurance and so on, so I can budget for them too. It gives me a chance to check to see what has increased in price as well." (Diane Green)

"I have only just recently found your site and joined the Vault. What a revelation! But, more importantly, what a wonderful group of people contribute to and enjoy your hints and suggestions. I feel like I'm part of a big family. Do you feel the warmth and friendship and this as well? When I'm feeling down and overwhelmed by things and life in general I log on to your site and 'join the group'. It lifts my spirits to connect with others out there just like me. Thank you all, you've saved my sanity. With love and gratitude." (Rhonda Trott)

If you didn't grab yourself a copy of the calendar at Christmas, it's not too late! You can download it here :-

www.simplesavings.com.au/wealthyhabits

All the best,
Fiona

P.S. BIG DISCOUNT: $21 Challenge books for sale. (Australian addresses only)

OK, I made an *ahem* teensy mistake ordering $21 Challenge books and we have run out of Australian copies. BUT! We have a big pile of New Zealand books needing a good home. The only difference is the cover; everything inside the book is exactly the same so we are selling New Zealand copies of the Challenge for $10 per book plus postage. (This special is only for Australian addresses. Changes in the book industry mean it is very expensive for us to ship books to NZ and our NZ stock is now sitting in Australia. Don't ask!) Nab some now and tuck them away!

To order your copies go to www.simplesavings.com.au/order/?21dc

1. Sad Sally, Happy Hanna: You SHALL Go to the Ball!

After some fantastic suggestions from Forum members last month (not to mention welcoming a new staff member called Linda!) we are changing Linda's name in the Sally and Hanna stories to Clueless Chloe. Thank you for your help.

Sally had just made herself a nice cup of tea and was looking out of the window when she noticed her new neighbour, Tom, leaving Clueless Chloe's house looking downcast. "That was a short visit; he can't have been there more than ten minutes! I wonder what's happened." Sally thought. Before long curiosity got the better of her and she headed next door.

Chloe greeted Sally with open arms. "Come in! I'm so glad you dropped by!" "Oh really? That's a relief, I didn't want to bother you - I just wanted to borrow some sugar." Sally lied through her teeth. "It's great timing actually - you just caught me throwing myself a pity party. You see, Tom was just here. He invited me out for a Valentine's Day dinner... but I had to say no." Sally's jaw hit the floor. "You said NO? But why? I thought you liked him!"

"I DO like him. I would have loved to go!" Linda confessed sadly. "But I don't have anything to wear and I am flat broke. I didn't want to go on a special date looking like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards!" Sally immediately swung into action. "Right - go and call him right now and tell him you have changed your mind. If there's one thing my mate Hanna taught me, it is that you don't have to have money to look good. She'll have you fixed up in no time!"

2. February is No Spend Month!

Do you think Tom would have enjoyed Chloe's company any more if she had spent a week's wages on a new outfit? Would he even have noticed if she had worn the same top before? The chances are, highly unlikely - but just like many of us do, Chloe got confused between a want and a need.

It's amazing how often we DON'T have to spend money if we just stop and think about it - but it's all too easy to fall into the familiar trap of thinking we DO have to. This is why No Spend Month is so fan-flippin-tastic!

What is No Spend Month?

Only one of the most popular challenges on the Simple Savings calendar for the past five years! The rules are as follows:

Your mission is to avoid spending money on ANYTHING in February other than the absolute essentials for your work, education or survival. Obviously there will be some things you cannot avoid, such as basic food and prior bills but apart from that your mission is to make sure you don't buy anything that is not essential.

For example, this month you should NOT be buying:-

Takeaway food of any sort
Lollies or chips
Dips
Soft drinks
Magazines
Books
Frozen dinners
Movies or videos
Fancy brands
Bought cakes
Pre-made food
Ice cream
Clothing
Beauty products
Alcohol

Things you CAN spend money on:-

Rent or mortgage
Basic food
Utilities
Insurance
Petrol
Car
Health care
School essentials (meaning uniform, camps or stationery requirements, NOT money for the canteen!)
Other prior bills (we don't want you incurring late fees!)

Ooh, that sounds a bit harsh! What's in it for me?

Yes, we know it's harsh, but look at that list. How many of those things do you currently buy each month? Imagine how much you would save by NOT buying them for a month. Imagine how much headway you could make. Imagine all the things you could do to get ahead financially if you managed to keep all that money in your bank instead of automatically handing it over to shopkeepers for things you don't need. You could use it to pay off a credit card. You could pay some extra off the mortgage and save yourself some interest. You could use it to create an emergency fund to bring a little extra peace of mind. You could use it for a reward or holiday for your family. Put like that, isn't it worth the effort for a few short weeks?

No Spend Month will help you and your household break the cycle of thoughtless, wasteful spending. It really couldn't be easier - and besides, it's fun! Every day you can get through without spending makes you feel FANTASTIC! It makes you feel proud; it makes you feel as though you've done something really good, something really important in helping yourself and your family to get ahead. Go on, try it and you'll see!

To make your No Spend Month as easy and successful as possible, all it takes is a few minutes planning each day. Keep a savings diary - this can either be something as basic as a notebook or you can sign up for our free online savings diary. This is visible to you only and is very cool because a) we email you every evening so you can't forget to fill it in and b) it automatically adds up every cent you spend on non-essentials as you go, which really helps to strengthen your resolve! Whichever option you choose, fill it in at the end of each day with the following:

Write down every item you purchased for the day.
Write next to each item if it was essential - or not.
Write down a brief plan for the following day. What do you HAVE to do? Where do you HAVE to go? Can any of these be avoided or at least put off until another day? Thinking about what you need to do the night before will leave you clear headed and organised for a No Spend day the next day.
Write the following mantras in your Savings Diary and remind yourself of them each night or during those times when things seems really tough:
STOP, THINK and SAVE.
Is it essential for survival?
If in doubt, go without!

It really is possible to save as much as $1000 in a single month when you take part in this Challenge - and February is a short month. But don't just take our word for it - give it a go!

3. Hidden Gems Competition Winner

Our Hidden Gems directory is designed to help members find it easier to source the best deals in their area. Whenever you come across a real gem of a store, enter it in our Hidden Gems directory and you could be in to win our monthly prize of $100 cash! This is our way of saying thank you for helping other members save by sharing your knowledge. The more information you can give us, the better your chance of winning. This month's winner is Café Palazzo as nominated by Kylie K. Read her entry to see what makes them such a great example of a Hidden Gem.

Café Palazzo Coffee - Maranatha Imports

www.maranathaimport.com.au

"I have found a terrific online source for my favourite coffee at the right price! I have always loved the flavoured coffee from Café Palazzo. It is produced in Sydney and is Rainforest Alliance certified. It used to be available in both Coles and Woolies but Coles dropped it as a product line two or three years ago, so I had to go Woolies for it. A few weeks ago, however, Woolies dropped it too!

"Then by chance I found the manufacturer's website when looking for another shop that sells it. The prices from them are cheaper than Woolies sold it, even with delivery!

"The 200g packets of plunger coffee that Woolies and Coles used to sell are only sold in six packs, but work out cheaper than what I used to pay for them.

"They also have other varieties that weren't available in the supermarket and in a range of sizes and grind types. The last order I got was a flat $5.00 delivery, and I got six 200g packets and a 500g packet, delivered in under a week."

Congratulations on being this month's winner Kylie and a big pat on the back to Café Palazzo for fast service at a good price. If you know somewhere special that others would like to know about, please write in and tell us and you could win $100. Send in your hidden gem here. Thank you and good luck!

4. Best Members' Blog: This Month's Winner

This month's winner is Clutterhen for this extract from her blog:

Routines, routines, routines

OK so I've finally succumbed. After all these years of avoiding them like the plague, I've got some routines. I've grown up. I've worked out that the single thing I've been avoiding, but that I've most needed to keep it all together, to make it all work and to get it all done so there is time to enjoy fun was... routines!

I've read it all before - routines keep our homes tidy. Routines keep our homes clean. Routines keep us organised and others wondering how we got it all done and had fun in the same amount of time that everyone else had. I say 'we' got it all done, but it's really been a vicarious 'we' as I've watched from the sidelines. Organised women turn up for work with wonderful stories about their weekends and with great things prepared for work, everything colour co-ordinated, homes and work areas decorated, lovely clothes, happy husbands and children, regular holidays and social activities. OK, OK so regular holidays could also have a bit to do with money, but read on.

I'm a creative soul, however, the thought of constraining myself with a chain of routines just made me cringe, shake my head, raise my hand and shout "NO THANKS NOT ME!" Meanwhile keeping my time free for spontaneous adventures. I watched all those organised people and they always made it look like there was a lot of work to routines. It looked like nobody had any spontaneity or a sense of freedom, they 'booked' in social engagements, planned their holidays, did tasks today that surely could have been put off until tomorrow! Whilst I sat sipping my cuppas and watched as they raced about cleaning this or folding that. I preferred to enjoy life. To enjoy the thrill and rush of the last-minute, winging it, flying by the seat of my pants, making it across the line just in time with a big rush of excitement that I'd managed to get it done and make an entrance!

The problem with the last-minute entrance was that it all worked out, well most of the time anyway, until I hit the grown-up years. You know; career, baby, tired, single, pressure. The rush now barely keeps me awake, the baby took my 'last-minutes' and used them on nappy blow-outs, sleeps that halted my trips to the shop to pick up the items I needed for dinner RIGHT NOW. Plus my wanting to cuddle her and make her giggle and smile. Not forgetting sleepless nights to attend to bubs whilst hanging on by the fingertips to a busy career and the exhaustion of an undiagnosed sleep apnoea.

Sure, I survived. I'm here aren't I?

Survival is just not enough anymore! I want to feel that rush of excitement at having done something good, not the rush of the last-minute adrenaline dash. The rush of pleasure that comes with having done a good job, making someone's day by sticking to my plans, meeting commitments on time and with a little breath still left in my sails. I think I used up every last drop of adrenaline I had in the past. I don't think I'll be able to make that work for me in quite the same way as before. I lost the ability to 'fire up' somewhere between the washing, report-writing, travelling 2+ hours a day for work and the invisible-ness of becoming a mother. There's no adrenaline rushes left in me.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE IT ALL. I love being a mum more than anything else. Ever! And I want that joy to come out from under the ironing and get caught up in some FUN!

So, some change was needed.

I now have a routine for my work mornings and I tweak it a little for my non-work mornings. It hasn't worked much during the holidays, but I did fire it up on our week away this month for our early starts each day. I think that's one of the keys to my success...keep to your routines. Get up at the same time each day. Go to bed at the same time each night. Have a focus for the day. It might be the focus of creative time or family time. It might be the focus of work or holiday activities. Whatever it is, I think that it is the key to feeling good about each day. And I don't mean slogging it out each day. I just mean a focus through which we can rest our heads at the end of the day knowing that we did something good, achieved something of purpose in our lives. We can rest our heads and look back over our day and feel a sense of fulfillment and achievement no matter whether your focus was for work or for play.

I now have a routine for going to bed each night. Yes, Flylady has helped me put much of these routines together. Of course tweaked to suit our needs. So at night I get my daughter to do her routine of preparing her clothes for the next day, teeth, toilet and tucked-in. I bought her a fun calendar for Christmas and we've added it to her nightly routine. She colours-in the leaf around the date and records what she did that day. She is really enjoying knowing what day of the week it is each day and tonight she read over all the things she's done so far this month as she prepares to return to school on Monday. She has worked out how many more sleeps until school starts and I noticed tonight that she's written "Wahoow" for Monday's return to school. HILARIOUS. I'm hoping that this simple routine will set her up for future studies and assignments, work and life in general. Keeping a simple record on your calendar is motivating, memory-making and a reminder of what you can achieve.

My going to bed routine is similar to my daughter's although there are a few adjustments to suit. I check my calendar, lay out my clothes for tomorrow, brush my teeth, moisturise my face, hands and feet, check my CPAP machine has water topped up, set my alarm, put on my CPAP mask and turn on machine, lights out, prayers. Off to sleep. Works every time. Although I might need to adjust when I say my prayers because I'm none too sure that I get to the Amen part? LOL

I have a routine for meals. I fill the sink with hot soapy water, start preparing the meal, wash up as I go and wash anything left in the sink since previous dishes were done. I tidy the kitchen as I go, toss science experiments from the fridge into the bin, call DD to take out rubbish and set the table. I'm loving this part of 'my' routines because DD is now old enough to help and with her needing to earn screen time she'll do almost anything! Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE Simple Savings? I make tomorrow's lunches and DD likes to help sometimes. I've sporadically made tomorrow's lunches on weekends as well and in the holidays so DD can eat when she is hungry. It saves a lot of preparation time during the day as I'm already in the kitchen and on the go whilst cooking dinner it just makes better sense. I dish up our meal and either wash or soak the last cooking utensils before heading out to the table.

DD and I say grace and eat together chatting and enjoying family time. DD will help clear the table straight after we have finished and I wash up immediately. DD enjoys playing in the soapy dish water so she sometimes does the dishes whilst I put leftovers in containers or sweep the floor etc. OH and DD has actually been vacuuming and sweeping floors to earn screen time here and there too. Gotta love help when the helper is keen to lend a hand without being asked and even more so without complaining!

There are routines for getting the washing done, cleaning out the car and my purse, decluttering and keeping the toilet and vanity clean and ready for my family to use or for unexpected visitors. I even have a routine now for booking appointments; I book whilst I'm there! Last few haircuts I booked whilst I was there. If I find I can't make it when the date comes around I simply ring to change the booking, but when I don't make the booking there is not always a reminder in my diary to book a haircut and I tend to get too busy to make calls during the work week so with this new routine it makes me get it done. I've managed to keep my new hair style for a year without a hassle.

But, there are still routines in need of being developed. Those for work, planning ahead so we have something to look forward to kind of fun with DD. Fun that she can record on her calendar and count down the days until we reach it. We've just started doing this, but it is in its early days and I'm prone to not feeling like doing certain things on certain days when they're not spontaneous. Having said this, DD needs a bit more routine so she has something to look forward to so I am very keen to discipline myself on this one. I need to plan routine times for getting to my hobbies even when work gets busy. I need to plan social fun; adult time out without kids to find that sense of humour and wit I once enjoyed.

The result of all these routines being set is that I am noticing just how much we actually DO that may have been missed before or at best, rushed. This month alone we have been away for a week, been to the Power House Museum and taken a friend for DD, been to the pool a number of times, DD has been to the movies, had playdates, we are cat-sitting - something I would never have done before for various reasons but mostly because I would have had to move mountains to fit in a cat. I can call the electrician and the plumber, both of which have been here several times this past week, and I don't have to worry that they can't access whatever it is they need to work on. There's no major junk hanging around because I'm decluttering as I go each day or two rather than bulking it up for one big to do list in the holidays the result of which means I don't do things with DD because I have to get to the jobs first. Well DD and I feel like this has been our best Summer holidays, ever! We know because it is written on our calendar to remind us.

Ahh, feel the serenity! Whilst not 100% there yet, even 60% feels like freedom. I thought I had freedom by not sticking to boring routines. But that freedom was hidden behind adrenaline rushes, tears when I couldn't reach a deadline at work, embarrassment turning up for social engagements or work with hair long overdue for a cut, clothes un-ironed, events missed because I just couldn't conjure up the energy to get everything done and have fun at the last-minute. Only now does the freedom really feel like it is freeing. I don't have the weight of all those jobs I haven't done filling my mind, the mess I have to clean up before I can invite someone over, the piling of dishes, washing and to do lists.

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to do.

Congratulations Clutterhen! To read more from her, or any of our other members' blogs, click here

5. Lin's Garden Diary

Firstly, I have to confess I've been naughty these holidays. Ignoring my garden's pleas for attention. I blame it on the hordes of visitors, but even though I have done nothing, it is still giving us food.

Countless times these holidays we have pulled out scrumptious fresh vegies for our dinner:- beetroots, carrots, loads of corn, masses of cherry tomatoes and baby spuds to impress our guests!

Together we crunched on our sweet 'raw' beetroot salad. Yes, raw beetroot. It is so tasty! And, very good for you!

Our garden has been so well behaved, it has even been giving us more food then we can eat. So my son and I started selling it to our neighbours. Sebastian (6) and I walked around tonight offering 10 cherry tomatoes and a FREE cob of corn or carrot for just $2.00! When we came home he proudly showed off his hard earned money! I was so proud of him as he had knocked on each door, introduced himself and offered each person his 'special deal' from his own garden!

Here are some other great tips I wanted to share with you:

If your tomatoes are going yellow near the base, then pick them off! This will allow the sun in and helps to ripen the fruit!
Grow mint and be rid of flies! Plant some mint in a pot or somewhere on its own otherwise it will spread like mad and take over your garden. We received a fantastic hint from a member recently to say that mint helps keep the flies away! I tried it and it works! You need to crush the leaves slightly, but they do the trick!
Grow and 'gift' your own edible bouquet! A friend of mine recently opened an organic shop and I have bought several of her 'edible bouquets'. Her bouquets included calendulas, nasturtiums, lavender flowers, mint, oregano, beetroot leaf and rosemary. Bunch them together and tie with raw string - just beautiful!
Get planning for winter now! Now is a good time to sow things like broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower.

I wanted to share one last thing with you! This week we saved a total of $22 from picking vegies from our own garden. Multiply that by 52 weeks and that's $1144 in one year! Once we become fully self-sufficient, including growing our own fruit trees, we have the potential to save approximately $3000-$4000 a year! Now that's motivating!

6. Best of the Forum: No Spend, No Worries

Why not kickstart your Simple Savings year with our No Spend Month. This is a superb challenge especially for anyone still struggling with Christmas over-indulgence and debt. If it's not essential, don't buy it - no worries. Get the whole family involved and see how much you can save in just 29 short days!

Making a guide for the No-Spend Challenge

Fiona put this essential guide together last year for anyone who may need some help with tackling this month's Challenge. It's a great tool to help keep you motivated and on track.
read more...

No spend year 2012

Starting the year off with a BIG bang is SalliMumof3 - going in, boots and all with a full No Spend year. Why not follow her inspiring thread and perhaps even her lead. Your wallet will soon reap the rewards.
read more...

...and here is Part Two

No Spend 2012 - Recipes

Here's the place to get all the inspiration you need to whip up a storm in the kitchen when you are watching the pennies. Thanks so much Claire M. for helpfully putting all these excellent links in one place.
read more...

No spend/low spend challenge part 6

If you are a newcomer to No Spend Month have a browse through this encouraging thread which has been going on for all of 2011. Read how these members live the good life on limited funds.
read more...

How many no spend days a week?

Keeping the No Spend idea running all year round is an austerity measure many of our members aspire to. Here are some handy ways you can keep up the momentum.
read more...

7. Best of the Vault: Super Saving Season

Are you ready for this month's Super Saving Season? Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is not to spend a single cent unless absolutely necessary. And we don't mean mission impossible! Why not take your inspiration from our clever members.

Enjoy a friend's company without spending

To take your mind off going shopping and spending, organise for a friend to come around for coffee instead. It's a great way to catch up with each other and enjoy someone else's company - no spending necessary! You could also alternate between them coming over or you going to their place, then you are still going on an outing!

Contributed by: Toni

No Spend Month every three months

I have come up with a system that gives me a No Spend Month every three months! With just me at home I had become lazy with my grocery shopping; in fact I was grabbing takeaway or eating just a sandwich and was making myself ill from not eating properly. I discovered a weekly menu, complete with shopping list in a magazine. So I crossed off what I didn't like and headed for the supermarket. It was not until I was on my way home that this aged brain suddenly realised I had bought enough ingredients for four of each meal. Out of stupidity and lack of thought I had actually hit on a winner. The next few nights I cooked the meals, made one serving for me and froze the rest in meal lots. Over the next few weeks I added to my meal list and ended up with a variety of meals from which to choose, plus I saved myself literally hundreds of dollars by stopping panic buying and takeaways. And of course I was at last eating in a healthy way. Every three months I have enough meals to last me for the entire month, plus I can feed any unexpected visitors. I have made sure that it does not become boring and have now incorporated the same system into work lunches and every now and then breakfasts. So, all in all the old girl has now become this very budget conscious, gourmet cook and I have to admit it has become a real sense of achievement. Money is still tight, but I am not being strangled by the lack of it anymore.

Contributed by: Lynn Earley

No car will drive up savings during No Spend Month

For No Spend Month this February why not pretend you don't have a car for the month? (You could actually disconnect the battery if you have to.) This will make you stay away from the shops unless absolutely necessary, saving you extra time to cook meals from scratch and start projects you have been putting off. Plus it will really force you to learn to be resourceful with what you have. Also, turn off commercial television so as not to let yourself be bombarded with ads encouraging you to buy things you don't really need. Watch commercial-free stations instead or have a mammoth month of DVD fun - they are free at the library.

Contributed by: Ruth Kenrick-smith

No Spend Month pays for family holiday

Our No Spend Month paid for our family holiday! Recently, we were lucky enough to obtain $9 each way flights from Newcastle to Melbourne for our family of five. As this was an impulse/unplanned short holiday and money was tight that month, we decided as a family to do a couple of $21 Challenges. Worried this still wouldn't be enough and concerned about the children's ever increasing 'NEEDS', we also decided to have a month where we only spent money on actual needs, not wants. The 'No Spend' challenge was a real eye opener for my seven, eight and 10-year-old daughters and was definitely NEEDED (no pun intended!). Basically, anything we were going to spend money on (including the groceries) was debated. During the month I needed foundation and my girls decided this was a WANT but I said it was a NEED because I needed to wear make-up to work. In the end, the girls found all the foundation samples and little bits of foundation leftovers and I had enough to get me through. My 10-year-old actually said foundation should be a business decision because it was work related. So we made a third category - business/money earning. It was fun to debate buying things and I think I struggled more than anyone else! Like the time I was caffeine deprived and tired one afternoon while we were out and I said I NEEDED a coffee. Miss 10 replied, 'Mum, that is actually a WANT. It's just that you want it so bad you've convinced yourself it is a NEED!' The reward for the challenge was we were able to pay for our trip with the money we saved and the girls saved over $180 between them to use as spending money (this included all pocket money and proceeds from a garage sale where they sold a few toys and so on). Funnily enough, it was really hard for them to spend that money! We were really in the habit of analysing spending by that stage. So they ended up coming home with $130 which is now in their bank account. The $50 they did end up spending was well spent! We were at St. Kilda wharf deliberating about the penguin cruises and thinking that $200 for the family just wasn't do-able - when the captain of one of the boats approached us. He had just had a bus load of tourists cancel and offered us the trip for the entire family for $50 including wine and nibbles! Even better was that after it finished they were heading back to Melbourne and they let us stay on the boat, so we ended up cruising under the bridge at night and into Melbourne as a bonus!

Contributed by: Mystery Case

Tips for No Spend Month

During a No Spend Month, team up with a like-minded buddy or family member to alleviate any unnecessary spending. There are so many things you can do in partnership, or on your own, including: 1. Raid each other's pantry rather than make a trip to the shops. 2. When heading out to run errands, make one trip for both buddies/families. 3. Pay bills online 4. Raid each other's cupboards or gardens before buying gifts. 5. Cancel the lawn-mowing for the month. 6. When cooking, cook surplus and deliver to your buddy/family. 7. Make greeting cards from household materials including card and glitter. Use downloadable images too. As you've seen, no spend is no problem!

Contributed by: Catherine Stevens

Extra tips for Vault members

Here are some bonus tips especially for you, our lovely, loyal members. Thanks so much for your continued support of Simple Savings.

Make non-spending a habit Contributed by: Jan Dooley

Free samples save No Spend Contributed by: Tania O

No spend days help seek out free pastimes Contributed by: Sue Allen

No more expensive snacks Contributed by: Linda Shehan

New hobbies leave less time for spending Contributed by: Gina Harris

8. Cooking with Mimi: Back to School Lunch Boxes

It's back to school time and the cupboard is bare.

Well that's how it always is for me.

The last week of the holidays is spent labelling uniforms, shopping for overpriced black school shoes and covering books. Somewhere along the way the hours in the day or the money in the bank seems inadequate when it comes to actually doing the grocery shopping!

So this month I've got two recipes for you that require very little in the way of ingredients, but carry maximum school yard brownie points. These completely irresistible little cakes are so much fun. They don't need icing and use up odd bits and pieces of tinned, dried or fresh fruit in quick smart, tasty fashion.

Mini Fruity Upside Down Cakes

Equipment:

1 x 12 hole muffin pan
12 large muffin papers
Mixing bowl
Electric beaters or wooden spoon and muscle power
Tablespoon
Measuring cups
2 x dessertspoons
Knife
Cooling racks or a cleared space on your bench to cool your cakes
Foil

Ingredients:

Makes 12 muffin-sized upside down cakes
3 tbsp finely diced fruit or dried fruit
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp neutral flavoured oil like extra light olive oil or vegetable oil
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
Cooking spray

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 180C.

Check that your fruit pieces are of a uniform size. I slice my tinned pineapple pieces in three so they are nice and thin.

Line your muffin pan with the muffin papers and spray the base of the papers liberally with cooking spray.

Lay your fruit pieces in a decorative pattern in the bottom of your muffin papers. This is a great task for the kids and they'll adore making little flowers or faces with different coloured pieces of fruit. Currants can be eyes, bits of glace cherry make great smiles, dried cranberries and pineapple pieces make pretty flowers. Sprinkle enough brown sugar over each one to cover your fruit art, then drizzle with your oil.

Place your butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla in your mixing bowl.

Beat it for about two minutes with your electric beaters or wooden spoon and muscles.

Combine flour and baking powder and fold into cake batter.

Spoon a dessertspoonful of mixture on top of your sugary fruity bases and smooth with your knife.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they feel firm when lightly touched in the centre.

Rest in tin for five minutes before inverting onto racks or your bench.

Now the fun part. Call your children in and show them how, with a flick of the wrist, a perfectly normal looking cupcake becomes designer art when you peel off the papers! Clever!

Remove the cakes from their muffin papers and wrap them well in foil to freeze them, and add to lunch boxes as a special surprise. Much more spesh than a pink cupcake!

Popcorn is yet another brilliant, cost effective and super healthy school lunch snack.

But don't go buying it in ready-made snack packs that were popped three months ago. And don't waste your money on the stuff in the ready-to-pop bags. Who needs to pay two bucks for someone else's paper bag?

Pop your own the old fashioned way, as you need it and spice it up with yummy home-made taco seasoning. It costs less than one tenth what you pay for either pre-packed lunch box snack popcorn or the ready-to-pop popcorn and takes just minutes to prepare.

Real Home-Made Popcorn

Makes about 12 batches of 4 serves per 375g packet of popping corn (about $0.02c per serve and nearly 50 lunch box serves per packet).

Equipment:

Large saucepan with lid
Large mixing bowl
Cellophane party bags, resealable bags or containers with lids
Small bowl
Teaspoon
Large serving spoon

Ingredients:

2 tbsp popping corn. You want the stuff that comes in a 375g bag, NOT the pre-packaged buttered popcorn-ready-to-pop.
1 level tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander, smokey paprika and garlic granules or garlic salt
1/2 tsp table salt (optional)
1/4 tsp chilli powder (optional)
1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Add all of your spices to the small bowl and stir well with your teaspoon to combine.

Place your saucepan over medium high heat and add your oil.

Drop a single corn kernel into your oil. When it starts to sizzle at the edges, your oil is the right temperature for popping.

Add your corn kernels to the hot oil and cover firmly with your lid.

Within ten seconds you'll start to hear the familiar sound of popping corn.

Shake your saucepan every fifteen seconds or so to ensure your yummy popcorn doesn't scorch. It shouldn't take more than 60-90 seconds to pop this amount of kernels.

When the popping reduces to less than one every two seconds, you're done.

Tip your popped corn into your large bowl. Note that you'll always have some unpopped kernels. They're just duds, so discard them.

Now, because you've used a small amount of oil to pop your corn, you should have a light coating on your popped corn. This will help the seasoning to adhere to the popcorn. Scatter your seasoning over your popcorn and stir well with your serving spoon, ensuring that your fluffy little morsels are well coated. If necessary, a light spray of any sort of cooking oil will help the flavour stick.

In our house, this is about four school lunch serves, and is certainly equivalent to what you'd get in a pre-packaged snack. So now's the time to line up your cellophane bags, resealable bags or airtight snack boxes and equally divide the popcorn between them.

A really good trick and a way of making your snacks look 'store bought' is to fold down the excess at the top of the cellophane bags, cover with a cloth, and iron with a hot iron for around 20 seconds. This 'seals' the bag, just like the real deal.

Once you've got this method under your belt, feel free to use any kind of seasoning or spices you like. Try chicken seasoning, chicken stock cubes and curry powder, drinking chocolate or salt and pepper.

Yum!

School newsletter worthy lunch boxes coming up!

9. Penny's Blog: Lime and Soda

January 29th

Have you any idea how many times I have tried to write this blog? Over the years, a lot. It's not going to be an easy one for me to write and who knows, maybe it won't be an easy one to read. But I'm glad I have waited until now to share it because a) it's only now that it has a happy ending and b) it just might help somebody else.

To start with the traditional cliché, 'My name's Penny and -' OK, I'm not an alcoholic. But for years I have drunk way too much. I've known it and I've hated it but have never been able to beat it. Almost everybody has some sort of vice; some evil nemesis and for me it's the booze. I've written blogs about it before over the years, gleefully announcing 'I've quit!' and managing to last a whole two days before succumbing to the lure of an ice-cold bottle of Chardonnay. But not anymore. Like with giving up anything I guess the timing has to be right. Either that or you hit rock bottom, which is what I did.

Let me take you back a few years (OK, more than a few!) to when I was 17. I was already a heavy drinker - perhaps that's a slight understatement. Like many teenagers I would raid my parents' booze cupboard but unlike most teens I also used to hide bottles of wine in my knee-high boots in my wardrobe and carried a hip flask at all times, even in my school bag. I had a two-litre bottle of orange juice in the fridge at home but Mum and Dad didn't know half of it was vodka. I was rarely rolling drunk; just in a permanent state of never quite being 'all there'. To be honest I never knew why I did it - I didn't do it to try to be cool. I didn't have a traumatic childhood, quite the contrary. I simply liked the stuff.

At first my friends thought it was funny - particularly the day I sank a bottle of wine before school and had to stagger my way up the school bus and be helped into my seat. But drinking on your own isn't cool and before too long they were grabbing my hip flask or whatever bottle I happened to have on me and tipping it down the sink. They were worried sick about me but I didn't care. I must have been a right royal pain in the bum and I consider myself very lucky not to have lost those friends. I'm still in touch with each and every one of them after all these years but I know how close I came to losing them.

I wasn't so lucky with everyone though. When I was 18 I fell head over heels for a chap called Garry. I thought my sparkling personality was enough to keep him but he didn't want a drunk for a girlfriend and I got a heck of a fright when he dumped me. After a week of grieving and worrying the heck out of my mum by not eating I somehow ended up sobbing in my dad's lap confessing all. My dad bless him, didn't bat an eyelid. He just told me 'it's alright mate, we'll fix it'. And he did. Before I knew it my mum had poured out my troubles to our GP. He didn't think I was an alcoholic - but he did think I needed a good fright.

So before I knew it I was making a daily trip to Eastleigh Ward - a centre for people with drinking problems. I did this every day for six months. There I became part of a big family of wonderful people, all of whom just happened to be ruining their lives with alcohol. There was Peter H, a successful graphic designer whose downward spiral began when he started drinking G & T's with his colleagues on the train at 8 o'clock every morning. There was Mick, a 23-year-old train driver who had been sent there by a magistrate after being caught driving his train drunk. He had no intention of giving up and thought the whole thing was just a big joke. There was Craig, who was younger than me and as brash as they come, with a heart of gold. Unfortunately he was so hell bent on getting his hands on alcohol he had even been known to drink aftershave. Phil was a jovial man in his 50's who, unlike the others who all had broken marriages as a result of their drinking, had the support of his loving wife. Unfortunately he also had cirrhosis of the liver and his blood was so badly poisoned you could see every pore showing purple against his yellow skin. Saddest of all was Peter A, a lovely old chap in his seventies whose daughter had banned him from seeing his grandchildren. His tears at not being able to see them broke my heart - but he still just could not give up drinking. In fact, he had been to the centre so many times that he had been told there was nothing more that could be done for him.

Everyone there had lost someone dear to them as a result of their drinking. Wives, girlfriends, children, grandchildren. I became fond of them all and during the six months I was there I didn't drink a drop. Next to them I felt strong. I was also lucky enough to have youth on my side. I still think of them and wonder what they are doing now but if I am truly honest with myself they are probably almost all long gone.

Just a few months after that I met Noel. Ironically he was the barman in my local pub! But by then all I would drink was lime and soda. At only 25p a glass I was a cheap date! However, the landlord still felt it necessary to warn Noel. 'You want to watch that one, she's got a problem with the bottle,' he said knowingly. 'I'll be the judge of that,' came Noel's reply. We never really talked about it and to this day, I've never talked to anyone about it other than my parents - well and now you. He just told me he wouldn't 'take any crap' and I knew he meant it. That was enough.

When I was at Eastleigh Ward they told me I wouldn't be able to drink again but when you're only 18 that sounds like a very long time. After all, I had only just reached the legal age limit! Still, for several years I didn't touch a drop. For starters the budget didn't allow it. But as time went by I started having a glass of wine on special occasions and holidays and once the kids came along and we started to earn more it started making an appearance in our weekly groceries. And that's how it's been ever since. The only difference this time around was that drinking wasn't an addiction; it was nothing more than a habit. A big, expensive, fattening habit.

But still a harmful habit nonetheless. I knew I drank too much to start with but when you have glandular fever for months without knowing, are training for a marathon and lose 20kg in less than 12 months your tolerance for alcohol goes down. In my case it went down to pretty much zero. The crunch time for me came on January 2nd when we had a guest for dinner who I had never met before. A pleasant and interesting chap, I had just ONE glass of wine whilst preparing dinner and realised to my horror that I was slurring my words. No matter how hard I tried to engage in scintillating conversation I just couldn't get the words out properly and I could see this guy looking at me thinking 'what is her problem?' That was it. No more booze for Penny.

I haven't touched another drop since and that was 28 days ago. I know in my heart that this time I have finally cracked it. I don't need it, I don't want it and I sure as hell don't miss it. I don't miss the arguments I had with Noel at night because a few wines made me say things I would never normally say. I don't miss the memory loss, forgetting things I had promised loved ones or checking texts and emails the next day to remind myself what I said and hoping and praying it wasn't anything too bad. I don't miss the 3kg I lost in two weeks through not consuming all the extra calories. I don't miss the hideous amount I spent on wine and cider every week.

Instead I am relishing my freedom. I am relishing waking up not hating myself for drinking too much AGAIN, which I have done for as long as I can remember. I am relishing sleeping like a log every night instead of waking up religiously at 2.30am and laying awake beating myself up. I never realised it was alcohol which was ruining my sleep but yep, it was. Better still, I'm not waking Noel up with my tossing and turning any more either so he's happy too! I am relishing being everyone's sober driver and hearing about everyone else's hangovers. I am relishing the weight I have lost through no longer pigging out at night simply because I've had a few drinks. I am relishing the fun nights I am spending with my children making muffins or watching stingrays at the wharf instead of blobbing out in front of the TV with a glass of wine, or not being able to drive them anywhere because I'm over the limit. No more drunken arguments, no more memory loss. Admittedly I think my karaoke performance is suffering without the help of a little Dutch courage but what the heck, it's a small price to pay. From now on it's just freedom - and an extra $3000 a year in the bank. I'm back on the lime and soda and that's how it's going to stay!

January 2012

10th - All the small things

10. Homeopathy Corner: Long Term Savings

This month Fran is comparing the cost and the outcomes of long term homeopathic treatment versus mainstream medicine. It is a very interesting read! To read Fran's article go to:- homeopathyplus.com.au/what-do-patients-think-of-homeopathy

11. From Last Month: Healthy Lunch Box Options

Last month Christine asked:

"Would it be possible to ask if other members know of some lunch box fillers that are healthy and don't need to be cooked? I am battling with some weight issues with my girls and would love to know of some successful healthy options from other parents, as well as any tips of how they combat their children just swapping what they don't like for 'junk' food!"

Woah! We've been snowed under with replies for Christine! Thank you to everyone who responded with helpful suggestions. Unfortunately we can't print them all but here is a small selection of some of the many we received.

Nothing boring about this lunch box!

A healthy lunch box doesn't have to be a boring one. Quite often we pack a tin of tuna and some rice crackers. Pick a variety in spring water, not oil, and if they can't manage opening a tin, prepack it into a small container at home. Create a dried fruit mix of apple, sultana and a few nuts or try threading watermelon, rock melon, kiwi fruit and mango onto Paddle Pop sticks. Yum!

Contributed by: Sharon Blanck

School lunch ready in 20 seconds

The easiest way I can think of meeting this challenge is to get your girls to decide what they want from a list of options you provide for them. They are more likely to eat food they have chosen themselves. Personally I make a week's sandwiches (with fillings chosen by my kids) and freeze them Sunday night. I know this is cooking but I bake a batch of cupcakes (in which I sneak some wheat germ) and freeze those too. I have included the recipe below. In the mornings I can just grab a sandwich, a cake and a couple of pieces of fruit and I'm done. A school lunch ready in 20 seconds!

Easy lunch box cupcakes

Makes approximately 12 large and 12 mini cakes.

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Mix 1 3/4 cups SR flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup wheat germ (or bran cereal or oats, whatever you have) and 1/3 cup of cocoa together in a bowl.

Add 125g melted butter and 1 cup of milk and mix well.

Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Line 2 muffin tins (one normal size, one mini) with patty cases (makes for easier lunch box travel).

Add 1/4 cup of the mixture to each large case and spoon the remaining mixture in the smaller patty cases.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, taking out the smaller ones after around 15 minutes.

Cool and freeze.

Contributed by: Olivia de Bruyn

Turn fruit into a treat

Fruit is always a good choice in summer; there are so many fresh options available. Fruit that my kids see as 'treats' include strawberries, blueberries, grapes, mango, pineapple and melon chunks. Chop up and include a small plastic fork if that makes it more palatable, or make up a yoghurt dip (assuming you have an insulated lunch bag and can insert an ice pack). In winter when there's not so much choice available, try a small container of tinned fruit in natural juice, not syrup.

Contributed by: Georgina Ker

Easy-care fruit and vegies

Well done on facing up to your weight issues and tackling them head on. Nothing is better than a healthy lunch box! Here's my tip. Firstly aim to go to an independent fruit and vegie shop - I avoid the supermarket so I'm not tempted to trek down the junk food aisles! I purchase bags of carrots, apples, oranges, pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, capsicum, celery, beans, cherry tomatoes, apricots and so on. My main idea is to get 5-7 portions of everything depending on price and what's in season.

When I bring home my fruit and vegies, I wash everything, peel/cut up the carrots and celery, then divide it all up into portions and then pop them into lunch boxes or plastic bags. The idea is that you then have 3-4 different types of fruit and 2-3 types of veg in each lunch box. You can put in as much as you like. I find that when the kids are at school they will eat what's given to them because they are hungry. You can do as many lunch boxes as you can fit in your fridge!

Contributed by: Barb Mackay

Yummy pita chips cost a pittance

Our healthy version of 'chips' comes thanks to the wonderful Italian mums in my youngest daughter's class. You need:

1 bag wholemeal mini pita pockets
Olive oil
Italian herbs
Salt and pepper

Cut the pita pockets into eighths and spread evenly over an oven tray. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil evenly over the top of the cut pita eighths. Sprinkle with Italian herbs and some salt and pepper. Bake at 180C until crisp, turning once or twice. Cool and store in an air tight container.

These are a healthier and cheaper option to the traditional salted packet snacks. My daughter likes them so much that she says she wouldn't swap them for store-bought packets but the other kids are always trying to swap with her! We sometimes pair these with home-made dips such as hummus (see taste.com for a great recipe).

Pita pockets cost about $1.50 for a packet, which last about a week for a child. I don't know how much store-bought chips cost for a week's supply because I don't buy them but I definitely save in salt and fat intake for my children and I.

Contributed by: Christina Demers

Wrap up those leftovers

My daughter is seven years old and literally begs for a mountain bread wrap for her lunch box! We grate some carrot and cheese, add avocado and hummus, and any other vegies she asks for. We found that we had to roll it up properly, or it would fall apart by the time she got to school, but she loves them. It also helps us with using up the bits and pieces that are in the fridge. Another hit has been unsweetened yoghurt (you can make your own or buy it) with fruit. Slightly overripe fruit that would otherwise probably be chucked out seems to work well for this and you can add a teaspoon of sugar or honey if you want - it will still have far less sugar than most commercial fruit yoghurts! As a treat, we sometimes put in frozen raspberries. Yum! We have been really lucky with our kids' school as they have a no junk food policy so the kids swapping healthy food for junk has not really been an issue. Maybe it is worthwhile talking to the school about how they can help out with this.

Contributed by: Kate Baldry

Frozen yoghurt makes a cool treat

One idea I can recommend for healthy lunch boxes is to buy small tubs of yoghurt when on special or close to expiry date. I buy these and freeze them. They are fabulous for lunches as they can be thawed by lunch or are like eating ice cream if refrigerated! Choose 'lite' yoghurts for an even healthier option.

Contributed by: Tony Tuder

'Dippy' lunch boxes are a big hit

My kids love to 'dip' food, so I give them carrot sticks, rice crackers or light cheese to dip in home-made hummus or other low-fat dips I pick up on special. They always get eaten and asked for again!

Contributed by: Samantha Singleton

Home-made fruit leathers

We like to make 'fruit leathers'. It does involve cooking initially, although there are non-cook versions where you just puree the fruit then spread it thinly on non-stick paper and into a low oven or even better, into the sunshine to dry (unless you have a food dehydrator). The leather keeps for months and you can cut it into small strips for lunch box fillers. This is so good that your girls will not be swapping it for anything!

Contributed by: Cindy Zaitsoff

Lettuce cup salad wraps

My daughter loves to take salad to school. For a yummy alternative we wrap it in a lettuce cup. They are delicious and kids love them but don't forget the cold pack to keep everything nice and fresh or they won't eat it!

Contributed by: Joanne Cook

Delicious bulk snack mix

We make up a big batch of snack mix and keep it in the cupboard. You get a big bowl and add anything like sultanas, dried fruits, cereals like Nutrigrain, pretzels, mini mallows, chocolate chips and nuts. Although there are a few sweet things in there, it's only a small amount - just enough to keep the kids interested!

Contributed by: Michelle Garfield

Helpful website

Several years ago I did a Family Food Patch course, which is a course centred on the idea of nutrition, exercise and children. It was interesting and insightful. Their website is www.familyfoodpatch.org.au - well worth a visit!

Contributed by: Robyn Howard

The good, the bad and the green

I have one child who loves everything healthy and one who runs at the sight of anything green! Try these for a different lunch idea.

1) Cruskits - with light cream cheese, ham, tomato or tuna, cucumber, the list goes on - very yummy and the cream cheese makes it taste more sinful than it is.

2) Fruit muffins - you can make them with gluten-free flour or protein powder instead of flour to lower the content of fat and calories and make it low G.I.

3) Two-minute noodle pancakes! These can be eaten cold with sauce. This basic pancake recipe uses one small can of creamed corn, one cooked packet of two minute noodles and as many grated vegies you can cram in. Mix all together and cook like normal pancakes. A great alternative which tastes great hot or cold

Have a pantry clean out - you never know what helpful items you will find! My son who does not eat anything green except lettuce or green apples is starting to get chubby, and someone told me to get rid of any junk food in the house. They will soon find alternatives to prevent starving. My son's school lunch used to consist of jam sandwiches, juice, apple, chocolate yoghurt and so forth. Sugar, sugar and more sugar. Two weeks ago, however, I cleaned out everything chocolate and sweet related. My son has now decided he wants Vegemite cruskits for lunch, green apple, juice and muffins - a much better alternative! Whilst it means the whole family goes without as well, is that such a bad thing?

Contributed by: Amelia Sutcliffe

Let the kids choose

One thing that I learned while working in a school was, 'if the children make the decision, then it will be better or harsher than you would have and they will stick to it as they made that decision.' What I am trying to say is - get the girls to help you choose what goes into their snacks and they also help make them. That makes it harder for them to grumble that you have stinted them.

Set the ground rules, for example, they can only buy within your guidelines. So you will choose the bigger list of good foods, then the girls will decide what they want from there. You have dried fruits, fresh fruits, canned fruits, muffins and slices just to name a few.

Mix them up so that they are not having the same thing every day. Maybe the girls can choose one or two each per week. That will give you plenty to work on but not so many that it is hard to do. Then the next week (or fortnight) you plan another lot to make or make up, whichever suits your lifestyle best.

If they like dried fruit then you could buy bulk packs of apple, mango and banana chips or any others that they like. Then package them into reusable bags. I use Tupperware/Decor containers for fresh or canned fruit.

I like to make two different types of bags/containers - one for morning tea time and one for afternoon tea time (or after school treat time). Sometimes I swap the snack packs around so that nobody knows what they are to eat. This can be fun as you don't know whether to look forward to a mixed fruit pack or a muffin. This can be part of the fun when you have made up two or more different snack packs.

Also, there are a lot of lovely fattening looking low-fat cakes, muffins and slices in the Simply Too Good To Be True cookbooks and there are now six books to choose from. See www.symplytoogood.com.au for the books or your local newsagent. There is even a 'Wicked Chocolate Cake' in Book 2. My kids love the jam drops!

Contributed by: Patricia Parkin

Take a novel approach

Download a photo or two of children with really, really bad teeth and explain that it goes from the teeth down and is very, very painful, if they don't CHOOSE to eat more healthily. Go through the fruit and vegie aisles with your girls and get them to pick out healthy stuff they love. Beware of the salted nuts on offer.

Tell them they can pick their fruit but not their lollies. Get the best that you can afford - it pays off in terms of less doctor visits, less hospital visits, down time for you from any job you might have, school time for the children, fuel getting there, disruption to your lives and so on.

Try new fruit - ask one of the staff if you can. That's how I was introduced to achachas. Delicious!

Get a water filter for your tap and let them choose their own drink bottle. Get THEM to write on their bottles in permanent marker, 'WATER ONLY'.

Go to such websites as Diabetes Australia and either ask there or see if there are any suggestions made.

Hope these ideas work for you. Remember - you are only limited by your imagination!

Contributed by: Leonie Edge

Bonus hints for Vault members:

Healthy no-cook lunch box brownie Contributed by: Holly H

Secrets of a healthy, happy lunchbox Contributed by: Lyn B

Treat the kids to healthy 'Rainbow Rolls' Contributed by: HappyHappyJoyJoy

Healthy lunchbox tips from the naturopath Contributed by: Yolande M

Make lunchbox food fun Contributed by: Margie

Weight Watchers can help kids too Contributed by: Fiona D

Bargain with your kids for healthier lunches Contributed by: Leanne M

12. This Month's Help Request: Radishes!

This month Michelle Obama asks:

"I'm having real trouble with my organic vegetable garden. The secret service agents keep digging it up and planting listening devices in my radishes. Does anyone know how I can fix this?"

If you have any tips which can help Michelle, please send them in to us here.

Ahem, you may have guessed we didn't have a good help request for this month's newsletter! So if there is something you would like help with, please send us your help requests!

13. Savings Story: $21 Challenge Wake Up!

I had been thinking about buying The $21 Challenge ever since I heard about it, so when I renewed my subscription to Simple Savings recently I took the opportunity to buy a discounted copy (clever marketing!). Much to my surprise it arrived within a few days so I have been busily reading and am now up to the recipe section. At first I was thinking I didn't have time to do a full stock take of all our food, especially as I 'knew' what we had anyway, but thought this morning that I would at least have a quick look in our pantry. What a shock! So far I have only looked at 1 1/2 shelves but I was amazed at what was hiding in the back!

To put things in perspective, we have two adults and a one year old in our house. A quick scan showed we have five cans of baked beans, some creamed corn, three pasta bakes, several bags of pasta and rice noodles, and six different packets of breakfast cereals (several are open as I often mix a few together, but I think we possibly don't need all of them at one time...). Even more embarrassing is the fact that Corn Flakes were on my shopping list for this week - needless to say I crossed them off! I shudder to think how much food we have stored away in our pantry, fridge and upright freezer.

If I am to be honest with myself, I suspect we shouldn't have to buy anything other than milk, vegies and fruit for several weeks if we were to get serious. Yikes! I thought I was a fairly sensible shopper, not buying too much junk food or wasting too much, but I have to realise the food is still being wasted if it is lurking unseen and uneaten for months until it eventually expires. I like to have things 'just in case' but it's time to get real!

Although I don't think I am quite brave enough to go for it and try the Challenge this week (I still have a lot of stocktaking to do - and realistically I am not going to get it all done today as there are other more urgent jobs that need doing), reading the start of the book has certainly made me stop and think about what I am doing. The $21 Challenge is based on such a simple idea that I almost feel silly. Then I realise that presumably I am not alone in being oblivious to what I am buying - otherwise we wouldn't need the book or indeed the SS website. The tips and ideas on this website and in the book are such simple, sensible ideas, but they are slowly making a huge difference to my outlook and life as I explore my spending habits.

Contributed by: Pony

14. So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye :-D

Wow! Didn't we manage to cram a whole bunch of money saving ideas into this month's newsletter? I hope you really enjoyed it and have been inspired to try something new.

I am always keen to receive your feedback about the kinds of things you want to see more of in the newsletter and those things you would rather we leave off. Drop me a line next time you're on our website. If you have enjoyed this month's newsletter, why not forward it to your friends to help them save money too? Or tell them about us on Facebook by clicking the 'like' button on our Simple Savings Facebook page?

Best of luck with your No Spend Challenge. We look forward to seeing you next month!

All the best,
Fiona