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Latest Tips & Recipes January 2023

Here you'll find the latest tips and recipes added to the Tip Store and Recipe File during September 2022

​RACV for Extra Petrol Savings 

Frustrated with the ridiculous price of petrol, I was looking for new ways to save money 
As I was searching through the member saving section of RACV site, I found that validated RACV members will receive 5 cent per litre fuel discount. This can be used with the normal supermarket discount voucher of 4 cents Once you fill up, you activate the coupon via https://racv.clubconnect.com.au/en/d/discounts/fuel/eg-ampol-5c-fuel
You only have the voucher for 15 minutesand it gets scanned at the register. I know this is just for Victoria, but maybe the other states have a similar offer.
Contributed by April Wright

​Editor's note: This discount is for EG Ampol service stations in Victoria. With RACV the discount is a flat 5 cents per litre on all ULP and diesel. In New South Wales the NRMA has a fuel discount offer of 5 cents per litre on premium fuels and 3 cents per litre on regular fuels.  Check the auto club in your state to find the offers that apply to your auto club membership.

​Using Gift Cards to Shop - Save over $10 per month!

As we caravan a lot I had joined NRMA Blue to receive discounts on Big 4 holiday parks; I started looking into all the other rewards that came with it. To my surprise they offered 4-5% off gift cards. From my food budget I now purchase a gift card online which is sent straight to my email, $500 = $20 discount, I can either use it online or instore. There are many other discounts of other stores that I wish I had discovered before I purchased schooling items. 
Contributed by Justeen Mcdonald

Jug Water Saver

​I now have 2 Sistema water jugs. I've had one for ages and got the second one from a garage sale. For a long time I have had ice in two cup size plastic containers in my freezer. I thought about this and now I use both jugs, one in freezer with some water in it and other in the fridge full of icy cold water. I swap them over most mornings and no water is wasted getting ice from containers.
Contributed by Marg Morters

Where Do I Live

​I made a road map for our son when he was younger than two, so he could drive his toy cars around our area. It showed a lot of the places we went to with our daughter. Pre-primary, school, park, swimming pool shops, friends, neighbours and of course our home. Naturally the roads we travelled on to get here and there. From quite a young age he was learning what was around his home. Now at nearly 40 years of age he has always had a great sense of direction. I would like to think I helped in his learning. He has travelled many outback tracks across our great country with his darling wife. She is always amazed by his navigation skills. It was made with a piece of material, easy to fold and put away, and wash. With pertinent points of interest coloured in with material friendly pens. I hope you enjoy my hint, as much as I loved making it for him.
Contributed by Anna Crerar

When Buying is Cheaper Than Renting

​I have been looking around at renting a few items for home renovations, a pressure washer, some acro props, a jigsaw, but they are expensive to hire, especially if you need time to use them for a longer project, weather and health and time dependent. For example, $39 for 48 hours for one acro prop, this is about half the price to buy a good second hand one. This is the same for nearly everything else I’ve looked at. It is worth buying something new ( or secondhand from someone you trust); this can be a lot cheaper in the long run, and if you don’t need it after your project, you can sell it on.
Contributed by Denise Scotford

Save Time, It's Worth It

​I found the following statistics some what alarming. The average person spends 2.5 hours a day on social media, for those who are on line dating 1.5 hours a day, then another 3.5 hours a day watching television.
It is no wonder people are so busy. Remember your time is valuable. 2.5 hours a day on social media is 17.5 hours a week. I think it would be better to actually visit people.
Contributed by Ann Green

Many Thermoses

I have five thermoses that I fill with boiling water in the morning. All are silver, 1 litre and they sit neatly on the kitchen bench (purchased from Op Shops). We have solar panels, so I boil when we use our own (free) generated power. I boil when I can see on my app that we will consume our production. Then during the day I re-boil for tea/coffee/etc. (I think this is called “solar soaking” use of own generated power as much as possible for immediate consumption during the production period of the panels.)
Contributed by Sue V

Easy Clean Spectacles

​I buy glass cleaning wipes, any brand.  Fold top wipe in quarters, wipe your glasses then dry with a tissue, place wipe back in pack and reseal over and over again. Wipes are $2.50 pack for a good brand, saving $$$$ on expensive spectacle cleaners.
Contributed by Barbara Wilmott

Trick Your Front Loader, for a Better Wash

​Our LG front loader was leaving our whites grey. I found if you add a soaking wet towel to the load the machine increases the water level for a better wash. LG machines weigh the load before washing; adding a wet towel fools the machine into thinking you have a heavier load and adds more water. I have found this gives a better wash and helps keep the whites brighter for longer without the additional work of pre-soaking or other additives to the load.
Contributed by Kylie Drost

Packing Away the Christmas Decorations

​I have many Christmas decorations but down the years the boxes they came in have all disintegrated. Looking for something cheap we repurposed old suitcases. At first we wrapped the decorations in newspaper but over the years this has been replaced with bubble wrap (now replacing with foam that comes with any parcels received). We have six suitcases at the moment, most given to us by friend who no longer need them. We have bought only two - from our local charity shops - most paid was $5. We only use hard top cases as we find they protect the decorations better.
Contributed by Mi Caulfield

Binding Meatloaf and/or Rissoles

​Add some flour to your rissole or meat loaf mix to stop it falling apart when cutting. It doesn't matter if it is SR flour or plain as you use so little. You need about 2 to 3 tablespoons per 250gms mince, may need to cut back a bit on breadcrumbs because of the flour. I don't measure these things, just add till I get the right consistency. It also works fine if you are using TPV with your mince.
Contributed by Pamela Conolly

Track Your Non-Buys for a Holiday

​With so many pretty things, clothing and gadgets in the shops I sometimes find myself purchasing on a whim. Now what I have done the past few years is to: 
1.Stop. 
2.Do I need it? 
3.Can I do without? 

If I don't need it I will take a photo of the price and put that exact money into a separate savings account. By the end of the year I have more than enough money to take the family on a holiday. I would have spent the money on rubbish really, so a holiday is more than needed! It's hard to be tough on yourself and stop a habit but the money in the savings account really adds up so quickly. My daughter is doing this for a home deposit and has saved $30,000 so far!
Contributed by Pam Kingsley