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Latest Tips & Recipes 

Here you'll find the latest tips and recipes added to the Tip Store and Recipe File during 2024

November 2024

​For Your Garden Needs, Check Out Your Local Tip Shop!

Do you want a large trellis for your veggie garden? Maybe something like a farm gate ? Do you need something to keep those pumpkins off the ground to avoid mildew and rot? Maybe like large tall wire fence panel? Maybe some large pots or a bathtub to contain those berries, mint or comfrey? Well shop at the tip! It could save you a fortune. I found 3 large and tall wire fence panels at my tip shop for $3 each, oh and a metal trundle bed for $5 (it will make a great trellis). I have also bought quite a few very large pots from the same tip shop this spring very cheap. Take a gander at your local and you may be inspired.
Contributed by Fiona Russell

July 20224

Dealing with Burnt Saucepans

​Occasionally it happens, you get distracted and the next thing is you can smell something burning. It usually takes a lot of scrubbing to get rid of the burnt stuff. My tip: remove what you can easily then soak the saucepan in some cold water. When the saucepan is cool, get a paint scraper and use it to scrape the bottom of the saucepan. I have had great success doing this. You can also use the paint scraper on your glass cooktop when saucepans have boiled over. It does not scratch the glass and the rest can usually be removed without too much scrubbing.
Contributed by Jenny Walker

Thrifty Art

​I recently discovered a new artist I really like but her prints are outside of my budget at the moment so instead, I purchased four greeting cards of her artwork and will frame them in some plain white frames from Kmart that I already have, and I have beautiful art for my walls at a fraction of the price. The greeting cards were $5 each, the frames are $5 each. But you could use any frame you have on hand and utilize fabric offcuts or fat quarters, cute gift wrap, scrapbook paper, the possibilities are only limited by your creativity!
Contributed by Amelia Glazebrook

Uses for Old Napisan Containers

​I wash the smaller containers out and use them to store zip ties nd for the larger ones I store paint brushes and small paint rollers. Keeps them free from pests. 
Contributed by Suzanne King

All the Free Books

​There is an app called "Libby" and it's a library app. You can borrow audio books and regular books and a plethora of magazines. It's linked to your library card and if you don't have one, you can apply on the spot and usually start using the app in a few minutes. I love borrowing audiobooks and listening to them while I cook and do housework. They're also great while you're falling asleep and have a sleep timer. I'm a book and magazine addict and it not only saves me money, but space! Happy reading. 
Contributed by Silvia Panciera

June 2024

Check Your Dockets

Each time you are asked if you would like your docket say yes! Make sure you check your dockets before you leave the store. So many times we have been charged incorrectly at all sorts of stores . It all adds up. You can check choice.com.au for more information and your rights for scanning errors. In most cases the incorrectly scanned item will be yours free. Extra savings!
Contributed by Vicki McCarthy

​Prepackaged or Individual Fresh Fruit and Veg

Most things at the supermarket are sold by weight, so I haven't done this before, but I wanted a bunch of beetroot. It normally comes in a bunch of five and this week they were $5.50 for five. They looked tiny and not worth the value. I also noticed that I could buy them individually by weight (with no stems on top), so I picked five, weighed them and it ended up 50c cheaper to buy them individually by weight (I typically don't use the leaves anyway). It's not a big saving, but slowly over time these things can make a difference.
Contributed by Airlie Ogilvie

​Save Big $ on Milk

​My hubby ducks up to our local supermarket around 7pm and buys the 2 or 3 litre EXPENSIVE milk brands that are normally between $3-$7 each for no more than $1.50, sometimes .50 cents. We then pour the milk into our thoroughly cleaned used milk bottles and freeze it. The milk is still fresh and tastes just as good once it is defrosted. We have worked out that we are saving around $200-$220 a year which doesn't sound much but it covers the cost of our coffee beans and the delivery costs. Now we can drink our coffee without the worry of the cost of the milk and drink to our hearts content. 
Contributed by Michelle Hoffman

May 2024

Food Grade Fabric Conditioner

​Like a lot of us, I use bicarb soda instead of fabric conditioner for my clothes. I was starting to miss that fragrance, and I cannot afford essential oils. A happy accident led to several drops of Queens lemon flavouring ($2-3) being dropped in my jar (1/2 kg) of bicarb I keep on the washing machine. It smelt nice, so I mixed it in, now I use the same teaspoonful for the last rinse, and get that lightly lemon scented load of washing. This works with Queens orange flavouring as well, and although I have not tried coconut, I’m sure it would work the same. It’s only a little thing, ($18 essential oil / $2-3 food flavouring) and I even prefer the smell.
Contributed by Denise Scotford

​Heat Flying Out the Vents

If you have ducted air conditioning, when winter comes around, the heat just flies out the vents. It’s easy to make vent covers (inserts) and you will notice the difference immediately. Take out one of the vents from each room and make sure you measure each one, write it down. You need 4 pieces for each vent. You can use mdf, work out the cuts you need and the hardware store will often be able to do the cuts for you, if you buy the wood from them, otherwise if you do it yourself, the cuts have to pretty accurate for them to fit. Paint the covers however you like.
Fit the covers between the vent and the frame, this can be fiddly, but take a breathe, and remember the vent inside is probably round, so try and use that to your advantage. 
Finally finished.
Remember :
Take them out before you start up aircon before summer.
Every room is different, every vent size will be different. You can make the vent covers smaller, and sit them in top of the vents to give you a bit of airflow, good in a bedroom or room that’s not open often to stop it going stale.
While you are doing this is a perfect time to actually give the vents a wash in the sink, cause they will be yucky.
Contributed by Denise Scotford

Diary Discount! 

​I recently picked up a hardcover journal/diary for $.50 at Kmart, yes it was for this current year and I already have one but this far into the year diaries are hugely discounted. Using a bit of whiteout tape, I was easily able to rewrite the numbers to make the diary suitable with next year’s dates! I know in December there will be lots of expenses so this is one less and now I’ll be organised well before the New Year. 
Contributed by Bernadette T.

Heat Flying Out the Vents

​If you have ducted air conditioning, when winter comes around, the heat just flies out the vents. It’s easy to make vent covers (inserts) and you will notice the difference immediately. Take out one of the vents from each room and make sure you measure each one, write it down. You need 4 pieces for each vent. You can use mdf, work out the cuts you need and the hardware store will often be able to do the cuts for you, if you buy the wood from them, otherwise if you do it yourself, the cuts have to pretty accurate for them to fit. Paint the covers however you like.
Fit the covers between the vent and the frame, this can be fiddly, but take a breathe, and remember the vent inside is probably round, so try and use that to your advantage. 
Finally finished.
Remember :
Take them out before you start up aircon before summer.
Every room is different, every vent size will be different. You can make the vent covers smaller, and sit them in top of the vents to give you a bit of airflow, good in a bedroom or room that’s not open often to stop it going stale.
While you are doing this is a perfect time to actually give the vents a wash in the sink, cause they will be yucky.
Contributed by Denise Scotford

March 2024

Save Lots of Money on Yoghurt

​As we all know yoghurt is very expensive ranging from $10 upwards for a kilo of good quality yoghurt.  Now that we have our toddler grandson living with us the demand for yoghurt has significantly increased as has the extra cost in our grocery budget. I decided to give the Easi-yo yoghurt maker a try and bought one at Coles on sale for $11. I used the Yuka app on my phone to make sure there were no nasties and purchased the vanilla sachet for $5.36 which makes a 1 kilo tub of yoghurt. It was a winner to say the least. The yoghurt is delicious and so is the price lol. Even better the sachets are on sale this week at Coles and I bought 5 of them at half price for $2.75 each. My grandson is happy with his yoghurt and so am I with the price of a 1 kilo tub of yoghurt now ranging between $5.36 normal price and $2.75 on sale. If you want to save money on yoghurt give the Easi yo a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.
Contributed by Michelle Hoffman

A Different Leather cleaner

​I use sorbolene cream to clean my leather accessories and it conditions the leather at the same time. So much cheaper than buying leather cleaners and conditioners. It works beautifully and I buy the large pump bottle at half price.
Contributed by Annette Roberts

Budgeting for Christmas Presents

​I have two Great Nieces and one Great Nephew all under 6years. This year I got to see them after Christmas in January to give them their gifts. I usually spend under $100 in total for their gifts. I managed a few gifts in Woolworths that were on special throughout the year. Then I hit the toy shop at Westfield after Christmas and bought two board games that were heavily reduced. I certainly got my moneys worth for $100. I always bought most of the Christmas presents for my two sons throughout the year usually from August onwards. This saved our family a heap of time and money and we stuck to our budget. 
Contributed by Chris Prendergast

​Quick and Frugal Mini Greenhouses

​With Winter nearly upon us I use those thick clear plastic bags with zippers that pillows and blankets come in to make mini greenhouses for seedlings or to protect plants from the frost.
Op shops often have these and are happy to have you use them instead of them going in the bin.
Contributed by Annette Roberts

February 2024

Planning and Budgeting for Holidays

​I have been asked "how do you afford to have so many holidays?"
My response is "Simple, I budget." The gas, water and power bills are fortnightly direct debit and currently are almost 12 months in advance. Phone , internet and insurances are direct debit. When I am away, food and gas/transport are no more than when I am at home. I use a budgeting app to track my spending. Before going away I pay all my bills. Nothing worse than coming home to a great pile of bills. If I am driving to a holiday destination, I pack heaps of non-perishable foods, including powdered milk. There is enough for at least a week.
Contributed by Ann Green

​Ready To Cook Freezer Meals

I have been making freezer ready crockpot meals. When I buy my meat, chicken etc. I come home and make up ziplock bags with the whole crockpot meal, squeeze out all the air and write instructions and use by date (3 months) on the bag and put it in the freezer. When I have a busy day coming up, I thaw one meal overnight and pop in the crockpot in the morning. At dinnertime I only have to add sides. It's healthy, soaves so much time and no money spent on take-away. 
Contributed by Marissa Tanti

Staying Active with Cheap Activities

​With so many expenses going up it can be hard to find things to do that do not cost money. Check the local council for free or low cost activities, these could include craft groups, walking groups. This might be a good time to get some house maintenance, cleaning and gardening done. Although it will cost a bit of money, if you like going to the cinema, try half price Tuesday. Although a bit more time consuming, try using public transport instead of the car and save on fuel costs. For those on senior cards, remember in Victoria, Saturday and Sunday, public transport is free. Check any rewards points you may have, maybe these can be used for groceries and fuel. I am currently saving my points for new tyres, and there is almost enough for 1 tyre. 
Contributed by Ann Green

January 2024

​Giving a Gift that's Loved and Wanted

​I don't want any more face washers, hand towels or face scrubbies. The odd dishcloth maybe with homemade jam, sauce and pickles. I would like hand knitted socks and a frilly apron, however my biggest like and want is gift cards, I love them. Buy them when grocery shopping as part of your budget and give to others. 
Contributed by Margaret Còwan

​Making the Most of a Dripping Garden Hose

​We have a garden hose that drips…no matter what I do it drips, there are several things ( apart from a plumber) you can do about this, especially during the long hot summer. I have a decent size bowl, sitting in a deep dish filled with gravel size stones, (which I am planning to settle in the new pot or my apricot tree). The hose is hung, so it drips (very slowly) into the bowl, then the dish, then the tree pot. This means the birds get the bowl water, the bees and lizards get the dish water, and then the tree gets watered. I don’t have much of a garden really, but moving this water contraption around to place by different plants every few weeks, means each plant actually gets a decent drink, birds and bees can still find it and that dripping water is not wasted.
Contributed by Denise Scotford

Time Saving Using the Woolworths App - (Even if you don’t shop at Woolworths)

​In the Woolworths App set up a list called Pantry

Go through your pantry, frig and freezer, laundry cupboards, bathrooms, under the kitchen sink etc and scan the barcode for each item and save to your Pantry list. As you save items you can record how many you have of each.

For anything without a barcode search on the app for the item and add whatever you have in your pantry or fruit bowl etc.

Set up other lists for each place you shop – Aldi, Coles, Foodland, Drakes, Butcher etc.

Whenever you use something, you can open the Pantry List and deduct that item – e.g. you use 1 of 3 cans of tomatoes – change the number to 2.

Scan the barcode (or use the app to search for fruit etc.) and save to the appropriate shopping list.

If you are planning a shop, but don’t need everything on the list check the box alongside that item and it will be moved to Checked Products. Once you’ve finished shopping uncheck the box and the item will be moved back to the list.

As you put each item in your trolley swipe left and it will be deleted – this way you won’t forget anything.

Regularly updating your Pantry List means you will always know how much food, cleaning products, toilet paper etc. you have in your house.

Ordering from Woolies for delivery or Click and Collect can be quicker too as your lists will show on the website and you can click ‘Add All to List’. 
Contributed by Jill Brook