Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 01:20
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Getting the Most from Free Seeds; Homemade Lemon Drink; Vanilla Scented Spray
3. Tip of the Week - Freezer Meal Friday Keeps $1,000 in My Bank Account
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - MOO Parmas
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - The 2020 $300 a Month Food Challenge Begins!
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. This Week's Question
10. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Happy New Year.
2019 has ended. It is now history. So I'll tell you what I told, and tell, my kids: it is what it is. You can't change history. You can only change the future. So let's get together and do what we can to make 2020 the best it can be. Let's choose to be kinder, more tolerant, more patient, more understanding to make 2020 the best it can be.
And let's get our finances under control (have you all received your Saving Revolution lesson? If not, use the Contact Us to let me know).
Let's take advantage of the next 364 days to change the future for the better.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Getting the Most from Free Seeds
I have planted all of my seeds together instead of individually. Roots put sugar nutrients into the soil. I have a huge crop of herbs. Soak the seed material pads in liquid fertiliser for 3days before planting. Fertilise soil and plant. Keep watered every day and with liquid fertiliser. Watch them grow. Reap the benefits.
Contributed by Faye Lording
Homemade Lemon Drink
With Christmas, school holidays and a long, hot summer forecast, I know we'll be going through lots of icy cold drinks. I limit soft drinks and cordials, but every now and then a nice refreshing drink hits the spot. I make this lemon cordial/drink using lemon juice from our own lemons to keep the cost down. It's really simple and tastes great.
Place 1 cup of boiling water in a 2 litre jug then add 1 cup of sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the juice of 2 lemons (more if you like a stronger lemon flavour), 1 teaspoon of lemon essence and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar. Mix well, then add enough cold water to make up 2 litres. Stir and chill. I recycle 2 litre cordial bottles I've rinsed for this. Keep it in the fridge for up to 7 days. To make your drink even nicer, freeze some of the cordial and add the ice blocks to the chilled drink. They won't water it down like water ice-blocks do. Total cost is around 50 cents per 2 litres if you grow your own lemons and I buy Queen lemon essence from my local IGA (the other supermarkets don't seem to stock it anymore!).
Contributed by Paula Campbell
Vanilla Scented Spray
A friend of mine was spending a fortune on fancy Vanilla scented cleaner, around $5 a bottle only because it made her kitchen smell nice. I bought a$1 spray bottle and 86c bottle of vanilla essence and played around with amounts till I got the same smell. I used about 1tbsp per litre of rain water. The next bottle will cost me less as I don't need to buy the spray bottle and I also Know exactly what is in the spray. If you see products always look on the back most times you can make them yourself a lot cheaper and safer for your family.
Contributed by Robyne
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Chantelle Matthews. Chantelle has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Freezer Meal Friday Keeps $1,000 in My Bank Account
Approximate $ Savings: $20 per week
I am a habitual freezer of meat and left over food, always thinking that having a freezer full of ready-to-heat meals is handy. It doesn't take long for the freezer to fill up. I felt so good - until I realised that all those frozen meals were money sitting in my freezer doing nothing!
Now we have Freezer Meal Friday. On Friday mornings I take out three or four containers and put them in the fridge to thaw. Then when it's time for tea, I heat them in the microwave and serve.
Freezer Meal Friday has been a hit with my three kids, and an even bigger hit with me. Because I'm not buying food for one meal each week, and because we are actually using what's in the freezer for dinners and some lunches, my grocery bill dropped $20 a week immediately! That's $1,000 a year I'm not spending at the supermarket or putting in the bin via wasted food. That $20 was transferred straight to my savings account (I remembered Cath's ïf it's not in the bank it's not saved, it's just not spent), with the intention of it being used to build a stockpile. But watching it add up, and not needing more for the stockpile, I decided we will use it for a family holiday around Easter time.
Now I can't wait for Friday mornings, knowing I've saved $20, don't have to cook tea, and I haven't put $20 in the bin via wasted food.
Congratulations Chantelle, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
4. Share Your Tips
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
5. On The Menu
The parma must surely be an iconic Aussie meal. It started out as what we now recognise as the traditional parma - chicken fillet, crumbed and fried, topped with tomato sauce, ham and cheese. Now there are so many variations you could eat a different style every night for at least a month.
But have you seen the price? Up to $25 in a café, bistro or restaurant. That puts them way out of our budget, but they are really easy to MOO - and it only takes a few minutes to create the best parma you'll ever eat.
MOO Parmas
Ingredients:
4 chicken bread fillets, skin off
1/2 cup MOO KFC mix
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 cups fine, fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Oil for frying
4 tbsp tomato sauce - your choice (pizza sauce, pasta sauce or regular tomato sauce)
4 large slices cheese - again, your choice but mozzarella gives that lovely stringy parma topping
4 slices ham - optional, I leave this out
Method:
Slice the chicken fillets in half through the centre to make four schnitzels. Put MOO KFC Mix in a bowl. Mix beaten egg and milk in another bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and parsley. Dip the schnitzels in KFC Mix, coating both sides. Dip in egg/milk mixture, then in the fresh breadcrumbs. Dip again in egg/milk mixture and into crumbs. Put on a clean plate. Repeat with remaining three schnitzels. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Pre- heat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large frying pan until sizzling. Put two schnitzels at a time in the hot oil, cooking until crumbs are golden on each side. Remove from pan to baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn schnitzels. Spread with tomato sauce, lay over slice of ham, top with cheese slice. Return to oven and continue cooking a further 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Parma, wedges, salad
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Party Food - Birthday Dinner
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Corn fritters & salad
Saturday: Tacos
In the fruit bowl: bananas, strawberries, rock melon
In the cake tin: shortbread, ginger coconut slice
There are over 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
6. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
The 2020 $300 a Month Food Challenge Begins!
It has been our habit at the start of each year to set our Food Challenge goal for the year, and post it here in the $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum.
There are a couple of reasons for this - but the most important is that it makes us accountable and gives us an easily found place to find what our goals are.
To get started commit to the food challenge by posting:
1. Your name
2. How much you spent on food a month in 2019
3. How much you have budgeted a month for food in 2020
3. How many people you are feeding on this budget
4. If this budget includes pets
5. What topics you'd like covered in the weekly posts
As I'm opening the 2020 $300 a Month Food Challenge, here goes.
1. I'm Cath.
2. I came in smack on budget at $320 a month. Now, some months I spent more, and some months I spent less. But over the year the average was $320 a month or $3,660 for the year from 1st January - 31st December.
3. My food budget is $320 a month. I am hoping though, that at the end of the year, with some savvy shopping, that the value of our food stocks will be a lot more than $3,660 for the year.
4. No pets in our home at the moment, although Hannah is still harping on about Bruce the cat!
5. This year I'd like to share more about long-term, shelf-stable food storage, different preserving methods, building a usable stockpile and how to use the grocery stockpile to it's full advantage.
So who's game to tackle the grocery budget with me? Hop on over to the $300 a Month Food forum and join the fun!
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
4 Weeks to Freedom: The Road to Financial Independence
Don’t Just Set It and Forget It – A Budget Is a Plan
How to Budget for a Great Aussie Summer of Entertainment
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
The $5 Pantry Challenge
What does MOO mean to you?
Grow It: Growing what you eat is worth it!
Most Popular Blog Posts This Week
Top 7 Favourite Icy Pole Ideas
Easy Pineapple Marinade
Save More - Track Your Food Costs
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and Thursday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Coming Up
Thursday 02/01/2020 7.30pm AEST - A New Year, a New Budget
Tuesday 07/01/2020 7.30pm AEST - Forever Foods - What to add to your stockpile for long-term food storage
Thursday 09/01/2020 7.30pm AEST - Once A Year Grocery Shopping
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Getting the Most from Free Seeds; Homemade Lemon Drink; Vanilla Scented Spray
3. Tip of the Week - Freezer Meal Friday Keeps $1,000 in My Bank Account
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - MOO Parmas
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - The 2020 $300 a Month Food Challenge Begins!
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. This Week's Question
10. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Happy New Year.
2019 has ended. It is now history. So I'll tell you what I told, and tell, my kids: it is what it is. You can't change history. You can only change the future. So let's get together and do what we can to make 2020 the best it can be. Let's choose to be kinder, more tolerant, more patient, more understanding to make 2020 the best it can be.
And let's get our finances under control (have you all received your Saving Revolution lesson? If not, use the Contact Us to let me know).
Let's take advantage of the next 364 days to change the future for the better.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Getting the Most from Free Seeds
I have planted all of my seeds together instead of individually. Roots put sugar nutrients into the soil. I have a huge crop of herbs. Soak the seed material pads in liquid fertiliser for 3days before planting. Fertilise soil and plant. Keep watered every day and with liquid fertiliser. Watch them grow. Reap the benefits.
Contributed by Faye Lording
Homemade Lemon Drink
With Christmas, school holidays and a long, hot summer forecast, I know we'll be going through lots of icy cold drinks. I limit soft drinks and cordials, but every now and then a nice refreshing drink hits the spot. I make this lemon cordial/drink using lemon juice from our own lemons to keep the cost down. It's really simple and tastes great.
Place 1 cup of boiling water in a 2 litre jug then add 1 cup of sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the juice of 2 lemons (more if you like a stronger lemon flavour), 1 teaspoon of lemon essence and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar. Mix well, then add enough cold water to make up 2 litres. Stir and chill. I recycle 2 litre cordial bottles I've rinsed for this. Keep it in the fridge for up to 7 days. To make your drink even nicer, freeze some of the cordial and add the ice blocks to the chilled drink. They won't water it down like water ice-blocks do. Total cost is around 50 cents per 2 litres if you grow your own lemons and I buy Queen lemon essence from my local IGA (the other supermarkets don't seem to stock it anymore!).
Contributed by Paula Campbell
Vanilla Scented Spray
A friend of mine was spending a fortune on fancy Vanilla scented cleaner, around $5 a bottle only because it made her kitchen smell nice. I bought a$1 spray bottle and 86c bottle of vanilla essence and played around with amounts till I got the same smell. I used about 1tbsp per litre of rain water. The next bottle will cost me less as I don't need to buy the spray bottle and I also Know exactly what is in the spray. If you see products always look on the back most times you can make them yourself a lot cheaper and safer for your family.
Contributed by Robyne
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Chantelle Matthews. Chantelle has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Freezer Meal Friday Keeps $1,000 in My Bank Account
Approximate $ Savings: $20 per week
I am a habitual freezer of meat and left over food, always thinking that having a freezer full of ready-to-heat meals is handy. It doesn't take long for the freezer to fill up. I felt so good - until I realised that all those frozen meals were money sitting in my freezer doing nothing!
Now we have Freezer Meal Friday. On Friday mornings I take out three or four containers and put them in the fridge to thaw. Then when it's time for tea, I heat them in the microwave and serve.
Freezer Meal Friday has been a hit with my three kids, and an even bigger hit with me. Because I'm not buying food for one meal each week, and because we are actually using what's in the freezer for dinners and some lunches, my grocery bill dropped $20 a week immediately! That's $1,000 a year I'm not spending at the supermarket or putting in the bin via wasted food. That $20 was transferred straight to my savings account (I remembered Cath's ïf it's not in the bank it's not saved, it's just not spent), with the intention of it being used to build a stockpile. But watching it add up, and not needing more for the stockpile, I decided we will use it for a family holiday around Easter time.
Now I can't wait for Friday mornings, knowing I've saved $20, don't have to cook tea, and I haven't put $20 in the bin via wasted food.
Congratulations Chantelle, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
4. Share Your Tips
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
5. On The Menu
The parma must surely be an iconic Aussie meal. It started out as what we now recognise as the traditional parma - chicken fillet, crumbed and fried, topped with tomato sauce, ham and cheese. Now there are so many variations you could eat a different style every night for at least a month.
But have you seen the price? Up to $25 in a café, bistro or restaurant. That puts them way out of our budget, but they are really easy to MOO - and it only takes a few minutes to create the best parma you'll ever eat.
MOO Parmas
Ingredients:
4 chicken bread fillets, skin off
1/2 cup MOO KFC mix
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 cups fine, fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Oil for frying
4 tbsp tomato sauce - your choice (pizza sauce, pasta sauce or regular tomato sauce)
4 large slices cheese - again, your choice but mozzarella gives that lovely stringy parma topping
4 slices ham - optional, I leave this out
Method:
Slice the chicken fillets in half through the centre to make four schnitzels. Put MOO KFC Mix in a bowl. Mix beaten egg and milk in another bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and parsley. Dip the schnitzels in KFC Mix, coating both sides. Dip in egg/milk mixture, then in the fresh breadcrumbs. Dip again in egg/milk mixture and into crumbs. Put on a clean plate. Repeat with remaining three schnitzels. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Pre- heat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large frying pan until sizzling. Put two schnitzels at a time in the hot oil, cooking until crumbs are golden on each side. Remove from pan to baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn schnitzels. Spread with tomato sauce, lay over slice of ham, top with cheese slice. Return to oven and continue cooking a further 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Parma, wedges, salad
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Party Food - Birthday Dinner
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Corn fritters & salad
Saturday: Tacos
In the fruit bowl: bananas, strawberries, rock melon
In the cake tin: shortbread, ginger coconut slice
There are over 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
6. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
The 2020 $300 a Month Food Challenge Begins!
It has been our habit at the start of each year to set our Food Challenge goal for the year, and post it here in the $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum.
There are a couple of reasons for this - but the most important is that it makes us accountable and gives us an easily found place to find what our goals are.
To get started commit to the food challenge by posting:
1. Your name
2. How much you spent on food a month in 2019
3. How much you have budgeted a month for food in 2020
3. How many people you are feeding on this budget
4. If this budget includes pets
5. What topics you'd like covered in the weekly posts
As I'm opening the 2020 $300 a Month Food Challenge, here goes.
1. I'm Cath.
2. I came in smack on budget at $320 a month. Now, some months I spent more, and some months I spent less. But over the year the average was $320 a month or $3,660 for the year from 1st January - 31st December.
3. My food budget is $320 a month. I am hoping though, that at the end of the year, with some savvy shopping, that the value of our food stocks will be a lot more than $3,660 for the year.
4. No pets in our home at the moment, although Hannah is still harping on about Bruce the cat!
5. This year I'd like to share more about long-term, shelf-stable food storage, different preserving methods, building a usable stockpile and how to use the grocery stockpile to it's full advantage.
So who's game to tackle the grocery budget with me? Hop on over to the $300 a Month Food forum and join the fun!
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
4 Weeks to Freedom: The Road to Financial Independence
Don’t Just Set It and Forget It – A Budget Is a Plan
How to Budget for a Great Aussie Summer of Entertainment
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
The $5 Pantry Challenge
What does MOO mean to you?
Grow It: Growing what you eat is worth it!
Most Popular Blog Posts This Week
Top 7 Favourite Icy Pole Ideas
Easy Pineapple Marinade
Save More - Track Your Food Costs
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and Thursday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Coming Up
Thursday 02/01/2020 7.30pm AEST - A New Year, a New Budget
Tuesday 07/01/2020 7.30pm AEST - Forever Foods - What to add to your stockpile for long-term food storage
Thursday 09/01/2020 7.30pm AEST - Once A Year Grocery Shopping
Latest Shows
9. This Week's Question
Teressa Bennett asks
Just wondering if anyone knows how to turn the flex pants adult nappies into disposable incontinence pants so you can pull up and down?
Do you have the answer?
If you have a suggestion or idea for Teressa, let us know. We'll enter your answer into our Tip of the Week competition, with a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club as the prize too.
Send Your Answer
10. Ask A Question
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 a year, you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun.
Joining the Cheapskates Club gives you 24/7 access to the Members Centre with 1000's of money saving tips and articles.
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
12. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
13. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates
Teressa Bennett asks
Just wondering if anyone knows how to turn the flex pants adult nappies into disposable incontinence pants so you can pull up and down?
Do you have the answer?
If you have a suggestion or idea for Teressa, let us know. We'll enter your answer into our Tip of the Week competition, with a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club as the prize too.
Send Your Answer
10. Ask A Question
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 a year, you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun.
Joining the Cheapskates Club gives you 24/7 access to the Members Centre with 1000's of money saving tips and articles.
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
12. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
13. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates