Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 02:22
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Party Activity to Dye For; Spray Your Dressing On; Freeze Them Standing Up
3. Tip of the Week - Tracking Your Groceries for the Year to Stay on Budget
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - Cool Pasta Salads
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Meal Planning Now
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO Semi Dried Tomatoes
8. Cheapskates Buzz
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
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,
What a week! I hope everyone is safe and dry.
Welcome to all our new Cheapskates Club members, we are so very happy to see you! Please login and introduce yourself. We are really, really friendly and love to make new friends.
I have noticed though that quite a few new Cheapskates Club members haven't activated their memberships! Oh no! That means you can't log in and get full value from your membership. Please, if this is you, make sure you activate your membership today - just find the email that was sent when you joined, and follow the instructions. If you can't find it, let me know.
This week has been a busy week here, preserving fruit that was too cheap to pass up last weekend.
I've made strawberry and apricot jams, and lots of banana bread and banana muffins, and frozen some bananas for winter, as well as using them in fruit salad for lunch and smoothies. It's a busy time of year in the kitchen, with the dehydrator and the canners going almost non-stop; it's an excellent way to fill the pantry with good food for the future.
I forgot the dehydrated strawberries - they are so good to snack on. I had to be quick and get them into jars quickly or they'd just disappear!
There's more to do, with the zucchinis starting in the garden. That means making pickle and dehydrating for winter for soup and casseroles and zucchini slices.
I need to get back to it!
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
Party Activity to Dye For
Approximate $ Savings: $5-$10 per child
Save money and teach kids new tricks by hosting a tie-dye activity at your kid's next party. Buy some old singlets at Vinnies or your local op shop, usually for about 50c-$1 each, and a pot of clothes dye ($10-15). To be even more economical use coffee or brewed tea. Show the kids how to fasten elastics around the singlet, or on separate spots of the singlet, so that when you dye the top white rings will remain. Use a big pot for the dye so you can fit up to 10 small-medium singlets. Once dry, each child can take their creation home. If you have 10 kids, this will cost you about $2 per child. Better than a party bag any day!
Contributed by Bronwyn
Spray Your Dressing On
I love my salad dressings, Greek, Italian and French but always the bottle pours out too much, no matter how hard you try to get just that right amount to make the salad tasty, but not overpowered. It also tends to 'swamp' other foods near the salad. I have begun pouring mine now into a plastic spray bottle and keeping it in the fridge. When needed, I just spray a bit over my salad and it gives just the right amount to make it tasty but not flooded! Saves money by avoiding leaving a lagoon of unused dressing on the plate!
Contributed by Julie
Freeze Them Standing Up
Stand your new pack of water ices up in the freezer so when they freeze there's a nice gap of air at the top for easy cutting off with scissors. No more bits of frozen icy pole being wasted or left to go sticky everywhere.
Contributed by Sharon
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Michelle Hoffman. Michelle has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Tracking Your Groceries for the Year to Stay on BudgetI
decided in January 2021 after purchasing Cath's 'Living the Cheapskates Way Budget Planner (which I highly recommend) to record ALL of my grocery costs for the year. I diligently listed all of the costs in each day of each month, even if it was only $5. At the end of each month I totalled the grocery costs and knew exactly how much I had spent on groceries for the month.
At the end of December 2021 I knew exactly how much my groceries had cost me for the year. Some months I spent less and others I spent more, especially during the lockdowns, but I managed to keep within my budget for 4 adults, 2 being men who have healthy appetites. I have a very healthy stockpile which was continually restocked during the year of 2021 and I have every grocery receipt from 2021 to help me keep an eye on the rising cost of groceries. I know that the supermarkets play games with their prices, so the receipts will help me to keep track of it all during 2022 where there are price increases. It was a fun way of keeping myself accountable and also keeping up to date with grocery costs. Happy Cheapskating.
Editor's note: Use the Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet to track your groceries. I've used it for over 15 years and it is the easiest way I've found of keeping an exact record of grocery spending. Login and get it from the Tip Sheets page. Cath
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; 1,800 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.
Add a Tip
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
Cool Pasta SaladsPasta isn't just for bolognaise sauces. Cooked, cooled pasta makes a gerat base for delicious summer salads. It's cooked texture and shapes hold dressings and mayonnaises beautifully and it compliments summer vegetables perfectly.
Easy Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 250g pkt macaroni
1 chopped onion
2 hard boiled eggs
mayonnaise
Method:
Cook the pasta and the onion in salted, boiling water until the pasta is soft. Mash the eggs and mix through the pasta and onion to combine. Add mayonnaise to taste (generally enough to coat the pasta) and chill well before serving.
Curried Noodle Salad
Ingredients:
1 500g packet spiral noodles
½ cup sultanas
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 cup French dressing
1tsp curry powder
Method:
Cook pasta in salted water until soft, drain well and cool. Add curry powder to French dressing and shake well to combine. Mix pasta, sultanas and celery to combine and pour over dressing mixture. Chill well for at least 2 hours before serving.
Do you have a favourite pasta salad recipe? We can't wait to try it and add it to the Recipe File. Share it with us here.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Fish Cakes & Salad
Tuesday: Lasagne
Wednesday: Marinated Steak & salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Cream Cheese Patties
Saturday: Hamburgers
There are over 1,800 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
Meal Planning, Now!
Hello Cheapskaters,
The best time to meal plan is now. Doesn't really matter when "now" is, it's always a great time to meal plan.
Right now is good because pantries are empty of the treats and snack foods used for Christmas and New Year. It should be tidy and organised, especially if you did an inventory last week. If you need to, do one now, because knowing what you have makes meal planning so much easier.
Once you know what you have you can start to list the meals you like that use those ingredients. Try to plan meals that use what you have, rather than ingredients you need to buy. Oh, and meals you actually like and will eat - I know, commonsense, but often when a meal plan fails it's because:
1. it uses ingredients you don't have
2. it is made up of meals you haven't tried or don't really like.
So use what you have to make what you like!
Once you've created that list, you can make your shopping list. Hopefully it won't have too much on it, because you've shopped your pantry first, using the inventory you've done to make sure you really need what's on the list. Before you add something to your shopping list, double check that you don't already have another ingredient that could substitute for what you need. There's no point in doubling up on ingredients that do the same thing.
Lastly, if you are new to meal planning, or have tried it in the past and given up, start off small. Plan a week's worth of dinners. Just dinners - list seven meals and then choose one to make each night. Easy!
Having a meal plan really helps you stick to your grocery budget - try it for a week or two and see for yourself.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Semi Dried Tomatoes
The tomatoes are coming in, and we are eating as many as we can fresh, with salads, on sandwiches, with crackers. But there are still plenty, and they need to be preserved.
This is one way to preserve them for winter, and it's easy to do, no special equipment required.
You will need:
Tomatoes - ripe off the vine, doesn't really matter what type
Salt
Olive oil
Step 1. Slice tomatoes into slices the same thickness so they dry at about the same rate. I used a mandolin, you can use a knife if you don't have one. Place the sliced tomatoes into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil (drizzle, not drown) and sprinkle lightly with salt. Toss gently.
Step 2. Place on dehydrator trays or on a biscuit tray lined with baking paper if using your oven. Set the temperature on the dehydrator or oven to 110 degrees Celsius. This is slightly higher than you would normally use because tomatoes are a particularly moist food and need to dry a little faster, to prevent them going mouldy.
Step 3. Dry until no moisture remains, but tomatoes are still flexible. (Don’t worry – if they get stiff and dry, they still taste great!)
Step 4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for long term.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
8. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Make Ahead Mason Jar Salads
My $$$ Saving Tips on Weekly Shopping
Things I Buy Once a Year
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Coles Markdowns
Cash Spending Tracker
Week 2, 2022: Meal Planning, Getting it Right
Newest Recipes
Swiss Chicken
Latest TipsR
ewards $, Convenience and Original Gift Bags
Bless the Stockpile
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show ScheduleTuesday: 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.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Party Activity to Dye For; Spray Your Dressing On; Freeze Them Standing Up
3. Tip of the Week - Tracking Your Groceries for the Year to Stay on Budget
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - Cool Pasta Salads
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Meal Planning Now
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO Semi Dried Tomatoes
8. Cheapskates Buzz
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
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,
What a week! I hope everyone is safe and dry.
Welcome to all our new Cheapskates Club members, we are so very happy to see you! Please login and introduce yourself. We are really, really friendly and love to make new friends.
I have noticed though that quite a few new Cheapskates Club members haven't activated their memberships! Oh no! That means you can't log in and get full value from your membership. Please, if this is you, make sure you activate your membership today - just find the email that was sent when you joined, and follow the instructions. If you can't find it, let me know.
This week has been a busy week here, preserving fruit that was too cheap to pass up last weekend.
I've made strawberry and apricot jams, and lots of banana bread and banana muffins, and frozen some bananas for winter, as well as using them in fruit salad for lunch and smoothies. It's a busy time of year in the kitchen, with the dehydrator and the canners going almost non-stop; it's an excellent way to fill the pantry with good food for the future.
I forgot the dehydrated strawberries - they are so good to snack on. I had to be quick and get them into jars quickly or they'd just disappear!
There's more to do, with the zucchinis starting in the garden. That means making pickle and dehydrating for winter for soup and casseroles and zucchini slices.
I need to get back to it!
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
Party Activity to Dye For
Approximate $ Savings: $5-$10 per child
Save money and teach kids new tricks by hosting a tie-dye activity at your kid's next party. Buy some old singlets at Vinnies or your local op shop, usually for about 50c-$1 each, and a pot of clothes dye ($10-15). To be even more economical use coffee or brewed tea. Show the kids how to fasten elastics around the singlet, or on separate spots of the singlet, so that when you dye the top white rings will remain. Use a big pot for the dye so you can fit up to 10 small-medium singlets. Once dry, each child can take their creation home. If you have 10 kids, this will cost you about $2 per child. Better than a party bag any day!
Contributed by Bronwyn
Spray Your Dressing On
I love my salad dressings, Greek, Italian and French but always the bottle pours out too much, no matter how hard you try to get just that right amount to make the salad tasty, but not overpowered. It also tends to 'swamp' other foods near the salad. I have begun pouring mine now into a plastic spray bottle and keeping it in the fridge. When needed, I just spray a bit over my salad and it gives just the right amount to make it tasty but not flooded! Saves money by avoiding leaving a lagoon of unused dressing on the plate!
Contributed by Julie
Freeze Them Standing Up
Stand your new pack of water ices up in the freezer so when they freeze there's a nice gap of air at the top for easy cutting off with scissors. No more bits of frozen icy pole being wasted or left to go sticky everywhere.
Contributed by Sharon
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Michelle Hoffman. Michelle has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Tracking Your Groceries for the Year to Stay on BudgetI
decided in January 2021 after purchasing Cath's 'Living the Cheapskates Way Budget Planner (which I highly recommend) to record ALL of my grocery costs for the year. I diligently listed all of the costs in each day of each month, even if it was only $5. At the end of each month I totalled the grocery costs and knew exactly how much I had spent on groceries for the month.
At the end of December 2021 I knew exactly how much my groceries had cost me for the year. Some months I spent less and others I spent more, especially during the lockdowns, but I managed to keep within my budget for 4 adults, 2 being men who have healthy appetites. I have a very healthy stockpile which was continually restocked during the year of 2021 and I have every grocery receipt from 2021 to help me keep an eye on the rising cost of groceries. I know that the supermarkets play games with their prices, so the receipts will help me to keep track of it all during 2022 where there are price increases. It was a fun way of keeping myself accountable and also keeping up to date with grocery costs. Happy Cheapskating.
Editor's note: Use the Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet to track your groceries. I've used it for over 15 years and it is the easiest way I've found of keeping an exact record of grocery spending. Login and get it from the Tip Sheets page. Cath
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; 1,800 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.
Add a Tip
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
Cool Pasta SaladsPasta isn't just for bolognaise sauces. Cooked, cooled pasta makes a gerat base for delicious summer salads. It's cooked texture and shapes hold dressings and mayonnaises beautifully and it compliments summer vegetables perfectly.
Easy Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 250g pkt macaroni
1 chopped onion
2 hard boiled eggs
mayonnaise
Method:
Cook the pasta and the onion in salted, boiling water until the pasta is soft. Mash the eggs and mix through the pasta and onion to combine. Add mayonnaise to taste (generally enough to coat the pasta) and chill well before serving.
Curried Noodle Salad
Ingredients:
1 500g packet spiral noodles
½ cup sultanas
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 cup French dressing
1tsp curry powder
Method:
Cook pasta in salted water until soft, drain well and cool. Add curry powder to French dressing and shake well to combine. Mix pasta, sultanas and celery to combine and pour over dressing mixture. Chill well for at least 2 hours before serving.
Do you have a favourite pasta salad recipe? We can't wait to try it and add it to the Recipe File. Share it with us here.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Fish Cakes & Salad
Tuesday: Lasagne
Wednesday: Marinated Steak & salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Cream Cheese Patties
Saturday: Hamburgers
There are over 1,800 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
Meal Planning, Now!
Hello Cheapskaters,
The best time to meal plan is now. Doesn't really matter when "now" is, it's always a great time to meal plan.
Right now is good because pantries are empty of the treats and snack foods used for Christmas and New Year. It should be tidy and organised, especially if you did an inventory last week. If you need to, do one now, because knowing what you have makes meal planning so much easier.
Once you know what you have you can start to list the meals you like that use those ingredients. Try to plan meals that use what you have, rather than ingredients you need to buy. Oh, and meals you actually like and will eat - I know, commonsense, but often when a meal plan fails it's because:
1. it uses ingredients you don't have
2. it is made up of meals you haven't tried or don't really like.
So use what you have to make what you like!
Once you've created that list, you can make your shopping list. Hopefully it won't have too much on it, because you've shopped your pantry first, using the inventory you've done to make sure you really need what's on the list. Before you add something to your shopping list, double check that you don't already have another ingredient that could substitute for what you need. There's no point in doubling up on ingredients that do the same thing.
Lastly, if you are new to meal planning, or have tried it in the past and given up, start off small. Plan a week's worth of dinners. Just dinners - list seven meals and then choose one to make each night. Easy!
Having a meal plan really helps you stick to your grocery budget - try it for a week or two and see for yourself.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Semi Dried Tomatoes
The tomatoes are coming in, and we are eating as many as we can fresh, with salads, on sandwiches, with crackers. But there are still plenty, and they need to be preserved.
This is one way to preserve them for winter, and it's easy to do, no special equipment required.
You will need:
Tomatoes - ripe off the vine, doesn't really matter what type
Salt
Olive oil
Step 1. Slice tomatoes into slices the same thickness so they dry at about the same rate. I used a mandolin, you can use a knife if you don't have one. Place the sliced tomatoes into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil (drizzle, not drown) and sprinkle lightly with salt. Toss gently.
Step 2. Place on dehydrator trays or on a biscuit tray lined with baking paper if using your oven. Set the temperature on the dehydrator or oven to 110 degrees Celsius. This is slightly higher than you would normally use because tomatoes are a particularly moist food and need to dry a little faster, to prevent them going mouldy.
Step 3. Dry until no moisture remains, but tomatoes are still flexible. (Don’t worry – if they get stiff and dry, they still taste great!)
Step 4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for long term.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
8. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Make Ahead Mason Jar Salads
My $$$ Saving Tips on Weekly Shopping
Things I Buy Once a Year
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Coles Markdowns
Cash Spending Tracker
Week 2, 2022: Meal Planning, Getting it Right
Newest Recipes
Swiss Chicken
Latest TipsR
ewards $, Convenience and Original Gift Bags
Bless the Stockpile
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show ScheduleTuesday: 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.
Latest Shows
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 for the first 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 for a full year.
That's unlimited 24/7 access to EVERYTHING in the Member's Centre!
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 either 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
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 for the first 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 for a full year.
That's unlimited 24/7 access to EVERYTHING in the Member's Centre!
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 either 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