Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 03:23
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Doing the Back-to-School Inventory; Get Next Year's School Supplies This Summer; Mango Magic
3. Tip of the Week - Where Do I Live
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - A Back-to-School Lunchbox Treat
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - What Sauces Are In Your Fridge?
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge - Coleslaw
8. Cheapskates Buzz
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
10. The Handmade Christmas Challenge - Ways to Pretty Up And Recycle Card Fronts
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Well we have had some scorching days this past week; I've been in and out every hour or so making sure the pots weren't too dry. But the sudden burst of Aussie summer weather has spurred the garden on, finally.
I've been picking cucumbers and zucchini every day, along with a handful of strawberries and raspberries - almost enough of each for a batch of jam, yum!
I finished off our yearly budget over the weekend. It just had to be transferred neatly to my book, the rough draught was, well it was very rough, with lots of scribbles and cross-outs, so it needed to be rewritten neatly. How are you all going with your yearly budget? Pop on over to the forum and join the chat, for encouragement and inspiration and to share your brilliant budgeting ideas.
It's almost time for school to go back, so this newsletter is full of great ways to save money, time and energy on those back-to-school chores, and still have time (and money, and energy) to enjoy what's left of the holidays. If you have any great tips to make back-to-school easier, share them here, because we all like to make this time of year as budget friendly and easy as possible.
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
Doing the Back-to-School Inventory
With four children in primary school this year, I've done a "back-to-school" inventory of all the supplies (pencils, pencil cases, lunchboxes, drink bottles, back packs, library bags, swimming bags, hats etc.) and uniforms that we have and allocated them to each child. This means I only need to fill in the gaps. Coming right on top of Christmas and school holiday expenses, back-to-school used to always send me into a panic. This year I'm so calm I can hardly believe it. Each child has everything on their lists, ready to head back to school - no more shopping with other mums and their kids trying to do the same thing in the heat for me. My back-to-school inventory will become a January habit from now on.
Contributed by Carolyn Fletcher
Get Next Year's School Supplies This Summer
The back-to-school sales are on right now. Notebooks, packs of paper, pens, highlighters, Textas, folders, pencil cases, backpacks and so on are ridiculously cheap after the new school year rush. I buy a couple years' worth of items and stash the extras away to pull out the following January, saving me money, time and energy. I keep them in a box in the linen cupboard with strict instructions that I am the only one allowed to take things from the box (otherwise everything would just disappear, and there's no saving in that). With five kids, shopping for school supplies every second year really is worthwhile.
Contributed by Becca Molloy
Mango Magic
Huge number of mangos on your tree this summer? Cut off the mango cheeks and freeze in pairs in individual freezer bags.Just remove from freezer and place in lunch box. They help keep lunch cold and by the time school recess comes around are still an easy to eat from the bag, mango icy pole. My kids love them and freezing ensures they are still able to eat them in winter.
Contributed by Susan Drummond
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. Tip of the Week
This week's winning tip is from Anna Crerar. Anna has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip. I love this idea - an educational playmat that is easy to make, and pack up!
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.
Congratulations Anna, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 2,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. 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. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.
Enter your tip here
4. Share Your Tips
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; 1,600 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.
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
A Back-to-School Lunchbox Treat
My mother made something similar to these rice bubble treats way back when I was in primary school. I adapted her recipe to make them for my kids when they were in primary (and high) school. Then all of a sudden Kelloggs decided to mass produce them, give them a quirky name and sell millions of them at an outrageous price.
Now Hannah has adapted the recipe yet again to make them for her morning tea at work - if the boys don't find them and devour them beforehand!
Call them what you will, we call them Ricie Bars, they are delicious, quick and easy enough to make that the kids can do it themselves. And Hannah's version is colourful too with the addition of mini M&Ms. They were on clearance at Coles last week for 50c a tube so she snapped up the lot to use in her baking. You could use regular M&Ms or Smarties or the generic equivalent. As long as they are colourful it won't matter.
Rainbow Ricie Bars
Ingredients:
6 cups Ricies
1 pkt marshmallows (about 200g - or MOO your own marshmallow)
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini M&Ms
Method:
Line a slice tray with baking paper. In a large saucepan (big enough to mix the Ricies in) melt the butter. Add the vanilla and marshmallows and stir until completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the Ricies and the M&Ms, mixing thoroughly. You will need to move quickly, the mixture firms up as it cools. Quickly spread the mixture into the prepared slice tray. Press down firmly, then roll over the top with a small glass to firm it down. Put in fridge for 30 minutes to set. Use a serrated knife to cut into bars when set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
This recipe is from the No Bake Recipe File
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Sweet chilli chicken strips & salad
Tuesday: Pasta Bake, salad
Wednesday: Enchiladas
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Steak sandwiches
Saturday: Freezer Meals
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
What Sauces Are In Your Fridge?
How many sauces and dressings and relishes and pickles do you have in your fridge?
We have heaps in ours, but I'll clarify and say that I don't buy or make all of them - most of them belong to the boys. They like the spicier sauces, and buy their own.
I keep the basics:
Mint sauce (MOO)
Coleslaw dressing (Coles brand, $1.80)
Zucchini pickle (MOO)
Tomato relish (MOO)
Sweet chilli sauce (MOO)
Egg mayo
Wholegrain mustard
Bread n butter cucumbers
The boys have things like jalapeno sauces and other spicy stuff.
Sometimes there will be doubles of some things - the pickles and relishes - because when they are getting towards a year old, I move the new, unopened jars into the fridge to extend the shelf life. Not absolutely necessary, it's just something I have always done; then the space on the shelf is filled with the next batch of whatever.
I try to have just one of each thing open. Any more is a waste of space and food and money. Sometimes there will be two open; one is probably almost empty and waiting to be scraped or rinsed into a soup or stew.
Check your fridge. How many different sauces and pickles and relishes do you have open? How many have you only used once? How many have been there longer than six months?
Take a good look at them. Can you combine some to make one sauce (or marinade or seasoning for a stew)? A little tomato sauce can be added to barbecue sauce or to mayo. A little sweet chilli sauce can be mixed into mayo or even sour cream if you have some to make a dip or taco topping or a spicy sandwich spread. If it's a sauce you've tried and don't like it may be time to pass it on or compost it, and make a note that you don't like it so you don't buy it again.
Ditto anything you bought for a particular recipe and haven't used since. Either put the recipe back onto the meal plan to use it up, or think about mixing it to create a new sauce or pass it on or bin it.
Sauces and relishes are big business, and cost a lot. If you're buying them regularly and then they just sit in the fridge, then they're not only being wasted but adding to your power bill too.
And if someone in the family likes tomato sauce and someone else likes spicy tomato sauce, don't buy two. Buy plain tomato and add a little seasoning to it to make some spicy tomato, or barbecue or whatever. Same with mayo. Like aioli but don't use it a lot? Add some crushed garlic and lemon juice to some mayo and MOO it.
When you do the shopping next, and there are sauces on the shopping list, take a look in the fridge and make sure you really need them, then think about what you have that could make them, and free up some grocery budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum\
The Post that Started it All
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Coleslaw
Seriously one of the staple summer salads, coleslaw has so many variations and styles that it's no wonder most people opt to buy it. But that is expensive, and often not really the nicest.
My basic coleslaw is simply finely shredded cabbage, grated carrot and grated onion tossed together with coleslaw dressing (and I use Coles brand, $1.80 a bottle - it's the closest thing to the original Kraft coleslaw dressing I could find).
I use the mandolin to shred the cabbage, I grate the carrot and onion in the food processor. This is a salad I make in bulk on a Monday morning, and store in a Fresh and Crisp bag in the fridge. I add the dressing just before serving, so it doesn't go soggy.
Using today's prices, it costs $5.20 to make 2.2kg of coleslaw; it costs $19 approximately to buy the equivalent packaged coleslaw (cabbage $3, carrots $1.40, onion $1.80). That's a difference of $13.80 - how could that money boost your slush fund or ease your grocery budget?
Of course if you grow the ingredients the cost comes down to around $1.10 for 2.2kg - a huge saving, and $17.90 kept in your purse rather than going to supermarket profits.
You can dress your coleslaw up easily by adding drained corn kernels or chopped spring onion greens or shredded silverbeet or spinach, or using red cabbage.
Changing the dressing will change it up too - try thousand island or ranch instead of coleslaw dressing. Or make your own with mayo and sour cream.
There are six delicious variations of coleslaw recipes in the Salads Recipe File. They're all good and they're all so much cheaper to MOO than to buy.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
8. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Back-to-School
Gourmet Canteen Style School Lunches on a Budget
A Parent's Guide to Shielding Your Child from Identity Theft
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
A New Year, A New Budget
What Sauces Are In Your Fridge? Week 3, 2023
The $5 Pantry Challenge
Latest Tips
Using Gift Cards to Shop - Save over $10 per month!
Jug Water Saver
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Doing the Back-to-School Inventory; Get Next Year's School Supplies This Summer; Mango Magic
3. Tip of the Week - Where Do I Live
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - A Back-to-School Lunchbox Treat
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - What Sauces Are In Your Fridge?
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge - Coleslaw
8. Cheapskates Buzz
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
10. The Handmade Christmas Challenge - Ways to Pretty Up And Recycle Card Fronts
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Well we have had some scorching days this past week; I've been in and out every hour or so making sure the pots weren't too dry. But the sudden burst of Aussie summer weather has spurred the garden on, finally.
I've been picking cucumbers and zucchini every day, along with a handful of strawberries and raspberries - almost enough of each for a batch of jam, yum!
I finished off our yearly budget over the weekend. It just had to be transferred neatly to my book, the rough draught was, well it was very rough, with lots of scribbles and cross-outs, so it needed to be rewritten neatly. How are you all going with your yearly budget? Pop on over to the forum and join the chat, for encouragement and inspiration and to share your brilliant budgeting ideas.
It's almost time for school to go back, so this newsletter is full of great ways to save money, time and energy on those back-to-school chores, and still have time (and money, and energy) to enjoy what's left of the holidays. If you have any great tips to make back-to-school easier, share them here, because we all like to make this time of year as budget friendly and easy as possible.
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
Doing the Back-to-School Inventory
With four children in primary school this year, I've done a "back-to-school" inventory of all the supplies (pencils, pencil cases, lunchboxes, drink bottles, back packs, library bags, swimming bags, hats etc.) and uniforms that we have and allocated them to each child. This means I only need to fill in the gaps. Coming right on top of Christmas and school holiday expenses, back-to-school used to always send me into a panic. This year I'm so calm I can hardly believe it. Each child has everything on their lists, ready to head back to school - no more shopping with other mums and their kids trying to do the same thing in the heat for me. My back-to-school inventory will become a January habit from now on.
Contributed by Carolyn Fletcher
Get Next Year's School Supplies This Summer
The back-to-school sales are on right now. Notebooks, packs of paper, pens, highlighters, Textas, folders, pencil cases, backpacks and so on are ridiculously cheap after the new school year rush. I buy a couple years' worth of items and stash the extras away to pull out the following January, saving me money, time and energy. I keep them in a box in the linen cupboard with strict instructions that I am the only one allowed to take things from the box (otherwise everything would just disappear, and there's no saving in that). With five kids, shopping for school supplies every second year really is worthwhile.
Contributed by Becca Molloy
Mango Magic
Huge number of mangos on your tree this summer? Cut off the mango cheeks and freeze in pairs in individual freezer bags.Just remove from freezer and place in lunch box. They help keep lunch cold and by the time school recess comes around are still an easy to eat from the bag, mango icy pole. My kids love them and freezing ensures they are still able to eat them in winter.
Contributed by Susan Drummond
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. Tip of the Week
This week's winning tip is from Anna Crerar. Anna has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip. I love this idea - an educational playmat that is easy to make, and pack up!
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.
Congratulations Anna, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 2,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. 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. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.
Enter your tip here
4. Share Your Tips
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; 1,600 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.
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
A Back-to-School Lunchbox Treat
My mother made something similar to these rice bubble treats way back when I was in primary school. I adapted her recipe to make them for my kids when they were in primary (and high) school. Then all of a sudden Kelloggs decided to mass produce them, give them a quirky name and sell millions of them at an outrageous price.
Now Hannah has adapted the recipe yet again to make them for her morning tea at work - if the boys don't find them and devour them beforehand!
Call them what you will, we call them Ricie Bars, they are delicious, quick and easy enough to make that the kids can do it themselves. And Hannah's version is colourful too with the addition of mini M&Ms. They were on clearance at Coles last week for 50c a tube so she snapped up the lot to use in her baking. You could use regular M&Ms or Smarties or the generic equivalent. As long as they are colourful it won't matter.
Rainbow Ricie Bars
Ingredients:
6 cups Ricies
1 pkt marshmallows (about 200g - or MOO your own marshmallow)
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini M&Ms
Method:
Line a slice tray with baking paper. In a large saucepan (big enough to mix the Ricies in) melt the butter. Add the vanilla and marshmallows and stir until completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the Ricies and the M&Ms, mixing thoroughly. You will need to move quickly, the mixture firms up as it cools. Quickly spread the mixture into the prepared slice tray. Press down firmly, then roll over the top with a small glass to firm it down. Put in fridge for 30 minutes to set. Use a serrated knife to cut into bars when set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
This recipe is from the No Bake Recipe File
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Sweet chilli chicken strips & salad
Tuesday: Pasta Bake, salad
Wednesday: Enchiladas
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Steak sandwiches
Saturday: Freezer Meals
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
What Sauces Are In Your Fridge?
How many sauces and dressings and relishes and pickles do you have in your fridge?
We have heaps in ours, but I'll clarify and say that I don't buy or make all of them - most of them belong to the boys. They like the spicier sauces, and buy their own.
I keep the basics:
Mint sauce (MOO)
Coleslaw dressing (Coles brand, $1.80)
Zucchini pickle (MOO)
Tomato relish (MOO)
Sweet chilli sauce (MOO)
Egg mayo
Wholegrain mustard
Bread n butter cucumbers
The boys have things like jalapeno sauces and other spicy stuff.
Sometimes there will be doubles of some things - the pickles and relishes - because when they are getting towards a year old, I move the new, unopened jars into the fridge to extend the shelf life. Not absolutely necessary, it's just something I have always done; then the space on the shelf is filled with the next batch of whatever.
I try to have just one of each thing open. Any more is a waste of space and food and money. Sometimes there will be two open; one is probably almost empty and waiting to be scraped or rinsed into a soup or stew.
Check your fridge. How many different sauces and pickles and relishes do you have open? How many have you only used once? How many have been there longer than six months?
Take a good look at them. Can you combine some to make one sauce (or marinade or seasoning for a stew)? A little tomato sauce can be added to barbecue sauce or to mayo. A little sweet chilli sauce can be mixed into mayo or even sour cream if you have some to make a dip or taco topping or a spicy sandwich spread. If it's a sauce you've tried and don't like it may be time to pass it on or compost it, and make a note that you don't like it so you don't buy it again.
Ditto anything you bought for a particular recipe and haven't used since. Either put the recipe back onto the meal plan to use it up, or think about mixing it to create a new sauce or pass it on or bin it.
Sauces and relishes are big business, and cost a lot. If you're buying them regularly and then they just sit in the fridge, then they're not only being wasted but adding to your power bill too.
And if someone in the family likes tomato sauce and someone else likes spicy tomato sauce, don't buy two. Buy plain tomato and add a little seasoning to it to make some spicy tomato, or barbecue or whatever. Same with mayo. Like aioli but don't use it a lot? Add some crushed garlic and lemon juice to some mayo and MOO it.
When you do the shopping next, and there are sauces on the shopping list, take a look in the fridge and make sure you really need them, then think about what you have that could make them, and free up some grocery budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum\
The Post that Started it All
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Coleslaw
Seriously one of the staple summer salads, coleslaw has so many variations and styles that it's no wonder most people opt to buy it. But that is expensive, and often not really the nicest.
My basic coleslaw is simply finely shredded cabbage, grated carrot and grated onion tossed together with coleslaw dressing (and I use Coles brand, $1.80 a bottle - it's the closest thing to the original Kraft coleslaw dressing I could find).
I use the mandolin to shred the cabbage, I grate the carrot and onion in the food processor. This is a salad I make in bulk on a Monday morning, and store in a Fresh and Crisp bag in the fridge. I add the dressing just before serving, so it doesn't go soggy.
Using today's prices, it costs $5.20 to make 2.2kg of coleslaw; it costs $19 approximately to buy the equivalent packaged coleslaw (cabbage $3, carrots $1.40, onion $1.80). That's a difference of $13.80 - how could that money boost your slush fund or ease your grocery budget?
Of course if you grow the ingredients the cost comes down to around $1.10 for 2.2kg - a huge saving, and $17.90 kept in your purse rather than going to supermarket profits.
You can dress your coleslaw up easily by adding drained corn kernels or chopped spring onion greens or shredded silverbeet or spinach, or using red cabbage.
Changing the dressing will change it up too - try thousand island or ranch instead of coleslaw dressing. Or make your own with mayo and sour cream.
There are six delicious variations of coleslaw recipes in the Salads Recipe File. They're all good and they're all so much cheaper to MOO than to buy.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
8. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Back-to-School
Gourmet Canteen Style School Lunches on a Budget
A Parent's Guide to Shielding Your Child from Identity Theft
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
A New Year, A New Budget
What Sauces Are In Your Fridge? Week 3, 2023
The $5 Pantry Challenge
Latest Tips
Using Gift Cards to Shop - Save over $10 per month!
Jug Water Saver
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Latest Shows
Subscribe to our You Tube channel and never miss a show.
10. Handmade Christmas Challenge
Ways to Pretty Up And Recycle Card Fronts
I know some of you have already done this, but recycling last year's Christmas card into gift tags and even little gift card holders is simple, easy and quick. It's also a good way to keep some money in your gift budget! It may only save you $2 or $3 but that money can be used to buy materials for another gift on your list, and keep you on budget.
This year we had some really pretty Christmas cards and I wanted a way to recycle them and keep the "pretty" on them.
First I cut the fronts from the backs. Actually I very carefully ripped them apart, but you could cut them if you wanted to.
Then I put them into piles:
Pile A: gift tags
Pile B: gift card holders
Pile C: present toppers
To make the gift tags I cut the card fronts down to either 3-1/2" x 2" or 3" circles, depending on the image I wanted to use. Then I just punched a hole near the top and threaded through 8" of gold cord folded in half.
To make the gift card holders I cut the card fronts down to make a little card and folded it in half. On the inside I centred a gift card, then marked the corners. Use a scalpel or very sharp knife to cut slits at the corners to hold the gift card in place.
Present toppers were so much fun. I chose the part of the card front I wanted to feature and fussy cut around it. Then I pulled out the gel pens and glitter and ribbons and lace and flowers and started embellishing the picture. Some double sided foam tape on the back so it can be stuck to a gift or a gift bag and they were done.
So use your imagination. Don't toss those cards or shove them in a drawer to just take up space. Put them to use and extend their life. Oh, and save some money in your gift budget.
Want to see how my recycled Christmas cards turned out? Click here to see them all!
Don't forget to check in for our Make It Monday show and tell over at Cheapskates Chatter, we'd love to see what you've made.
2023 Handmade Christmas
Handmade Christmas Central
The Handmade Christmas Forum
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $20 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
www.cheapskatesclub.net
10. Handmade Christmas Challenge
Ways to Pretty Up And Recycle Card Fronts
I know some of you have already done this, but recycling last year's Christmas card into gift tags and even little gift card holders is simple, easy and quick. It's also a good way to keep some money in your gift budget! It may only save you $2 or $3 but that money can be used to buy materials for another gift on your list, and keep you on budget.
This year we had some really pretty Christmas cards and I wanted a way to recycle them and keep the "pretty" on them.
First I cut the fronts from the backs. Actually I very carefully ripped them apart, but you could cut them if you wanted to.
Then I put them into piles:
Pile A: gift tags
Pile B: gift card holders
Pile C: present toppers
To make the gift tags I cut the card fronts down to either 3-1/2" x 2" or 3" circles, depending on the image I wanted to use. Then I just punched a hole near the top and threaded through 8" of gold cord folded in half.
To make the gift card holders I cut the card fronts down to make a little card and folded it in half. On the inside I centred a gift card, then marked the corners. Use a scalpel or very sharp knife to cut slits at the corners to hold the gift card in place.
Present toppers were so much fun. I chose the part of the card front I wanted to feature and fussy cut around it. Then I pulled out the gel pens and glitter and ribbons and lace and flowers and started embellishing the picture. Some double sided foam tape on the back so it can be stuck to a gift or a gift bag and they were done.
So use your imagination. Don't toss those cards or shove them in a drawer to just take up space. Put them to use and extend their life. Oh, and save some money in your gift budget.
Want to see how my recycled Christmas cards turned out? Click here to see them all!
Don't forget to check in for our Make It Monday show and tell over at Cheapskates Chatter, we'd love to see what you've made.
2023 Handmade Christmas
Handmade Christmas Central
The Handmade Christmas Forum
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $20 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
www.cheapskatesclub.net