YOur Cheapskates Club Newsletter 07:21
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Skip the Specials and Save Big for No Spending Month; Broccoli Rice; Cleaning Mucky Hands
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Fish Cakes
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Sauces!
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge - What have you MOOed this week?
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Creating a Spending Plan
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,
How many of you have veggie gardens? I'm asking because we increased the size of our garden, but you'd never know it. So far all I'm getting from it are zucchini, beans and basil. But no tomatoes, eggplant or capsicums. I have the jars ready. I have the lids ready. I've even printed some labels. I'm ready and waiting and wanting to make sauce and relish and focaccia filling but those dratted tomatoes, egg plant and capsicums just aren't co-operating. If you have a veggie garden, I sure hope you're getting healthy crops, and not feeling as disappointed as I am.
In the meantime I have basil hanging to dry. When it's dry I'll crumble it and put it into jars. I use a lot of basil in my cooking, and freshly dried is something special. Some will be made into pesto and frozen. We like basil pesto on focaccia with sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella for lunch or a quick, easy dinner. When the pesto is homemade, and the tomatoes are home grown, and the mozzarella is freshly made, and the focaccias are straight from the oven it is the best meal, and I can fee the five of us for under $2 - 40 cents a serve sounds good to me. And it's a meal that fits in perfectly with No Spending Month - all the ingredients are already in the pantry, no shopping required.
At the time of writing, we are in lockdown (again!). I have to say that while it can be annoying, it sure does make No Spending Month easy. No shopping, so no spending. No driving, so no need to buy petrol. Straight off, that's two silver linings to a No Spending Month lockdown. If you're not on lockdown, how are you going with No Spending Month?
Ok, it's time to end this ramble. I'm off outside to check the tomatoes again, surely some of them are ripening by now.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Skip the Specials and Save Big for No Spending Month
No Spending month has boosted our savings by almost $100 already, and simply because I've not bought the specials. I love a bargain, and our stockpile is slowly, slowly growing with the basic grocery items we need. Where I come a cropper is those too good to resist but really not essential specials. The catalogues have been full of them lately, things like Tim Tams and Mint Slice on sale for half price, chips half price, Prima juice boxes half price at Coles, 500g bags of chips - all things we love and would happily enjoy, but even on half-price sale we don't need them and they're not really included in the grocery budget. On top of that, I don't need the extra kilojoules (My Darling doesn't either but don't tell him, he'll deny it). The juice boxes are convenient to grab and put in My Baby's bag for when we're out, but he is just as happy with water. This week alone I've skipped the specials and not spent $22.30 on things that weren't on my list, even if they were on sale. Don't get me wrong, I could have easily bought the Tim Tams, Mint Slice, juice boxes and chips but it is No Spending Month and I'd rather use that $22.30 to boost our Emergency Fund. And if I stick to not spending on specials we don't really need, I figure our EF will be around $500 (or more) healthier at the end of the year and my thighs won't be a few thousand kilojoules bigger.
Contributed by Sarah
Broccoli Rice
Use broccoli stems as a substitute for cauliflower, the hero vegetable of low carb cooking. Great, shred, chop finely, blitz broccoli stems just as you would cauliflower and even though your broccoli "rice" and broccoli stem pizza bases will have a green tinge, they're FREE and highly nutritious.
Contributed by Maryrose
Cleaning Mucky Hands
If you don't have Cheapskates Gardeners Soap, this also works well... it gets rid of gardening stains, paint, oil and grease, grout, just about everything..... put about a teaspoon of sugar in your hand, add a few squirts of liquid soap (4-6) and a teeny bit of water, scrub your hands and then rinse thoroughly. Finish off with a good hand cream.
Contributed by Catherine
Add a Tip
3. 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
4. On The Menu
Cath's Mum's Famous Fish CakesMy mother was a great cook, and she was renowned for her quiche, fruit cakes and Christmas puddings and her fish cakes. They are the best fish cakes ever, easy to make, tasty hot or cold and they're cheap.
This is the official recipe:Fish CakesIngredients:
1 x 425g can of salmon or tuna
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon parsley
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
salt & pepper
2 teaspoon curry powder if liked
Flour, egg for glazing & breadcrumbs.
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, parsley, onion & egg. Add seasonings and form into small round cakes. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in breadcrumbs until well covered. Fry in fat or oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
And this is the way I prepare them for my family:
Ingredients:
1 x 425g can tuna in water, well drained
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes - eyeballed
1 tablespoon mixed herbs/Italian herbs
1 tsp oregano
1 large onion, diced
1 egg
Flour, egg for glazing & Shake'n'Bake
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, herbs, onion and egg. Form into round patties, about the size of a small mandarin. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in Shake'n'Bake until well covered. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Notes: I eyeball the quantity of mashed potato. If I need to make more fish cakes with just the one tin of tuna, I use more mashed potato.
Chilling the fish cakes for at least half an hour sets the Shake'n'Bake so it sticks during the frying.
If you don't want to fry, because they are coated in the Shake'n'Bake they can be baked in a 200 degree Celsius oven for 15 minutes. Turn and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until they are hot through and browned.
You can use salmon if you want to instead of the tuna.
Watch the You Tube video here.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Apricot Chicken, mash, veggies
Tuesday: Lasagne
Wednesday: Beef & Veggie Pie
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, potato gems, coleslaw
Saturday: Quesadillas
In the fruit bowl: bananas
In the cake tin: Brownies
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
5. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Sauces
How many sauces do you have in your pantry? How many bottles do you have in your fridge? It is so easy to end up with a dozen or more, most of them sitting for months before you take a look realise they're a tad erky and toss them.
It is so easy. There's good old tomato sauce. Then an Aussie favourite barbecue sauce. Perhaps you have soy sauce, oyster sauce, kecap manis (and no, it's not the same as soy sauce). We have all of those in our pantry. We also have mint sauce, habenero sauce, mustard sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
That's the sauces. Then there is the dressings. Salad dressing. Egg mayo. Coleslaw dressing. Aioili. Balsamic dressing.
All of these are in our pantry and fridge. We do use all of them. Some of them are MOOs (tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce) some of them I have bought, some of them the kids have bought because I won't buy the more exotic and expensive sauces and dressings.
I do buy coleslaw dressing and egg mayo in bulk jars and I treat myself to balsamic dressing from Aldi (it's delicious and a fraction of the price of other balsamic dressings). Soy sauce and kecap manis (a thick, sweet soy sauce) I buy from Hindustan Imports in 1 litre bottles.
Most of the other sauces we have I can make easily, using ingredients I have on hand. They taste better, have nothing fake in them and use up excess garden produce. I'm waiting for the tomatoes to ripen so I can make tomato and barbecue sauce and relish, three things that are never on my shopping list.
Sauces can add a lot to a grocery bill, even the common tomato sauce is rarely under $2 per 500ml bottle.
Your challenge this week is to do a sauce inventory. See what you have, then work out how you can use them up (gravies, dips, actually putting them on meals etc.) before you add any more to your shopping trolley and pantry.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
6 Common Reasons You Need an Emergency Fund
Build an Emergency Fund Safety Net
Painless Ways to Build an Emergency Fund
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Saving for 3 Months of Living Expenses
The Value of the Emergency Fund
Can I Count the Excess Funds in My Mortgage My Emergency Funds?
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
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 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.
Coming Up
Tuesday 23rd February: What is a Peace of Mind Account, Why do I Need One and How do I Use It?
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Skip the Specials and Save Big for No Spending Month; Broccoli Rice; Cleaning Mucky Hands
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Fish Cakes
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Sauces!
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge - What have you MOOed this week?
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Creating a Spending Plan
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,
How many of you have veggie gardens? I'm asking because we increased the size of our garden, but you'd never know it. So far all I'm getting from it are zucchini, beans and basil. But no tomatoes, eggplant or capsicums. I have the jars ready. I have the lids ready. I've even printed some labels. I'm ready and waiting and wanting to make sauce and relish and focaccia filling but those dratted tomatoes, egg plant and capsicums just aren't co-operating. If you have a veggie garden, I sure hope you're getting healthy crops, and not feeling as disappointed as I am.
In the meantime I have basil hanging to dry. When it's dry I'll crumble it and put it into jars. I use a lot of basil in my cooking, and freshly dried is something special. Some will be made into pesto and frozen. We like basil pesto on focaccia with sliced tomato and fresh mozzarella for lunch or a quick, easy dinner. When the pesto is homemade, and the tomatoes are home grown, and the mozzarella is freshly made, and the focaccias are straight from the oven it is the best meal, and I can fee the five of us for under $2 - 40 cents a serve sounds good to me. And it's a meal that fits in perfectly with No Spending Month - all the ingredients are already in the pantry, no shopping required.
At the time of writing, we are in lockdown (again!). I have to say that while it can be annoying, it sure does make No Spending Month easy. No shopping, so no spending. No driving, so no need to buy petrol. Straight off, that's two silver linings to a No Spending Month lockdown. If you're not on lockdown, how are you going with No Spending Month?
Ok, it's time to end this ramble. I'm off outside to check the tomatoes again, surely some of them are ripening by now.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Skip the Specials and Save Big for No Spending Month
No Spending month has boosted our savings by almost $100 already, and simply because I've not bought the specials. I love a bargain, and our stockpile is slowly, slowly growing with the basic grocery items we need. Where I come a cropper is those too good to resist but really not essential specials. The catalogues have been full of them lately, things like Tim Tams and Mint Slice on sale for half price, chips half price, Prima juice boxes half price at Coles, 500g bags of chips - all things we love and would happily enjoy, but even on half-price sale we don't need them and they're not really included in the grocery budget. On top of that, I don't need the extra kilojoules (My Darling doesn't either but don't tell him, he'll deny it). The juice boxes are convenient to grab and put in My Baby's bag for when we're out, but he is just as happy with water. This week alone I've skipped the specials and not spent $22.30 on things that weren't on my list, even if they were on sale. Don't get me wrong, I could have easily bought the Tim Tams, Mint Slice, juice boxes and chips but it is No Spending Month and I'd rather use that $22.30 to boost our Emergency Fund. And if I stick to not spending on specials we don't really need, I figure our EF will be around $500 (or more) healthier at the end of the year and my thighs won't be a few thousand kilojoules bigger.
Contributed by Sarah
Broccoli Rice
Use broccoli stems as a substitute for cauliflower, the hero vegetable of low carb cooking. Great, shred, chop finely, blitz broccoli stems just as you would cauliflower and even though your broccoli "rice" and broccoli stem pizza bases will have a green tinge, they're FREE and highly nutritious.
Contributed by Maryrose
Cleaning Mucky Hands
If you don't have Cheapskates Gardeners Soap, this also works well... it gets rid of gardening stains, paint, oil and grease, grout, just about everything..... put about a teaspoon of sugar in your hand, add a few squirts of liquid soap (4-6) and a teeny bit of water, scrub your hands and then rinse thoroughly. Finish off with a good hand cream.
Contributed by Catherine
Add a Tip
3. 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
4. On The Menu
Cath's Mum's Famous Fish CakesMy mother was a great cook, and she was renowned for her quiche, fruit cakes and Christmas puddings and her fish cakes. They are the best fish cakes ever, easy to make, tasty hot or cold and they're cheap.
This is the official recipe:Fish CakesIngredients:
1 x 425g can of salmon or tuna
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon parsley
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
salt & pepper
2 teaspoon curry powder if liked
Flour, egg for glazing & breadcrumbs.
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, parsley, onion & egg. Add seasonings and form into small round cakes. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in breadcrumbs until well covered. Fry in fat or oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
And this is the way I prepare them for my family:
Ingredients:
1 x 425g can tuna in water, well drained
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes - eyeballed
1 tablespoon mixed herbs/Italian herbs
1 tsp oregano
1 large onion, diced
1 egg
Flour, egg for glazing & Shake'n'Bake
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, herbs, onion and egg. Form into round patties, about the size of a small mandarin. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in Shake'n'Bake until well covered. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Notes: I eyeball the quantity of mashed potato. If I need to make more fish cakes with just the one tin of tuna, I use more mashed potato.
Chilling the fish cakes for at least half an hour sets the Shake'n'Bake so it sticks during the frying.
If you don't want to fry, because they are coated in the Shake'n'Bake they can be baked in a 200 degree Celsius oven for 15 minutes. Turn and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until they are hot through and browned.
You can use salmon if you want to instead of the tuna.
Watch the You Tube video here.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Apricot Chicken, mash, veggies
Tuesday: Lasagne
Wednesday: Beef & Veggie Pie
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, potato gems, coleslaw
Saturday: Quesadillas
In the fruit bowl: bananas
In the cake tin: Brownies
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
5. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Sauces
How many sauces do you have in your pantry? How many bottles do you have in your fridge? It is so easy to end up with a dozen or more, most of them sitting for months before you take a look realise they're a tad erky and toss them.
It is so easy. There's good old tomato sauce. Then an Aussie favourite barbecue sauce. Perhaps you have soy sauce, oyster sauce, kecap manis (and no, it's not the same as soy sauce). We have all of those in our pantry. We also have mint sauce, habenero sauce, mustard sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
That's the sauces. Then there is the dressings. Salad dressing. Egg mayo. Coleslaw dressing. Aioili. Balsamic dressing.
All of these are in our pantry and fridge. We do use all of them. Some of them are MOOs (tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce) some of them I have bought, some of them the kids have bought because I won't buy the more exotic and expensive sauces and dressings.
I do buy coleslaw dressing and egg mayo in bulk jars and I treat myself to balsamic dressing from Aldi (it's delicious and a fraction of the price of other balsamic dressings). Soy sauce and kecap manis (a thick, sweet soy sauce) I buy from Hindustan Imports in 1 litre bottles.
Most of the other sauces we have I can make easily, using ingredients I have on hand. They taste better, have nothing fake in them and use up excess garden produce. I'm waiting for the tomatoes to ripen so I can make tomato and barbecue sauce and relish, three things that are never on my shopping list.
Sauces can add a lot to a grocery bill, even the common tomato sauce is rarely under $2 per 500ml bottle.
Your challenge this week is to do a sauce inventory. See what you have, then work out how you can use them up (gravies, dips, actually putting them on meals etc.) before you add any more to your shopping trolley and pantry.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
6 Common Reasons You Need an Emergency Fund
Build an Emergency Fund Safety Net
Painless Ways to Build an Emergency Fund
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Saving for 3 Months of Living Expenses
The Value of the Emergency Fund
Can I Count the Excess Funds in My Mortgage My Emergency Funds?
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
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 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.
Coming Up
Tuesday 23rd February: What is a Peace of Mind Account, Why do I Need One and How do I Use It?
Latest Shows
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge
What have you MOOed this week? I had to really think about what I'd MOOed, then it struck me that just about everything I make is a MOO! Duh!
Over the last week I've MOOed condensed milk, pastry, seasoned, toasted breadcrumbs, a triple batch of Miracle Spray, onion dip and pita chips, pizza bases, and weed spray for the pavers. There are probably more, but once you start MOOing you don't think about it, you just do it.
Making Our Own becomes a habit and we MOO away, merrily making what we need without thinking about it.
I'm waiting to MOO tomato and barbecue sauces, two things that are never on my shopping list.
So what have you MOOed this week? Did you think about it as you MOOed away, or have you become so good at MOOing that it is a reflex, something you do automatically? That's a really nice feeling, to know that you have MOOing as a habit (a really, really, good habit).
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
We're powering through the Saving Revolution. This week Revolutionists are working on their Spending Plans. They're gathering the information they need, and putting plans in place to begin to create their very own, tailored to their circumstances, spending plan.
They are learning how to use the money they have to get out of debt and build and emergency fund.
Lesson 8 goes out tomorrow, so if you haven't caught up yet, you'd better get cracking!
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
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
What have you MOOed this week? I had to really think about what I'd MOOed, then it struck me that just about everything I make is a MOO! Duh!
Over the last week I've MOOed condensed milk, pastry, seasoned, toasted breadcrumbs, a triple batch of Miracle Spray, onion dip and pita chips, pizza bases, and weed spray for the pavers. There are probably more, but once you start MOOing you don't think about it, you just do it.
Making Our Own becomes a habit and we MOO away, merrily making what we need without thinking about it.
I'm waiting to MOO tomato and barbecue sauces, two things that are never on my shopping list.
So what have you MOOed this week? Did you think about it as you MOOed away, or have you become so good at MOOing that it is a reflex, something you do automatically? That's a really nice feeling, to know that you have MOOing as a habit (a really, really, good habit).
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
We're powering through the Saving Revolution. This week Revolutionists are working on their Spending Plans. They're gathering the information they need, and putting plans in place to begin to create their very own, tailored to their circumstances, spending plan.
They are learning how to use the money they have to get out of debt and build and emergency fund.
Lesson 8 goes out tomorrow, so if you haven't caught up yet, you'd better get cracking!
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
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