Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 10:21
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Budget Pencil Cases; Tank Top Shopping Bags
3. Tip of the Week - Save Time and Money by Organising Your Camping Items
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Wedges
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. The Weekly MOO Challenge
10. 2021 Saving Revolution - Lesson 10
11. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
12. Join the Cheapskates Club
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
How are you enjoying MOO month? This is a great time of year to MOO. Gardens are really producing so you can MOO preserves for the winter. If you don’t have a garden, produce at most greengrocers (and some supermarkets) is cheaper too. You can start making jam with summer fruits, and tomato sauce, pasta sauce, relish, pickles, even semi-dried tomatoes. There are recipes and instructions for all these things in the Recipe Files.
We had a lovely long weekend away. We were finally able to see Wayne's mother and father and his sister and family after 18 long months. Goodness but it was nice to see them face to face. Zoom and phone calls are all well and good, but nothing is quite as good as a real hug.
Enjoy your newsletter and have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Budget Pencil Cases
Literal envelopes are okay for budgeting as long as you don't need to keep coins in them, but the frequent-use ones quickly wear out. To solve this, buy cheap pencil cases at back-to-school time. I found the sort with labelling letters for 50c each. Durable budget envelopes!
Contributed by Gabrielle Castle
Tank Top Shopping Bags
Reusable shopping bags that are pretty, or at least not ugly, or that can be washed are few and far between. If you have any spare singlets or tank tops, all you have to do is run a seam along the bottom ( waist) of the tank top, and you have a washable, pretty, strong and long lasting shopping bag in different sizes.....add a carabiner to hook the handles ( shoulder straps) through, and you are ready to go. You can pick up tank tops from most secondhand shops for a few dollars, or ask around friends if they have any to get rid of. Plus you can personalise them and use them for the beach, regular car travels, gift bags etc.
Contributed by Denise
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Elissa Dinnison. Elissa has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Save Time and Money by Organising Your Camping Items
I have plastic storage boxes with a laminated list velcroed to the lid. I have a box/list for kitchen items, toiletries, safety items, food, so on and so forth. Each list is printed and as I pack an item I mark it as packed, I then clean it off once all is packed. If it's a consumable item I mark when it's gone and needs replacing. This way when repacking to come home I know where each item belongs and if it needs replacing I can put it on my shopping list to get on special before our next trip. This saves me money buying items at the last minute or leaving needed items home ... therefore costly expenses once camping. It also saves time as I know exactly what I need instead of trying to remember what I need each time. .. and also time when packing to come home as each item has a place instead of trying to shove things everywhere to fit.
Congratulations Elissa, 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; 1,600 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.
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
Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
This recipe makes one delicious quesadilla, just enough for a lunch. Add a big green salad and it becomes a hearty dinner. I use low fat cheese and leftover cooked chicken or beef to make it an economical and slightly more healthful Mexican treat. Quesadillas are the perfect meal in a hurry. Keep tortillas in the freezer and you can have a meal on the table in just a few minutes.
Ingredients:
2 small tortillas
1/4 cup sliced olives
1/4 cup chopped cooked chicken or beef, shredded
1/2 cup low fat cheese, grated
2 tbsp tomato salsa, drained
Method:
Heat a heavy griddle or fry pan over a medium heat. While the griddle is heating, put the olives, chicken or beef, cheese and salsa in a bowl and toss together. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. When griddle is hot, lay one tortilla on grill, sprayed side down. Spread filling mixture over the tortilla and cover with the other tortilla, sprayed side up. Cook 3 - 4 minutes, or until cheese has started to melt, and you get nice grill marks, then flip and cook other side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve with taco sauce, guacamole or another favorite dipping sauce.
This makes 1 quesadilla – double, triple, or quadruple for more servings.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Sausage Casserole
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Mock Schnitzels, veggies, tomato gravy
Saturday: Hamburgers
In the fruit bowl: bananas
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
Wedges!
My family loves wedges, but even the generic brands from the freezer cabinet are expensive when you do the math - $3 for 750 grams equates to $4 a kilo - for frozen potato!
So I MOO them. Wedges are really easy to MOO, and they take the same amount of time to bake as the bought versions. My usual method is to scrub the potatoes well, then cut them into even sized wedges and toss them in a bowl. Then I mix about a teaspoon of paprika - whichever one my hand picks up from the spice cupboard - into two tablespoons of olive oil and pour this over the wedges. This is the messy part - I use my hands to toss the wedges to coat them in the flavoured oil. While I've been getting the wedges ready the oven has been on heating and a baking sheet has been in the oven heating up too. I think that's the secret to really great wedges - putting them onto a nice hot baking sheet and straight into a hot oven - about 220 degrees Celsius. Turn the timer on for 10 minutes and then turn and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until the outsides are crisp and golden and the inside is soft and fluffy.
Now when you consider that a kilo of wedges from the supermarket costs around $4, and a kilo of potatoes is between 80 cents and $1 a kilo, it makes sense to MOO them.
But if you don’t want to use the oil and paprika, then Cheapskater Karen suggested a different method - toss them in natural yoghurt for nice crispy wedges. I had some yoghurt to use up last week, so I gave it a try and they were delicious.
Now there are two easy versions of MOO wedges to try, and keep more of your money in your grocery budget for the things you can't MOO.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Make-do Kitchen Tools
Six Months to Becoming a Stay At Home Mum
The Stages of Cheapskating
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Feeding two Adults also a Cat and Dog
The $5 Pantry Challenge
Moving House
8. 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 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.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Budget Pencil Cases; Tank Top Shopping Bags
3. Tip of the Week - Save Time and Money by Organising Your Camping Items
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Wedges
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. The Weekly MOO Challenge
10. 2021 Saving Revolution - Lesson 10
11. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
12. Join the Cheapskates Club
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
How are you enjoying MOO month? This is a great time of year to MOO. Gardens are really producing so you can MOO preserves for the winter. If you don’t have a garden, produce at most greengrocers (and some supermarkets) is cheaper too. You can start making jam with summer fruits, and tomato sauce, pasta sauce, relish, pickles, even semi-dried tomatoes. There are recipes and instructions for all these things in the Recipe Files.
We had a lovely long weekend away. We were finally able to see Wayne's mother and father and his sister and family after 18 long months. Goodness but it was nice to see them face to face. Zoom and phone calls are all well and good, but nothing is quite as good as a real hug.
Enjoy your newsletter and have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Budget Pencil Cases
Literal envelopes are okay for budgeting as long as you don't need to keep coins in them, but the frequent-use ones quickly wear out. To solve this, buy cheap pencil cases at back-to-school time. I found the sort with labelling letters for 50c each. Durable budget envelopes!
Contributed by Gabrielle Castle
Tank Top Shopping Bags
Reusable shopping bags that are pretty, or at least not ugly, or that can be washed are few and far between. If you have any spare singlets or tank tops, all you have to do is run a seam along the bottom ( waist) of the tank top, and you have a washable, pretty, strong and long lasting shopping bag in different sizes.....add a carabiner to hook the handles ( shoulder straps) through, and you are ready to go. You can pick up tank tops from most secondhand shops for a few dollars, or ask around friends if they have any to get rid of. Plus you can personalise them and use them for the beach, regular car travels, gift bags etc.
Contributed by Denise
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Elissa Dinnison. Elissa has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Save Time and Money by Organising Your Camping Items
I have plastic storage boxes with a laminated list velcroed to the lid. I have a box/list for kitchen items, toiletries, safety items, food, so on and so forth. Each list is printed and as I pack an item I mark it as packed, I then clean it off once all is packed. If it's a consumable item I mark when it's gone and needs replacing. This way when repacking to come home I know where each item belongs and if it needs replacing I can put it on my shopping list to get on special before our next trip. This saves me money buying items at the last minute or leaving needed items home ... therefore costly expenses once camping. It also saves time as I know exactly what I need instead of trying to remember what I need each time. .. and also time when packing to come home as each item has a place instead of trying to shove things everywhere to fit.
Congratulations Elissa, 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; 1,600 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.
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
Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
This recipe makes one delicious quesadilla, just enough for a lunch. Add a big green salad and it becomes a hearty dinner. I use low fat cheese and leftover cooked chicken or beef to make it an economical and slightly more healthful Mexican treat. Quesadillas are the perfect meal in a hurry. Keep tortillas in the freezer and you can have a meal on the table in just a few minutes.
Ingredients:
2 small tortillas
1/4 cup sliced olives
1/4 cup chopped cooked chicken or beef, shredded
1/2 cup low fat cheese, grated
2 tbsp tomato salsa, drained
Method:
Heat a heavy griddle or fry pan over a medium heat. While the griddle is heating, put the olives, chicken or beef, cheese and salsa in a bowl and toss together. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. When griddle is hot, lay one tortilla on grill, sprayed side down. Spread filling mixture over the tortilla and cover with the other tortilla, sprayed side up. Cook 3 - 4 minutes, or until cheese has started to melt, and you get nice grill marks, then flip and cook other side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve with taco sauce, guacamole or another favorite dipping sauce.
This makes 1 quesadilla – double, triple, or quadruple for more servings.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Sausage Casserole
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Mock Schnitzels, veggies, tomato gravy
Saturday: Hamburgers
In the fruit bowl: bananas
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
Wedges!
My family loves wedges, but even the generic brands from the freezer cabinet are expensive when you do the math - $3 for 750 grams equates to $4 a kilo - for frozen potato!
So I MOO them. Wedges are really easy to MOO, and they take the same amount of time to bake as the bought versions. My usual method is to scrub the potatoes well, then cut them into even sized wedges and toss them in a bowl. Then I mix about a teaspoon of paprika - whichever one my hand picks up from the spice cupboard - into two tablespoons of olive oil and pour this over the wedges. This is the messy part - I use my hands to toss the wedges to coat them in the flavoured oil. While I've been getting the wedges ready the oven has been on heating and a baking sheet has been in the oven heating up too. I think that's the secret to really great wedges - putting them onto a nice hot baking sheet and straight into a hot oven - about 220 degrees Celsius. Turn the timer on for 10 minutes and then turn and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until the outsides are crisp and golden and the inside is soft and fluffy.
Now when you consider that a kilo of wedges from the supermarket costs around $4, and a kilo of potatoes is between 80 cents and $1 a kilo, it makes sense to MOO them.
But if you don’t want to use the oil and paprika, then Cheapskater Karen suggested a different method - toss them in natural yoghurt for nice crispy wedges. I had some yoghurt to use up last week, so I gave it a try and they were delicious.
Now there are two easy versions of MOO wedges to try, and keep more of your money in your grocery budget for the things you can't MOO.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Make-do Kitchen Tools
Six Months to Becoming a Stay At Home Mum
The Stages of Cheapskating
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Feeding two Adults also a Cat and Dog
The $5 Pantry Challenge
Moving House
8. 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 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.
Latest Shows
9. The Weekly Moo Challenge
What have you MOOed this week? Did you take up the challenge to MOO something from last week's list? Or did you MOO something else?
Jelly was the MOO of the moment in our house this last week. I had some fruit juice in the freezer and I wanted the space so out it came. Of course we could have just drunk it, but we usually drink water. The weather wasn't too warm, but jelly is jelly and delicious all year round, regardless of the weather, so out came the agar and I made tropical jelly. MOOing jelly is easy, and if you're conscious of sugar or artificial sweeteners, or don't like the other ingredients (or the price!) in a packet of jelly crystals, then using what you have to MOO it just makes sense.
I didn't add any sugar or other sweetener, the fruit juice was sweet enough. And I used agar agar instead of gelatine, because that is what I had in the cupboard. Agar is expensive, but being made from seaweed (actually a red algae) it is great for vegetarians and vegans, and it is actually full of nutrients too. You can get it at any health food shop, but as I said, it's expensive. Use it just as you would gelatine.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
10. 2021 Saving Revolution Lesson 10: Reducing Expenses
This is a subject I love. When I can find a way to reduce our expenses without compromising our lifestyle I (almost) do a happy dance. I definitely do one in my imagination.
Living the Cheapskates way isn't about living a life of misery and deprivation. OK, well sometimes we need to temporarily deprive ourselves of something we want to get something else (a fully funded emergency fund, or debt free, or to pay off the mortgage, or private school fees) but the key word is "temporarily" - it's not forever.
So there are two ways to get what you want - earn more money or reduce expenses. It's easier to reduce expenses than it is to earn more money; trust me when I say this, because I've been there and done it.
But before you can reduce expenses you need to know what they are. So yes, go back to where you were tracking your spending and see what those expenses are. There will be some you just have to bear - rent/mortgage, loan/debt repayments etc. - and there will be some you can try to reduce.
Of course the simplest is the grocery bill. I like the ten per cent method, it's quick and easy and you can do it immediately. It is simply looking at what your last grocery bill was and reducing it by 10 per cent next shop. For example, if last month's grocery bill was $200, then this month you're going to aim to spend no more than $180. If you can do that, then reduce it by ten percent again the next month. Keep doing this until you find you can't feed your family on what you're spending and go back one level. Actually, if you want to know your ideal grocery budget, this is an easy way to find it too.
Next you can tackle utilities, insurances, extracurricular activities, entertainment costs and so on and find ways to reduce them too. Do you need to put a little time and effort in? Of course! Is it worth the couple of hours it will take you? I say a resounding YES! You may decide it's not worth the effort, but then you'll be stuck where you are.
At least give reducing expenses a try. You have nothing to lose and a whole lot of money to keep.
Lesson 11 will be in your inbox tomorrow!
Log into the 2021 Saving Revolution forum and join the discussions too. They're fun, keep you accountable, and over the course of the year will be an amazing source of valuable hints and tips for you too.
11. 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
12. 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!
13. 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.
14. 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? Did you take up the challenge to MOO something from last week's list? Or did you MOO something else?
Jelly was the MOO of the moment in our house this last week. I had some fruit juice in the freezer and I wanted the space so out it came. Of course we could have just drunk it, but we usually drink water. The weather wasn't too warm, but jelly is jelly and delicious all year round, regardless of the weather, so out came the agar and I made tropical jelly. MOOing jelly is easy, and if you're conscious of sugar or artificial sweeteners, or don't like the other ingredients (or the price!) in a packet of jelly crystals, then using what you have to MOO it just makes sense.
I didn't add any sugar or other sweetener, the fruit juice was sweet enough. And I used agar agar instead of gelatine, because that is what I had in the cupboard. Agar is expensive, but being made from seaweed (actually a red algae) it is great for vegetarians and vegans, and it is actually full of nutrients too. You can get it at any health food shop, but as I said, it's expensive. Use it just as you would gelatine.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
10. 2021 Saving Revolution Lesson 10: Reducing Expenses
This is a subject I love. When I can find a way to reduce our expenses without compromising our lifestyle I (almost) do a happy dance. I definitely do one in my imagination.
Living the Cheapskates way isn't about living a life of misery and deprivation. OK, well sometimes we need to temporarily deprive ourselves of something we want to get something else (a fully funded emergency fund, or debt free, or to pay off the mortgage, or private school fees) but the key word is "temporarily" - it's not forever.
So there are two ways to get what you want - earn more money or reduce expenses. It's easier to reduce expenses than it is to earn more money; trust me when I say this, because I've been there and done it.
But before you can reduce expenses you need to know what they are. So yes, go back to where you were tracking your spending and see what those expenses are. There will be some you just have to bear - rent/mortgage, loan/debt repayments etc. - and there will be some you can try to reduce.
Of course the simplest is the grocery bill. I like the ten per cent method, it's quick and easy and you can do it immediately. It is simply looking at what your last grocery bill was and reducing it by 10 per cent next shop. For example, if last month's grocery bill was $200, then this month you're going to aim to spend no more than $180. If you can do that, then reduce it by ten percent again the next month. Keep doing this until you find you can't feed your family on what you're spending and go back one level. Actually, if you want to know your ideal grocery budget, this is an easy way to find it too.
Next you can tackle utilities, insurances, extracurricular activities, entertainment costs and so on and find ways to reduce them too. Do you need to put a little time and effort in? Of course! Is it worth the couple of hours it will take you? I say a resounding YES! You may decide it's not worth the effort, but then you'll be stuck where you are.
At least give reducing expenses a try. You have nothing to lose and a whole lot of money to keep.
Lesson 11 will be in your inbox tomorrow!
Log into the 2021 Saving Revolution forum and join the discussions too. They're fun, keep you accountable, and over the course of the year will be an amazing source of valuable hints and tips for you too.
11. 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
12. 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!
13. 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.
14. 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