Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 11:19
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Save on Electronic Books; Overdrive and Libby Apps; Cheaper Mince
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Fish Cakes
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Cheese
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
How are you enjoying MOO month?
This week I've MOOed Miracle Spray, and of course our meals. I also MOOed Super Strength Shower Cleaner (I love this stuff!) and reminded everyone that keeping the bathrooms clean and tidy is their responsibility - they use, they clean it!
Miracle Spray alone keeps around $400 a year in my purse, and not the supermarket till. The three minutes it takes to make is well worth it, for the saving and the cleaning power.
Over the weekend I'll be MOOing birthday and Easter cards, although it will be fun more than chores. MOOing doesn't always have to be hard work, and living frugally doesn't always mean sacrifice and deprivation - it can mean peace of mind, contentment, living debt free.
Have a great week everyone, and have fun MOOing!
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Save on Electronic Books
I read a tip recently regarding the cost of e-books being cheaper than print books. I save even more by borrowing e-books from the library, which can be read on a tablet at a grand cost of zero dollars! Your local library should be able to help you learn how to borrow this way- saving dollars and the environment.
Contributed by Sophie Morton
Overdrive and Libby Apps
Overdrive and Libby apps are a very good and convenient borrowing resource, with a great range of selectable downloadable e-book titles for reading, or alternatively recorded listening books, all of which can be downloaded to your device from libraries for free. Great if you're travelling with children to have bluetooth enabled listening books using the car radio. There are limits to the number of titles borrowed, duration of loans and holds. Definitely worth a look.
Contributed by Edwina Stubbs.
Cheaper Mince
My daughter is going out with a vegan boyfriend so I've had to rethink the way I cook when he comes over. We're not vegan but when they come to dinner I try to make something we can all eat. At Christmas we weren't willing to give up our roast, but I wanted to make him something special. I made him huge deep mushroom pies using textured vegetable protein (TVP). now whenever I make something that requires mince, I use about half and half real mince and TVP which costs $4.50 a kg! It has less calories, less fat and even though alone it doesn't taste like meat, mixed with real mince, you can't tell at all. The texture is very much like real mince. He loved the pies and I love the savings. I get the TVP and all my baking needs at 2 Brothers Foods; delivery is $3.50 anywhere in Australia even in the remote places (I'm not sure if there's a surcharge for remote areas) no matter how much you buy and their products are excellent. That alone will save you money.
Contributed by Silvia Panciera
Editor's note: TVP is a staple in my pantry, and has been forever. I grew up with my mother using TVP to make rissoles, spag bol, meatloaf, stews, pizza toppings and so on, so I never thought it was odd. Over the years, just about every time I've mentioned it, I get dozens of emails asking about it. It's a great, frugal way to stretch mince. I use equal quantities of mince (chicken or beef) and rehydrated TVP. It's used a lot in commercial baking, especially in meat pies. Cath
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
Fish Cakes
Fish just isn't for Lent - it's great all year round, and fish cakes are one of my favourite ways to serve fish without putting a strain on our grocery budget. This recipe is my mother's, and is very frugal. You'll get 10 large fish cakes or 13 - 15 smaller fish cakes from this recipe for around $3, depending on whether you use salmon or tuna (for fish cakes I prefer tuna) and the brand.
Fish Cakes
Ingredients:
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 & Shake'n'Bake or 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.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Fish cakes, potato gems, tossed salad
Tuesday: Gnocchi & garlic bread
Wednesday: Sausages, steamed veggies
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Muffin Surprise
Saturday: Hot Dogs
In the fruit bowl: plums, nectarines
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
Cheese!
We are cheese lovers in our home. Hard or soft, as long as it is cheese, we'll devour it. And that can play havoc with my grocery budget.
I keep the cost of the cheese component of my grocery budget down a number of ways:
1.I buy blocks of tasty cheese ($6/kg at Aldi) and grate them to use on pizzas, pasta bakes, potato casserole etc. Grated cheese freezes beautifully and can be used straight from the freezer for casserole toppings. To stop the cheese shards sticking together when they are frozen add a teaspoon of corn flour per cup of cheese when you pack it into containers or bags. Shake it up to coat the cheese and you won't have a problem with clumped, hard lumps of cheese again.
2.I make mozzarella, ricotta and feta. Fresh mozzarella grated in slivers over hot pasta is divine. These are three of the easiest cheeses to make and they are so versatile. Ricotta can be used in dips and cheesecakes or as a spread on bread instead of butter. Feta is delicious on its own and in salads.
3.I buy blocks of the more expensive aged hard cheeses when they are on sale and use my trusty cheese slicer to slice them. This is the biggest cheese cost saver for my family. I never buy sliced cheese. The slices are always much thicker than what I slice myself and at twice the price of a block of the same weight I feel it's money I could use for something else. Slicing the cheese myself and storing it in a Tupperware container.
4.I portion the cheese out. That means when I do my monthly grocery shopping and buy cheese for the month, it is packed into weekly portions and frozen. I take one portion a week out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to use for cooking, sandwiches, salads, snacks and so on. When it's gone, it's gone. I don't get any more out until the next week. We've learnt over the years to make our cheese last or go without.
We get to enjoy the cheeses we like without blowing my grocery budget.
Is cheese a big expense for your family? How do you make it last? Or do you just absorb the cost and buy more when it's all gone?
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
7 Freezer Meals in One Hour for under $30
Before You Lose Your Purse - Read This!
Give yourself a MOO Manicure On A Budget
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Smart Goals for 2019
MOO Grout and Tile Cleaner
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Coconut Curry
Most Popular Blog Posts This Week
10 Ways to Reuse Egg Shells
Buying Big
MOO Wool Mix
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AEDST
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Latest Shows
MOO Mixes
The 10-10-80 Rule
Remember to like, so we know you're enjoying the shows; subscribe so you won't miss a show; and share because it helps spread the message about living life debt free, cashed up and laughing.
And when we reach 1,000 subscribers we'll be having a draw for a fantastic prize!
8. 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
9. 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!
10. 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.
11. 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
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Save on Electronic Books; Overdrive and Libby Apps; Cheaper Mince
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Fish Cakes
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Cheese
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
How are you enjoying MOO month?
This week I've MOOed Miracle Spray, and of course our meals. I also MOOed Super Strength Shower Cleaner (I love this stuff!) and reminded everyone that keeping the bathrooms clean and tidy is their responsibility - they use, they clean it!
Miracle Spray alone keeps around $400 a year in my purse, and not the supermarket till. The three minutes it takes to make is well worth it, for the saving and the cleaning power.
Over the weekend I'll be MOOing birthday and Easter cards, although it will be fun more than chores. MOOing doesn't always have to be hard work, and living frugally doesn't always mean sacrifice and deprivation - it can mean peace of mind, contentment, living debt free.
Have a great week everyone, and have fun MOOing!
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Save on Electronic Books
I read a tip recently regarding the cost of e-books being cheaper than print books. I save even more by borrowing e-books from the library, which can be read on a tablet at a grand cost of zero dollars! Your local library should be able to help you learn how to borrow this way- saving dollars and the environment.
Contributed by Sophie Morton
Overdrive and Libby Apps
Overdrive and Libby apps are a very good and convenient borrowing resource, with a great range of selectable downloadable e-book titles for reading, or alternatively recorded listening books, all of which can be downloaded to your device from libraries for free. Great if you're travelling with children to have bluetooth enabled listening books using the car radio. There are limits to the number of titles borrowed, duration of loans and holds. Definitely worth a look.
Contributed by Edwina Stubbs.
Cheaper Mince
My daughter is going out with a vegan boyfriend so I've had to rethink the way I cook when he comes over. We're not vegan but when they come to dinner I try to make something we can all eat. At Christmas we weren't willing to give up our roast, but I wanted to make him something special. I made him huge deep mushroom pies using textured vegetable protein (TVP). now whenever I make something that requires mince, I use about half and half real mince and TVP which costs $4.50 a kg! It has less calories, less fat and even though alone it doesn't taste like meat, mixed with real mince, you can't tell at all. The texture is very much like real mince. He loved the pies and I love the savings. I get the TVP and all my baking needs at 2 Brothers Foods; delivery is $3.50 anywhere in Australia even in the remote places (I'm not sure if there's a surcharge for remote areas) no matter how much you buy and their products are excellent. That alone will save you money.
Contributed by Silvia Panciera
Editor's note: TVP is a staple in my pantry, and has been forever. I grew up with my mother using TVP to make rissoles, spag bol, meatloaf, stews, pizza toppings and so on, so I never thought it was odd. Over the years, just about every time I've mentioned it, I get dozens of emails asking about it. It's a great, frugal way to stretch mince. I use equal quantities of mince (chicken or beef) and rehydrated TVP. It's used a lot in commercial baking, especially in meat pies. Cath
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
Fish Cakes
Fish just isn't for Lent - it's great all year round, and fish cakes are one of my favourite ways to serve fish without putting a strain on our grocery budget. This recipe is my mother's, and is very frugal. You'll get 10 large fish cakes or 13 - 15 smaller fish cakes from this recipe for around $3, depending on whether you use salmon or tuna (for fish cakes I prefer tuna) and the brand.
Fish Cakes
Ingredients:
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 & Shake'n'Bake or 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.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Fish cakes, potato gems, tossed salad
Tuesday: Gnocchi & garlic bread
Wednesday: Sausages, steamed veggies
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Muffin Surprise
Saturday: Hot Dogs
In the fruit bowl: plums, nectarines
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
Cheese!
We are cheese lovers in our home. Hard or soft, as long as it is cheese, we'll devour it. And that can play havoc with my grocery budget.
I keep the cost of the cheese component of my grocery budget down a number of ways:
1.I buy blocks of tasty cheese ($6/kg at Aldi) and grate them to use on pizzas, pasta bakes, potato casserole etc. Grated cheese freezes beautifully and can be used straight from the freezer for casserole toppings. To stop the cheese shards sticking together when they are frozen add a teaspoon of corn flour per cup of cheese when you pack it into containers or bags. Shake it up to coat the cheese and you won't have a problem with clumped, hard lumps of cheese again.
2.I make mozzarella, ricotta and feta. Fresh mozzarella grated in slivers over hot pasta is divine. These are three of the easiest cheeses to make and they are so versatile. Ricotta can be used in dips and cheesecakes or as a spread on bread instead of butter. Feta is delicious on its own and in salads.
3.I buy blocks of the more expensive aged hard cheeses when they are on sale and use my trusty cheese slicer to slice them. This is the biggest cheese cost saver for my family. I never buy sliced cheese. The slices are always much thicker than what I slice myself and at twice the price of a block of the same weight I feel it's money I could use for something else. Slicing the cheese myself and storing it in a Tupperware container.
4.I portion the cheese out. That means when I do my monthly grocery shopping and buy cheese for the month, it is packed into weekly portions and frozen. I take one portion a week out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to use for cooking, sandwiches, salads, snacks and so on. When it's gone, it's gone. I don't get any more out until the next week. We've learnt over the years to make our cheese last or go without.
We get to enjoy the cheeses we like without blowing my grocery budget.
Is cheese a big expense for your family? How do you make it last? Or do you just absorb the cost and buy more when it's all gone?
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
7 Freezer Meals in One Hour for under $30
Before You Lose Your Purse - Read This!
Give yourself a MOO Manicure On A Budget
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Smart Goals for 2019
MOO Grout and Tile Cleaner
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Coconut Curry
Most Popular Blog Posts This Week
10 Ways to Reuse Egg Shells
Buying Big
MOO Wool Mix
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AEDST
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Latest Shows
MOO Mixes
The 10-10-80 Rule
Remember to like, so we know you're enjoying the shows; subscribe so you won't miss a show; and share because it helps spread the message about living life debt free, cashed up and laughing.
And when we reach 1,000 subscribers we'll be having a draw for a fantastic prize!
8. 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
9. 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!
10. 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.
11. 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