Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 16:17
In this Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store - Keeping Track of Recipes - Another Idea; Paying an Accountant to do Your Tax Saves You in the Long Run; Grocery Shopping the Week before Pay Week
3. Share Your Tips
4. Cheapskate Club Membership Sale - Just $25 for your first year!
5. In the April Cheapskates Journal
6. The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge
7. On the Menu - Mock Fish No. 2
8. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy - Stockpiling for a Crisis
9. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
10. Member's Featured Blog - Let's Try this Bread
11. This Week's Question - Can I redye clothes?
12. Ask Cath
13. Join the Cheapskates Club
14. Frequently Asked Questions
15. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Thank you everyone for your get well wishes. I am feeling so much better (I think being in my own bed helps!) and I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal routine.
This week's newsletter is huge! We are having a membership sale - and it's not sale time. Why? Because I've had some Contact Us requests for a sale. It seems it's not just the Armstrong family finding prices going up, quality going down and money needing to be stretched and then stretched some more. So we are having a membership sale. New memberships (this only applies to new memberships) will be just $25 until next Tuesday night. At 8pm the price will go back up to the regular $36.50 (and that's just 10 cents a day).
If you have any questions about memberships or the membership sale, you can contact me here.
This week (and probably next week and the week after) I'll be doing a Bare Bones Grocery Challenge. It's time to rebuild the stockpile and the grocery money I'm not spending will help with that. I've put more about this challenge below, and I hope you'll join me, it's much more fun when we save together.
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
Keeping Track of Recipes - Another Idea
Like Megan Hall, I also have a lot of recipe books, and found it hard to remember which book a favourite recipe was in, particularly when there are similarly named recipes in different cookbooks (and even cookbooks with similar names)! So I got myself a good sized hard-cover notebook and made it into an index book for favourite and commonly used recipes. Now, of course, you can do it on your computer and print it out, reprinting if you wish from time to time after you've added sufficiently more to your lists. It took a while to set up, but works very well. I divided the book into sections: first, a list of all my cookbooks, giving each a short name as well i.e. you may have two or more cookbooks starting with "Healthy...", so you'll need a different short name to differentiate. I then divided the rest of the book up into sections, such as starters/entrees, soups, beef mains, seafood mains, cakes and baked goods, desserts, drinks, Christmas - however you want to divide up your recipes. Leave a sufficient number of pages for each section. Then I went through each cookbook, and listed the particular recipes into the relevant section/s of the index book, together with the cookbook name (short name) and page number. It makes it so much easier to find things. You can also add notations, e.g. Q (quick recipe), E (good for entertaining), or whatever you want. Any new recipe I try (and like) goes straight into the index book. No more searching - just use the index book!
Contributed by Judy Dickinson
Paying an Accountant to do Your Tax Saves You in the Long Run
One of the best "spend money to save money" initiatives I've ever had was to get myself an accountant to do my tax. When I first entered the workforce, I did my own tax (free) for two years, and both times owed a very large amount of money.
The third year I found myself an accountant and it was the best $130 I've ever spent. The accountant obviously knew so much more about the system than I did and knew so many tax deductions that I had never claimed. He was also able to recognise I was not having enough tax taken out by my second job - which was what caused me to owe extremely large amounts of tax previously. I now get a decent return every year on tax.
This year I introduced my boyfriend to my accountant and he got twice as much back this year as last year! $130 for an extra $1,000 in his pocket - and the $130 he spent is claimable on next year's return anyway!
Contributed by Kate Bradshaw
Grocery Shopping the Week before Pay Week
Here's my tip for the last week of the pay cycle (monthly paid- I hate it!). Go to the Coles online site and create a shopping list of everything you need. Then delete anything you can go without until you reach your budget amount (or the amount you have to spend, we all know that sometimes they vary!). Print the list, then shop for it. Not only will it be cheaper in store but you can compare brands and prices easily and you already know exactly what you're buying and the estimated price. And remember while you're shopping that one week of frozen peas and corn instead of fresh won't kill them and generic canned fruit made into jelly cups at least gives them some fruit at a reasonable price.
Contributed by Melissa Wood
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Submit your tip
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 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.
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!
Submit your tip
4. Cheapskate Club Membership Sale
Just $25* for the first year!
If you want to win the Battle of the Bills (and who doesn't?) then the Cheapskates Club is the place to find the resources you need to plan your money saving strategies and attack the bill monster in 2017.
To help you get started, the price of Cheapskates Club Platinum membership has been reduced to just $25.00* for the first year until 8pm, Tuesday 25th April 2017.
Click here to order your membership now!
*This offer is for new Cheapskates Club memberships only
5. In the April Cheapskates Journal
In this Edition:
From Cath's Desk
Feature Article - How to Save for a Home Deposit
Thoughtful Moment
How to Freeze Eggs
How to be a Single Cheapskate - a Saving Story
The $100/24 Hour Shopping Rule
Bare Bones Grocery Challenge
Dear Cath
Tip SheetHow to Double a Recipe
Menu Planners
On The Menu - Biscuit Logs
Quote of Note
Cheapskates Tip Store
Log in to read the April edition of The Cheapskates Journal
6. The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge
From the Forum Archives: Bare Bones Grocery Challenge Time
"Got home tonight and the cat had a funny looking mouth. Then my seven year old said "Mum, there is something wrong with the cat's mouth", so I had a closer look. The poor thing had managed to put her sharp incisor tooth right through her lip! Ow!!
Off to the vet, and $170 later I have some antibiotics, and an appointment for Friday to check on it, and the promise that if it not better it will need surgery. I imagine that if the 15 minute appointment was $170, the surgery will be...AAAGGGHH!!!
As this happens to coincide with the end of our pay month, and my little boys birthday is coming up, it is time to get tough. I am determined to not dip into our savings account (although with surgery I might have to bend). I have a reasonably okay pantry (flour, coffee, some sugar, tinned toms and beans but no pasta), hardly any fruit and veg- except some apples, frozen peas and spinach. No milk, need eggs and bread for kids sandwiches. I have approximately seven days to go and I am determined to keep us going for $30. I had approximately $150 left and had planned to do some pre-cooking for a couple of large gatherings we have coming up, but this may have to be re planned or postponed.
I know Cath says she can do a bare bones grocery challenge for under $20, but she has a veg garden. Fruit and veg prices are very high for us with no garden, but for one week, I may have to compromise my nutritional principles...temporarily!
I know many of you would find this no drama, but remember, I thought I still had at least $100 left. I am not prepared. I will need to get prepared pretty dang fast, however! Any and all advice, encouragement appreciated.
Wish me luck!"
We all have weeks when, no matter how good we are at budgeting and saving, money is tight. The one budget category we have complete and utter control over is the grocery budget. We decide how much we spend on groceries and we control how that money is spent.
With that in mind, I'm in the process of rebuilding our stockpile. We lived off it for 15 months, and at the end of last year it was almost depleted. Now it's time to build it up again, and yes, I'll be aiming for a 12 month supply.
But to do that takes money and the grocery budget hasn't increased. Where to find the money? Too start I'll be doing the Bare Bones Grocery Challenge, and I'm inviting you to join me.
You may not want to build a stockpile, and that's fine. The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge is great for cleaning out the pantry, fridge and freezer. It's a wonderful way to use up those weird ingredients you have. It's a fantastic way to find some instant cash (if you're only spending $30 for the week you have the rest of the grocery money to use or save).
Members can log in and go to this month's Journal for lots of tips and tricks, ideas and recipes for surviving a Bare Bones Grocery Challenge.
I'll be posting updates on Facebook and in the forum too, starting with pantry, fridge and fridge inventories. I'm hoping to come in under the $30 this week too - we just need milk and cheese!
Are you going to join me?
7. On the Menu
Mock Fish
I love mock fish. It doesn’t taste anything like fish (always a good thing as far as I'm concerned), so I'm not sure why it has the name it does, but it is good. It is tasty, quick to make, cheap and filling. It's delicious hot or cold, with veggies or salad. It is even nice in a bun with salad and mayo.
Mock Fish No. 2
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked macaroni
1 cup milk
½ cup grated cheese
knob of butter
salt
1 tbsp plain flour
3 eggs, hardboiled and chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Method:
Mix the macaroni, milk, grated cheese, butter, salt and plain four together to form a stiff mixture. Add the hard boiled eggs and parsley. Press into a lamington tin and leave in the fridge overnight. Cut into fingers, squares or triangles, dip in beaten egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fry until golden. Serve hot with vegetables or cold with salad.
This recipe is from the Vegetarian Recipe File
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Mini meatloaves, salad
Tuesday: Spaghetti & meatballs
Wednesday: Mock Fish & Chips, salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Hamburgers
Saturday: Pot Roast
In the fruit bowl: Oranges, grapes
In the cake tin: Lunchbox Cookies, fruit cake
There are over 1,500 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
8. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy
From the Archives: Stockpiling for a Crisis
The following post I wrote about 4 (now 6) years ago and seems to fit in with world events happening right now. Please take the time to consider how prepared your family is for anything that might come your way.
Hi all and welcome to a new week of budgeting.
Some chatter on the forum lately has been about emergency stores / stocking up your pantry for an emergency. Many countries around the world are about to go bankrupt or are already there. There has been talk about global food shortages.
Now, I'm not sure of what the future holds but I like to be prepared for any emergency - real or not, family, local or global. We had our own family emergency two weeks ago when I was in hospital for two days and recovering for the next five days. I only had to send DH out to get milk, fruit and veg.
You see, my pantry and freezer are always full. Always have been and always will be. It's just the way I work. I don't like being low on anything including petrol for the car and toilet paper. My thought is " what if something happens?"
My pantry is always choc a block. My containers are always full with spare packets to refill them. I always have an assortment of tinned soup. I probably have about 50 tins of soup at the moment. I've been stocking up on the chunky ones lately as they have been $2 each. They make a great meal when you add a couple of handfuls of pasta to them. I use some soups in casseroles too. I've stocked up now because they'll cost too much in Spring and Summer.
I also stock up on tinned tomatoes, spaghetti, baked beans and tinned fruit and vegies. Everything is stacked in neat rows with labels to the front and stock is rotated when I buy more. I can see just about everything at a glace and writing my shopping list is easy.
I have a good supply of baking ingredients. Nothing fancy, just the basics but I can make many items from what I have. Same with ingredients for meals. If anyone popped in at meal time, I can produce a meal without any stress.
My freezer is full of mince, chicken, roasts, silverside, sausages, some fish, chops, diced beef, frozen vegies ( supermarket bought and home grown ) and zucchini slice. All these things are frozen in meal sizes for convenience.
Our veggie garden always has something growing in it, especially in Summer.
Our family could easily eat from our stocks for the next 4 - 6 months without a trip to the supermarket.
My question to you is - how prepared are you for any emergency ? If the supermarkets closed down tomorrow, how long would you last with what you have ? If you had a money crisis ( loss of job etc ) would you cope food wise ?
A full pantry does put your mind at ease and boy, does it make you feel rich !!!!!!
It really is " FOOD FOR THOUGHT ".
Be encouraged!!!!!
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
9. Cheapskates Buzz
Most popular forum posts this week
Suggestions Please
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3559-Suggestions-please
What's In Your Food Stockpile?
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3536-What-s-In-Your-Food-Stockpile
Canning Pears
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3557-Canning-pears
Most popular blog posts this week
The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge - Can You Feed your Family for $30 a Week?
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/08/bare-bones-grocery-challenge-can-you.html
The Bare Bones Shopping List
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/07/bare-bones-shopping-list.html
How to get by when You Fall on Hard Times
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2014/08/weekend-today-and-how-to-get-by-when.html
10. Members Featured Blog
Platinum Cheapskates Club members have their very own Cheapskating blogs, and they are wonderful and inspirational and encouraging and even funny. This week's featured blog is written by syd_mum.
Let's Try this Bread
I have been toying with the idea of making my own bread but had not actually tried it ... until now that is!
I have been pacing back and forwards from the oven to the computer checking. My first loaf ever is sitting in there taking a lifetime to brown! I am actually excited to see how it turns out and to try it out.
I bought some bread flour many months ago when I decided I wanted to have fresh bread without all the chemicals in it. Also to save money as I have heard often that it is much more economical.
So what inspired me today?
Not much really except the use by date! When I purchased it, I thought its ok I have months before it expires. With my new found sense of responsibility with food and waste this year, I do not wish to have anything thrown out, especially something that through no fault of its own ran out of date!!
So here I swing between pacing and sitting awaiting the arrival of my new loaf of bread.
Login to read more Cheapskates Club Member blogs
11. This Week's Question
Beverley writes
"Does anyone have any ideas on how to restore colour to a pair of knit pants that accidentally got mould cleaner on them? I saw a hint that if you get vinegar on it immediately it may work but I did not see it in time."
Do you have the answer?
If you can help Beverley let us know. We'll enter your answer into our Tip of the Week competition, with a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club as the prize too.
Send your answer
12. Ask Cath
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
13. Join the Cheapskates Club
For just 10 cents a day 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!
14. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. Members can update their email address or any other details by clicking on "Edit Profile" directly under their membership number after they have logged in to the Member's Centre. Subscribers to our free newsletter can use the Change Your Address form (under Customer Service in the menu) and fill it out. Once you've filled it in click the send button and we'll do the rest. Please remember to include your old email address so we can find it in the list as well as the new one.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
When you login to the Member's Centre you will be told how many days of membership you have left once you have 30 days left. Just click on the link to renew and your membership will just continue on, uninterrupted.
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.
Read our privacy policy
How Did You Get on Our List?
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15. Contact Details
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
www.cheapskatesclub.net
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store - Keeping Track of Recipes - Another Idea; Paying an Accountant to do Your Tax Saves You in the Long Run; Grocery Shopping the Week before Pay Week
3. Share Your Tips
4. Cheapskate Club Membership Sale - Just $25 for your first year!
5. In the April Cheapskates Journal
6. The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge
7. On the Menu - Mock Fish No. 2
8. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy - Stockpiling for a Crisis
9. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
10. Member's Featured Blog - Let's Try this Bread
11. This Week's Question - Can I redye clothes?
12. Ask Cath
13. Join the Cheapskates Club
14. Frequently Asked Questions
15. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Thank you everyone for your get well wishes. I am feeling so much better (I think being in my own bed helps!) and I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal routine.
This week's newsletter is huge! We are having a membership sale - and it's not sale time. Why? Because I've had some Contact Us requests for a sale. It seems it's not just the Armstrong family finding prices going up, quality going down and money needing to be stretched and then stretched some more. So we are having a membership sale. New memberships (this only applies to new memberships) will be just $25 until next Tuesday night. At 8pm the price will go back up to the regular $36.50 (and that's just 10 cents a day).
If you have any questions about memberships or the membership sale, you can contact me here.
This week (and probably next week and the week after) I'll be doing a Bare Bones Grocery Challenge. It's time to rebuild the stockpile and the grocery money I'm not spending will help with that. I've put more about this challenge below, and I hope you'll join me, it's much more fun when we save together.
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
Keeping Track of Recipes - Another Idea
Like Megan Hall, I also have a lot of recipe books, and found it hard to remember which book a favourite recipe was in, particularly when there are similarly named recipes in different cookbooks (and even cookbooks with similar names)! So I got myself a good sized hard-cover notebook and made it into an index book for favourite and commonly used recipes. Now, of course, you can do it on your computer and print it out, reprinting if you wish from time to time after you've added sufficiently more to your lists. It took a while to set up, but works very well. I divided the book into sections: first, a list of all my cookbooks, giving each a short name as well i.e. you may have two or more cookbooks starting with "Healthy...", so you'll need a different short name to differentiate. I then divided the rest of the book up into sections, such as starters/entrees, soups, beef mains, seafood mains, cakes and baked goods, desserts, drinks, Christmas - however you want to divide up your recipes. Leave a sufficient number of pages for each section. Then I went through each cookbook, and listed the particular recipes into the relevant section/s of the index book, together with the cookbook name (short name) and page number. It makes it so much easier to find things. You can also add notations, e.g. Q (quick recipe), E (good for entertaining), or whatever you want. Any new recipe I try (and like) goes straight into the index book. No more searching - just use the index book!
Contributed by Judy Dickinson
Paying an Accountant to do Your Tax Saves You in the Long Run
One of the best "spend money to save money" initiatives I've ever had was to get myself an accountant to do my tax. When I first entered the workforce, I did my own tax (free) for two years, and both times owed a very large amount of money.
The third year I found myself an accountant and it was the best $130 I've ever spent. The accountant obviously knew so much more about the system than I did and knew so many tax deductions that I had never claimed. He was also able to recognise I was not having enough tax taken out by my second job - which was what caused me to owe extremely large amounts of tax previously. I now get a decent return every year on tax.
This year I introduced my boyfriend to my accountant and he got twice as much back this year as last year! $130 for an extra $1,000 in his pocket - and the $130 he spent is claimable on next year's return anyway!
Contributed by Kate Bradshaw
Grocery Shopping the Week before Pay Week
Here's my tip for the last week of the pay cycle (monthly paid- I hate it!). Go to the Coles online site and create a shopping list of everything you need. Then delete anything you can go without until you reach your budget amount (or the amount you have to spend, we all know that sometimes they vary!). Print the list, then shop for it. Not only will it be cheaper in store but you can compare brands and prices easily and you already know exactly what you're buying and the estimated price. And remember while you're shopping that one week of frozen peas and corn instead of fresh won't kill them and generic canned fruit made into jelly cups at least gives them some fruit at a reasonable price.
Contributed by Melissa Wood
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Submit your tip
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 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.
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!
Submit your tip
4. Cheapskate Club Membership Sale
Just $25* for the first year!
If you want to win the Battle of the Bills (and who doesn't?) then the Cheapskates Club is the place to find the resources you need to plan your money saving strategies and attack the bill monster in 2017.
To help you get started, the price of Cheapskates Club Platinum membership has been reduced to just $25.00* for the first year until 8pm, Tuesday 25th April 2017.
Click here to order your membership now!
*This offer is for new Cheapskates Club memberships only
5. In the April Cheapskates Journal
In this Edition:
From Cath's Desk
Feature Article - How to Save for a Home Deposit
Thoughtful Moment
How to Freeze Eggs
How to be a Single Cheapskate - a Saving Story
The $100/24 Hour Shopping Rule
Bare Bones Grocery Challenge
Dear Cath
Tip SheetHow to Double a Recipe
Menu Planners
On The Menu - Biscuit Logs
Quote of Note
Cheapskates Tip Store
Log in to read the April edition of The Cheapskates Journal
6. The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge
From the Forum Archives: Bare Bones Grocery Challenge Time
"Got home tonight and the cat had a funny looking mouth. Then my seven year old said "Mum, there is something wrong with the cat's mouth", so I had a closer look. The poor thing had managed to put her sharp incisor tooth right through her lip! Ow!!
Off to the vet, and $170 later I have some antibiotics, and an appointment for Friday to check on it, and the promise that if it not better it will need surgery. I imagine that if the 15 minute appointment was $170, the surgery will be...AAAGGGHH!!!
As this happens to coincide with the end of our pay month, and my little boys birthday is coming up, it is time to get tough. I am determined to not dip into our savings account (although with surgery I might have to bend). I have a reasonably okay pantry (flour, coffee, some sugar, tinned toms and beans but no pasta), hardly any fruit and veg- except some apples, frozen peas and spinach. No milk, need eggs and bread for kids sandwiches. I have approximately seven days to go and I am determined to keep us going for $30. I had approximately $150 left and had planned to do some pre-cooking for a couple of large gatherings we have coming up, but this may have to be re planned or postponed.
I know Cath says she can do a bare bones grocery challenge for under $20, but she has a veg garden. Fruit and veg prices are very high for us with no garden, but for one week, I may have to compromise my nutritional principles...temporarily!
I know many of you would find this no drama, but remember, I thought I still had at least $100 left. I am not prepared. I will need to get prepared pretty dang fast, however! Any and all advice, encouragement appreciated.
Wish me luck!"
We all have weeks when, no matter how good we are at budgeting and saving, money is tight. The one budget category we have complete and utter control over is the grocery budget. We decide how much we spend on groceries and we control how that money is spent.
With that in mind, I'm in the process of rebuilding our stockpile. We lived off it for 15 months, and at the end of last year it was almost depleted. Now it's time to build it up again, and yes, I'll be aiming for a 12 month supply.
But to do that takes money and the grocery budget hasn't increased. Where to find the money? Too start I'll be doing the Bare Bones Grocery Challenge, and I'm inviting you to join me.
You may not want to build a stockpile, and that's fine. The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge is great for cleaning out the pantry, fridge and freezer. It's a wonderful way to use up those weird ingredients you have. It's a fantastic way to find some instant cash (if you're only spending $30 for the week you have the rest of the grocery money to use or save).
Members can log in and go to this month's Journal for lots of tips and tricks, ideas and recipes for surviving a Bare Bones Grocery Challenge.
I'll be posting updates on Facebook and in the forum too, starting with pantry, fridge and fridge inventories. I'm hoping to come in under the $30 this week too - we just need milk and cheese!
Are you going to join me?
7. On the Menu
Mock Fish
I love mock fish. It doesn’t taste anything like fish (always a good thing as far as I'm concerned), so I'm not sure why it has the name it does, but it is good. It is tasty, quick to make, cheap and filling. It's delicious hot or cold, with veggies or salad. It is even nice in a bun with salad and mayo.
Mock Fish No. 2
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked macaroni
1 cup milk
½ cup grated cheese
knob of butter
salt
1 tbsp plain flour
3 eggs, hardboiled and chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Method:
Mix the macaroni, milk, grated cheese, butter, salt and plain four together to form a stiff mixture. Add the hard boiled eggs and parsley. Press into a lamington tin and leave in the fridge overnight. Cut into fingers, squares or triangles, dip in beaten egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fry until golden. Serve hot with vegetables or cold with salad.
This recipe is from the Vegetarian Recipe File
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Mini meatloaves, salad
Tuesday: Spaghetti & meatballs
Wednesday: Mock Fish & Chips, salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Hamburgers
Saturday: Pot Roast
In the fruit bowl: Oranges, grapes
In the cake tin: Lunchbox Cookies, fruit cake
There are over 1,500 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
8. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy
From the Archives: Stockpiling for a Crisis
The following post I wrote about 4 (now 6) years ago and seems to fit in with world events happening right now. Please take the time to consider how prepared your family is for anything that might come your way.
Hi all and welcome to a new week of budgeting.
Some chatter on the forum lately has been about emergency stores / stocking up your pantry for an emergency. Many countries around the world are about to go bankrupt or are already there. There has been talk about global food shortages.
Now, I'm not sure of what the future holds but I like to be prepared for any emergency - real or not, family, local or global. We had our own family emergency two weeks ago when I was in hospital for two days and recovering for the next five days. I only had to send DH out to get milk, fruit and veg.
You see, my pantry and freezer are always full. Always have been and always will be. It's just the way I work. I don't like being low on anything including petrol for the car and toilet paper. My thought is " what if something happens?"
My pantry is always choc a block. My containers are always full with spare packets to refill them. I always have an assortment of tinned soup. I probably have about 50 tins of soup at the moment. I've been stocking up on the chunky ones lately as they have been $2 each. They make a great meal when you add a couple of handfuls of pasta to them. I use some soups in casseroles too. I've stocked up now because they'll cost too much in Spring and Summer.
I also stock up on tinned tomatoes, spaghetti, baked beans and tinned fruit and vegies. Everything is stacked in neat rows with labels to the front and stock is rotated when I buy more. I can see just about everything at a glace and writing my shopping list is easy.
I have a good supply of baking ingredients. Nothing fancy, just the basics but I can make many items from what I have. Same with ingredients for meals. If anyone popped in at meal time, I can produce a meal without any stress.
My freezer is full of mince, chicken, roasts, silverside, sausages, some fish, chops, diced beef, frozen vegies ( supermarket bought and home grown ) and zucchini slice. All these things are frozen in meal sizes for convenience.
Our veggie garden always has something growing in it, especially in Summer.
Our family could easily eat from our stocks for the next 4 - 6 months without a trip to the supermarket.
My question to you is - how prepared are you for any emergency ? If the supermarkets closed down tomorrow, how long would you last with what you have ? If you had a money crisis ( loss of job etc ) would you cope food wise ?
A full pantry does put your mind at ease and boy, does it make you feel rich !!!!!!
It really is " FOOD FOR THOUGHT ".
Be encouraged!!!!!
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
9. Cheapskates Buzz
Most popular forum posts this week
Suggestions Please
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3559-Suggestions-please
What's In Your Food Stockpile?
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3536-What-s-In-Your-Food-Stockpile
Canning Pears
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3557-Canning-pears
Most popular blog posts this week
The Bare Bones Grocery Challenge - Can You Feed your Family for $30 a Week?
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/08/bare-bones-grocery-challenge-can-you.html
The Bare Bones Shopping List
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/07/bare-bones-shopping-list.html
How to get by when You Fall on Hard Times
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2014/08/weekend-today-and-how-to-get-by-when.html
10. Members Featured Blog
Platinum Cheapskates Club members have their very own Cheapskating blogs, and they are wonderful and inspirational and encouraging and even funny. This week's featured blog is written by syd_mum.
Let's Try this Bread
I have been toying with the idea of making my own bread but had not actually tried it ... until now that is!
I have been pacing back and forwards from the oven to the computer checking. My first loaf ever is sitting in there taking a lifetime to brown! I am actually excited to see how it turns out and to try it out.
I bought some bread flour many months ago when I decided I wanted to have fresh bread without all the chemicals in it. Also to save money as I have heard often that it is much more economical.
So what inspired me today?
Not much really except the use by date! When I purchased it, I thought its ok I have months before it expires. With my new found sense of responsibility with food and waste this year, I do not wish to have anything thrown out, especially something that through no fault of its own ran out of date!!
So here I swing between pacing and sitting awaiting the arrival of my new loaf of bread.
Login to read more Cheapskates Club Member blogs
11. This Week's Question
Beverley writes
"Does anyone have any ideas on how to restore colour to a pair of knit pants that accidentally got mould cleaner on them? I saw a hint that if you get vinegar on it immediately it may work but I did not see it in time."
Do you have the answer?
If you can help Beverley let us know. We'll enter your answer into our Tip of the Week competition, with a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club as the prize too.
Send your answer
12. Ask Cath
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
13. Join the Cheapskates Club
For just 10 cents a day 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!
14. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. Members can update their email address or any other details by clicking on "Edit Profile" directly under their membership number after they have logged in to the Member's Centre. Subscribers to our free newsletter can use the Change Your Address form (under Customer Service in the menu) and fill it out. Once you've filled it in click the send button and we'll do the rest. Please remember to include your old email address so we can find it in the list as well as the new one.
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When you login to the Member's Centre you will be told how many days of membership you have left once you have 30 days left. Just click on the link to renew and your membership will just continue on, uninterrupted.
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15. Contact Details
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
www.cheapskatesclub.net