Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 16:19
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Quick and Easy Fire Starters; How 15 Minutes Saves Me Money, Time and Energy; A Watering Solution for Indoor Plants
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Mediterranean Salmon Patties
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Tidying Up the Medicine Chest
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. This Week's Question -
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,
Happy Easter! If you are travelling over this weekend, please take care. If you're enjoying your Easter celebrations at home, I hope they are everything you wish for.
We usually have a houseful at Easter, but this year we are home, alone. Well as alone as we can be in a five person household. That's OK, I'm looking forward to a peaceful and relaxed weekend. And chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. And hot cross buns. Plenty of toasted hot cross buns. Yum! https://www.cheapskatesclub.net/hot-cross-buns.html
The April Journal has been uploaded to the Member's Centre, ready for Cheapskates Club members to enjoy. New tips, new articles, new recipes and new meal plans make up this huge edition of The Cheapskates Journal. It's perfect reading for a long weekend.
Have a great weekend and a blessed Easter everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Quick and Easy Fire Starters
Save large paper bags and envelopes and use them to collect small kindling and sticks to start your fire. It saves on fire starters and is a quick and easy way to keep the fireplace free from small sticks and debris. I collect several bags at a time and store them so I have one on hand to start my solid fuel heater quickly when the weather turns cold. All you need to do is add some newspaper and then place the bag/envelope of kindling on top to start the fire quickly.
Contributed by Sue McGregor
How 15 Minutes Saves Me Money, Time and Energy
Our home has been respectably tidy for years from a tip I read in the Tip Store. At the time our two children were five and seven and we seemed to live in a chaotic mess. I read a tip that recommended setting a time each day for a ten minute tidy-up, where everyone in the house went and picked up their belongings and put them where they belonged. I chose a 15 minutes time block right before bath time. At 6.45 every evening we would all stop what we were doing and tidy up. That was eight years ago, and our children are now 13 and 15 and we still do the evening tidy-up. Yes, they grumble and moan, but they do it. It's habit now and we all do it automatically. For eight years our home has ended and started each day neat and tidy. The impact this has had on me as a working mum, and on my husband and children can't be measured. I stopped feeling hard done by because of the mess, hubby was more relaxed because I wasn't grumpy and our kids have learnt that they tidy up after themselves regularly. Has it saved us money? Yes! We rarely lose anything, so we're not replacing things we already have. It has certainly saved us time - it's so much easier to find 15 minutes once a day than 3 - 4 hours over the weekend to tidy up. And energy - again, working for 15 minutes takes far less out of me than struggling to tidy up for hours after working all week. Best tip ever!
Contributed by Wendy Leith
A Watering Solution for Indoor Plants
If going away for an extended period, place a very wet disposable nappy under the pot plant so that it will be alive when you come home. The nappy holds plenty of moisture and the plant will be able to draw it up as it needs it. Also good for long, hot summers when constant watering is needed but very time consuming. And this way you don't over-water, and waste this precious resource.
Contributed by Faye Lording
Editor's note: The liquid absorbing crystals in the nappy will hold the water. When it's dry, just either re-wet or put it away until the next time it is needed and it can be used over and over. 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
Mediterranean Salmon Patties
Ingredients:
1 x 415g can red salmon, drained, skin and bones removed
70g feta, chopped
1/2 avocado, stone removed, peeled, chopped
1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh continental parsley
2 tbsp finely shredded tasty cheese
2 tbsp bought hummus
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 tbsp olive oil, extra
Method:
Place the salmon, feta, avocado, parsley, cheese, hummus, chives, lemon juice, oil and fresh breadcrumbs in the bowl of a food processor and process until just combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into 8cm patties. Place patties on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours or overnight.
Place the breadcrumbs on a plate. Coat both sides of the patties in the crumbs. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add patties and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes each side or until golden and heated through. Serve patties with rocket leaves and steamed asparagus. Serves 2.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Italian Vegetarian Meatballs
Tuesday: Spag Bol, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: Sweet lamb curry, steamed rice
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Mock Fish & Chips, salad
Saturday: Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
In the fruit bowl: Bananas
In the cake tin: Banana Nut Muffins, Hummingbird Cake, Raspberry Blondies
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
Tidying Up the Medicine Chest
We can't eat medicines and first aid supplies, but there are a few that are essentials in every household, and I include these things in my grocery budget.
We don't have an actual medicine chest, but I'd love one. An old fashioned one, white metal, with hinges and a clip lock like my Grandad had would be wonderful.
Instead I have a huge old Tupperware box, bright yellow so it stands out, and a couple of toolboxes that we've converted into first aid kits, one for home and one in the Patrol. My sister-in-law says she could do brain surgery with the one in the Patrol, it's so well stocked!
As a part of my usual end-of-year tidy up and restocking, the medicine chest/box/shelf/cupboards get a tidy up, and a wipe out and then I do a quick inventory and check on use-by and best before dates, make a list of what needs to be replaced or replenished and add them to the shopping list. I usually do this between Christmas and New Year, but this year I'm a little late, and just tackled it yesterday.
Apart from the occasional pain relief for a headache and hay fever relief we don't go through a lot of over-the-counter medications.
Simple pain relief such as paracetamol, can be expensive if you buy the brand names. I usually buy 100 paracetamol tablets for $2.99 from the chemist and that's more than enough to last us the year. Check the use-by date to make sure you have enough time to use them up. At that price, if there are any left at the end of the year, it's not a lot of money going in the bin.
Bandaids are another thing we don't use a lot of, but I find the "sticky" can go off over time. During the tidy-up I usually open one and just see if the sticky is sticking. If it's not, then it's time to re-stock with fresh bandaids. I shop around to find the cheapest brand name - we've tried generic and they're slightly smaller all over, with a smaller pad, and aren't quite as sticky. When you're plastering men who all do physical work, rather than desk work, bigger and stickier works best.
I look for specials at the chemist, and in the health and beauty sections in supermarkets and discount stores, then check the prices against Chemist Warehouse to find the cheapest prices. It pays to shop around, the difference can be up to $3 sometimes and that's a lot out of the grocery budget.
It doesn't take long, and thankfully we are pretty much a healthy family and not really accident prone (well I am but that's another story) so keeping the medicine chest under control is easy and simple, and a good thing to do on an annual basis.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
The 5 Commandments for Managing Bill Payments
Adapting Recipes for the Slow Cooker
Live Like You’re Wealthy the Cheapskates Way
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Laundry Must Haves
Storing Bulky Items
The Garden Project
7. This Week's Question
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
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
Best Ever Sausage Rolls
How to Make Miracle Spray
Stockpiling 101 Part 3
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 - Quick and Easy Fire Starters; How 15 Minutes Saves Me Money, Time and Energy; A Watering Solution for Indoor Plants
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Mediterranean Salmon Patties
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Tidying Up the Medicine Chest
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. This Week's Question -
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,
Happy Easter! If you are travelling over this weekend, please take care. If you're enjoying your Easter celebrations at home, I hope they are everything you wish for.
We usually have a houseful at Easter, but this year we are home, alone. Well as alone as we can be in a five person household. That's OK, I'm looking forward to a peaceful and relaxed weekend. And chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. And hot cross buns. Plenty of toasted hot cross buns. Yum! https://www.cheapskatesclub.net/hot-cross-buns.html
The April Journal has been uploaded to the Member's Centre, ready for Cheapskates Club members to enjoy. New tips, new articles, new recipes and new meal plans make up this huge edition of The Cheapskates Journal. It's perfect reading for a long weekend.
Have a great weekend and a blessed Easter everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Quick and Easy Fire Starters
Save large paper bags and envelopes and use them to collect small kindling and sticks to start your fire. It saves on fire starters and is a quick and easy way to keep the fireplace free from small sticks and debris. I collect several bags at a time and store them so I have one on hand to start my solid fuel heater quickly when the weather turns cold. All you need to do is add some newspaper and then place the bag/envelope of kindling on top to start the fire quickly.
Contributed by Sue McGregor
How 15 Minutes Saves Me Money, Time and Energy
Our home has been respectably tidy for years from a tip I read in the Tip Store. At the time our two children were five and seven and we seemed to live in a chaotic mess. I read a tip that recommended setting a time each day for a ten minute tidy-up, where everyone in the house went and picked up their belongings and put them where they belonged. I chose a 15 minutes time block right before bath time. At 6.45 every evening we would all stop what we were doing and tidy up. That was eight years ago, and our children are now 13 and 15 and we still do the evening tidy-up. Yes, they grumble and moan, but they do it. It's habit now and we all do it automatically. For eight years our home has ended and started each day neat and tidy. The impact this has had on me as a working mum, and on my husband and children can't be measured. I stopped feeling hard done by because of the mess, hubby was more relaxed because I wasn't grumpy and our kids have learnt that they tidy up after themselves regularly. Has it saved us money? Yes! We rarely lose anything, so we're not replacing things we already have. It has certainly saved us time - it's so much easier to find 15 minutes once a day than 3 - 4 hours over the weekend to tidy up. And energy - again, working for 15 minutes takes far less out of me than struggling to tidy up for hours after working all week. Best tip ever!
Contributed by Wendy Leith
A Watering Solution for Indoor Plants
If going away for an extended period, place a very wet disposable nappy under the pot plant so that it will be alive when you come home. The nappy holds plenty of moisture and the plant will be able to draw it up as it needs it. Also good for long, hot summers when constant watering is needed but very time consuming. And this way you don't over-water, and waste this precious resource.
Contributed by Faye Lording
Editor's note: The liquid absorbing crystals in the nappy will hold the water. When it's dry, just either re-wet or put it away until the next time it is needed and it can be used over and over. 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
Mediterranean Salmon Patties
Ingredients:
1 x 415g can red salmon, drained, skin and bones removed
70g feta, chopped
1/2 avocado, stone removed, peeled, chopped
1/3 cup loosely packed chopped fresh continental parsley
2 tbsp finely shredded tasty cheese
2 tbsp bought hummus
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 tbsp olive oil, extra
Method:
Place the salmon, feta, avocado, parsley, cheese, hummus, chives, lemon juice, oil and fresh breadcrumbs in the bowl of a food processor and process until just combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into 8cm patties. Place patties on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours or overnight.
Place the breadcrumbs on a plate. Coat both sides of the patties in the crumbs. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add patties and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes each side or until golden and heated through. Serve patties with rocket leaves and steamed asparagus. Serves 2.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Italian Vegetarian Meatballs
Tuesday: Spag Bol, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: Sweet lamb curry, steamed rice
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Mock Fish & Chips, salad
Saturday: Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
In the fruit bowl: Bananas
In the cake tin: Banana Nut Muffins, Hummingbird Cake, Raspberry Blondies
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
Tidying Up the Medicine Chest
We can't eat medicines and first aid supplies, but there are a few that are essentials in every household, and I include these things in my grocery budget.
We don't have an actual medicine chest, but I'd love one. An old fashioned one, white metal, with hinges and a clip lock like my Grandad had would be wonderful.
Instead I have a huge old Tupperware box, bright yellow so it stands out, and a couple of toolboxes that we've converted into first aid kits, one for home and one in the Patrol. My sister-in-law says she could do brain surgery with the one in the Patrol, it's so well stocked!
As a part of my usual end-of-year tidy up and restocking, the medicine chest/box/shelf/cupboards get a tidy up, and a wipe out and then I do a quick inventory and check on use-by and best before dates, make a list of what needs to be replaced or replenished and add them to the shopping list. I usually do this between Christmas and New Year, but this year I'm a little late, and just tackled it yesterday.
Apart from the occasional pain relief for a headache and hay fever relief we don't go through a lot of over-the-counter medications.
Simple pain relief such as paracetamol, can be expensive if you buy the brand names. I usually buy 100 paracetamol tablets for $2.99 from the chemist and that's more than enough to last us the year. Check the use-by date to make sure you have enough time to use them up. At that price, if there are any left at the end of the year, it's not a lot of money going in the bin.
Bandaids are another thing we don't use a lot of, but I find the "sticky" can go off over time. During the tidy-up I usually open one and just see if the sticky is sticking. If it's not, then it's time to re-stock with fresh bandaids. I shop around to find the cheapest brand name - we've tried generic and they're slightly smaller all over, with a smaller pad, and aren't quite as sticky. When you're plastering men who all do physical work, rather than desk work, bigger and stickier works best.
I look for specials at the chemist, and in the health and beauty sections in supermarkets and discount stores, then check the prices against Chemist Warehouse to find the cheapest prices. It pays to shop around, the difference can be up to $3 sometimes and that's a lot out of the grocery budget.
It doesn't take long, and thankfully we are pretty much a healthy family and not really accident prone (well I am but that's another story) so keeping the medicine chest under control is easy and simple, and a good thing to do on an annual basis.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
The 5 Commandments for Managing Bill Payments
Adapting Recipes for the Slow Cooker
Live Like You’re Wealthy the Cheapskates Way
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Laundry Must Haves
Storing Bulky Items
The Garden Project
7. This Week's Question
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
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
Best Ever Sausage Rolls
How to Make Miracle Spray
Stockpiling 101 Part 3
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