Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter: 19:15 Bright ideas to save you money
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store - Peach Melba Cheapskates Style, Recycled Second-hand, Free Birthday Treats
3. Cheapskate's Workshops - The Art of Living the Cheapskates Way 1 Day Workshop
4. Submit Your Tip - You have to be in it to win it
5. On the Menu with Anne - Golden Syrup Dumplings
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy - Food Storage, Wraps and Foils
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. Member's Featured Blog - Off to a Slow Start, but Finding Ways to Save
9. Last Week's Question - I need a good bed for my dog, can you help?
10. This Week's Question - How to cook corned beef?
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Gift Memberships
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
It's turned to winter here in Melbourne this week. Wind, rain, hail, cold - cold enough to light the fire. And it has been a busy week too. I've been filming stories for A Current Affair, working on articles, getting ready for a Library talk next week (Knox Library - next Wednesday, 13th, at 1pm) and getting ready for the workshop.
All that busyness has meant my meal plan has been completely and utterly ignored! Tonight was meant to be Cream Cheese Patties and veggies, but it is cold and there is some chicken left from the new recipe I tried last night so we're having chicken soup and toasted cheese sandwiches, or grilled cheese - it will depend how I feel come tea time.
It is pelting down rain as I type and it is already so dark I've had to put the lamp on. It feels like a real winter day and I'm glad to be home. I was out for a couple of hours this morning researching for a story, and it was lovely to meet some very friendly Cheapskaters who stopped to chat for a few minutes. Getting to meet people when I'm out and about is wonderful, especially if I bump into them again and again over time.
On that note, I'd love to know if we have any Cheapskaters in Mildura, Broken Hill and Mt Isa. If you're in, or close by those towns, please let me know, I'll be in those towns during June and I'd love to meet you while I'm in the area.
There are just a few spots left at the workshop, and this is the one and only all day workshop in Melbourne for this year, so if you're wanting to come along, you'd better get in quick.
Have a great week everyone, stay warm, dry and safe, and
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!
PPS: You can read this newsletter and past copies on the website in the Newsletter Archive.
2. From The Tip Store
Peach Melba Cheapskates Style
Approximate $ saving: $15
I love 'Peach Melba'. You can look up the correct recipe on the internet, but I make a simplified version which takes no time to make and is versatile in terms of what I have in the pantry.
Ingredients (per person):
2 peach halves (and syrup)
1 scoop ice cream
1 dollop of cream (thick or double cream works best)
1 dollop of fruit pulp (I raspberry or passionfruit. Can be bought in a can or make your own through a sieve) Sprinkling of nuts (I think the recipe is almonds but any chopped or slivered nuts will do).
1 sundae or parfait glass.
Arrange peach halves on a little syrup in the bottom of the glass (flat side facing up). Place 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream on peach half (it should sit nicely). Dollop fruit pulp on top of ice cream. Dollop thick cream on top of fruit pulp. Sprinkle nuts on top of cream. I have simplified it here, but Peach Melba is really nice and quick and nutritious. My partner, who doesn't like fruit, really loves it.
Contributed by Vanessa Hallum
Recycled Second-hand
I purchase clothing from the second-hand shop, then completely take them apart. Iron the fabric out and utilize it into another garment. I purchased a flared skirt with buttons down the front, picked it all to pieces so that I had the two front panels, back panel and belt. Ironed out what I had. Decided on a garment keeping the button holes but laying the pattern in such a way that I was utilizing the button holes and buttons, making the belt as a collar. I now have a summer coat, rather elegant I must say, from a Katies flared skirt which went out of fashion and was in the second-hand shop for $5. Yes, I picked it up for $5 and made a lovely summer coat. I have a drawer full of second-hand clothing that I have unpicked and will now start to make them into fashionable garments.
Contributed by Irene Rolles
Free Birthday Treats
Approximate $ Savings: $60 plus each family member
My birthday is coming up and I would like to share this tip. Join the birthday lists at many food outlets and you will have a great birthday full of treats for free. This year I will be having a Sumo Salad, Boost Juice, Muffin Break muffin, Subway 6 inch sub and drink, and churros for two people at San Churro. Some of these offers can be used in the days around your birthday so you don't need to consume these all at once.
Contributed by Laura Rayne
There are more than 11,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Cheapskates Workshops
The Art of Living the Cheapskates Way 1 Day Workshop
Join us on the 16th May for a day full of Cheapskating fun. You'll spend the day with like-minded people, learning the secrets to living life debt free, cashed up and laughing. This is a full day workshop - you'll cover all four Cheapskates workshops in one day and come away with the information and tools you need to starting living like a champion Cheapskate.
Sessions include:
The Art of Living the Cheapskates Way
Creating a $300 a Month Meal Plan and the Shopping List to Go With It
Sustainable Cheapskating
Let's All MOO!
During the day we'll discuss the art of living the Cheapskates way and share favourite Cheapskating tips and tricks for saving money, time and energy on your journey to living life debt free, cashed up and laughing.
When: Saturday 16th May
Where: Orana Neighbourhood House, 62 Coleman Rd, Wantirna South
Time: 10am - 4pm
Investment: $135 per person
Click here for more details and to book your spot at this exciting workshop
4. 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
5. On the Menu with Anne
We don't often have dessert, but when we do my lot like something substantial and on a cold winter night these Golden Syrup Dumplings fit the bill. They are warm and delicious, and bring back memories of desserts from my childhood. The recipe says to serve with whipped cream, I usually make a custard and sit the dumpling on the custard, then spoon the syrup over it. Yum! And at just $1.60 to make, double yum!
Golden Syrup Dumplings
Ingredients:
Dumplings:
1 cup self-raising flour
60g unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
1-2 tbsp milk, approx. to mix
Syrup:
30g butter
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 small lemon, juiced
Method:
Sift flour into a bowl, then rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Beat egg with a little milk and pour into flour mixture. Combine to form a dough, then divide into 6-8 small balls. To make the syrup, combine the ingredients together with 1 cup of water in a pan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Carefully add dough balls to syrup and boil for 20 minutes. Serve with syrup and whipped cream.
This week we will be eating:
Friday: Chicken Kiev, rice, steamed broccoli and carrots
Saturday: Barbecued sausages and salad
Sunday: Roast beef, baked vegetables and gravy
Monday: Cream cheese patties, wedges and salad
Tuesday: Chicken enchiladas with salad
Wednesday: Cottage pie, steamed broccoli, carrot, zucchini casserole
Thursday: Fish, chips and salad
In the fruit bowl: apples, mandarins, grapes, plums, nectarines
In the cake tin: shortbread, pita crisps, sultana cake
There are over 1,400 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy
Food Storage, Wraps and Foils
Welcome to a new week of the food challenge.
One part of the food budget that we might not pay too much attention to is food storage and wrapping. Cling wrap, foil, paper towel, go between, snap lock bags, disposable containers, freezer bags, fruit and veg gel bags, paper bags, baking paper, greaseproof paper - the list goes on and on.
While most of us would use these items regularly, there is a way to keep costs down. Here's are some great ideas -
* Use no name cling wrap. It works the same as the dear stuff. Use only what you need to wrap an item. Where possible use a container instead.
* Use unit pricing to get the best deal.
* Generally I only use foil to line the grill. On the odd occasion it is used to keep bbq meat hot just before serving. Foil can be wiped and used again.
* Use paper towel to drain fat and oil from food. I don't use it for wiping up spills. That's what my face washer dish cloth is for.
* Go between can be made from cut up plastic cereal packets. It's free and you're recycling.
* Use snap lock bags when containers won't do. If possible wash the bags and reuse again and again.
* Disposable containers are a waste of money. Buy a better brand container and use it over and over again.
* Buy no name freezer bags. They work just fine.
* Fresh and Crisp fruit and veg gel bags can be used over and over again. Like Cath, I throw them in a linen bag and wash them in the washing machine.
* I buy no name paper bags and really only use them for the odd lunch order.
* I buy no name baking paper and only use it to wrap cheese to stop it from going slimy. To bake biscuits I use silicone / Teflon baking mats. You can use them over and over again and there's no need to using canola spray.
* Greaseproof paper is in the pantry but I can't remember what I use it for. Maybe to go between layers of slices?!?!
Keeping an eye out for specials, reusing where possible and buying cheaper brands really does keep the costs down. I hardly notice the cost on my shopping docket.
How do you keep wrapping and food storage costs down?
Have a great week and BE ENCOURAGED!!!!!
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?24-Take-up-the-challenge-!!!!
The Post that Started it All
http://www.cheapskates.com.au/pages/default.cfm?page_id=44265
7. Cheapskates Buzz
This week's hot forum topics
Curried Beef in the Slowcooker
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?77-Curried-Beef-in-the-Slowcooker
What to do??? No Caster Sugar & Sterilising Jars
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?1930-What-to-do-No-caster-sugar-amp-sterilising-jars
Baby Shower Gift Ideas
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?1973-Baby-Shower-Gift-Ideas
Most popular blog posts this week
Easy Way to Organise the Fridge
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2010/02/easy-way-to-organize-fridge.html
The Cheapskates Cabbage Ware
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/05/cheapskates-cabbage-war.html
Moving in the Opposite Direction
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/03/moving-in-opposite-direction.html
8. Member's 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 RachaelT.
Off to a Slow Start, but Finding Ways to Save
So, I started last week off with good intentions.
I had hopes of rounding up all the receipts floating around the house and tracking our spending and grocery prices...among other things...but life got in the way. Being the last week of school holidays we had people over and playdates, and two demanding children but that being said we still had a good week.
Armed with my menu plan for 2 weeks and my grocery list I hit the shops and even though I spent $185.05 I should be able to survive this week with just buying milk, bread and some fruit and come in under my normal budgeted grocery allowance. I’m even hoping to save a bit on petrol as our last tank full has lasted longer than expected.
My hubby suggested going to the movies but instead we hired some so for the cost of one ticket we managed to watch 5 movies and I even popped my own popcorn! Then on the weekend we had a 1st birthday to go to but I had a suitable present which I regifted, including a gift bag which I re used so I didn't have to spend a thing!
Hoping to get into more of a routine with things this week as my son returns to kinder and looking forward to seeing what this week holds.
Login to read more Cheapskates Club member blogs
9. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Susan who wrote
"Hi, just wondering if you have any tips on dog beds. We have a 4 year old beagle and every bed we have ever bought has been torn to bits by him."
Nina Royal answered
We have large breed dogs who love to tear things to pieces but they're getting old and we need to get them up off the concrete. We decided to MOO dog beds out of old pallets left by the side of the road (there are lots of houses being built near us) and attaching a sheet of ply wood to the top. Total for 2 beds $50 and they have lasted 2 years! We throw an old blanket from the op shop on top for added padding and warmth.
Bernadette Playford answered
Try sewing a cover of your old clothes with your scent on them and place over the dog bed. This way your dog will have a sense of you close by and may stop the ripping of the cushion.
Sian Carson answered
Our dog did the same by scratching through the bed then chewing the rest till it was in threads. We went to our local recycle centre and bought a piece of carpet to fit the bed and hubby screwed it in place with metal screws to the frame. Our dog can't scratch through it now because it is too thick for him. He is a staffy/boxer cross, so a big dog.
Annette Harrington answered
Use a frame type bed (the one that has a fabric cover stretched over the frame) and use a length of shade cloth. Stretch and wrap the shade cloth over the frame and stitch into place (around the edges) with a large bagging needle and baling twine (or garden twine). The twine needs to be strong to take the weight of the dog. The shade cloth is quite strong and can take some chewing but is also easy and cheap to replace. I did this with our German Shepherd who thought it was great fun to rip up beds.
Ask Your Question
10. This Week's Question
Susan writes
Hi, my 91 year old Mum is getting dementia and has forgotten how she used to cook silverside. She thinks it was with bay leaves, brown sugar and brown vinegar. Just wondering if anyone knows this recipe so I can cook it for her.
Do you have the answer?
If you have a recipe or suggestion for Susan 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
11. 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!
12. Gift Memberships
Your family and friends will thank you for a whole year when you give them a Platinum Cheapskates Club membership as a gift.
It's so simple: just select the number of gift memberships required, click the Buy Now button and complete the Gift Membership order form (you must use this form to order gift memberships) and we'll get in touch with you to confirm the gift subscriptions.
Click here to order a gift membership right now!
13. 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.
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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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14. Contact Details
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
www.cheapskates.com.au
2. In the Tip Store - Peach Melba Cheapskates Style, Recycled Second-hand, Free Birthday Treats
3. Cheapskate's Workshops - The Art of Living the Cheapskates Way 1 Day Workshop
4. Submit Your Tip - You have to be in it to win it
5. On the Menu with Anne - Golden Syrup Dumplings
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy - Food Storage, Wraps and Foils
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. Member's Featured Blog - Off to a Slow Start, but Finding Ways to Save
9. Last Week's Question - I need a good bed for my dog, can you help?
10. This Week's Question - How to cook corned beef?
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Gift Memberships
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
It's turned to winter here in Melbourne this week. Wind, rain, hail, cold - cold enough to light the fire. And it has been a busy week too. I've been filming stories for A Current Affair, working on articles, getting ready for a Library talk next week (Knox Library - next Wednesday, 13th, at 1pm) and getting ready for the workshop.
All that busyness has meant my meal plan has been completely and utterly ignored! Tonight was meant to be Cream Cheese Patties and veggies, but it is cold and there is some chicken left from the new recipe I tried last night so we're having chicken soup and toasted cheese sandwiches, or grilled cheese - it will depend how I feel come tea time.
It is pelting down rain as I type and it is already so dark I've had to put the lamp on. It feels like a real winter day and I'm glad to be home. I was out for a couple of hours this morning researching for a story, and it was lovely to meet some very friendly Cheapskaters who stopped to chat for a few minutes. Getting to meet people when I'm out and about is wonderful, especially if I bump into them again and again over time.
On that note, I'd love to know if we have any Cheapskaters in Mildura, Broken Hill and Mt Isa. If you're in, or close by those towns, please let me know, I'll be in those towns during June and I'd love to meet you while I'm in the area.
There are just a few spots left at the workshop, and this is the one and only all day workshop in Melbourne for this year, so if you're wanting to come along, you'd better get in quick.
Have a great week everyone, stay warm, dry and safe, and
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!
PPS: You can read this newsletter and past copies on the website in the Newsletter Archive.
2. From The Tip Store
Peach Melba Cheapskates Style
Approximate $ saving: $15
I love 'Peach Melba'. You can look up the correct recipe on the internet, but I make a simplified version which takes no time to make and is versatile in terms of what I have in the pantry.
Ingredients (per person):
2 peach halves (and syrup)
1 scoop ice cream
1 dollop of cream (thick or double cream works best)
1 dollop of fruit pulp (I raspberry or passionfruit. Can be bought in a can or make your own through a sieve) Sprinkling of nuts (I think the recipe is almonds but any chopped or slivered nuts will do).
1 sundae or parfait glass.
Arrange peach halves on a little syrup in the bottom of the glass (flat side facing up). Place 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream on peach half (it should sit nicely). Dollop fruit pulp on top of ice cream. Dollop thick cream on top of fruit pulp. Sprinkle nuts on top of cream. I have simplified it here, but Peach Melba is really nice and quick and nutritious. My partner, who doesn't like fruit, really loves it.
Contributed by Vanessa Hallum
Recycled Second-hand
I purchase clothing from the second-hand shop, then completely take them apart. Iron the fabric out and utilize it into another garment. I purchased a flared skirt with buttons down the front, picked it all to pieces so that I had the two front panels, back panel and belt. Ironed out what I had. Decided on a garment keeping the button holes but laying the pattern in such a way that I was utilizing the button holes and buttons, making the belt as a collar. I now have a summer coat, rather elegant I must say, from a Katies flared skirt which went out of fashion and was in the second-hand shop for $5. Yes, I picked it up for $5 and made a lovely summer coat. I have a drawer full of second-hand clothing that I have unpicked and will now start to make them into fashionable garments.
Contributed by Irene Rolles
Free Birthday Treats
Approximate $ Savings: $60 plus each family member
My birthday is coming up and I would like to share this tip. Join the birthday lists at many food outlets and you will have a great birthday full of treats for free. This year I will be having a Sumo Salad, Boost Juice, Muffin Break muffin, Subway 6 inch sub and drink, and churros for two people at San Churro. Some of these offers can be used in the days around your birthday so you don't need to consume these all at once.
Contributed by Laura Rayne
There are more than 11,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Cheapskates Workshops
The Art of Living the Cheapskates Way 1 Day Workshop
Join us on the 16th May for a day full of Cheapskating fun. You'll spend the day with like-minded people, learning the secrets to living life debt free, cashed up and laughing. This is a full day workshop - you'll cover all four Cheapskates workshops in one day and come away with the information and tools you need to starting living like a champion Cheapskate.
Sessions include:
The Art of Living the Cheapskates Way
Creating a $300 a Month Meal Plan and the Shopping List to Go With It
Sustainable Cheapskating
Let's All MOO!
During the day we'll discuss the art of living the Cheapskates way and share favourite Cheapskating tips and tricks for saving money, time and energy on your journey to living life debt free, cashed up and laughing.
When: Saturday 16th May
Where: Orana Neighbourhood House, 62 Coleman Rd, Wantirna South
Time: 10am - 4pm
Investment: $135 per person
Click here for more details and to book your spot at this exciting workshop
4. 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
5. On the Menu with Anne
We don't often have dessert, but when we do my lot like something substantial and on a cold winter night these Golden Syrup Dumplings fit the bill. They are warm and delicious, and bring back memories of desserts from my childhood. The recipe says to serve with whipped cream, I usually make a custard and sit the dumpling on the custard, then spoon the syrup over it. Yum! And at just $1.60 to make, double yum!
Golden Syrup Dumplings
Ingredients:
Dumplings:
1 cup self-raising flour
60g unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
1-2 tbsp milk, approx. to mix
Syrup:
30g butter
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 small lemon, juiced
Method:
Sift flour into a bowl, then rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Beat egg with a little milk and pour into flour mixture. Combine to form a dough, then divide into 6-8 small balls. To make the syrup, combine the ingredients together with 1 cup of water in a pan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Carefully add dough balls to syrup and boil for 20 minutes. Serve with syrup and whipped cream.
This week we will be eating:
Friday: Chicken Kiev, rice, steamed broccoli and carrots
Saturday: Barbecued sausages and salad
Sunday: Roast beef, baked vegetables and gravy
Monday: Cream cheese patties, wedges and salad
Tuesday: Chicken enchiladas with salad
Wednesday: Cottage pie, steamed broccoli, carrot, zucchini casserole
Thursday: Fish, chips and salad
In the fruit bowl: apples, mandarins, grapes, plums, nectarines
In the cake tin: shortbread, pita crisps, sultana cake
There are over 1,400 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy
Food Storage, Wraps and Foils
Welcome to a new week of the food challenge.
One part of the food budget that we might not pay too much attention to is food storage and wrapping. Cling wrap, foil, paper towel, go between, snap lock bags, disposable containers, freezer bags, fruit and veg gel bags, paper bags, baking paper, greaseproof paper - the list goes on and on.
While most of us would use these items regularly, there is a way to keep costs down. Here's are some great ideas -
* Use no name cling wrap. It works the same as the dear stuff. Use only what you need to wrap an item. Where possible use a container instead.
* Use unit pricing to get the best deal.
* Generally I only use foil to line the grill. On the odd occasion it is used to keep bbq meat hot just before serving. Foil can be wiped and used again.
* Use paper towel to drain fat and oil from food. I don't use it for wiping up spills. That's what my face washer dish cloth is for.
* Go between can be made from cut up plastic cereal packets. It's free and you're recycling.
* Use snap lock bags when containers won't do. If possible wash the bags and reuse again and again.
* Disposable containers are a waste of money. Buy a better brand container and use it over and over again.
* Buy no name freezer bags. They work just fine.
* Fresh and Crisp fruit and veg gel bags can be used over and over again. Like Cath, I throw them in a linen bag and wash them in the washing machine.
* I buy no name paper bags and really only use them for the odd lunch order.
* I buy no name baking paper and only use it to wrap cheese to stop it from going slimy. To bake biscuits I use silicone / Teflon baking mats. You can use them over and over again and there's no need to using canola spray.
* Greaseproof paper is in the pantry but I can't remember what I use it for. Maybe to go between layers of slices?!?!
Keeping an eye out for specials, reusing where possible and buying cheaper brands really does keep the costs down. I hardly notice the cost on my shopping docket.
How do you keep wrapping and food storage costs down?
Have a great week and BE ENCOURAGED!!!!!
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?24-Take-up-the-challenge-!!!!
The Post that Started it All
http://www.cheapskates.com.au/pages/default.cfm?page_id=44265
7. Cheapskates Buzz
This week's hot forum topics
Curried Beef in the Slowcooker
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?77-Curried-Beef-in-the-Slowcooker
What to do??? No Caster Sugar & Sterilising Jars
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?1930-What-to-do-No-caster-sugar-amp-sterilising-jars
Baby Shower Gift Ideas
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?1973-Baby-Shower-Gift-Ideas
Most popular blog posts this week
Easy Way to Organise the Fridge
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2010/02/easy-way-to-organize-fridge.html
The Cheapskates Cabbage Ware
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/05/cheapskates-cabbage-war.html
Moving in the Opposite Direction
http://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2011/03/moving-in-opposite-direction.html
8. Member's 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 RachaelT.
Off to a Slow Start, but Finding Ways to Save
So, I started last week off with good intentions.
I had hopes of rounding up all the receipts floating around the house and tracking our spending and grocery prices...among other things...but life got in the way. Being the last week of school holidays we had people over and playdates, and two demanding children but that being said we still had a good week.
Armed with my menu plan for 2 weeks and my grocery list I hit the shops and even though I spent $185.05 I should be able to survive this week with just buying milk, bread and some fruit and come in under my normal budgeted grocery allowance. I’m even hoping to save a bit on petrol as our last tank full has lasted longer than expected.
My hubby suggested going to the movies but instead we hired some so for the cost of one ticket we managed to watch 5 movies and I even popped my own popcorn! Then on the weekend we had a 1st birthday to go to but I had a suitable present which I regifted, including a gift bag which I re used so I didn't have to spend a thing!
Hoping to get into more of a routine with things this week as my son returns to kinder and looking forward to seeing what this week holds.
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9. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Susan who wrote
"Hi, just wondering if you have any tips on dog beds. We have a 4 year old beagle and every bed we have ever bought has been torn to bits by him."
Nina Royal answered
We have large breed dogs who love to tear things to pieces but they're getting old and we need to get them up off the concrete. We decided to MOO dog beds out of old pallets left by the side of the road (there are lots of houses being built near us) and attaching a sheet of ply wood to the top. Total for 2 beds $50 and they have lasted 2 years! We throw an old blanket from the op shop on top for added padding and warmth.
Bernadette Playford answered
Try sewing a cover of your old clothes with your scent on them and place over the dog bed. This way your dog will have a sense of you close by and may stop the ripping of the cushion.
Sian Carson answered
Our dog did the same by scratching through the bed then chewing the rest till it was in threads. We went to our local recycle centre and bought a piece of carpet to fit the bed and hubby screwed it in place with metal screws to the frame. Our dog can't scratch through it now because it is too thick for him. He is a staffy/boxer cross, so a big dog.
Annette Harrington answered
Use a frame type bed (the one that has a fabric cover stretched over the frame) and use a length of shade cloth. Stretch and wrap the shade cloth over the frame and stitch into place (around the edges) with a large bagging needle and baling twine (or garden twine). The twine needs to be strong to take the weight of the dog. The shade cloth is quite strong and can take some chewing but is also easy and cheap to replace. I did this with our German Shepherd who thought it was great fun to rip up beds.
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10. This Week's Question
Susan writes
Hi, my 91 year old Mum is getting dementia and has forgotten how she used to cook silverside. She thinks it was with bay leaves, brown sugar and brown vinegar. Just wondering if anyone knows this recipe so I can cook it for her.
Do you have the answer?
If you have a recipe or suggestion for Susan 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.
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Showing you how to live life
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www.cheapskates.com.au