Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 26:20
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - A Simply Luscious Skin Treatment; Budget Face Wash; Face Spritzers
3. Tip of the Week - Creative Thinking Saved Over $400
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - The Perfect Homemade Wedges
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge -
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Last Week's Question -
10. This Week's Question -
11. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
12. Join the Cheapskates Club
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Oh my goodness but I've had a lovely week. I've caught up with my friends, in person! We've kept in touch via text messages, email, Zoom, Facebook, Messenger and so on, and it's been great. But to see each other in person, even if we couldn't hug, or sit too close, and share a cuppa and a chat was lovely.
Then I've had a win with the new website. Oh you have no idea how challenging moving our website has been. On Monday, we were finally able to get it all figured out so it will be everything I want it to be for you. You bet I breathed a big sigh of relief.
But the best thing to happen this week hasn't affected me directly. Wayne's mother is in a nursing home in Sydney, and his father wasn't able to see her at all for weeks; then he could book a 20 minute slot once a week and go and visit through a glass screen. Yesterday, for the first time in over 3 months, he was able to go and sit with her in her room. Talk to her without a glass screen. He was even able to have morning tea with her.
And that's the best thing that happened last week. While it didn't affect me directly, indirectly it did, and it fairly made my heart sing to know they could be together, even if it was just for 20 minutes. It's true, little things cause great joy.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Winter can be hard on our skin, so I thought this week we'd look at simple, Cheapskates style ways we can get a mini spa treatment at home.
A Simply Luscious Skin Treatment
Used coffee grounds make a lovely body exfoliator. Before turning on the water, gently rub cooled used grounds on dry skin, in the shower because it's messy. Then shower off to reveal beautifully smooth skin. There is even a slight oil released from the grounds! Luscious!
Contributed by Carmel
Editors Note: Coffee grounds are also great in the compost too or sprinkled on the garden around precious plants to keep the snails at bay. You can also use them to scrub a burnt pot - just sprinkle them onto the burnt on food and scrub. Don't tip them into the rubbish though, add them to the compost (if you haven't added any detergent). So do you have any other ways to use coffee grounds? Click here to let us know. Cath
Budget Face Wash
My husband and I use the same face wash. It is cheaper for us because we buy a bottle of Johnson & Johnson face wash with a pump (expensive...no). After the bottle is finished we buy a refill one and add a little to the pump one and fill it with water. You will still have lots of froth!! Try it it's cheap. One bottle of refill will last for more than 6 months.
Akiko
Face Spritzers
Air conditioning and central heating can be harsh on skin, and very drying. Keep fresh and looking cool by 'spritzing' your face. Fill an atomiser with cool water and spray your face lightly throughout the day. Or keep a large spray bottle (from the $2 shop) in the fridge and mist your face and arms whenever you feel hot and bothered. You can pay a small fortune for atomisers of water at the beauty counter, why not just make your own and use the money you save for something you can't make?
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Jennifer Winslow. Jennifer has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Creative Thinking Saved Over $400
My narrow laundry cupboard was driving me mad with only two shelves high up. The rest of the space was a piled in jumble of broom, mop, bucket, my winter welly boots etc. There were some narrow wire baskets fixed to back wall to hold cleaning supplies. Quotes to have the cupboard fitted with a vertical divider for brooms and some shelving on the other side came to nearly $500. Looking for budget friendly, creative solutions, I suddenly thought about using a 4 x 1 cube storage unit from Bunnings put in upright. The measurements were perfect. We took off the narrow baskets at the back and these fitted perfectly inside the cube shelves for tidy storage of cleaning products. The broom and mop fit perfectly in the narrow space beside the cube shelf. I purchased one cube insert box for the bottom space of the cube and inside my welly boots, bucket, dustpan and brush fit nicely out of sight. I am beyond thrilled with this simple solution that cost approximately $83 for the cube, insert and a couple of other organisers - saving well over $400. My message is always think creatively before spending on home improvements and you'll save a fortune.
Congratulations Jennifer, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,600 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
4. Share Your Tips
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
5. On The Menu
The Perfect Homemade Wedges
Goodness but my family loves potato wedges with their meals. I usually serve them with a salad (lettuce, grated carrot, grated beetroot, sliced red onion, sliced capsicum, olives, spinach leaves, broccoli florets - whatever is growing in the garden) and fish cakes or Quick Rice Patties or grilled chicken or steak or occasionally sausages. Sometimes I'll make them to have with homemade chicken parmas. They are so easy to make, and if you haven't tried them do - you'll never pay for frozen wedges again.MOO WedgesIngredients:
1 medium potato per person - scrubbed well to get rid of any dirt and grit
Olive oil (or your favourite vegetable oil)
1 - 2 tsp paprika (your choice - we like smoky, but use what you have and like)
Method:
Turn the oven to 220 degrees Celsius - you want it hot when the wedges go in. Put a baking sheet in the oven to heat while you prepare the wedges. Make sure the potatoes are well scrubbed and clean. You can peel them if you want to - I don't bother. Cut each potato in half, then in half, then in half again to give you eight pieces. Put them all in a bowl. Combine the paprika with 1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I find mixing the paprika into the oil makes it easier to ensure all the wedges are covered. Pour the oil mixture over the wedges and toss to cover. Take the baking sheet from the oven and using your hands (or tongs) put the wedges onto the baking sheet. Try not to get too much of the oil on the baking sheet. Return to the oven and cook 15 minutes. Turn the wedges and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until they are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Serve immediately.
I bought potatoes for 80c /kilo last week. A one kilo packet of wedges from the Coles freezer cabinet cost between $2.67/kg (for the Coles brand) to $5.33/kg for the McCain brand. Buying a kilo of potatoes for 80c, adding the cost of the oil and paprika and you have a kilo of freshly cooked wedges for under $1.20 - less than half the price of the cheapest brand. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare them for baking.
If you haven't made your own wedges, give them a try. They're easy, quick and a whole lot cheaper than buying them.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Mock Chicken Schnitzels
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Curried Sausages, rice, naan
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, wedges, coleslaw
Saturday: Soup & Crumpets
In the fruit bowl: Oranges (off our tree), apples
There are over 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
6. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Keeping Track of Prices
If you want to keep your grocery budget down, you need to know your prices. Plain and simple. Then you need to choose the price you are prepared to pay for those groceries. Again, it's simple. You either choose to pay whatever the price is when you need something and run the risk of paying more, or you choose to track the prices, make a shopping list and only buy when something is at your price point.
It's not hard. You do need to put some effort in though, so if you're looking for someone to do the work for you, skip this section of the newsletter this week, because I can't and won't do it for you. And in all my research, there isn't a single app that does it all either.
But if you are prepared to spend a few minutes a week to ensure you always pay the lowest price, keep reading. And it only takes a few minutes a week or fortnight or month or however often you shop to update your prices.
I suggest you start small. Choose the top 10 or 20 items you buy every time you shop and start tracking those things.
For me those things are:
Cheese
Eggs
Butter
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Mince
Chicken fillets
Corned beef
Rice
Flour - Plain & SR
Sugar
Tea bags
Coffee
Toilet paper
Toothpaste
Shampoo
Conditioner
Deodorant
Dishwasher Powder
Your list will be different because you use different things and that's OK - we live different lives. Make your baby price tracker to suit you and it will be useful. If you don't use all the things I do on a regular basis and copy it, it won't be useful and you'll give up (and be grouchy with me!).
Record your prices on your shopping list as you add these things to your shopping trolley. Note the date, the brand, the size and the store too. When you get home, transfer them to your price book.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Best Before or Use By
Crumble Kits
Freeze-Ahead Meals and Sauces
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
The Weekly MOO Challenge
Xmas 2020
Eat for $80 a Week
Most Popular Blog Posts This Week
Don't Spend $200 at the Supermarket this Year
No Bake Vanilla Cream Tats
Grow a Pizza Garden
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - A Simply Luscious Skin Treatment; Budget Face Wash; Face Spritzers
3. Tip of the Week - Creative Thinking Saved Over $400
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - The Perfect Homemade Wedges
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge -
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Last Week's Question -
10. This Week's Question -
11. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
12. Join the Cheapskates Club
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Oh my goodness but I've had a lovely week. I've caught up with my friends, in person! We've kept in touch via text messages, email, Zoom, Facebook, Messenger and so on, and it's been great. But to see each other in person, even if we couldn't hug, or sit too close, and share a cuppa and a chat was lovely.
Then I've had a win with the new website. Oh you have no idea how challenging moving our website has been. On Monday, we were finally able to get it all figured out so it will be everything I want it to be for you. You bet I breathed a big sigh of relief.
But the best thing to happen this week hasn't affected me directly. Wayne's mother is in a nursing home in Sydney, and his father wasn't able to see her at all for weeks; then he could book a 20 minute slot once a week and go and visit through a glass screen. Yesterday, for the first time in over 3 months, he was able to go and sit with her in her room. Talk to her without a glass screen. He was even able to have morning tea with her.
And that's the best thing that happened last week. While it didn't affect me directly, indirectly it did, and it fairly made my heart sing to know they could be together, even if it was just for 20 minutes. It's true, little things cause great joy.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Winter can be hard on our skin, so I thought this week we'd look at simple, Cheapskates style ways we can get a mini spa treatment at home.
A Simply Luscious Skin Treatment
Used coffee grounds make a lovely body exfoliator. Before turning on the water, gently rub cooled used grounds on dry skin, in the shower because it's messy. Then shower off to reveal beautifully smooth skin. There is even a slight oil released from the grounds! Luscious!
Contributed by Carmel
Editors Note: Coffee grounds are also great in the compost too or sprinkled on the garden around precious plants to keep the snails at bay. You can also use them to scrub a burnt pot - just sprinkle them onto the burnt on food and scrub. Don't tip them into the rubbish though, add them to the compost (if you haven't added any detergent). So do you have any other ways to use coffee grounds? Click here to let us know. Cath
Budget Face Wash
My husband and I use the same face wash. It is cheaper for us because we buy a bottle of Johnson & Johnson face wash with a pump (expensive...no). After the bottle is finished we buy a refill one and add a little to the pump one and fill it with water. You will still have lots of froth!! Try it it's cheap. One bottle of refill will last for more than 6 months.
Akiko
Face Spritzers
Air conditioning and central heating can be harsh on skin, and very drying. Keep fresh and looking cool by 'spritzing' your face. Fill an atomiser with cool water and spray your face lightly throughout the day. Or keep a large spray bottle (from the $2 shop) in the fridge and mist your face and arms whenever you feel hot and bothered. You can pay a small fortune for atomisers of water at the beauty counter, why not just make your own and use the money you save for something you can't make?
Add a Tip
3. This Week's Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Jennifer Winslow. Jennifer has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
Creative Thinking Saved Over $400
My narrow laundry cupboard was driving me mad with only two shelves high up. The rest of the space was a piled in jumble of broom, mop, bucket, my winter welly boots etc. There were some narrow wire baskets fixed to back wall to hold cleaning supplies. Quotes to have the cupboard fitted with a vertical divider for brooms and some shelving on the other side came to nearly $500. Looking for budget friendly, creative solutions, I suddenly thought about using a 4 x 1 cube storage unit from Bunnings put in upright. The measurements were perfect. We took off the narrow baskets at the back and these fitted perfectly inside the cube shelves for tidy storage of cleaning products. The broom and mop fit perfectly in the narrow space beside the cube shelf. I purchased one cube insert box for the bottom space of the cube and inside my welly boots, bucket, dustpan and brush fit nicely out of sight. I am beyond thrilled with this simple solution that cost approximately $83 for the cube, insert and a couple of other organisers - saving well over $400. My message is always think creatively before spending on home improvements and you'll save a fortune.
Congratulations Jennifer, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,600 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
4. Share Your Tips
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
5. On The Menu
The Perfect Homemade Wedges
Goodness but my family loves potato wedges with their meals. I usually serve them with a salad (lettuce, grated carrot, grated beetroot, sliced red onion, sliced capsicum, olives, spinach leaves, broccoli florets - whatever is growing in the garden) and fish cakes or Quick Rice Patties or grilled chicken or steak or occasionally sausages. Sometimes I'll make them to have with homemade chicken parmas. They are so easy to make, and if you haven't tried them do - you'll never pay for frozen wedges again.MOO WedgesIngredients:
1 medium potato per person - scrubbed well to get rid of any dirt and grit
Olive oil (or your favourite vegetable oil)
1 - 2 tsp paprika (your choice - we like smoky, but use what you have and like)
Method:
Turn the oven to 220 degrees Celsius - you want it hot when the wedges go in. Put a baking sheet in the oven to heat while you prepare the wedges. Make sure the potatoes are well scrubbed and clean. You can peel them if you want to - I don't bother. Cut each potato in half, then in half, then in half again to give you eight pieces. Put them all in a bowl. Combine the paprika with 1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I find mixing the paprika into the oil makes it easier to ensure all the wedges are covered. Pour the oil mixture over the wedges and toss to cover. Take the baking sheet from the oven and using your hands (or tongs) put the wedges onto the baking sheet. Try not to get too much of the oil on the baking sheet. Return to the oven and cook 15 minutes. Turn the wedges and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until they are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Serve immediately.
I bought potatoes for 80c /kilo last week. A one kilo packet of wedges from the Coles freezer cabinet cost between $2.67/kg (for the Coles brand) to $5.33/kg for the McCain brand. Buying a kilo of potatoes for 80c, adding the cost of the oil and paprika and you have a kilo of freshly cooked wedges for under $1.20 - less than half the price of the cheapest brand. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare them for baking.
If you haven't made your own wedges, give them a try. They're easy, quick and a whole lot cheaper than buying them.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Mock Chicken Schnitzels
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Curried Sausages, rice, naan
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, wedges, coleslaw
Saturday: Soup & Crumpets
In the fruit bowl: Oranges (off our tree), apples
There are over 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
6. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Keeping Track of Prices
If you want to keep your grocery budget down, you need to know your prices. Plain and simple. Then you need to choose the price you are prepared to pay for those groceries. Again, it's simple. You either choose to pay whatever the price is when you need something and run the risk of paying more, or you choose to track the prices, make a shopping list and only buy when something is at your price point.
It's not hard. You do need to put some effort in though, so if you're looking for someone to do the work for you, skip this section of the newsletter this week, because I can't and won't do it for you. And in all my research, there isn't a single app that does it all either.
But if you are prepared to spend a few minutes a week to ensure you always pay the lowest price, keep reading. And it only takes a few minutes a week or fortnight or month or however often you shop to update your prices.
I suggest you start small. Choose the top 10 or 20 items you buy every time you shop and start tracking those things.
For me those things are:
Cheese
Eggs
Butter
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Mince
Chicken fillets
Corned beef
Rice
Flour - Plain & SR
Sugar
Tea bags
Coffee
Toilet paper
Toothpaste
Shampoo
Conditioner
Deodorant
Dishwasher Powder
Your list will be different because you use different things and that's OK - we live different lives. Make your baby price tracker to suit you and it will be useful. If you don't use all the things I do on a regular basis and copy it, it won't be useful and you'll give up (and be grouchy with me!).
Record your prices on your shopping list as you add these things to your shopping trolley. Note the date, the brand, the size and the store too. When you get home, transfer them to your price book.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Best Before or Use By
Crumble Kits
Freeze-Ahead Meals and Sauces
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
The Weekly MOO Challenge
Xmas 2020
Eat for $80 a Week
Most Popular Blog Posts This Week
Don't Spend $200 at the Supermarket this Year
No Bake Vanilla Cream Tats
Grow a Pizza Garden
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Latest Shows
9. 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
10. 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!
11. 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 can 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.
12. 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
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
10. 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!
11. 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 can 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.
12. 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