Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 26:21
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - New Year Budget Stocktake; Saving with a Daily Spending Plan; Don't Like Making Pastry? Try This!
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Quick Quesadillas
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Eggs
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO Peppermint Cough Drops
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Lesson 26: Are You a Compulsive Spender?
10. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
I hope you're having a wonderful week.
Today is the start of a brand new financial year. Time to do a review of your spending plans and make any adjustments needed so you can stay focused on your goal of living debt free, cashed up and laughing.
We’re travelling for the next couple of weeks. The weather and various other constraints have changed our plans, but that's not a problem. We'll wander a bit and wind our way home, eventually!
Have a great week everyone.
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
New Year Budget Stocktake
The new year is a great point to take stocktake of your spending for the last year and plan for the year ahead. That being said, I am digital all the way!
Excel spreadsheets can do all the hard work for you in adding, subtracting, highlight high data points, making graphs to map spending etc.
I personally use "Google Sheets" - they are free to use and are "on the cloud" so you can log in and access them from any computer. That means I can log in during my lunchbreak at the office, in bed on my laptop or from virtually anywhere.
If you don't have Excel skills, there are plenty of free guides online to get you started.
Contributed by Kate Bradshaw
Saving with a Daily Spending PlanI work out my Spending Plan based on daily costs e.g. $5.80 per day for electricity. I get paid fortnightly and do my accounts every sixteen days. I send money off to all my creditors and as such when the bills arrive I'm always up to date or in credit. Another feature is you have a ready made ready reckoner to see what is costing what. I wouldn't do it any other way.
Contributed by Patrick
Dón't Like Making Pastry? Try This!
A soft cooked, well mashed potato can be used to make a pie base. Just cook it, cool it a little, mash it ( no milk /butter) and using clean fingers press it smoothly into a pie tin. Bake at around 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Add whatever filling and put back in the oven to cook. The amount of potato depends on how many mouths and the size of the potato!
Contributed by Marg Morters
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
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.
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
Catch up with the latest tips here.
4. On The Menu
Quick Quesadillas
This recipe makes one delicious quesadilla, just enough for a lunch. Add a big green salad and it becomes a hearty dinner, one I'll often slip in on a Friday or Saturday night. I use low fat cheese and leftover cooked chicken or beef to make it an economical and slightly more healthful Mexican treat. Quesadillas are the perfect meal in a hurry. Keep tortillas in the freezer and you can have a meal on the table in just a few minutes.
Ingredients:
2 small tortillas
1/4 cup sliced olives
1/4 cup chopped cooked chicken or beef, shredded
1/2 cup low fat cheese, grated
2 tbsp tomato salsa, drained
Method:
Heat a heavy griddle or fry pan over a medium heat. While the griddle is heating, put the olives, chicken or beef, cheese and salsa in a bowl and toss together. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. When griddle is hot, lay one tortilla on grill, sprayed side down. Spread filling mixture over the tortilla and cover with the other tortilla, sprayed side up. Cook 3 - 4 minutes, or until cheese has started to melt, and you get nice grill marks, then flip and cook other side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve with taco sauce, guacamole or another favorite dipping sauce.
This makes 1 quesadilla – double, triple, or quadruple for more servings.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
Tuesday: Spag bol
Wednesday: Corned beef, mash, carrots, mustard sauce
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Vegetable Soup, toasted muffins
Saturday: Fried Rice/Spring Rolls
There are over 1,800 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
Eggs
Eggs are cheap. I know, you think they're expensive, but when you stop thinking of them as something you add to a cake mix, and look at them as a source of protein, they're cheap. Compare them to meat or poultry or fish and they're cheap.
If you're blessed to have your own chickens they're almost free, but even if you have to buy them, they are a very inexpensive source of protein on a gram for gram basis.
I really like eggs. They are so versatile. Of course you can boil them, poach them, scramble them, fry them, but you can use them in omelettes, frittatas, quiche, impossible pies and quiche. You can eat them on their own or add other ingredients to them to change them up.
For a long time eggs had a bad reputation. That opinion is changing again. The Australian Heart Foundation doesn't put a limit on the amount of eggs you can eat unless you have a cholesterol problem, and then it is suggested that no more than seven eggs a week be eaten.
So if you're worrying about the impact the cost of meat is having on your $300 a Month Food Challenge, maybe try slipping in some egg dishes.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
How to Freeze Eggs
Beating Budget Fatigue
Estimating Expenses
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Make Our Own (MOO)
Sourdough Bread/Gluten-Free/Spelt
Cheats Recipes
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
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 - New Year Budget Stocktake; Saving with a Daily Spending Plan; Don't Like Making Pastry? Try This!
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Quick Quesadillas
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Eggs
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO Peppermint Cough Drops
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Lesson 26: Are You a Compulsive Spender?
10. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
I hope you're having a wonderful week.
Today is the start of a brand new financial year. Time to do a review of your spending plans and make any adjustments needed so you can stay focused on your goal of living debt free, cashed up and laughing.
We’re travelling for the next couple of weeks. The weather and various other constraints have changed our plans, but that's not a problem. We'll wander a bit and wind our way home, eventually!
Have a great week everyone.
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
New Year Budget Stocktake
The new year is a great point to take stocktake of your spending for the last year and plan for the year ahead. That being said, I am digital all the way!
Excel spreadsheets can do all the hard work for you in adding, subtracting, highlight high data points, making graphs to map spending etc.
I personally use "Google Sheets" - they are free to use and are "on the cloud" so you can log in and access them from any computer. That means I can log in during my lunchbreak at the office, in bed on my laptop or from virtually anywhere.
If you don't have Excel skills, there are plenty of free guides online to get you started.
Contributed by Kate Bradshaw
Saving with a Daily Spending PlanI work out my Spending Plan based on daily costs e.g. $5.80 per day for electricity. I get paid fortnightly and do my accounts every sixteen days. I send money off to all my creditors and as such when the bills arrive I'm always up to date or in credit. Another feature is you have a ready made ready reckoner to see what is costing what. I wouldn't do it any other way.
Contributed by Patrick
Dón't Like Making Pastry? Try This!
A soft cooked, well mashed potato can be used to make a pie base. Just cook it, cool it a little, mash it ( no milk /butter) and using clean fingers press it smoothly into a pie tin. Bake at around 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Add whatever filling and put back in the oven to cook. The amount of potato depends on how many mouths and the size of the potato!
Contributed by Marg Morters
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
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.
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
Catch up with the latest tips here.
4. On The Menu
Quick Quesadillas
This recipe makes one delicious quesadilla, just enough for a lunch. Add a big green salad and it becomes a hearty dinner, one I'll often slip in on a Friday or Saturday night. I use low fat cheese and leftover cooked chicken or beef to make it an economical and slightly more healthful Mexican treat. Quesadillas are the perfect meal in a hurry. Keep tortillas in the freezer and you can have a meal on the table in just a few minutes.
Ingredients:
2 small tortillas
1/4 cup sliced olives
1/4 cup chopped cooked chicken or beef, shredded
1/2 cup low fat cheese, grated
2 tbsp tomato salsa, drained
Method:
Heat a heavy griddle or fry pan over a medium heat. While the griddle is heating, put the olives, chicken or beef, cheese and salsa in a bowl and toss together. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. When griddle is hot, lay one tortilla on grill, sprayed side down. Spread filling mixture over the tortilla and cover with the other tortilla, sprayed side up. Cook 3 - 4 minutes, or until cheese has started to melt, and you get nice grill marks, then flip and cook other side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve with taco sauce, guacamole or another favorite dipping sauce.
This makes 1 quesadilla – double, triple, or quadruple for more servings.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Cheesy Filled & Grilled Quesadillas
Tuesday: Spag bol
Wednesday: Corned beef, mash, carrots, mustard sauce
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Vegetable Soup, toasted muffins
Saturday: Fried Rice/Spring Rolls
There are over 1,800 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
Eggs
Eggs are cheap. I know, you think they're expensive, but when you stop thinking of them as something you add to a cake mix, and look at them as a source of protein, they're cheap. Compare them to meat or poultry or fish and they're cheap.
If you're blessed to have your own chickens they're almost free, but even if you have to buy them, they are a very inexpensive source of protein on a gram for gram basis.
I really like eggs. They are so versatile. Of course you can boil them, poach them, scramble them, fry them, but you can use them in omelettes, frittatas, quiche, impossible pies and quiche. You can eat them on their own or add other ingredients to them to change them up.
For a long time eggs had a bad reputation. That opinion is changing again. The Australian Heart Foundation doesn't put a limit on the amount of eggs you can eat unless you have a cholesterol problem, and then it is suggested that no more than seven eggs a week be eaten.
So if you're worrying about the impact the cost of meat is having on your $300 a Month Food Challenge, maybe try slipping in some egg dishes.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
How to Freeze Eggs
Beating Budget Fatigue
Estimating Expenses
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Make Our Own (MOO)
Sourdough Bread/Gluten-Free/Spelt
Cheats Recipes
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
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
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Peppermint Cough Drops
This has become one of my most used winter recipes, especially last year when everything, including cough drops, was in short supply or limited. They really work, are easy to make and can be used as often as needed.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup Manuka honey (or raw honey)
2 - 3 drops pure peppermint essential oil
Instructions:
1. Stir the honey and peppermint oil into the coconut oil. Don't be tempted to melt the coconut oil, the honey will sink to the bottom and it won't blend.
2. Press into a small, baking paper lined dish, or use a silicone cake pan.
3. Mark into 1cm squares with a knife and refrigerate until firm.
4. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.
5. Have one - two every 20 - 30 minutes to ease coughing.
* Coconut oil and honey are both antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral - perfect for treating winter bugs. And they're safe to use as often as necessary, with no nasty side effects. I use Manuka honey, real manuka honey, with at least a 20+ rating (the higher the rating, the better the antibacterial properties).
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
Saving Revolution Lesson 26: Are You a Compulsive Spender?
An important part of living the good life the Cheapskates way is figuring out how to have what you want and still save money for your future. Do you find that, even though you want to save, you repeatedly over-spend instead? When do you cross the line from spending too much money to becoming a compulsive spender? You don’t need to tell me or anyone else, but be honest with yourself.
Part of the Saving Revolution is understanding why you spend money on the things you do, and recognizing the triggers that start you spending.
Lesson 26 Challenge is to stop before you add anything to your trolley, or pick up anything to try on, or take something to the register and ask yourself if you really need it? Do you really want it? Do you have the cash, right now, in your purse, to pay for it? Oh, and this includes those spontaneous coffee stops and quick lunches or take-away dinners. If you answer yes, put it back and stick to the 24 Hour Rule. If the answer is no, put it back and walk away.
Log into the 2021 Saving Revolution forum and join the discussions too. They're fun, keep you accountable, and over the course of the year will be an amazing source of valuable hints and tips for you too.
10. 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
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 for the first 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!
12. 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.
13. 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
MOO Peppermint Cough Drops
This has become one of my most used winter recipes, especially last year when everything, including cough drops, was in short supply or limited. They really work, are easy to make and can be used as often as needed.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup Manuka honey (or raw honey)
2 - 3 drops pure peppermint essential oil
Instructions:
1. Stir the honey and peppermint oil into the coconut oil. Don't be tempted to melt the coconut oil, the honey will sink to the bottom and it won't blend.
2. Press into a small, baking paper lined dish, or use a silicone cake pan.
3. Mark into 1cm squares with a knife and refrigerate until firm.
4. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.
5. Have one - two every 20 - 30 minutes to ease coughing.
* Coconut oil and honey are both antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral - perfect for treating winter bugs. And they're safe to use as often as necessary, with no nasty side effects. I use Manuka honey, real manuka honey, with at least a 20+ rating (the higher the rating, the better the antibacterial properties).
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
Saving Revolution Lesson 26: Are You a Compulsive Spender?
An important part of living the good life the Cheapskates way is figuring out how to have what you want and still save money for your future. Do you find that, even though you want to save, you repeatedly over-spend instead? When do you cross the line from spending too much money to becoming a compulsive spender? You don’t need to tell me or anyone else, but be honest with yourself.
Part of the Saving Revolution is understanding why you spend money on the things you do, and recognizing the triggers that start you spending.
Lesson 26 Challenge is to stop before you add anything to your trolley, or pick up anything to try on, or take something to the register and ask yourself if you really need it? Do you really want it? Do you have the cash, right now, in your purse, to pay for it? Oh, and this includes those spontaneous coffee stops and quick lunches or take-away dinners. If you answer yes, put it back and stick to the 24 Hour Rule. If the answer is no, put it back and walk away.
Log into the 2021 Saving Revolution forum and join the discussions too. They're fun, keep you accountable, and over the course of the year will be an amazing source of valuable hints and tips for you too.
10. 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
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 for the first 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!
12. 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.
13. 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