Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 26:22
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Free Firewood - The Best Price!; Empty Tubes Completely; Sheepskin Innersoles Saves $100 and Buying New Ugg Boots
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Best Budget Friendly Fish Cakes
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Tracking Grocery Costs
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO McMums and Save $115!
7. Cheapskates Buzz
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Have you subscribed to our You Tube channel? If not, zip on over and subscribe, because we have a Sunbeam FoodLab dehydrator to give away! All you need to do is subscribe to our channel to be in the draw. How easy is that, and it's not too late. A bonus is you'll be notified every time we put up a new video or go live, so you won't miss a show.
I'm hoping to get time to get into the garden over the weekend. There are some beetroot that are ready and some mini turnips and the peas are speeding up the trellis. And of course Lacey-dog will be here to keep me company (and play in the rhubarb!). I'll be working on the July garden plan too.
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
Free Firewood - The Best Price!
When I had a wood burning heater in our last home I contacted a local fencer. He was happy to drop off old timber fences he had removed. It saved him tip fees and it saved me the cost of firewood. I didn't buy firewood for several years. Just be sure that you specify that you only want hard wood timber so as not to get anything that has been treated.
Contributed by Margaret
Empty Tubes Completely
Have found it difficult to squeeze the contents from tubes of facewash foot creams etc. particularly when almost empty. Cut tube across about half way down, slip tube end over other cut end to cover when storing. This creates easy access to the cream and no waste. The tube can be shortened further as it gets used up.
Contributed by Karen McPherson
Sheepskin Innersoles Saves $100 and Buying New Ugg Boots
My faithful old ugg boots were several years old and were no longer keeping my feet warm. I looked around at purchasing some new replacements but even in the many sales and discount online stores most were around $100. Most sizes were also sold out everywhere thanks to the Covid Crisis. Checking in my store box of shoe accessories in my wardrobe, I found some sheepskin innersoles I had purchased cheaply (about $5) long ago on eBay and they fit my ugg boots perfectly. This has given my ugg boots a new lease of life and I have warm and happy feet again!
Contributed by Jan Heinrich
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
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
4. On The Menu
Best Budget Friendly Fish CakesFish cakes are usually more often on my summer meal plan, but with the price of meat and poultry out of control, a tin of tuna (or salmon, but that's slightly more expensive) gives us a tasty savoury that fits the grocery budget.
I'm going to share two versions of this recipe, the official one, the one my mum made, and my tweaked version, that is slightly cheaper but just as good.
Whichever version you choose, enjoy them hot with veggies, or cold with a salad, or warm in a brioche bun with some coleslaw.
This is the official recipe:
Ingredients:
1 x 425g can of salmon or tuna
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon parsley
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
salt & pepper
2 teaspoon curry powder if liked
Flour, egg for glazing & breadcrumbs.
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, parsley, onion & egg. Add seasonings and form into small round cakes. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in breadcrumbs until well covered. Fry in fat or oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
And this is the way I prepare them for my family:
Ingredients:
1 x 425g can tuna in water, well drained
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes - eyeballed
1 tablespoon mixed herbs/Italian herbs
1 tsp oregano
1 large onion, diced
1 egg
Flour, egg for glazing & Shake'n'Bake (or breadcrumbs)
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, herbs, onion and egg. Form into round patties, about the size of a small mandarin. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in Shake'n'Bake until well covered. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Notes: I eyeball the quantity of mashed potato. If I need to make more fish cakes with just the one tin of tuna, I use more mashed potato.
Chilling the fish cakes for at least half an hour sets the Shake'n'Bake so it sticks during the frying.
If you don't want to fry, because they are coated in the Shake'n'Bake they can be baked in a 200 degree Celsius oven for 15 minutes. Turn and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until they are hot through and browned.
You can use salmon if you want to instead of the tuna.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Schnitzels, tomato gravy, mash, veggies
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Fish Cakes & Salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fried Rice, Spring Rolls
Saturday: Soup & Crumpets
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
Tracking Grocery Costs
This week I'd like to chat with you about tracking your groceries. That means your spending and inventory.
Inventory is just another word for what you have in your pantry, fridge and freezer (including your stockpile).
I'm sure you all know the importance of tracking spending; how it helps to keep you on track and show you where you are perhaps over-spending, or perhaps not spending enough.
Your grocery tracking spreadsheet is like a mini grocery spending plan. You know how much you have allocated each week/fortnight/month or whatever. Using the tracking spreadsheet shows you how much you spend in each grocery category.
I've been using the spreadsheet for years - twenty? Or pretty close to it. I love it. It shows me at a glance how much is going on fruit and veg, how much I'm spending on drinks or cleaning supplies. And it tallies up automatically - no need for me to rely on my brain or a calculator. The auto tally is really just convenient, but I love it.
If you haven't tracked your grocery spending in detail before, I suggest you give it a go. You may be surprised - at how much you spend on things you didn't think you spent a lot on, or where you could cut back to increase another category.
The spreadsheet is set up to mimic my panty. You can change the category names to work best with your pantry and shopping, it's flexible!
The categories are across the top of the sheet, the days of the month are down the side. Use a new sheet for each month, even if you shop weekly or fortnightly.
After shopping just enter the amounts in the relevant fields. For example, if I shopped today, I'd scroll down the date column to 12 and enter amounts in the right categories along that line. The amount in the Total column for that date should equal the amount on your docket/s.
At the end of the month, the totals along the bottom will show how much you've spent in each category, and the last total will be the total spend for the month. Easy!
When you're on a tight budget, knowing what you spend, where and on what is vital, for peace of mind and to ensure you don't go over budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO McMums and Save $115!
During the lockdowns, when I had everyone working from home, they decided they'd take turns buying breakfast each day. Now that's great, that they were taking turns and sharing the cost - but what a cost! Almost $40 a day for three muffin breakfasts.
In the interests of saving their money, I showed them how to make McMums, the breakfast muffins they had grown up with and loved.
We make two versions: the Sausage McMum and the Egg & Bacon McMum.
Batch making them saves a heap of time, and means there can be enough in the freezer for a month in just under an hour of hands on kitchen time.
They're easy to make, just MOOed replicas of the bought versions:
A toasted English muffin
A slice of cheese
Egg*
Either a sausage patty* or bacon
BBQ sauce
To keep the cost down and save time, I use one egg per two muffins and scramble it, then cut it in half. So, to do 12 muffins, beat six eggs. You can then either cook them in a frying pan, or in the microwave and cut them into portions.
The first step is to toast the muffins and let them cool - they freeze better with the fillings on if they are cool first.
Then add a slice of cheese, the sausage patty or the bacon and a slice of egg. Top with the other muffin half and wrap in clingwrap to freeze.
To heat, microwave them on high for 1 minute, check the temperature and if necessary microwave another minute.
The cost:
English Muffin 33 cents
Cheese slice 17 cents
Sausage patty 55 cents OR
Slice of bacon 50 cents
Egg 17 cents
Totals:
Sausage McMum $1.22 (saving $4.88)
Egg McMum $1.17 (saving $4.73)
Batching them we do 12 of each variety in just under an hour for a total saving of $115.32, not bad for an hour's effort.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
One Chicken and the War on Waste
Painless Ways to Build an Emergency Fund
Quark
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Crazy Cake
Dehydrate, How We All Use It
Dehydrating for Shelf Stable Food Storage
8. 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 ScheduleTuesday: 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.
Friday: 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
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Free Firewood - The Best Price!; Empty Tubes Completely; Sheepskin Innersoles Saves $100 and Buying New Ugg Boots
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Best Budget Friendly Fish Cakes
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Tracking Grocery Costs
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOO McMums and Save $115!
7. Cheapskates Buzz
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Have you subscribed to our You Tube channel? If not, zip on over and subscribe, because we have a Sunbeam FoodLab dehydrator to give away! All you need to do is subscribe to our channel to be in the draw. How easy is that, and it's not too late. A bonus is you'll be notified every time we put up a new video or go live, so you won't miss a show.
I'm hoping to get time to get into the garden over the weekend. There are some beetroot that are ready and some mini turnips and the peas are speeding up the trellis. And of course Lacey-dog will be here to keep me company (and play in the rhubarb!). I'll be working on the July garden plan too.
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
Free Firewood - The Best Price!
When I had a wood burning heater in our last home I contacted a local fencer. He was happy to drop off old timber fences he had removed. It saved him tip fees and it saved me the cost of firewood. I didn't buy firewood for several years. Just be sure that you specify that you only want hard wood timber so as not to get anything that has been treated.
Contributed by Margaret
Empty Tubes Completely
Have found it difficult to squeeze the contents from tubes of facewash foot creams etc. particularly when almost empty. Cut tube across about half way down, slip tube end over other cut end to cover when storing. This creates easy access to the cream and no waste. The tube can be shortened further as it gets used up.
Contributed by Karen McPherson
Sheepskin Innersoles Saves $100 and Buying New Ugg Boots
My faithful old ugg boots were several years old and were no longer keeping my feet warm. I looked around at purchasing some new replacements but even in the many sales and discount online stores most were around $100. Most sizes were also sold out everywhere thanks to the Covid Crisis. Checking in my store box of shoe accessories in my wardrobe, I found some sheepskin innersoles I had purchased cheaply (about $5) long ago on eBay and they fit my ugg boots perfectly. This has given my ugg boots a new lease of life and I have warm and happy feet again!
Contributed by Jan Heinrich
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
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
4. On The Menu
Best Budget Friendly Fish CakesFish cakes are usually more often on my summer meal plan, but with the price of meat and poultry out of control, a tin of tuna (or salmon, but that's slightly more expensive) gives us a tasty savoury that fits the grocery budget.
I'm going to share two versions of this recipe, the official one, the one my mum made, and my tweaked version, that is slightly cheaper but just as good.
Whichever version you choose, enjoy them hot with veggies, or cold with a salad, or warm in a brioche bun with some coleslaw.
This is the official recipe:
Ingredients:
1 x 425g can of salmon or tuna
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon parsley
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
salt & pepper
2 teaspoon curry powder if liked
Flour, egg for glazing & breadcrumbs.
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, parsley, onion & egg. Add seasonings and form into small round cakes. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in breadcrumbs until well covered. Fry in fat or oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
And this is the way I prepare them for my family:
Ingredients:
1 x 425g can tuna in water, well drained
2 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes - eyeballed
1 tablespoon mixed herbs/Italian herbs
1 tsp oregano
1 large onion, diced
1 egg
Flour, egg for glazing & Shake'n'Bake (or breadcrumbs)
Method:
Mix together fish, potatoes, herbs, onion and egg. Form into round patties, about the size of a small mandarin. Using flour on board and hands, coat the balls with egg glazing and toss in Shake'n'Bake until well covered. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Notes: I eyeball the quantity of mashed potato. If I need to make more fish cakes with just the one tin of tuna, I use more mashed potato.
Chilling the fish cakes for at least half an hour sets the Shake'n'Bake so it sticks during the frying.
If you don't want to fry, because they are coated in the Shake'n'Bake they can be baked in a 200 degree Celsius oven for 15 minutes. Turn and cook a further 10 - 15 minutes until they are hot through and browned.
You can use salmon if you want to instead of the tuna.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Schnitzels, tomato gravy, mash, veggies
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Fish Cakes & Salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fried Rice, Spring Rolls
Saturday: Soup & Crumpets
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
Tracking Grocery Costs
This week I'd like to chat with you about tracking your groceries. That means your spending and inventory.
Inventory is just another word for what you have in your pantry, fridge and freezer (including your stockpile).
I'm sure you all know the importance of tracking spending; how it helps to keep you on track and show you where you are perhaps over-spending, or perhaps not spending enough.
Your grocery tracking spreadsheet is like a mini grocery spending plan. You know how much you have allocated each week/fortnight/month or whatever. Using the tracking spreadsheet shows you how much you spend in each grocery category.
I've been using the spreadsheet for years - twenty? Or pretty close to it. I love it. It shows me at a glance how much is going on fruit and veg, how much I'm spending on drinks or cleaning supplies. And it tallies up automatically - no need for me to rely on my brain or a calculator. The auto tally is really just convenient, but I love it.
If you haven't tracked your grocery spending in detail before, I suggest you give it a go. You may be surprised - at how much you spend on things you didn't think you spent a lot on, or where you could cut back to increase another category.
The spreadsheet is set up to mimic my panty. You can change the category names to work best with your pantry and shopping, it's flexible!
The categories are across the top of the sheet, the days of the month are down the side. Use a new sheet for each month, even if you shop weekly or fortnightly.
After shopping just enter the amounts in the relevant fields. For example, if I shopped today, I'd scroll down the date column to 12 and enter amounts in the right categories along that line. The amount in the Total column for that date should equal the amount on your docket/s.
At the end of the month, the totals along the bottom will show how much you've spent in each category, and the last total will be the total spend for the month. Easy!
When you're on a tight budget, knowing what you spend, where and on what is vital, for peace of mind and to ensure you don't go over budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO McMums and Save $115!
During the lockdowns, when I had everyone working from home, they decided they'd take turns buying breakfast each day. Now that's great, that they were taking turns and sharing the cost - but what a cost! Almost $40 a day for three muffin breakfasts.
In the interests of saving their money, I showed them how to make McMums, the breakfast muffins they had grown up with and loved.
We make two versions: the Sausage McMum and the Egg & Bacon McMum.
Batch making them saves a heap of time, and means there can be enough in the freezer for a month in just under an hour of hands on kitchen time.
They're easy to make, just MOOed replicas of the bought versions:
A toasted English muffin
A slice of cheese
Egg*
Either a sausage patty* or bacon
BBQ sauce
To keep the cost down and save time, I use one egg per two muffins and scramble it, then cut it in half. So, to do 12 muffins, beat six eggs. You can then either cook them in a frying pan, or in the microwave and cut them into portions.
The first step is to toast the muffins and let them cool - they freeze better with the fillings on if they are cool first.
Then add a slice of cheese, the sausage patty or the bacon and a slice of egg. Top with the other muffin half and wrap in clingwrap to freeze.
To heat, microwave them on high for 1 minute, check the temperature and if necessary microwave another minute.
The cost:
English Muffin 33 cents
Cheese slice 17 cents
Sausage patty 55 cents OR
Slice of bacon 50 cents
Egg 17 cents
Totals:
Sausage McMum $1.22 (saving $4.88)
Egg McMum $1.17 (saving $4.73)
Batching them we do 12 of each variety in just under an hour for a total saving of $115.32, not bad for an hour's effort.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
One Chicken and the War on Waste
Painless Ways to Build an Emergency Fund
Quark
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Crazy Cake
Dehydrate, How We All Use It
Dehydrating for Shelf Stable Food Storage
8. 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 ScheduleTuesday: 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.
Friday: 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
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 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 for a full year.
That's unlimited 24/7 access to EVERYTHING in the Member's Centre!
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 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 either 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 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 for a full year.
That's unlimited 24/7 access to EVERYTHING in the Member's Centre!
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 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 either 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