Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 28:19
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - 5 Ingredient Fruit Loaf; Keeping Carrots, Lettuce and Bananas Fresh Longer; Learning about Credit with Pre-Paid Debit Cards
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Cheesy Risotto
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Is a Slush Fund Vital to the $300 a Month Food Challenge?
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show - Live Tuesday & Thursday
8. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,We're in the middle of a triple whammy of cold fronts, straight from the Antarctic and boy is it cold. And windy. And wet. I'm so grateful for firewood, full freezers and fluffy slippers today. Keeping warm has been the name of the game in our house this week, I'm sure it has at yours too.
I made up a double batch of Cream of Anything soup mix and I've been sipping cups of hot soup for morning and afternoon tea to warm up. Actually the soup pot has been on the stove almost every day, we've had a bowl of soup before dinner every night. It's cheap, warm and filling and just the thing for these cold nights.
The fire hasn't gone out for days and it is nice to get up to a not quite freezing house in the mornings. Reading through a pile of old magazine and newspaper clips I found a tip for keeping the fireplace bricks and tiles clean. Simply use an eraser to rub small smoke marks away. For bigger marks make up a solution of warm water, 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Dip a nail brush in the mixture and scrub over the marks. This works really well, the bricks around our fire look so much nicer now. And the scrubbing was a good way to keep warm too.
Another way to keep warm, and in line with our Christmas in July theme this month is to use the school holidays and free child labour to do a decoration stock take. Get out your Christmas decorations and wrapping supplies and go through them. Recycle, donate or toss old decorations. Make a list of what you have and what new decorations and wrapping supplies you might need come December. Re-pack your decorations neatly. Label your storage containers clearly so you know what's in each box. When it comes time to decorate the tree and wrap presents you'll be ready. And you'll have kept the kids busy for at least one day during the school holidays!
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
5 Ingredient Fruit LoafIngredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1cup All Bran
1 cup sultanas
1 cup self-raising flour
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a loaf pan. Soak sugar, All Bran and sultanas in the milk for one hour. Add flour. Mix well. Pour into prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour.
Contributed by Melissa Kercher
Keeping Carrots, Lettuce and Bananas Fresh Longer
I love carrots but they go limp in the fridge until I wrap them individually in foil; then they will last me for months if I want them to. I also wrap lettuce in foil and it lasts longer. With bananas just split them from bunches and store in bottom of fridge. Even when the skin is black they taste sweet to eat. As I live on my own it saves me a bit of money and also there is less that goes in the compost or gets or into the garbage
Contributed by M.S.
Learning about Credit with Pre-Paid Debit Cards
Instead of having a credit card my son buys a pre-paid Visa or Mastercard from the post office or supermarket for the amount he has saved which he can use online or wherever he can only use credit. This means he doesn't have any interest or the temptation of a credit card in his wallet and he can only spend what is on the card. Good idea for Christmas and birthday presents.
Contributed by Cathy Spilstead
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
4. On The Menu
Cheesy Risotto
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 spring onions, finely sliced
300g arborio rice
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp chopped chives
Method:
Melt the butter and oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the sliced spring onions until softened. Add the Arborio rice and keep stirring for a minute or so, then turn up the heat and add the water and mustard, stirring until the water is absorbed. Start ladling in the hot stock, letting each ladleful become absorbed as you stir before adding the next one. Stir and ladle until the rice is al dente, about 18 minutes, then add the cheese, stirring it into the rice until it melts. Take the pan straight off the heat, still stirring as you do, and serve immediately, garnished with the chopped chives.
Variations:
Add diced, cooked chicken with the cheese.
Add 1/2 cup frozen peas with the last ladleful of stock.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Chicken curry, rice
Tuesday: Spag Bol, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: Pumpkin risotto
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tuna Surprise
Saturday: Hamburgers
In the fruit bowl: bananas, mandarins
There are over 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
5. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Is a Slush Fund Vital to the $300 a Month Food Challenge?
The short answer is yes. But, like most good things, it's a little more complicated than a simple yes.
Complicated, but perfectly doable and sensible once you know what a slush fund is, how to build one and how to use it.
I often talk about my slush fund, and older Cheapskaters will know what I'm talking about, but a question recently had me explaining to a new Cheapskater just what my slush fund is.
In the traditional sense a slush fund is money put aside to use for illicit purposes, mainly being bribery, particularly political bribery.
Yikes!
In the Cheapskating sense a slush fund is what is left from your allocated grocery budget each week, fortnight or month (depending on how you budget). For example if you allocate $90 a week for groceries this week, but only spend $84.30, then you have $5.70 left over. That money goes into your slush fund.
I shop monthly for most groceries, with a few things being a yearly stock up; meat, poultry and bulk dry goods are bought quarterly. It's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I allocate $280 a month for regular groceries. What is left from the $280 is put into my slush fund (which is a pocket in my purse) and the next month I draw $280 and do the shopping. What isn't spent goes into the slush fund.
This money is then used to build my stockpile or pick up a few extra good specials or even treats without me needing to find the money - it's in the slush fund.
I carry my slush fund money in my purse so that if I am out and see a really super fantastic special, I can buy it. Sometimes it's used for a bulk meat buy when there's a super special on. I've been known to clear supermarket shelves on a really good sale, all made possible because I have a slush fund.
Without it, I'd be scrabbling to find extra money to buy that special and clear those shelves. That money would either have to come from future grocery allocation or another category, leaving it short.
At the end of the year my allocated grocery budget will still be $80 a week, or $4,160 for the year and if I've withdrawn the grocery money and spent the slush fund, the money spent will still average $80 a week or $4,160 for the year. If I haven't spent all the slush fund there will be some left in my purse to start the new year.
Most people take their grocery money (or do the shopping and just pay the bill) without thinking about the leftover cash. It gets put into general funds, and by that I mean it stays in their purse or wallet, mixed up with their other money and gets spent on whatever.
At the end of the year their grocery budget will be what it is - on budget, over or under, but they won't have anything extra to show for it.
Building a grocery slush fund is a wise move for any homemaker, regardless of the size of the household. Singles can benefit just as much as families and couples.
Your grocery slush fund is allocated money you've not spent, and so put it in reserve, and use it when you need money for those grocery bargains and bulk buys so you can stock up debt free.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
15 Small Moves That Can Lead to Big Savings
Adapting Recipes for the Slow Cooker
Easing the Financial Burden of Becoming a One-Income Household
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - 5 Ingredient Fruit Loaf; Keeping Carrots, Lettuce and Bananas Fresh Longer; Learning about Credit with Pre-Paid Debit Cards
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Cheesy Risotto
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Is a Slush Fund Vital to the $300 a Month Food Challenge?
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show - Live Tuesday & Thursday
8. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
9. Join the Cheapskates Club
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,We're in the middle of a triple whammy of cold fronts, straight from the Antarctic and boy is it cold. And windy. And wet. I'm so grateful for firewood, full freezers and fluffy slippers today. Keeping warm has been the name of the game in our house this week, I'm sure it has at yours too.
I made up a double batch of Cream of Anything soup mix and I've been sipping cups of hot soup for morning and afternoon tea to warm up. Actually the soup pot has been on the stove almost every day, we've had a bowl of soup before dinner every night. It's cheap, warm and filling and just the thing for these cold nights.
The fire hasn't gone out for days and it is nice to get up to a not quite freezing house in the mornings. Reading through a pile of old magazine and newspaper clips I found a tip for keeping the fireplace bricks and tiles clean. Simply use an eraser to rub small smoke marks away. For bigger marks make up a solution of warm water, 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. Dip a nail brush in the mixture and scrub over the marks. This works really well, the bricks around our fire look so much nicer now. And the scrubbing was a good way to keep warm too.
Another way to keep warm, and in line with our Christmas in July theme this month is to use the school holidays and free child labour to do a decoration stock take. Get out your Christmas decorations and wrapping supplies and go through them. Recycle, donate or toss old decorations. Make a list of what you have and what new decorations and wrapping supplies you might need come December. Re-pack your decorations neatly. Label your storage containers clearly so you know what's in each box. When it comes time to decorate the tree and wrap presents you'll be ready. And you'll have kept the kids busy for at least one day during the school holidays!
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
5 Ingredient Fruit LoafIngredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1cup All Bran
1 cup sultanas
1 cup self-raising flour
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a loaf pan. Soak sugar, All Bran and sultanas in the milk for one hour. Add flour. Mix well. Pour into prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour.
Contributed by Melissa Kercher
Keeping Carrots, Lettuce and Bananas Fresh Longer
I love carrots but they go limp in the fridge until I wrap them individually in foil; then they will last me for months if I want them to. I also wrap lettuce in foil and it lasts longer. With bananas just split them from bunches and store in bottom of fridge. Even when the skin is black they taste sweet to eat. As I live on my own it saves me a bit of money and also there is less that goes in the compost or gets or into the garbage
Contributed by M.S.
Learning about Credit with Pre-Paid Debit Cards
Instead of having a credit card my son buys a pre-paid Visa or Mastercard from the post office or supermarket for the amount he has saved which he can use online or wherever he can only use credit. This means he doesn't have any interest or the temptation of a credit card in his wallet and he can only spend what is on the card. Good idea for Christmas and birthday presents.
Contributed by Cathy Spilstead
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
4. On The Menu
Cheesy Risotto
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 spring onions, finely sliced
300g arborio rice
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp chopped chives
Method:
Melt the butter and oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the sliced spring onions until softened. Add the Arborio rice and keep stirring for a minute or so, then turn up the heat and add the water and mustard, stirring until the water is absorbed. Start ladling in the hot stock, letting each ladleful become absorbed as you stir before adding the next one. Stir and ladle until the rice is al dente, about 18 minutes, then add the cheese, stirring it into the rice until it melts. Take the pan straight off the heat, still stirring as you do, and serve immediately, garnished with the chopped chives.
Variations:
Add diced, cooked chicken with the cheese.
Add 1/2 cup frozen peas with the last ladleful of stock.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Chicken curry, rice
Tuesday: Spag Bol, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: Pumpkin risotto
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tuna Surprise
Saturday: Hamburgers
In the fruit bowl: bananas, mandarins
There are over 1,700 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
5. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Is a Slush Fund Vital to the $300 a Month Food Challenge?
The short answer is yes. But, like most good things, it's a little more complicated than a simple yes.
Complicated, but perfectly doable and sensible once you know what a slush fund is, how to build one and how to use it.
I often talk about my slush fund, and older Cheapskaters will know what I'm talking about, but a question recently had me explaining to a new Cheapskater just what my slush fund is.
In the traditional sense a slush fund is money put aside to use for illicit purposes, mainly being bribery, particularly political bribery.
Yikes!
In the Cheapskating sense a slush fund is what is left from your allocated grocery budget each week, fortnight or month (depending on how you budget). For example if you allocate $90 a week for groceries this week, but only spend $84.30, then you have $5.70 left over. That money goes into your slush fund.
I shop monthly for most groceries, with a few things being a yearly stock up; meat, poultry and bulk dry goods are bought quarterly. It's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I allocate $280 a month for regular groceries. What is left from the $280 is put into my slush fund (which is a pocket in my purse) and the next month I draw $280 and do the shopping. What isn't spent goes into the slush fund.
This money is then used to build my stockpile or pick up a few extra good specials or even treats without me needing to find the money - it's in the slush fund.
I carry my slush fund money in my purse so that if I am out and see a really super fantastic special, I can buy it. Sometimes it's used for a bulk meat buy when there's a super special on. I've been known to clear supermarket shelves on a really good sale, all made possible because I have a slush fund.
Without it, I'd be scrabbling to find extra money to buy that special and clear those shelves. That money would either have to come from future grocery allocation or another category, leaving it short.
At the end of the year my allocated grocery budget will still be $80 a week, or $4,160 for the year and if I've withdrawn the grocery money and spent the slush fund, the money spent will still average $80 a week or $4,160 for the year. If I haven't spent all the slush fund there will be some left in my purse to start the new year.
Most people take their grocery money (or do the shopping and just pay the bill) without thinking about the leftover cash. It gets put into general funds, and by that I mean it stays in their purse or wallet, mixed up with their other money and gets spent on whatever.
At the end of the year their grocery budget will be what it is - on budget, over or under, but they won't have anything extra to show for it.
Building a grocery slush fund is a wise move for any homemaker, regardless of the size of the household. Singles can benefit just as much as families and couples.
Your grocery slush fund is allocated money you've not spent, and so put it in reserve, and use it when you need money for those grocery bargains and bulk buys so you can stock up debt free.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
15 Small Moves That Can Lead to Big Savings
Adapting Recipes for the Slow Cooker
Easing the Financial Burden of Becoming a One-Income Household
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Latest Shows
Coming Up
Thursday 11th July: Aaahh, Waffles!
Tuesday 16th July: Don't Let Unexpected Mouths to Feed Bust Your Budget
8. Ask A Question
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
9. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $36.50 a year, you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun.
Joining the Cheapskates Club gives you 24/7 access to the Members Centre with 1000's of money saving tips and articles.
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
10. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
11. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates
www.cheapskatesclub.net
Thursday 11th July: Aaahh, Waffles!
Tuesday 16th July: Don't Let Unexpected Mouths to Feed Bust Your Budget
8. Ask A Question
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
9. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $36.50 a year, you can join the Cheapskates Club and get exclusive access to the Cheapskate Journal, the monthly e-journal that shows you how to cut the costs of everyday living and still have fun.
Joining the Cheapskates Club gives you 24/7 access to the Members Centre with 1000's of money saving tips and articles.
Click here to join the Cheapskates Club today!
10. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
11. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates
www.cheapskatesclub.net