YOur Cheapskates Club Newsletter 30:21
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Saving for Christmas Now; A Handy Picture of Your Shopping List; The Best Tasting MOO Curry Powder
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Curried Nut Croquets
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - The Slush Fund Method of Stockpiling
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 Vaporub
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Looking to the Future
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,
It is windy here! So windy that on Tuesday the sheets and a couple of pillowslips actually blew off the clothesline - you should have seen me chasing them all over the backyard (or perhaps it's better you didn't!).
I'm still planning and plotting for the spring and summer garden. Some of the seeds I've started are coming up, and by the time the ground warms up enough they'll be ready to transplant. And this weekend I'll be starting the first of the tomatoes, so they'll be ready to go into the ground towards the end of September. When the seedlings are planted, I'll start the next lot, and then when they go into the garden I'll start another lot and those three plantings are usually enough to keep us in fresh veggies until well into Autumn, sometimes even into June if the weather is mild.
I saw a really simple but kind of fun mini hothouse idea this week - clear plastic umbrellas! Just pop them over the seedlings and plants to act as a greenhouse. Easy to lift for watering or breathing if the day is really hot, and good protection from the wind. I knew those clear umbrellas at the $2 shop would have another purpose! Don't rush out and buy them, but if you do happen to have one that you're not using to keep the rain off, it might work in the garden for you, and it looks cute to boot.
Of course soft drink bottles work too, and are free. Or you can make a simple mini hoop house using bamboo canes or plastic pipe or sturdy wire bent into an arch and plastic sheeting. Space the hoops along the garden bed, run plastic sheeting over the top and use clothes pegs to hold it in place.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Saving for Christmas Now
Approximate $ Savings: $100+
Now is the time to think about Christmas for the kids. Yes I too was never concerned or organised enough for this but this year looking at the catalogues I've decided enough is enough! Why all of a sudden have I had a change of heart? Well I never knew until now that Toys'R'Us will beat any advertised price(except from the internet) by 10%!And all of the toy sale catalogues have come in my box at once - So I've looked at what I was thinking of getting my boys for Christmas and so far I've only looked at a couple of items (three Lego sets) and if I get them from Toys'R'Us with their 10% off the matched price I'm already saving about $30 and this is only with three things! They also offer layby which is a bonus. I'll be writing a list and checking it twice in the toysRus catalogue to make sure I can get another 10% off! What are you waiting for? Go check your letterbox for all those catalogues and get price checking!
Contributed by Lauren
A Handy Picture of Your Shopping List
During the week I make a shopping list on my whiteboard that's in my kitchen. When about to leave I take a photo of this on my phone and whilst out refer to my list. It really works...forget searching for paper and pen only to leave it at home guessing what else was on that list.
Contributed by Helen
The Best Tasting MOO Curry Powder
I MOO curry powder and it doesn't taste any different to the shop ones. My late sister gave me the recipe over 20 years ago and then I picked up a book in the op shop and the original recipe was in there; its from the 1800s!
Edward Abbott's Curry Powder
It makes about 260g
Ingredients:
80g ground Turmeric
70g coriander seeds finely grounded
40g black peppercorns finely grounded
30g mustard seeds finely grounded
20g cayenne pepper to taste
10g ground ginger
5g mace finely grounded
5g cinnamon quill finely grounded
5g cloves finely grounded.
Method:
Combine all the ingredients and blend together thoroughly. Store in air tight container for a few days before using to allow the flavours to mix well. Keeps up to 12 months
I use an old coffee blender and do it a couple of times to make the fine powder.
Contributed by Robyne
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
Curried Nut Croquets
Oh boy did I love these when I was a child. Mum would make them and if we were lucky there would be some left the next day and we'd get them with a salad in our lunchboxes.
A tin of Nutmeat is $3.30 at Woolworths, the rice is about 30 cents, a small onion runs to about 15 cents, an egg is 25 cents and the curry powder is about 10 cents, so $4.10 for this recipe.
Curried Nut Croquets
Ingredients:
1 tin Sanitarium Nutmeat, mashed
1 cup cooked rice
1 small onion, grated
1 teaspoon curry powder (more or less to taste)
1 egg
Method:
Mix the mashed nutmeat, rice, onion, curry powder and egg together. Use hands to mix thoroughly.
Roll approximately 1/4 cup of mixture into croquet shapes, should get 10 - 12 croquettes. Chill for 30 minutes. Heat a large non stick fry pan and coat liberally with cooking spray. Cook croquettes, turning frequently, until well browned all over. Serve with veggies or salad.
Optional: dip in egg wash then breadcrumbs before chilling.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Lancashire Hot Pot, greens
Tuesday: Pasta Bake
Wednesday: Chicken Fried Rice, Spring Rolls
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Curried Nut Croquets, beans, corn, mash
Saturday: Tacos
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
The Slush Fund Method of Stockpiling
Oh boy, we would not survive without the slush fund.
It's just the leftover grocery budget, saved up to use to buy extra groceries, usually when they're on half-price sale.
I draw the grocery money in cash once a month. Then I do the shopping throughout the month. At the end of the month the leftover money is transferred to my slush fund purse and I withdraw a new lot of grocery money.
Sometimes there's lot of money left and I can have fun buying up great deals to stock the pantry; sometimes there's nothing and so I have to leave the good buys on the shelf. Swings and roundabouts.
Sometimes it buys meat. Sometimes it might be used to stock-up on toiletries or cleaning supplies.
What I don't do is withdraw more money, the grocery budget is the grocery budget and I stick to it. Of course I get a little annoyed if I have to miss out on a great deal because there's not enough in the slush fund but guess what - we're not going hungry or missing out on anything! And I don't overspend the grocery money.
What it means is that at the end of the year, the grocery budget balances. My grocery budget for the year is $3,600 and on December 31st, $3,600 has been spent. And not a cent more! But the value in our pantry is way, way more thanks to using the slush fund method of stockpiling.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
MOO Whipped Body Butter
How to Have a Successful No-Spending Month
Making Do
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Time To MOO
Porcupines from the Recipe File
Cooking with Mince
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 - Saving for Christmas Now; A Handy Picture of Your Shopping List; The Best Tasting MOO Curry Powder
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Curried Nut Croquets
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - The Slush Fund Method of Stockpiling
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 Vaporub
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Looking to the Future
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,
It is windy here! So windy that on Tuesday the sheets and a couple of pillowslips actually blew off the clothesline - you should have seen me chasing them all over the backyard (or perhaps it's better you didn't!).
I'm still planning and plotting for the spring and summer garden. Some of the seeds I've started are coming up, and by the time the ground warms up enough they'll be ready to transplant. And this weekend I'll be starting the first of the tomatoes, so they'll be ready to go into the ground towards the end of September. When the seedlings are planted, I'll start the next lot, and then when they go into the garden I'll start another lot and those three plantings are usually enough to keep us in fresh veggies until well into Autumn, sometimes even into June if the weather is mild.
I saw a really simple but kind of fun mini hothouse idea this week - clear plastic umbrellas! Just pop them over the seedlings and plants to act as a greenhouse. Easy to lift for watering or breathing if the day is really hot, and good protection from the wind. I knew those clear umbrellas at the $2 shop would have another purpose! Don't rush out and buy them, but if you do happen to have one that you're not using to keep the rain off, it might work in the garden for you, and it looks cute to boot.
Of course soft drink bottles work too, and are free. Or you can make a simple mini hoop house using bamboo canes or plastic pipe or sturdy wire bent into an arch and plastic sheeting. Space the hoops along the garden bed, run plastic sheeting over the top and use clothes pegs to hold it in place.
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Saving for Christmas Now
Approximate $ Savings: $100+
Now is the time to think about Christmas for the kids. Yes I too was never concerned or organised enough for this but this year looking at the catalogues I've decided enough is enough! Why all of a sudden have I had a change of heart? Well I never knew until now that Toys'R'Us will beat any advertised price(except from the internet) by 10%!And all of the toy sale catalogues have come in my box at once - So I've looked at what I was thinking of getting my boys for Christmas and so far I've only looked at a couple of items (three Lego sets) and if I get them from Toys'R'Us with their 10% off the matched price I'm already saving about $30 and this is only with three things! They also offer layby which is a bonus. I'll be writing a list and checking it twice in the toysRus catalogue to make sure I can get another 10% off! What are you waiting for? Go check your letterbox for all those catalogues and get price checking!
Contributed by Lauren
A Handy Picture of Your Shopping List
During the week I make a shopping list on my whiteboard that's in my kitchen. When about to leave I take a photo of this on my phone and whilst out refer to my list. It really works...forget searching for paper and pen only to leave it at home guessing what else was on that list.
Contributed by Helen
The Best Tasting MOO Curry Powder
I MOO curry powder and it doesn't taste any different to the shop ones. My late sister gave me the recipe over 20 years ago and then I picked up a book in the op shop and the original recipe was in there; its from the 1800s!
Edward Abbott's Curry Powder
It makes about 260g
Ingredients:
80g ground Turmeric
70g coriander seeds finely grounded
40g black peppercorns finely grounded
30g mustard seeds finely grounded
20g cayenne pepper to taste
10g ground ginger
5g mace finely grounded
5g cinnamon quill finely grounded
5g cloves finely grounded.
Method:
Combine all the ingredients and blend together thoroughly. Store in air tight container for a few days before using to allow the flavours to mix well. Keeps up to 12 months
I use an old coffee blender and do it a couple of times to make the fine powder.
Contributed by Robyne
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
Curried Nut Croquets
Oh boy did I love these when I was a child. Mum would make them and if we were lucky there would be some left the next day and we'd get them with a salad in our lunchboxes.
A tin of Nutmeat is $3.30 at Woolworths, the rice is about 30 cents, a small onion runs to about 15 cents, an egg is 25 cents and the curry powder is about 10 cents, so $4.10 for this recipe.
Curried Nut Croquets
Ingredients:
1 tin Sanitarium Nutmeat, mashed
1 cup cooked rice
1 small onion, grated
1 teaspoon curry powder (more or less to taste)
1 egg
Method:
Mix the mashed nutmeat, rice, onion, curry powder and egg together. Use hands to mix thoroughly.
Roll approximately 1/4 cup of mixture into croquet shapes, should get 10 - 12 croquettes. Chill for 30 minutes. Heat a large non stick fry pan and coat liberally with cooking spray. Cook croquettes, turning frequently, until well browned all over. Serve with veggies or salad.
Optional: dip in egg wash then breadcrumbs before chilling.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Lancashire Hot Pot, greens
Tuesday: Pasta Bake
Wednesday: Chicken Fried Rice, Spring Rolls
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Curried Nut Croquets, beans, corn, mash
Saturday: Tacos
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
The Slush Fund Method of Stockpiling
Oh boy, we would not survive without the slush fund.
It's just the leftover grocery budget, saved up to use to buy extra groceries, usually when they're on half-price sale.
I draw the grocery money in cash once a month. Then I do the shopping throughout the month. At the end of the month the leftover money is transferred to my slush fund purse and I withdraw a new lot of grocery money.
Sometimes there's lot of money left and I can have fun buying up great deals to stock the pantry; sometimes there's nothing and so I have to leave the good buys on the shelf. Swings and roundabouts.
Sometimes it buys meat. Sometimes it might be used to stock-up on toiletries or cleaning supplies.
What I don't do is withdraw more money, the grocery budget is the grocery budget and I stick to it. Of course I get a little annoyed if I have to miss out on a great deal because there's not enough in the slush fund but guess what - we're not going hungry or missing out on anything! And I don't overspend the grocery money.
What it means is that at the end of the year, the grocery budget balances. My grocery budget for the year is $3,600 and on December 31st, $3,600 has been spent. And not a cent more! But the value in our pantry is way, way more thanks to using the slush fund method of stockpiling.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
MOO Whipped Body Butter
How to Have a Successful No-Spending Month
Making Do
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Time To MOO
Porcupines from the Recipe File
Cooking with Mince
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
9. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOO Vaporub
Winter is here and with winter come colds and flu, snuffly noses and chesty coughs. A common treatment to relieve the symptoms of these winter nasties is Vaporub.
Vicks Vaporub is the brand we are all familiar with, and most of us have used it and could well have a jar of it in the medicine chest right now. But Vicks Vaporub (and the other commerical brands) contain some things that we really don't need to be using, especially on our children, such as turpentine and camphor set in a petroleum jelly base.
There's not denying the relief and comfort vaporub gives, so instead of using the commercial product, why not MOO it, using safe ingredients? It's easy, so easy you'll wonder why you never thought to MOO it before.
You will need:
1/2 cup coconut oil
10 drops pure eucalyptus oil
Stir the eucalyptus oil into the coconut oil. Store it in a screw top jar.
To use: take a small amount of the vaporub and gently massage into the chest or throat.
Now this is a MOO, and it is made of safe to use ingredients, but the same cautions must be taken with it's use. It's for external use only, do not apply to the inside of or under your nose, don't eat it or apply it to your mouth. Apart from the fact that the eucalyptus will burn, it is an oil based product which could end up in the lungs causing all manner of nasty complications.
This is just one home remedy I make. Do you make home remedies?
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
For the last few months you've been busy cutting your expenses, working on your Spending Plan and building your Emergency Fund and generally saving money.
That's what you do in your youth and middle age. Working hard to build assets by paying off your mortgage, paying down debt and raising your family and generally enjoying life.
But there comes a time later on when you might want (or need) to slow down a little, take it easy and not work so hard. You might want to go to part-time work or even fully retire.
The only way to make that happen is to have a good retirement plan in place. And that's what we will be looking at over the next few lessons, so that when you decide it is time to stop working and start taking it easy you will be financially independent and able to live debt free, cashed up and laughing.
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 Vaporub
Winter is here and with winter come colds and flu, snuffly noses and chesty coughs. A common treatment to relieve the symptoms of these winter nasties is Vaporub.
Vicks Vaporub is the brand we are all familiar with, and most of us have used it and could well have a jar of it in the medicine chest right now. But Vicks Vaporub (and the other commerical brands) contain some things that we really don't need to be using, especially on our children, such as turpentine and camphor set in a petroleum jelly base.
There's not denying the relief and comfort vaporub gives, so instead of using the commercial product, why not MOO it, using safe ingredients? It's easy, so easy you'll wonder why you never thought to MOO it before.
You will need:
1/2 cup coconut oil
10 drops pure eucalyptus oil
Stir the eucalyptus oil into the coconut oil. Store it in a screw top jar.
To use: take a small amount of the vaporub and gently massage into the chest or throat.
Now this is a MOO, and it is made of safe to use ingredients, but the same cautions must be taken with it's use. It's for external use only, do not apply to the inside of or under your nose, don't eat it or apply it to your mouth. Apart from the fact that the eucalyptus will burn, it is an oil based product which could end up in the lungs causing all manner of nasty complications.
This is just one home remedy I make. Do you make home remedies?
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
For the last few months you've been busy cutting your expenses, working on your Spending Plan and building your Emergency Fund and generally saving money.
That's what you do in your youth and middle age. Working hard to build assets by paying off your mortgage, paying down debt and raising your family and generally enjoying life.
But there comes a time later on when you might want (or need) to slow down a little, take it easy and not work so hard. You might want to go to part-time work or even fully retire.
The only way to make that happen is to have a good retirement plan in place. And that's what we will be looking at over the next few lessons, so that when you decide it is time to stop working and start taking it easy you will be financially independent and able to live debt free, cashed up and laughing.
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