Your Cheapskates Club NEwsletter 32:23
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store -
3. Tip of the Week -
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu -
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge -
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge -
8. Cheapskates Buzz
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
10. The Handmade Christmas Challenge
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Welcome to our new members! I hope you're enjoying your membership, the Member's Centre is big and there's a lot of information to get through.
We had a very big weekend, with a model train exhibition and visitors, and a trip to ER after a family member had an accident. I was glad when Monday morning rolled around!
The stash of freezer meals came in handy, and the soup I canned earlier this winter made a delicious and very quick meal. The time spent getting ahead with meals saved not only time, but a lot of money this weekend; takeaway would have been well over $100 to feed all of us!
This week I'll be doing a freezer inventory, and cooking up some more dinners, and perhaps a few breakfasts, to replace what we used. A couple of hours in the kitchen fills the freezer and really does save us hundreds of dollars by removing the take-away temptation.
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
Grandma's Recipes Gift Book
I purchase a hard cover note book for $2 from the cheap shop and as a gift I write a recipe then I put a gift voucher for $10 on the opposite page to purchase what is needed to make this. I do this for 5 pages with different things such as photos of bath products; there are lots of things you can use. I then put little sayings that make you happy between this and at the back I write lots of tips and recipes and leave some space for the recipient to fill in themselves My granddaughters love them.
Contributed by Judith Hill
Think Outside the Box
If you sew, you will know fabric is so expensive! I look for doona covers at the cheaper junkier op shops and look at it as fabric. I got a king size designer doona cover in maroon t shirt that I'm planning to make a summer outfit out if, also a grey interlock one for summer pjs. I've used cotton floral ones for tablecloths and serviettes and have made pjs out of flannelette sheets which are much nicer than the flannelette you buy as fabric. If you're lucky enough to find a sheet set and doona (I did, with little flowers and solid doona'), I made 2 pairs of culottes, with a matching top and still had lots left over. Flannelette sheets can be cut into squares, overlocked and used as dusting or dish cloths. They're very absorbent and soft and can be thrown in the washing machine. Do you knit? Look for jumpers that can be undone and the wool reused. I do this a lot.
Contributed by Silvia P.
Microfibre Cloths as Face Washers
I bought my hubby and myself a pack of 50 microfibre cloths (for about $10.00) to use for cleaning the house and his car. One day I needed a new face washer but I ran out so I decided to use a microfibre cloth as a face washer in the shower. Not only did I save money by using the microfibre cloth as a face washer but our skins felt alive and glowing using the microfiber cloth compared to the face washer plus they are a bigger size then a face washer so 3 wins all around.
Contributed by S. Harvey
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. Birthday Month Celebrations!
New Member Special Offer
It's our birthday! 22 years of the Cheapskates Club, and to celebrate we are having a sale.
For the month of August, new Cheapskates Club memberships are just $20!
Not sure a Cheapskates Club membership is for you? Click here for 20 reasons you want and need to be in the Cheapskates Club!
Join now!
4. 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
5. On The Menu
5 Minute Choc Chip Biscuits
Ingredients:
250g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3-3/4 cups SR flour
1 cup choc chips
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Melt butter. Mix the melted butter with the sugar then add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add flour and choc chips. Drop teaspoonfuls onto greased trays allowing room for spreading and cook for 10-15 minutes. Makes 40.
Notes:
Margarine can be substituted for butter
MOO brown sugar is cheaper and easy to make
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Meatloaf, veggies, gravy
Tuesday: Pasta Bake
Wednesday: Chicken pie, veggies
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tuna Casserole, salad
Saturday: Muffin Surprise
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
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
A Running Fridge Inventory
One of the goals of Cheapskates is to save money, time and energy. Another is to stick to our grocery budget and one way to ensure we never go over budget is to use everything up.
Unfortunately sometimes the fridge is like a bottomless pit; it accepts little bits of this and little bits of that, and loses them behind bigger tubs of leftovers, until they take on a lifeform of their own and have to be composted, and that's just wasting money, time and energy.
If this is your fridge, try keeping a running inventory of it's contents. I use a magnetic whiteboard that is stuck onto the fridge door, it's easy to see and update and it was only $6 from Kmart (and they are on clearance at the moment for $3). You could use a blackboard or even pen and paper; it doesn't really matter what you use, as long as you do it!
When a little bit of something goes into the fridge, it gets put onto the whiteboard with the date. I can see at a glance what needs to be used up and incorporate it into another meal. It could be another dinner, or a lunch or breakfast.
The goal is to never find another science experiment lurking at the back of the fridge, and have to compost it (and throw money in the bin).
Each week before bin night, go through the fridge and give it a tidy, wipe over the shelves and make sure the whiteboard is up-to-date. I've been doing this for over a year and our food waste is almost zero (there have been a couple of things that were forgotten) and the amount of money going into the bin is almost zero, and well under $5 for the year.
Ten minutes of your time once a week and a running fridge inventory will stop food waste and keep help you stick to your grocery budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge
Sweet & Sour Sauce
This is a very simple, but very tasty, sweet and sour sauce that goes really well over chicken, or pork or even vegetables or just plain steamed rice. Best of all it uses basic pantry ingredients and is easy to make. A jar of sweet and sour sauce costs $4, this recipe comes in at $2.58, a saving of $1.42. It makes 8 serves.
Ingredients:
1 tin pineapple pieces
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 large onion, cut into eighths and separated
1 red capsicum, sliced
Method:
Sauté the onion and capsicum over medium heat until veggies are soft. Add the remaining ingredients, including the pineapple juice. Bring to a boil, stirring, to dissolve the sugar. Boil 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
Pour over cooked chicken or pork or veggies.
This recipe can be doubled and frozen.
Cost $2.58 or 32 cents per serve.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
8. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Don't be Scammed
Cheapskating One Day at a Time
Turn Leftovers into Lunches
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Caths Challenge
2023 $300 a Month Food Challenge
Hi
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live on Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store -
3. Tip of the Week -
4. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu -
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge -
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge -
8. Cheapskates Buzz
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
10. The Handmade Christmas Challenge
11. Join the Cheapskates Club
12. Frequently Asked Questions
13. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
Welcome to our new members! I hope you're enjoying your membership, the Member's Centre is big and there's a lot of information to get through.
We had a very big weekend, with a model train exhibition and visitors, and a trip to ER after a family member had an accident. I was glad when Monday morning rolled around!
The stash of freezer meals came in handy, and the soup I canned earlier this winter made a delicious and very quick meal. The time spent getting ahead with meals saved not only time, but a lot of money this weekend; takeaway would have been well over $100 to feed all of us!
This week I'll be doing a freezer inventory, and cooking up some more dinners, and perhaps a few breakfasts, to replace what we used. A couple of hours in the kitchen fills the freezer and really does save us hundreds of dollars by removing the take-away temptation.
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
Grandma's Recipes Gift Book
I purchase a hard cover note book for $2 from the cheap shop and as a gift I write a recipe then I put a gift voucher for $10 on the opposite page to purchase what is needed to make this. I do this for 5 pages with different things such as photos of bath products; there are lots of things you can use. I then put little sayings that make you happy between this and at the back I write lots of tips and recipes and leave some space for the recipient to fill in themselves My granddaughters love them.
Contributed by Judith Hill
Think Outside the Box
If you sew, you will know fabric is so expensive! I look for doona covers at the cheaper junkier op shops and look at it as fabric. I got a king size designer doona cover in maroon t shirt that I'm planning to make a summer outfit out if, also a grey interlock one for summer pjs. I've used cotton floral ones for tablecloths and serviettes and have made pjs out of flannelette sheets which are much nicer than the flannelette you buy as fabric. If you're lucky enough to find a sheet set and doona (I did, with little flowers and solid doona'), I made 2 pairs of culottes, with a matching top and still had lots left over. Flannelette sheets can be cut into squares, overlocked and used as dusting or dish cloths. They're very absorbent and soft and can be thrown in the washing machine. Do you knit? Look for jumpers that can be undone and the wool reused. I do this a lot.
Contributed by Silvia P.
Microfibre Cloths as Face Washers
I bought my hubby and myself a pack of 50 microfibre cloths (for about $10.00) to use for cleaning the house and his car. One day I needed a new face washer but I ran out so I decided to use a microfibre cloth as a face washer in the shower. Not only did I save money by using the microfibre cloth as a face washer but our skins felt alive and glowing using the microfiber cloth compared to the face washer plus they are a bigger size then a face washer so 3 wins all around.
Contributed by S. Harvey
There are more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
Add a Tip
3. Birthday Month Celebrations!
New Member Special Offer
It's our birthday! 22 years of the Cheapskates Club, and to celebrate we are having a sale.
For the month of August, new Cheapskates Club memberships are just $20!
Not sure a Cheapskates Club membership is for you? Click here for 20 reasons you want and need to be in the Cheapskates Club!
Join now!
4. 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
5. On The Menu
5 Minute Choc Chip Biscuits
Ingredients:
250g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3-3/4 cups SR flour
1 cup choc chips
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Melt butter. Mix the melted butter with the sugar then add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add flour and choc chips. Drop teaspoonfuls onto greased trays allowing room for spreading and cook for 10-15 minutes. Makes 40.
Notes:
Margarine can be substituted for butter
MOO brown sugar is cheaper and easy to make
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Meatloaf, veggies, gravy
Tuesday: Pasta Bake
Wednesday: Chicken pie, veggies
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tuna Casserole, salad
Saturday: Muffin Surprise
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
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
A Running Fridge Inventory
One of the goals of Cheapskates is to save money, time and energy. Another is to stick to our grocery budget and one way to ensure we never go over budget is to use everything up.
Unfortunately sometimes the fridge is like a bottomless pit; it accepts little bits of this and little bits of that, and loses them behind bigger tubs of leftovers, until they take on a lifeform of their own and have to be composted, and that's just wasting money, time and energy.
If this is your fridge, try keeping a running inventory of it's contents. I use a magnetic whiteboard that is stuck onto the fridge door, it's easy to see and update and it was only $6 from Kmart (and they are on clearance at the moment for $3). You could use a blackboard or even pen and paper; it doesn't really matter what you use, as long as you do it!
When a little bit of something goes into the fridge, it gets put onto the whiteboard with the date. I can see at a glance what needs to be used up and incorporate it into another meal. It could be another dinner, or a lunch or breakfast.
The goal is to never find another science experiment lurking at the back of the fridge, and have to compost it (and throw money in the bin).
Each week before bin night, go through the fridge and give it a tidy, wipe over the shelves and make sure the whiteboard is up-to-date. I've been doing this for over a year and our food waste is almost zero (there have been a couple of things that were forgotten) and the amount of money going into the bin is almost zero, and well under $5 for the year.
Ten minutes of your time once a week and a running fridge inventory will stop food waste and keep help you stick to your grocery budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. The Weekly MOO Challenge
Sweet & Sour Sauce
This is a very simple, but very tasty, sweet and sour sauce that goes really well over chicken, or pork or even vegetables or just plain steamed rice. Best of all it uses basic pantry ingredients and is easy to make. A jar of sweet and sour sauce costs $4, this recipe comes in at $2.58, a saving of $1.42. It makes 8 serves.
Ingredients:
1 tin pineapple pieces
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 large onion, cut into eighths and separated
1 red capsicum, sliced
Method:
Sauté the onion and capsicum over medium heat until veggies are soft. Add the remaining ingredients, including the pineapple juice. Bring to a boil, stirring, to dissolve the sugar. Boil 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
Pour over cooked chicken or pork or veggies.
This recipe can be doubled and frozen.
Cost $2.58 or 32 cents per serve.
Get in on the fun and discussions here.
8. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Don't be Scammed
Cheapskating One Day at a Time
Turn Leftovers into Lunches
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Caths Challenge
2023 $300 a Month Food Challenge
Hi
9. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live on Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Latest Shows
Card Packs This week every time I had a few minutes to spare I sat down and worked on greeting cards, and then packed them into sets.
I remembered one of Mum's favourite gifts was a year of cards, she loved having enough birthday and Christmas cards, and some blanks, for the year. At the time I put them into an expanding file, added some stamps and nice pen and gave it to her for Mother's Day.
So with that in mind, birthday cards were stamped, along with some new baby cards, and a couple of sympathy cards, some congratulations cards and a few "just for you" blank cards.
Cellophane bags from the stash are perfect for packaging sets of cards, with a punched label and tied off with ribbon. The ribbons were cut from the shoulder seams of jumpers and t-shirts, and they're the ideal size for tying into little ribbon bows.
They're a nice boost to the gift box, and I've already put a set in the post to a friend, just because.
Don't forget to check in for our Make It Monday show and tell over at Cheapskates Chatter, we'd love to see what you've made.
Handmade Christmas Central
The Handmade Christmas Forum
I remembered one of Mum's favourite gifts was a year of cards, she loved having enough birthday and Christmas cards, and some blanks, for the year. At the time I put them into an expanding file, added some stamps and nice pen and gave it to her for Mother's Day.
So with that in mind, birthday cards were stamped, along with some new baby cards, and a couple of sympathy cards, some congratulations cards and a few "just for you" blank cards.
Cellophane bags from the stash are perfect for packaging sets of cards, with a punched label and tied off with ribbon. The ribbons were cut from the shoulder seams of jumpers and t-shirts, and they're the ideal size for tying into little ribbon bows.
They're a nice boost to the gift box, and I've already put a set in the post to a friend, just because.
Don't forget to check in for our Make It Monday show and tell over at Cheapskates Chatter, we'd love to see what you've made.
Handmade Christmas Central
The Handmade Christmas Forum
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $20 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!
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 either 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
For just $20 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!
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 either 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