Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 33:18
In this Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store -Energy Saver for Apartment Dwellers; MOO Roasted Chickpeas; Saving the Recipe, Paper and Money
3. Cheapskate's Winning Tip - An Affordable Lactose Free Cream Substitute
4. Share Your Tips -
5. Use It Up Month - Using up medications
6. On the Menu - Sweet Lamb Curry
7. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - The Smart Stockpile
8. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
9. Last Week's Question - Drying damp dishes
11. Ask Cath
12. Join the Cheapskates Club
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
How are you going with the Use It Up Challenge? This week I've been able to use up a half packet of dates in a date loaf, some dried fruit in Cheats Boiled Fruit Cake, the bread crusts from the freezer in seasoned breadcrumbs. I've used some old shampoo to clean the bathroom.
In my spare time (usually around 3am when I can't sleep) I've been concentrating on using up my craft stash, and I'm thrilled to see it slowly, slowly shrinking.
And tonight is pizza night. We'll be using up bits of cheese, some leftover pasta sauce, a chopped capsicum from the freezer and a half tomato from yesterday's lunch. I just love using things up, especially when they create just about free food. The only thing "new" for tonight's pizzas will be the bases, everything else is leftover and so already paid for in our grocery budget.
The August journal went live yesterday, so if you haven't already, log in - it's a great read.
Have a wonderful week everyone, and remember to Use It Up!
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
Energy Saver for Apartment Dwellers
For all those that live in apartment buildings when washing up boil your kettle for the hot water. This easy tip saves you approximately $20 per quarter on your hot water bill as you aren't wasting your water waiting for the hot water to be drawn up from wherever your hot water system is in the building.
Contributed by Pauline Richardson
MOO Roasted Chickpeas
Recently I was offered a snack of roasted chickpeas which I enjoyed but I was not prepared to pay $27 to $33 per kg (in the two large supermarkets) so decided to make them myself. A can of chickpeas at Aldi costs 73 cents, so I rinsed them in a sieve, spread them out on paper towels and just dabbed them to remove most of the water. Then I spread them out on a baking paper lined tray and roasted them at 200 degrees Celsius for 35 to 45 minutes. During roasting, shake the tray occasionally. They are delicious just plain or you can experiment with chilli powder or other added flavours. The can contained 60 % chickpeas (rest water) so 240g for 73 cents, making it $3.04 per kg, a saving of approximately $24 per kg. You can save even more if you buy fresh chickpeas and cook them yourself. They are extremely healthy, low in calories and high in fibre and protein.
Contributed by Edel Heyer
Saving the Recipe, Paper and Money
I have a desktop computer that I use daily and I now save all my favourite recipes to a USB and plug it into my tablet. My tablet sits on a recipe book holder, where my old recipe books used to sit. You could use a lap top if you had one. On my USB I have also saved household tips and cleaning tips; you could use this idea for anything you need to print out. The tablet is more portable and saves a fortune on paper and printer ink.
Contributed by Sue Foster
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Cheapskates Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Jacqui. Jacqui has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
An Affordable Lactose Free Cream Substitute
My greatest discovery is that you can whip coconut cream. It doesn't whip like real cream, but it will get thick enough to ice a cake and give you that chocolate cake and cream taste. Buy a good quality one like Ayam, with no fillers. Open it and drain out any excess liquid (save and use in your next sate) and place the cream in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then whip away. If you want to make it a little firmer you can add 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum but I find it doesn't make that much difference. It won't form the beautiful peaks of fresh cream, but it will thicken and as soon as it does, add your sugar, mix it through and then stop or it will thin out again. Put it on whatever you are covering and if you want it to be a bit firmer place back in the fridge for a bit longer. This satisfied my daughter's chocolate cake, with cream and strawberry craving and didn't make us feel sick.
Congratulations Jacqui, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
4. Submit Your Tip
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. 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. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.
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!
Submit your tip
5. Use It Up Month
Use It Up Challenge - Using Up Medication
Don’t panic, I'm not advocating using out of date or unnecessary medicines here. Before I get going with my medicines use it ups, if you do have out of date medicines, it's time to dispose of them. Take them to your local chemist if you're not sure what to do with them. It's much safer to get them out of the house, and you're clearing clutter!
Now that's dealt with, do you know there are some medicines that can be used for other purposes? Well there are, so before you do the chemist run, have a look at this list and see if there is anything on it you can use up.
We have three family members who suffer from eczema, so there are always tubes of hydrocortisone creams in the house. They're in the bathrooms, bedrooms, handbags and even the kitchen. And they are all partially used. After checking the dates on the tubes, I grouped them by name and stuck them into plastic tumblers and put them into an empty Tupperware container that lives in the linen cupboard.
Next up were the general medicines (paracetamol, ibuprofen, allergy tablets etc.). Again, they were scattered all over the place, along with the Band-Aids, bandages, essential oils etc. Simple solution: one place for everything. Into the Tupperware box they went. Now everything is one place and easy to find when needed.
Once that was sorted I tackled Wayne's medications. He has a few he takes regularly, and they are always in the same place, just messy. A few minutes later and packets had been combined and the empties put in the recycling. The prescriptions were slipped into the back of the basket, ready to take out when needed.
Having everything in a central place means we all know where to find what we need. It also means no doubling (or tripling or worse) up on these rather expensive items.
Do you have a central place for all your medicines and first aid items?
6. On the Menu
Sweet Lamb Curry
This recipe is perfect for a Use It Up meal -it is made with little bits of leftovers. And that makes it a real budget meal because it's almost free! Free because, being made from leftovers, most of the ingredients have already been accounted for in your meal plan budget. Woo hoo! Everyone loves free, especially free food.
This Sweet Lamb Curry made the way my father made it, using leftover roast lamb, a couple of wrinkly apples from the fruit bowl, and a handful of dried up sultanas. Add a little stock, some curry paste, an onion if you have one and a can of coconut cream and dinner is done, and on the cheap.
Sweet Lamb Curry
Ingredients:
Leftover roast lamb, diced (about 2 cups if you have it, or more - it's up to you)
1 or 2 apples - cored and diced (no need to peel, green or red -whatever you have)
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup of sultanas
2 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp oil
1 can coconut cream
Method:
Dice the lamb. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until clear. Add the curry paste and cook 1 minute. Add the stock and coconut cream and stir. Toss in the lamb, apple and sultanas. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer 10 minutes or until the apple is soft and the meat is heated through. Serve over steamed rice.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Crockpot casserole, rice
Tuesday: Spaghetti & meatballs
Wednesday: Sweet lamb curry, rice
Thursday: MOO pizza
Friday: Stuffed potatoes with cheese, coleslaw, pineapple, sour cream
Saturday: Pepper steak sandwiches
In the fruit bowl: apples, mandarins
In the cake tin: fruit cake, weetbix slice
There are over 1,600 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
7. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Smart Stockpile
This topic was brought to mind earlier this week when I was listening to ABC radio and they were talking about food security, and just how little Australia really has. The drought was mentioned, as was the shrinking number of primary producers, and our reliance more and more on importing what we need. They also talked about the nine meals from anarchy theory, and how our shopping habits are shifting from the big weekly shop to smaller, daily food shops.
There's no need to panic or become scared, but a good time to think about putting some kind of plan in place so if you do have a disaster (financial, health, weather related, whatever) it won't be a disaster but rather a hiccup.
If you are stockpiling for the long-term, to save money and to survive a disaster (of any kind), try to stockpile high protein foods first, then other dry goods. So aim to keep a good stock of legumes - dried beans and lentils store well on the pantry shelf and are a high protein alternative to meat. A little serve provides a good whack of nutrients. Then look to stockpile flour - it does have a shelf life believe it or not, and it will go sour over time. Self-raising flour will lose it's ability to rise so keeping plain flours and baking powder (or the ingredients to MOO it) solves that problem. Flour can be frozen too. I pack it in 2kg lots, vac seal it and freeze it. Tinned tomatoes are always handy - even tinned they are good nutritional value. Dried fruits last just about forever, however they will lose freshness and become candied. For the long term they can be frozen too.
Now, the problem with freezing everything is that if the power were to go out for any length of time then that frozen stockpile is lost.
I still freeze a good portion of my food stockpile but I started bottling more about 7 years ago, and the last two years have preserved by bottling around a third. I'm saving up for a pressure canner so I can actually "can" soups, stews, casseroles, pasta dishes etc. for long term storage instead of relying on the freezer.
A good way to recession or disaster proof your grocery bill is to grow your own vegetables and fruit. I can't stress this enough, it will save you a fortune and if the supermarkets were to close you'd have food in the garden, not only to eat but to sell or barter for things you don't have. And homegrown is always best, being fresher and in most cases chemical free. It does not take a lot of time to grow food, it does take commitment. You do need to water, mulch, plant, weed, harvest, start seedlings and so on but none of these things is hard nor do they take a lot of time, they don't even need to take up a lot of space.
My stockpile is a little odd:
12 months cleaning and toiletries (soap, bicarb soda, borax, washing soda, eucalyptus oil, vinegar, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes)
12 months pasta, sauces (tomato, barbecue, sweet chilli are the main ones - I usually make them in Jan/Feb for the year - Worcestershire which I am about to make another batch of as I've just opened the last bottle and I like it to sit for 6 months before I use it), jam and marmalade (I make them all year round), salt, lentils, beans.
12 months canned goods: tomatoes, tomato soup, chicken soup, baked beans, black beans, beetroot, tuna, salmon, tinned fruit, pineapple
6 months baking supplies: flours, dried fruits, spices, sugars, molasses, golden syrup, nuts, bicarb soda, citric acid, tartaric acid, cream of tartar etc.
3 months of meat, chicken, frozen veg, hard cheeses, butter, weet bix, bran, ricies, peanut butter, vegemite, honey. All these things could easily be stretched to 6 months if necessary (I know, I've done it before).
The only paper goods we use regularly are toilet paper and baking paper (which I buy from Aldi, same price per metre as the bulk pack).
You don't need to go to extremes to build a stockpile. Most of you have seen my pantry, shelving and laundry cupboard on TV (they always seem to find a way to get it at its worst!). That's most of it. The toiletries are in the bathroom cupboards.
Smart people only stockpile the things they use regularly, buying them when on sale. Once you have a stockpile you'll never pay full price for groceries again, saving you even more money and helping you stick to your grocery budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
8. Cheapskates Buzz
Most popular forum posts this week
Use It Up Challenge 2018
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3784-Use-It-Up-Challenge-2018
Plastic Free Tips
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3608-Plastic-free-tips
How are You Spending Your Tax Return?
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3380-How-are-you-spending-your-tax-return
Most popular blog posts this week
Everyday Ways to Live Like a Cheapskates - Part 1 Babies
https://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2014/11/everyday-ways-to-live-like-cheapskate.html
Scrumptious Savoury Scones
https://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2017/07/scrumptious-savoury-scones.html
How One Person with a Small Voice can Change the World
https://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2013/11/how-one-person-with-small-voice-can.html
9. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Michelle who wrote
"Like Cath, I use Coles dishwashing powder in our dishwasher. We have "hard" water and need to use apple cider vinegar in the rinse cycle. My problem lies in drying (especially the plastics). I don't want to waste power (and money) by using the extra drying feature. Other than spending the money each month on special rise aide, what do my fellow Cheapskaters do to avoid having wet dishes?"
Claire Pascoe answered
I generally put our dishwasher on at night, then when it's finished and everyone has gone to bed, I open it up and pull all the draws out, dishes are all dry by the morning.
Leanne Gardner answered
Hi Michelle, I have the same problem. When I unload my dishwasher and the plastics are still wet I just pop them in my dish drainer for a while and they dry in no time.
Kate Collins answered
Dry them with a tea towel.
10. Ask Cath
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 10 cents a day 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. Members can update their email address or any other details by clicking on "Edit Profile" directly under their membership number after they have logged in to the Member's Centre. Subscribers to our free newsletter can use the Change Your Address form (under Customer Service in the menu) and fill it out. Once you've filled it in click the send button and we'll do the rest. Please remember to include your old email address so we can find it in the list as well as the new one.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
When you login to the Member's Centre you will be told how many days of membership you have left once you have 30 days left. Just click on the link to renew and your membership will just continue on, uninterrupted.
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 You Get on Our List?
You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member
13. Contact Details
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
Contact Cheapskates
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store -Energy Saver for Apartment Dwellers; MOO Roasted Chickpeas; Saving the Recipe, Paper and Money
3. Cheapskate's Winning Tip - An Affordable Lactose Free Cream Substitute
4. Share Your Tips -
5. Use It Up Month - Using up medications
6. On the Menu - Sweet Lamb Curry
7. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - The Smart Stockpile
8. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
9. Last Week's Question - Drying damp dishes
11. Ask Cath
12. Join the Cheapskates Club
13. Frequently Asked Questions
14. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
How are you going with the Use It Up Challenge? This week I've been able to use up a half packet of dates in a date loaf, some dried fruit in Cheats Boiled Fruit Cake, the bread crusts from the freezer in seasoned breadcrumbs. I've used some old shampoo to clean the bathroom.
In my spare time (usually around 3am when I can't sleep) I've been concentrating on using up my craft stash, and I'm thrilled to see it slowly, slowly shrinking.
And tonight is pizza night. We'll be using up bits of cheese, some leftover pasta sauce, a chopped capsicum from the freezer and a half tomato from yesterday's lunch. I just love using things up, especially when they create just about free food. The only thing "new" for tonight's pizzas will be the bases, everything else is leftover and so already paid for in our grocery budget.
The August journal went live yesterday, so if you haven't already, log in - it's a great read.
Have a wonderful week everyone, and remember to Use It Up!
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
Energy Saver for Apartment Dwellers
For all those that live in apartment buildings when washing up boil your kettle for the hot water. This easy tip saves you approximately $20 per quarter on your hot water bill as you aren't wasting your water waiting for the hot water to be drawn up from wherever your hot water system is in the building.
Contributed by Pauline Richardson
MOO Roasted Chickpeas
Recently I was offered a snack of roasted chickpeas which I enjoyed but I was not prepared to pay $27 to $33 per kg (in the two large supermarkets) so decided to make them myself. A can of chickpeas at Aldi costs 73 cents, so I rinsed them in a sieve, spread them out on paper towels and just dabbed them to remove most of the water. Then I spread them out on a baking paper lined tray and roasted them at 200 degrees Celsius for 35 to 45 minutes. During roasting, shake the tray occasionally. They are delicious just plain or you can experiment with chilli powder or other added flavours. The can contained 60 % chickpeas (rest water) so 240g for 73 cents, making it $3.04 per kg, a saving of approximately $24 per kg. You can save even more if you buy fresh chickpeas and cook them yourself. They are extremely healthy, low in calories and high in fibre and protein.
Contributed by Edel Heyer
Saving the Recipe, Paper and Money
I have a desktop computer that I use daily and I now save all my favourite recipes to a USB and plug it into my tablet. My tablet sits on a recipe book holder, where my old recipe books used to sit. You could use a lap top if you had one. On my USB I have also saved household tips and cleaning tips; you could use this idea for anything you need to print out. The tablet is more portable and saves a fortune on paper and printer ink.
Contributed by Sue Foster
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. Cheapskates Winning Tip
This week's winning tip is from Jacqui. Jacqui has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.
An Affordable Lactose Free Cream Substitute
My greatest discovery is that you can whip coconut cream. It doesn't whip like real cream, but it will get thick enough to ice a cake and give you that chocolate cake and cream taste. Buy a good quality one like Ayam, with no fillers. Open it and drain out any excess liquid (save and use in your next sate) and place the cream in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then whip away. If you want to make it a little firmer you can add 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum but I find it doesn't make that much difference. It won't form the beautiful peaks of fresh cream, but it will thicken and as soon as it does, add your sugar, mix it through and then stop or it will thin out again. Put it on whatever you are covering and if you want it to be a bit firmer place back in the fridge for a bit longer. This satisfied my daughter's chocolate cake, with cream and strawberry craving and didn't make us feel sick.
Congratulations Jacqui, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
4. Submit Your Tip
The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. 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. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.
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!
Submit your tip
5. Use It Up Month
Use It Up Challenge - Using Up Medication
Don’t panic, I'm not advocating using out of date or unnecessary medicines here. Before I get going with my medicines use it ups, if you do have out of date medicines, it's time to dispose of them. Take them to your local chemist if you're not sure what to do with them. It's much safer to get them out of the house, and you're clearing clutter!
Now that's dealt with, do you know there are some medicines that can be used for other purposes? Well there are, so before you do the chemist run, have a look at this list and see if there is anything on it you can use up.
We have three family members who suffer from eczema, so there are always tubes of hydrocortisone creams in the house. They're in the bathrooms, bedrooms, handbags and even the kitchen. And they are all partially used. After checking the dates on the tubes, I grouped them by name and stuck them into plastic tumblers and put them into an empty Tupperware container that lives in the linen cupboard.
Next up were the general medicines (paracetamol, ibuprofen, allergy tablets etc.). Again, they were scattered all over the place, along with the Band-Aids, bandages, essential oils etc. Simple solution: one place for everything. Into the Tupperware box they went. Now everything is one place and easy to find when needed.
Once that was sorted I tackled Wayne's medications. He has a few he takes regularly, and they are always in the same place, just messy. A few minutes later and packets had been combined and the empties put in the recycling. The prescriptions were slipped into the back of the basket, ready to take out when needed.
Having everything in a central place means we all know where to find what we need. It also means no doubling (or tripling or worse) up on these rather expensive items.
Do you have a central place for all your medicines and first aid items?
6. On the Menu
Sweet Lamb Curry
This recipe is perfect for a Use It Up meal -it is made with little bits of leftovers. And that makes it a real budget meal because it's almost free! Free because, being made from leftovers, most of the ingredients have already been accounted for in your meal plan budget. Woo hoo! Everyone loves free, especially free food.
This Sweet Lamb Curry made the way my father made it, using leftover roast lamb, a couple of wrinkly apples from the fruit bowl, and a handful of dried up sultanas. Add a little stock, some curry paste, an onion if you have one and a can of coconut cream and dinner is done, and on the cheap.
Sweet Lamb Curry
Ingredients:
Leftover roast lamb, diced (about 2 cups if you have it, or more - it's up to you)
1 or 2 apples - cored and diced (no need to peel, green or red -whatever you have)
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup of sultanas
2 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp oil
1 can coconut cream
Method:
Dice the lamb. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until clear. Add the curry paste and cook 1 minute. Add the stock and coconut cream and stir. Toss in the lamb, apple and sultanas. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer 10 minutes or until the apple is soft and the meat is heated through. Serve over steamed rice.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Lamb
Monday: Crockpot casserole, rice
Tuesday: Spaghetti & meatballs
Wednesday: Sweet lamb curry, rice
Thursday: MOO pizza
Friday: Stuffed potatoes with cheese, coleslaw, pineapple, sour cream
Saturday: Pepper steak sandwiches
In the fruit bowl: apples, mandarins
In the cake tin: fruit cake, weetbix slice
There are over 1,600 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
7. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Smart Stockpile
This topic was brought to mind earlier this week when I was listening to ABC radio and they were talking about food security, and just how little Australia really has. The drought was mentioned, as was the shrinking number of primary producers, and our reliance more and more on importing what we need. They also talked about the nine meals from anarchy theory, and how our shopping habits are shifting from the big weekly shop to smaller, daily food shops.
There's no need to panic or become scared, but a good time to think about putting some kind of plan in place so if you do have a disaster (financial, health, weather related, whatever) it won't be a disaster but rather a hiccup.
If you are stockpiling for the long-term, to save money and to survive a disaster (of any kind), try to stockpile high protein foods first, then other dry goods. So aim to keep a good stock of legumes - dried beans and lentils store well on the pantry shelf and are a high protein alternative to meat. A little serve provides a good whack of nutrients. Then look to stockpile flour - it does have a shelf life believe it or not, and it will go sour over time. Self-raising flour will lose it's ability to rise so keeping plain flours and baking powder (or the ingredients to MOO it) solves that problem. Flour can be frozen too. I pack it in 2kg lots, vac seal it and freeze it. Tinned tomatoes are always handy - even tinned they are good nutritional value. Dried fruits last just about forever, however they will lose freshness and become candied. For the long term they can be frozen too.
Now, the problem with freezing everything is that if the power were to go out for any length of time then that frozen stockpile is lost.
I still freeze a good portion of my food stockpile but I started bottling more about 7 years ago, and the last two years have preserved by bottling around a third. I'm saving up for a pressure canner so I can actually "can" soups, stews, casseroles, pasta dishes etc. for long term storage instead of relying on the freezer.
A good way to recession or disaster proof your grocery bill is to grow your own vegetables and fruit. I can't stress this enough, it will save you a fortune and if the supermarkets were to close you'd have food in the garden, not only to eat but to sell or barter for things you don't have. And homegrown is always best, being fresher and in most cases chemical free. It does not take a lot of time to grow food, it does take commitment. You do need to water, mulch, plant, weed, harvest, start seedlings and so on but none of these things is hard nor do they take a lot of time, they don't even need to take up a lot of space.
My stockpile is a little odd:
12 months cleaning and toiletries (soap, bicarb soda, borax, washing soda, eucalyptus oil, vinegar, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes)
12 months pasta, sauces (tomato, barbecue, sweet chilli are the main ones - I usually make them in Jan/Feb for the year - Worcestershire which I am about to make another batch of as I've just opened the last bottle and I like it to sit for 6 months before I use it), jam and marmalade (I make them all year round), salt, lentils, beans.
12 months canned goods: tomatoes, tomato soup, chicken soup, baked beans, black beans, beetroot, tuna, salmon, tinned fruit, pineapple
6 months baking supplies: flours, dried fruits, spices, sugars, molasses, golden syrup, nuts, bicarb soda, citric acid, tartaric acid, cream of tartar etc.
3 months of meat, chicken, frozen veg, hard cheeses, butter, weet bix, bran, ricies, peanut butter, vegemite, honey. All these things could easily be stretched to 6 months if necessary (I know, I've done it before).
The only paper goods we use regularly are toilet paper and baking paper (which I buy from Aldi, same price per metre as the bulk pack).
You don't need to go to extremes to build a stockpile. Most of you have seen my pantry, shelving and laundry cupboard on TV (they always seem to find a way to get it at its worst!). That's most of it. The toiletries are in the bathroom cupboards.
Smart people only stockpile the things they use regularly, buying them when on sale. Once you have a stockpile you'll never pay full price for groceries again, saving you even more money and helping you stick to your grocery budget.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
8. Cheapskates Buzz
Most popular forum posts this week
Use It Up Challenge 2018
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3784-Use-It-Up-Challenge-2018
Plastic Free Tips
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3608-Plastic-free-tips
How are You Spending Your Tax Return?
http://www.cheapskatesclub.com.au/memberforum/showthread.php?3380-How-are-you-spending-your-tax-return
Most popular blog posts this week
Everyday Ways to Live Like a Cheapskates - Part 1 Babies
https://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2014/11/everyday-ways-to-live-like-cheapskate.html
Scrumptious Savoury Scones
https://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2017/07/scrumptious-savoury-scones.html
How One Person with a Small Voice can Change the World
https://www.debtfreecashedupandlaughing.com.au/2013/11/how-one-person-with-small-voice-can.html
9. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Michelle who wrote
"Like Cath, I use Coles dishwashing powder in our dishwasher. We have "hard" water and need to use apple cider vinegar in the rinse cycle. My problem lies in drying (especially the plastics). I don't want to waste power (and money) by using the extra drying feature. Other than spending the money each month on special rise aide, what do my fellow Cheapskaters do to avoid having wet dishes?"
Claire Pascoe answered
I generally put our dishwasher on at night, then when it's finished and everyone has gone to bed, I open it up and pull all the draws out, dishes are all dry by the morning.
Leanne Gardner answered
Hi Michelle, I have the same problem. When I unload my dishwasher and the plastics are still wet I just pop them in my dish drainer for a while and they dry in no time.
Kate Collins answered
Dry them with a tea towel.
10. Ask Cath
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
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Joining the Cheapskates Club gives you 24/7 access to the Members Centre with 1000's of money saving tips and articles.
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13. Contact Details
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