YOUR CHEAPSKATES CLUB NEWSLETTER 35:20
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store
3. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - Vegetable Moussaka
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge -The First Aid Pantry
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Last Week's Question - Budget Wedding Ideas Needed
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,
I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our new members and newsletter subscribers, we are so glad you've joined us. Please introduce yourselves, we're a really friendly bunch, full of great ideas and experience and best of all, everyone is happy to share.
Yesterday was so exciting. Finally, finally, the fruit trees I ordered weeks ago were delivered. The holes have been dug for over a week. Then we decided to pot them instead, so they can move with us. It will be a couple of years before they are fully productive but I'm already planning how to preserve the harvest. What did we get? Lemon, lime, orange, mandarin and peach trees. They'll be nice additions to the fruit trees we already have, and keep us in citrus year round. Oh, and we repurposed some huge tubs into planters for them, and filled them with a mix of compost, potting mix and soil so the only cost has been for the trees themselves.
The seeds I planted have come up, and are quickly turning into sturdy seedlings. They'll be ready to transplant in a couple of weeks when the soil warms up, then it will be time to start more seeds so we'll have continuous crops during the summer. Have you started your summer (or winter if you're in the northern hemisphere) garden yet?
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Re-cycled Soap Wrappers
Unwrap soap as soon as you get it home to let it harden. It will last much longer if it has had time to harden. But don't throw away the wrapper after removing a bar of soap. Place it inside your shoe cabinet or shoe-box. It's a cheap way of filling the air with a nice smell. Soak and SaveYou can cut your laundry detergent use by 3/4 if you just soak the clothes for a few hours before washing. Just put the detergent (I only use about 2 tablespoons!!) into the machine while the water is running, add the clothes and leave the lid to the washing machine up. I put the clothes in before I go to bed and when I get up in the morning I just put the lid down and the wash cycle starts. The clothes have never been cleaner, I've slashed the amount of detergent I'm buying and I'm guaranteed at least one load of washing done before I leave the house in the mornings.
Easily Remove SplintersReach for the sticky tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the sticky tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Sticky tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
I want your tips!
We are rebuilding the Tip Store, removing all the old tips that are no longer relevant to living the Cheapskates way, and deleting double-ups. This means you'll see changes in the Tip Store, with one being the total number of tips will go down. And that means there will be room for new tips!
So, I want you to share your best money, time and energy saving ideas, there will be a weekly prize of a one year Cheapskates Club membership and a monthly prize of a one-year Cheapskates Club membership and $50. T
Prizes will be announced in the newsletter each week, with the prize for the tip of the month announced in the first newsletter of the next month.
It's easy and the rules are simple:
The tip must be cheap a genuine money, time or energy saver.
The tip must be of a practical nature.
The tip can be for anything home, garden, car, budget, children etc.
Please be specific in your tip i.e. "use vinegar and bi-carb for cleaning" won't win you a prize.
Share Your Tip
4. On The Menu
Vegetable Moussaka
This is one of my absolute favourite winter meals. It's the ideal make ahead dish, and I'll often make it on a Friday morning to serve for Saturday lunch or dinner with a salad and bread stick. It reheats beautifully, and just gets better with time; the leftovers are always popular.
Vegetable Moussaka
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, thinly sliced
2 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 onions, diced
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tins diced tomatoes (or fresh - whatever you have)
3 large potatoes, sliced
1 cup milk
2 tbsp plain flour
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 cup grated cheese, extra
Vegetable Oil
Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Brown the eggplant on each side, remove from pan. Add carrots and zucchini and cook until tender, about 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from pan. Brown potato slices. Remove from pan. Put onion and garlic into pan and cook until onion is clear. Add tomatoes. Oil a large lasagne dish. Put a third of tomato sauce on the bottom. Layer eggplant, carrots and zucchini, then potato slices. Cover with a third of the tomato sauce. Repeat vegetable layers, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Whisk flour into cold milk, with the pink of nutmeg. Slowly bring to a boil, whisking or stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese, and stir until melted. Pour over the top of the tomato sauce. Cover with the 1 cup of grated cheese (I use a combination of tasty and parmesan, use what you have). Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake a further 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Corned Beef & cabbage
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Cream Cheese Patties, salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Vegetable Moussaka
Saturday: Chicken soup, crumpets
In the fruit bowl: Oranges, apples
In the cake tin: No Bake Vanilla Slice
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
The First Aid Pantry
I know it's not food, but for me, this is a part of the grocery budget, there's even a column for it on the Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet.
During Tuesday night's show, I talked about the first aid pantry, usually known as the medicine chest. We don't have an actual medicine chest, but I'd love one. An old fashioned one, white metal, with hinges and a clip lock like my Grandad had would be wonderful.
Instead I have a huge old Tupperware box, bright yellow so it stands out, and a couple of toolboxes that we've converted into first aid kits, one for home and one in the Patrol. They are all kept stocked, and is a part of my grocery budget. That means I need to be just as careful about getting value for my shopping dollar buying bandaids or disinfectant or essential oil as I do when buying flour or oil or whatever.
As a part of my usual end-of-year tidy up and restocking, the medicine chest/box/shelf/cupboards get a tidy up, and a wipe out and then I do a quick inventory and check on use-by and best before dates, make a list of what needs to be replaced or replenished and add them to the shopping list. It's not the end of the year, but this has been one crazy year, with limits and restrictions on OTC medications and even shortages and limits on prescription meds so last week the first aid box had an audit and the shopping list has been made.
Apart from the occasional pain relief for a headache and hayfever relief we don't go through a lot of over-the-counter medications so they are limited in the first aid pantry.
Here's what is always in the box:
Bandaids of various shapes and sizes
Burn cream
Burn dressings
Betadine gargle
Betadine
Drawing ointment
Dettol
Eucalyptus oil
Lavender oil
Ti Tree oil
On Guard oil
Antiseptic cream
Antiseptic wipes
Peroxide
Bandages
Elastic bandages & clips
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Zyrtec
Immodium
Saline
Tweezers
Scissors
Rags for slings
Safety pins
Eye bath
Water purification tablets
These things come from Aldi, Coles, Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, $2 Shops - wherever they are the cheapest when I am buying them. I always check the packaging to compare ingredients and source, and of course the unit price. Remember - bigger isn't always better value and generic isn't always cheaper.
Having at least a basic first aid kit/medicine chest lets you treat simple ailments without having to dash to the chemist and pay top dollar.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Beating The Can't Be Bothered Dinnertime Blues
Crumble Kits
How I Buy Fruit And Vegetables Once A Month (And They Last)
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
The $5 Pantry Challenge
Dehydrating for Shelf Stable Food Storage
MOO Breakfast Wraps
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show ScheduleTuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store
3. Share Your Tips
5. On the Menu - Vegetable Moussaka
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge -The First Aid Pantry
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Last Week's Question - Budget Wedding Ideas Needed
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,
I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our new members and newsletter subscribers, we are so glad you've joined us. Please introduce yourselves, we're a really friendly bunch, full of great ideas and experience and best of all, everyone is happy to share.
Yesterday was so exciting. Finally, finally, the fruit trees I ordered weeks ago were delivered. The holes have been dug for over a week. Then we decided to pot them instead, so they can move with us. It will be a couple of years before they are fully productive but I'm already planning how to preserve the harvest. What did we get? Lemon, lime, orange, mandarin and peach trees. They'll be nice additions to the fruit trees we already have, and keep us in citrus year round. Oh, and we repurposed some huge tubs into planters for them, and filled them with a mix of compost, potting mix and soil so the only cost has been for the trees themselves.
The seeds I planted have come up, and are quickly turning into sturdy seedlings. They'll be ready to transplant in a couple of weeks when the soil warms up, then it will be time to start more seeds so we'll have continuous crops during the summer. Have you started your summer (or winter if you're in the northern hemisphere) garden yet?
Have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Re-cycled Soap Wrappers
Unwrap soap as soon as you get it home to let it harden. It will last much longer if it has had time to harden. But don't throw away the wrapper after removing a bar of soap. Place it inside your shoe cabinet or shoe-box. It's a cheap way of filling the air with a nice smell. Soak and SaveYou can cut your laundry detergent use by 3/4 if you just soak the clothes for a few hours before washing. Just put the detergent (I only use about 2 tablespoons!!) into the machine while the water is running, add the clothes and leave the lid to the washing machine up. I put the clothes in before I go to bed and when I get up in the morning I just put the lid down and the wash cycle starts. The clothes have never been cleaner, I've slashed the amount of detergent I'm buying and I'm guaranteed at least one load of washing done before I leave the house in the mornings.
Easily Remove SplintersReach for the sticky tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the sticky tape over the splinter, then pull it off. Sticky tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
I want your tips!
We are rebuilding the Tip Store, removing all the old tips that are no longer relevant to living the Cheapskates way, and deleting double-ups. This means you'll see changes in the Tip Store, with one being the total number of tips will go down. And that means there will be room for new tips!
So, I want you to share your best money, time and energy saving ideas, there will be a weekly prize of a one year Cheapskates Club membership and a monthly prize of a one-year Cheapskates Club membership and $50. T
Prizes will be announced in the newsletter each week, with the prize for the tip of the month announced in the first newsletter of the next month.
It's easy and the rules are simple:
The tip must be cheap a genuine money, time or energy saver.
The tip must be of a practical nature.
The tip can be for anything home, garden, car, budget, children etc.
Please be specific in your tip i.e. "use vinegar and bi-carb for cleaning" won't win you a prize.
Share Your Tip
4. On The Menu
Vegetable Moussaka
This is one of my absolute favourite winter meals. It's the ideal make ahead dish, and I'll often make it on a Friday morning to serve for Saturday lunch or dinner with a salad and bread stick. It reheats beautifully, and just gets better with time; the leftovers are always popular.
Vegetable Moussaka
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, thinly sliced
2 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 onions, diced
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tins diced tomatoes (or fresh - whatever you have)
3 large potatoes, sliced
1 cup milk
2 tbsp plain flour
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 cup grated cheese, extra
Vegetable Oil
Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Brown the eggplant on each side, remove from pan. Add carrots and zucchini and cook until tender, about 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from pan. Brown potato slices. Remove from pan. Put onion and garlic into pan and cook until onion is clear. Add tomatoes. Oil a large lasagne dish. Put a third of tomato sauce on the bottom. Layer eggplant, carrots and zucchini, then potato slices. Cover with a third of the tomato sauce. Repeat vegetable layers, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Whisk flour into cold milk, with the pink of nutmeg. Slowly bring to a boil, whisking or stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese, and stir until melted. Pour over the top of the tomato sauce. Cover with the 1 cup of grated cheese (I use a combination of tasty and parmesan, use what you have). Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake a further 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Corned Beef & cabbage
Tuesday: Spag Bol
Wednesday: Cream Cheese Patties, salad
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Vegetable Moussaka
Saturday: Chicken soup, crumpets
In the fruit bowl: Oranges, apples
In the cake tin: No Bake Vanilla Slice
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
The First Aid Pantry
I know it's not food, but for me, this is a part of the grocery budget, there's even a column for it on the Grocery Tracking Spreadsheet.
During Tuesday night's show, I talked about the first aid pantry, usually known as the medicine chest. We don't have an actual medicine chest, but I'd love one. An old fashioned one, white metal, with hinges and a clip lock like my Grandad had would be wonderful.
Instead I have a huge old Tupperware box, bright yellow so it stands out, and a couple of toolboxes that we've converted into first aid kits, one for home and one in the Patrol. They are all kept stocked, and is a part of my grocery budget. That means I need to be just as careful about getting value for my shopping dollar buying bandaids or disinfectant or essential oil as I do when buying flour or oil or whatever.
As a part of my usual end-of-year tidy up and restocking, the medicine chest/box/shelf/cupboards get a tidy up, and a wipe out and then I do a quick inventory and check on use-by and best before dates, make a list of what needs to be replaced or replenished and add them to the shopping list. It's not the end of the year, but this has been one crazy year, with limits and restrictions on OTC medications and even shortages and limits on prescription meds so last week the first aid box had an audit and the shopping list has been made.
Apart from the occasional pain relief for a headache and hayfever relief we don't go through a lot of over-the-counter medications so they are limited in the first aid pantry.
Here's what is always in the box:
Bandaids of various shapes and sizes
Burn cream
Burn dressings
Betadine gargle
Betadine
Drawing ointment
Dettol
Eucalyptus oil
Lavender oil
Ti Tree oil
On Guard oil
Antiseptic cream
Antiseptic wipes
Peroxide
Bandages
Elastic bandages & clips
Paracetamol
Ibuprofen
Zyrtec
Immodium
Saline
Tweezers
Scissors
Rags for slings
Safety pins
Eye bath
Water purification tablets
These things come from Aldi, Coles, Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, $2 Shops - wherever they are the cheapest when I am buying them. I always check the packaging to compare ingredients and source, and of course the unit price. Remember - bigger isn't always better value and generic isn't always cheaper.
Having at least a basic first aid kit/medicine chest lets you treat simple ailments without having to dash to the chemist and pay top dollar.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
Beating The Can't Be Bothered Dinnertime Blues
Crumble Kits
How I Buy Fruit And Vegetables Once A Month (And They Last)
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
The $5 Pantry Challenge
Dehydrating for Shelf Stable Food Storage
MOO Breakfast Wraps
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show ScheduleTuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Latest Shows
8. Last Week's Question
Last week's question was from Jane who wrote
"After 20 years together, my fella and I would like to get married! I would love some advice on how to create a beautiful, simple celebration please. Where to spend money? Where to save it? I love the idea of a beach wedding but not so sure how to weatherproof it. I have thought about a ceremony with lots of friends followed by a meal with immediate family. I have been a bridesmaid six times and I've seen crazy amounts of money spent on weddings...including a horse and carriage, sports cars and limos, a cathedral, designer bridesmaid dresses, expensive hairdressers…I know special doesn't need to be expensive. Thank you,"
Try A Surf Club For A Beach Wedding
If you are thinking of a beach wedding, maybe there would be a surf club you could use as the reception venue and could also be used as the wedding venue if the weather turns bad . You could also ask guests to pay for their own meal rather than gifts . I’m sure after 20 years together you have most of what you need . Ask a friend to download your favourite music and use this rather than a DJ saving you lots of dollars .
Contributed by Coralee Grey
Wedding On A Shoestring Budget
I recently married (in my mid 40's) and had the most amazing wedding on a shoe-string budget! We tied the knot on a stunning headland overlooking a beach and lake (no cost except for the wedding celebrant) and friends provided music for the ceremony. Our reception was held at the cutest community hall for a grand total of $120 (we live on the far south coast of NSW with plenty of quaint council owned community halls to choose from). We designed our wedding registry to include options such as help set up/serve at the bar/cook curries/clean up - which was well received especially by folks who had to spend a lot of money to travel to the wedding (and was also a great way for people to get to know each other).
Friends and family helped decorate the hall the day before with bunting and vintage tablecloths from op shops and stunning cottage flowers in rustic glass jars, all sourced locally from a friend's flower farm. Flowers including wedding bouquet, ceremony and reception decos were very reasonable and much less than you would pay via a florist. We managed to feed over 150 guests on a limited budget. My husband brewed all the beer/stout/lager/ginger beer (it was a lot!). I gathered my friends and held a few massive cooking sessions where we made 3 types of curries which were then frozen (I had to borrow containers and an extra freezer). On the day I hired 2 ladies to oversee the cooking of rice, heating up the curries, making condiments, papadums and serving. We also had an assortment of finger food delivered from a local café, which was circulated amongst guests before dinner was served. We sourced our cake as a very large plain slab chocolate cake from a local bakery ($200 ) which we served as dessert with cream. A friend decorated the cake with fresh flowers as a wedding gift.
We splurged a little on a fabulous band to provide live music for the night. We did the invitations ourselves at no cost by using a template off the internet and emailing or messaging the invite as an attachment. For wedding photography we chose the smallest/cheapest package available - which was purely digital copies but we then chose our own prints and enlargements via Big W printing. It was an amazing event - everyone loved it and commented on the uniqueness of our wedding. Mostly we were pleased we didn't have to edit our guest list and could have everyone we wanted there. I wouldn't say it was stress-free as there was a lot of work involved but I'm glad we could do it our way.
Contributed by Kristy Ellis
The Budget Wedding Tip List
As someone who got married 18 months ago with a huge guest list and a small budget, I have many suggestions for you!
(Caveat: all the tips you choose to use must fit with the tone of the day that you want.)
- Self-cater. I recruited friends to cook (paid, but mates rates) and did the shopping and pre-cooking myself on usual Cheapskates principles. Field-test all recipes first, find out how long they take to cook, which can be cooked ahead and re-heated and how long that will take, and which stain clothing.
- If in doubt, go light with food. People usually will want to mingle. You could even ask your guests whether they want sit-down, buffet, tapas, cocktails. Even if you go with sit-down, have everyone serve themselves (make an announcement to go up table by table if you have lots of guests). Do make sure you get plates for yourself and your man at the start.
- Have parts of the day be gifts. E.g., on your wedding registry, list "clean-up after reception" or "usher" or "flowers to decorate pavilion" with appropriate details.
- Look for a dress at op-shops. OK, at the moment this depends on whether you have open op-shops in your area, but one thing I noticed for years is that there are always wedding dresses at large op-shops. My dress and both my bridesmaids' dresses came from op-shops.
- Wine: shop at Aldi. There are some very good wines there for $5-$8 per bottle. If you want bubbly, buy local - Australia produces lots of wine, and Australian bubbly is far cheaper than actual champagne. Don't be afraid to buy sample bottles beforehand and taste them - we tried to match ours to the food. (I'm also boggled that when I bought the wine for our wedding, a whole trolley-full, the cashier barely blinked!)
- If you and/or your fiancé have a regular church, ask the clergy there to perform the ceremony. Many churches do weddings free for parishioners.
- Keep entertainment simple. If you go with the beach option, you could have beach cricket. (If children are invited, they'll love simple, familiar games.) Whatever your setting, you can have open-ended activities that create memories of the day or contribute to your future lives, e.g., thumbprint art, suggestions for date nights, messages for your first anniversary.
- Ask around your friends for incidental items, e.g., decorating ribbon, disposable plates, tablecloths.
- Ask your friends if they can network any major items, e.g., a jeweller who could give mates rates, hall/pavilion hire, music, flowers. Sometimes having the right person place the order can make you eligible for a discount.
Contributed by Gabrielle Castle
What Is Important To The Bride And Groom
My tip is, think about what is important to you, and what you are going to be left with after the day. My dress was important to me because I knew I'd want to keep it. We only wanted simple rings. I wasn't interested in having a stranger shoving a camera in my face all day (and I'm a wedding photographer so believe me I know how irritating we can be!). If you forego a photographer though, PLEASE ensure someone has an actual camera, don't have all your wedding photos taken on a phone! We just put a request on our invitations to everyone to bring their camera, and of course all photos were shared with us after the day (some were even shot on film, gasp!). At the end of the day, your wedding is just a party. The thing you will have to remember it by is your husband. Everything else is just stuff.
Contributed by Robyn Thomas
The Gift of Skills
Since you’ve been together for a while chances are you don’t need much in terms of gifts. I suggest you ask your guests to nominate a skill they can give you as a gift. Whether it’s a signature dish they can contribute for food, an eye for decoration, flare for fashion/sewing, flower arranging, or photography/social media skills, I am sure everyone could contribute something that would make your day more memorable, personal and cheaper
Contributed by Angela Cathcart
9. Ask A Question
We have lots of resources to help you as you live the Cheapskates way but if you didn't find the answer to your question in our extensive archives please just drop me a note with your question.
I read and answer all questions, either in an email to you, in my weekly newsletter, the monthly Journal or by creating blog posts and other resources to help you (and other Cheapskaters).
Ask Your Question
10. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 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!
11. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
12. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates
Last week's question was from Jane who wrote
"After 20 years together, my fella and I would like to get married! I would love some advice on how to create a beautiful, simple celebration please. Where to spend money? Where to save it? I love the idea of a beach wedding but not so sure how to weatherproof it. I have thought about a ceremony with lots of friends followed by a meal with immediate family. I have been a bridesmaid six times and I've seen crazy amounts of money spent on weddings...including a horse and carriage, sports cars and limos, a cathedral, designer bridesmaid dresses, expensive hairdressers…I know special doesn't need to be expensive. Thank you,"
Try A Surf Club For A Beach Wedding
If you are thinking of a beach wedding, maybe there would be a surf club you could use as the reception venue and could also be used as the wedding venue if the weather turns bad . You could also ask guests to pay for their own meal rather than gifts . I’m sure after 20 years together you have most of what you need . Ask a friend to download your favourite music and use this rather than a DJ saving you lots of dollars .
Contributed by Coralee Grey
Wedding On A Shoestring Budget
I recently married (in my mid 40's) and had the most amazing wedding on a shoe-string budget! We tied the knot on a stunning headland overlooking a beach and lake (no cost except for the wedding celebrant) and friends provided music for the ceremony. Our reception was held at the cutest community hall for a grand total of $120 (we live on the far south coast of NSW with plenty of quaint council owned community halls to choose from). We designed our wedding registry to include options such as help set up/serve at the bar/cook curries/clean up - which was well received especially by folks who had to spend a lot of money to travel to the wedding (and was also a great way for people to get to know each other).
Friends and family helped decorate the hall the day before with bunting and vintage tablecloths from op shops and stunning cottage flowers in rustic glass jars, all sourced locally from a friend's flower farm. Flowers including wedding bouquet, ceremony and reception decos were very reasonable and much less than you would pay via a florist. We managed to feed over 150 guests on a limited budget. My husband brewed all the beer/stout/lager/ginger beer (it was a lot!). I gathered my friends and held a few massive cooking sessions where we made 3 types of curries which were then frozen (I had to borrow containers and an extra freezer). On the day I hired 2 ladies to oversee the cooking of rice, heating up the curries, making condiments, papadums and serving. We also had an assortment of finger food delivered from a local café, which was circulated amongst guests before dinner was served. We sourced our cake as a very large plain slab chocolate cake from a local bakery ($200 ) which we served as dessert with cream. A friend decorated the cake with fresh flowers as a wedding gift.
We splurged a little on a fabulous band to provide live music for the night. We did the invitations ourselves at no cost by using a template off the internet and emailing or messaging the invite as an attachment. For wedding photography we chose the smallest/cheapest package available - which was purely digital copies but we then chose our own prints and enlargements via Big W printing. It was an amazing event - everyone loved it and commented on the uniqueness of our wedding. Mostly we were pleased we didn't have to edit our guest list and could have everyone we wanted there. I wouldn't say it was stress-free as there was a lot of work involved but I'm glad we could do it our way.
Contributed by Kristy Ellis
The Budget Wedding Tip List
As someone who got married 18 months ago with a huge guest list and a small budget, I have many suggestions for you!
(Caveat: all the tips you choose to use must fit with the tone of the day that you want.)
- Self-cater. I recruited friends to cook (paid, but mates rates) and did the shopping and pre-cooking myself on usual Cheapskates principles. Field-test all recipes first, find out how long they take to cook, which can be cooked ahead and re-heated and how long that will take, and which stain clothing.
- If in doubt, go light with food. People usually will want to mingle. You could even ask your guests whether they want sit-down, buffet, tapas, cocktails. Even if you go with sit-down, have everyone serve themselves (make an announcement to go up table by table if you have lots of guests). Do make sure you get plates for yourself and your man at the start.
- Have parts of the day be gifts. E.g., on your wedding registry, list "clean-up after reception" or "usher" or "flowers to decorate pavilion" with appropriate details.
- Look for a dress at op-shops. OK, at the moment this depends on whether you have open op-shops in your area, but one thing I noticed for years is that there are always wedding dresses at large op-shops. My dress and both my bridesmaids' dresses came from op-shops.
- Wine: shop at Aldi. There are some very good wines there for $5-$8 per bottle. If you want bubbly, buy local - Australia produces lots of wine, and Australian bubbly is far cheaper than actual champagne. Don't be afraid to buy sample bottles beforehand and taste them - we tried to match ours to the food. (I'm also boggled that when I bought the wine for our wedding, a whole trolley-full, the cashier barely blinked!)
- If you and/or your fiancé have a regular church, ask the clergy there to perform the ceremony. Many churches do weddings free for parishioners.
- Keep entertainment simple. If you go with the beach option, you could have beach cricket. (If children are invited, they'll love simple, familiar games.) Whatever your setting, you can have open-ended activities that create memories of the day or contribute to your future lives, e.g., thumbprint art, suggestions for date nights, messages for your first anniversary.
- Ask around your friends for incidental items, e.g., decorating ribbon, disposable plates, tablecloths.
- Ask your friends if they can network any major items, e.g., a jeweller who could give mates rates, hall/pavilion hire, music, flowers. Sometimes having the right person place the order can make you eligible for a discount.
Contributed by Gabrielle Castle
What Is Important To The Bride And Groom
My tip is, think about what is important to you, and what you are going to be left with after the day. My dress was important to me because I knew I'd want to keep it. We only wanted simple rings. I wasn't interested in having a stranger shoving a camera in my face all day (and I'm a wedding photographer so believe me I know how irritating we can be!). If you forego a photographer though, PLEASE ensure someone has an actual camera, don't have all your wedding photos taken on a phone! We just put a request on our invitations to everyone to bring their camera, and of course all photos were shared with us after the day (some were even shot on film, gasp!). At the end of the day, your wedding is just a party. The thing you will have to remember it by is your husband. Everything else is just stuff.
Contributed by Robyn Thomas
The Gift of Skills
Since you’ve been together for a while chances are you don’t need much in terms of gifts. I suggest you ask your guests to nominate a skill they can give you as a gift. Whether it’s a signature dish they can contribute for food, an eye for decoration, flare for fashion/sewing, flower arranging, or photography/social media skills, I am sure everyone could contribute something that would make your day more memorable, personal and cheaper
Contributed by Angela Cathcart
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