Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 39:19
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Easy Seed Storage; Save on Overseas Gifts by Buying Online in Recipient's Own Country; Safer, Cheaper, Deodorant
3. Share Your Tips
4. The Living the Cheapskates Way Budget & Lifestyle Planner 2020
5. On the Menu - Vegetarian Haystacks
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge- A Pantry Designed for Cooking for One or Two
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters, It's a beautiful day here today - the sun is shining, a few fluffy clouds are in the sky, there is a very gentle breeze - a perfect day for pottering in the garden, which is exactly what I'll be doing as soon as I finish this newsletter, get it sent, and uploaded to the Newsletter Archive.
Did you know we have a Newsletter Archive ? If you miss a newsletter, or accidentally delete it, you can find back newsletters in the Archives on our website. Just choose the year you need, then scroll down until you find the newsletter you want. Easy!
Tomorrow is a public holiday here, so I won't be working. If you send a Contact Us request I'll answer as soon as I can when I get back to work on Tuesday morning.
OK, my garden is calling, so have a great week everyone, and I hope your team wins this weekend.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Easy Seed Storage
As spring is not far away I was sorting my seed packets after returning from a trip from Bunnings, I needed a better way to sort and store them, then the light bulb moment: a well-made shoe holder passed on to me from my daughters decluttering made the perfect seed sorter hanging behind the door of my sewing room . So now there is no need to double up by buying packets that I already have, as it’s all neat tidy and in clear view with easy access.
Contributed by Julie O'Dea
Save on Overseas Gifts by Buying Online in Recipient's Own Country
I have found mailing packages overseas to be so expensive. Sometimes the postage costs more than the gift. A cheaper way is to buy online from a store in the recipients country (e.g. ebay.de (Germany eBay) or even a supermarket like Asda in UK). It is easy to get the equivalent of a hamper sent with minimal postage when it is within the country. This applies to photo gifts too. Try Snapfish in their country. The items get to them faster and postage is almost 80% cheaper than posting from Australia. Remember to pay via card that has no international fees.
Contributed by Jo Deacs
Safer, Cheaper, Deodorant
Very cautious of overpriced personal care products I often ponder what did people do in the past before the onslaught of the present day marketing hype. When it comes to deodorant (with a quick bit of research) I discovered that a small sprinkle of that good old staple bicarbonate soda works a treat. Kills germs - the smell producers- and helps with sweating though I must admit I'm not an overly sweaty person. You never know, give it a go it may also work for you.
Contributed by Jan Naylor
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,600 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
4. The Living the Cheapskates Way Budget & Lifestyle Planner 2020
After years of using frustrating diaries and planners that didn't have everything we wanted in the one place, we've developed the perfect planner for Cheapskates!
It has everything you need to keep you organised as you live the Cheapskates way - debt free, cashed up and laughing!
I've tried so many planners and diaries over the years. Some of them have been cheap (from $2 shops); some of them have been expensive (I've paid up to $50 for a planner); some of them have been given to me. The best I could find that worked reasonably well was a 98 cent paperback school diary from Aldi! But not one of the many I've tried over the years had everything I needed. Sure, they all had some of what I needed to live the Cheapskates way, but not one of them had all the things I need in the one place.
And so I had planners and notebooks everywhere - on my desk, in my handbag, on the bookshelf (because they were too painful to use), even on my phone! And it wasn't working. It was messy. It was time consuming. It was just plain annoying to have multiple dairies, planners, journals to organise our life.
And so I started plotting and planning and thinking about just what I need in a planner, then handed it all over to Hannah.
The result is the Living the Cheapskates Way Lifestyle and Budget Planner.
It has:
Hard cover (so it lasts the year)
Planner pages: 210 x 148mm (A5)
2020 yearly calendar
2020 Australian public holidays page
2020 Goals
2020 Monthly Overview
2020 Annual Budget
Savings Tracker shows you at a glance just how much you are saving
Debt Tracker gives you a visual of that disappearing debt
Bills Log so you'll never miss paying a bill
Emergency Fund Challenge will get your EF started quickly
Monthly Tabs so everything is easy to find
Monthly Goals
Monthly Planner Overview
Weekly Planner for details
Weekly Budget Tracker so you'll be able to stay on budget all the time
Weekly meal planning pages so you can ditch the last minute drive-thru or takeaway
Monthly & Weekly Shopping lists
Monthly Fridge, Pantry & Freezer Inventory will help you with meal planning and shopping
Recipe Tracker so you can find those recipes when you need them
Pantry Basics List with space to add the extra basics you need to keep on hand
Birthday Log to track the who and when
Gift Tracker to track the gifts you have for the whos and whens, and where they're stashed
Christmas Gift List to keep your Christmas shopping and wrapping under control
Renewals Tracker so you'll never miss a renewal again
Notes pages to jot down your thoughts and great ideas
Clear plastic coil binding - bounces back if it gets squashed!
Everything you need in the one convenient, handbag sized, hardcover (so it lasts the full year) planner for just $29.95 plus GST and p&h.
We only printed a limited number, and once they're gone, we won't be doing a reprint.
Click here to find out more and order your copy for delivery in mid-October.
5. On The Menu
Vegetarian Haystacks
Ingredients:
1 can Sanitarium Nutmeat, diced into small chunks
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can baked beans in tomato sauce
1 diced onion
3 tsp MOO Taco Seasoning (or 1 pkt taco seasoning) https://www.cheapskatesclub.net/moo-taco-seasoning.html
Method:
Mix and heat. Serve over a bed of corn chips and top with chopped tomato, lettuce, grated cheese & salsa, guacamole or sour cream as you would for tacos.
Notes:
Nutmeat is available from health food shops or the health food aisle of Coles supermarkets.
Use MOO pita chips instead of corn chips - they're not only cheaper, but healthier too.
Diced beetroot and well drained, crushed pineapple make good toppings too.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Tuna Surprise
Tuesday: Fettucine Alfredo, salad
Wednesday: Sweet'n'sour chicken, fried rice
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Spring rolls, fried rice
Saturday: Tacos
In the fruit bowl: Oranges, bananas
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
6. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
A Pantry Designed for Cooking for One or Two
Cooking for one or two isn't really all that different to cooking for four or six (or five!) - you'll either have leftovers for freezer meals or you'll halve the recipe to make the number of serves you need. And the rules for the $300 a Month Food Challenge are the same - you simply adjust your budget down.
Whether you are cooking or one or two or four or six or twelve, you need some basic pantry items. The only difference between pantries will be the quantities you have stored.
Pantry:
SR Flour
Sugar
Jarred pasta sauce
Tomato paste
Dried pasta
Rice
Stock cubes
Peanut butter
Canned beans (such as chickpeas, cannellinis, kidneys)
Dry breadcrumbs
Extra-virgin olive oil
Dried herbs and spices
Onions
Refrigerator:
Fresh herbs
Eggs
Butter
Plain yogurt
Milk
Cheeses (such as cheddar, Parmesan, and mozzarella)
Lemons
Condiments (such as Dijon mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, and soy sauce)
Jams (such as strawberry, raspberry, and apricot)
Salad greens (lettuce, cucumber, capsicum)
Freezer:
Bacon (divide into individual servings)
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I like to leave some whole and cut some into strips and others cubed for easy use.)
Minced beef (divided into 500g portions)
Frozen vegetables (such as spinach, broccoli florets, peas, beans and mixed vegetables)
Pizza dough (MOO or buy the small, fresh pizza bases and freeze them)
Frozen fruits (such as strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and mango)
Ice cream
So what can you make for one or two with your pantry stocks?
Frozen fruit + yogurt + milk = Fruit Smoothie
Pizza dough + pasta sauce + diced onion + herbs + grated cheese = Margarita pizza
Mince + pasta sauce + grated cheese + cooked spaghetti = Spag bol
Minced beef or chicken + onion + breadcrumbs + eggs + tomato sauce + herbs = Meatloaf
Chicken breasts + eggs + breadcrumbs + Parmesan + tomato sauce + mozzarella = Chicken Parmesan
Chicken breast + onion + mixed vegetables + cheese + milk + flour + pizza dough = Chicken and Vegetable Pie
Eggs + fresh herbs + cheese + salad = Omelette with Green Salad
It doesn't matter the size of your family, or how many you are feeding, you can still stick to the $300 a Month Food Challenge by adjusting up or down.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
10 Ways to Save for that Family Holiday
Deal With the Overspending Habit
How to Survive Without Credit
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Going Lower and Living our Best Lives
Stockpiles
How Will Brexit Affect Cheapskaters
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
We're back!
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and Thursday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Easy Seed Storage; Save on Overseas Gifts by Buying Online in Recipient's Own Country; Safer, Cheaper, Deodorant
3. Share Your Tips
4. The Living the Cheapskates Way Budget & Lifestyle Planner 2020
5. On the Menu - Vegetarian Haystacks
6. The $300 a Month Food Challenge- A Pantry Designed for Cooking for One or Two
7. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
9. Ask A Question - Have a question? Ask it here
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters, It's a beautiful day here today - the sun is shining, a few fluffy clouds are in the sky, there is a very gentle breeze - a perfect day for pottering in the garden, which is exactly what I'll be doing as soon as I finish this newsletter, get it sent, and uploaded to the Newsletter Archive.
Did you know we have a Newsletter Archive ? If you miss a newsletter, or accidentally delete it, you can find back newsletters in the Archives on our website. Just choose the year you need, then scroll down until you find the newsletter you want. Easy!
Tomorrow is a public holiday here, so I won't be working. If you send a Contact Us request I'll answer as soon as I can when I get back to work on Tuesday morning.
OK, my garden is calling, so have a great week everyone, and I hope your team wins this weekend.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
2. From The Tip Store
Easy Seed Storage
As spring is not far away I was sorting my seed packets after returning from a trip from Bunnings, I needed a better way to sort and store them, then the light bulb moment: a well-made shoe holder passed on to me from my daughters decluttering made the perfect seed sorter hanging behind the door of my sewing room . So now there is no need to double up by buying packets that I already have, as it’s all neat tidy and in clear view with easy access.
Contributed by Julie O'Dea
Save on Overseas Gifts by Buying Online in Recipient's Own Country
I have found mailing packages overseas to be so expensive. Sometimes the postage costs more than the gift. A cheaper way is to buy online from a store in the recipients country (e.g. ebay.de (Germany eBay) or even a supermarket like Asda in UK). It is easy to get the equivalent of a hamper sent with minimal postage when it is within the country. This applies to photo gifts too. Try Snapfish in their country. The items get to them faster and postage is almost 80% cheaper than posting from Australia. Remember to pay via card that has no international fees.
Contributed by Jo Deacs
Safer, Cheaper, Deodorant
Very cautious of overpriced personal care products I often ponder what did people do in the past before the onslaught of the present day marketing hype. When it comes to deodorant (with a quick bit of research) I discovered that a small sprinkle of that good old staple bicarbonate soda works a treat. Kills germs - the smell producers- and helps with sweating though I must admit I'm not an overly sweaty person. You never know, give it a go it may also work for you.
Contributed by Jan Naylor
Add a Tip
3. Share Your Tips
The Cheapskate's Club website is thousands of pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. There are over 12,000 tips to save you money, time and energy; 1,600 budget and family friendly recipes, hundreds of printable tip sheets and ebooks.
Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club.
Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.
Remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Share Your Tip
4. The Living the Cheapskates Way Budget & Lifestyle Planner 2020
After years of using frustrating diaries and planners that didn't have everything we wanted in the one place, we've developed the perfect planner for Cheapskates!
It has everything you need to keep you organised as you live the Cheapskates way - debt free, cashed up and laughing!
I've tried so many planners and diaries over the years. Some of them have been cheap (from $2 shops); some of them have been expensive (I've paid up to $50 for a planner); some of them have been given to me. The best I could find that worked reasonably well was a 98 cent paperback school diary from Aldi! But not one of the many I've tried over the years had everything I needed. Sure, they all had some of what I needed to live the Cheapskates way, but not one of them had all the things I need in the one place.
And so I had planners and notebooks everywhere - on my desk, in my handbag, on the bookshelf (because they were too painful to use), even on my phone! And it wasn't working. It was messy. It was time consuming. It was just plain annoying to have multiple dairies, planners, journals to organise our life.
And so I started plotting and planning and thinking about just what I need in a planner, then handed it all over to Hannah.
The result is the Living the Cheapskates Way Lifestyle and Budget Planner.
It has:
Hard cover (so it lasts the year)
Planner pages: 210 x 148mm (A5)
2020 yearly calendar
2020 Australian public holidays page
2020 Goals
2020 Monthly Overview
2020 Annual Budget
Savings Tracker shows you at a glance just how much you are saving
Debt Tracker gives you a visual of that disappearing debt
Bills Log so you'll never miss paying a bill
Emergency Fund Challenge will get your EF started quickly
Monthly Tabs so everything is easy to find
Monthly Goals
Monthly Planner Overview
Weekly Planner for details
Weekly Budget Tracker so you'll be able to stay on budget all the time
Weekly meal planning pages so you can ditch the last minute drive-thru or takeaway
Monthly & Weekly Shopping lists
Monthly Fridge, Pantry & Freezer Inventory will help you with meal planning and shopping
Recipe Tracker so you can find those recipes when you need them
Pantry Basics List with space to add the extra basics you need to keep on hand
Birthday Log to track the who and when
Gift Tracker to track the gifts you have for the whos and whens, and where they're stashed
Christmas Gift List to keep your Christmas shopping and wrapping under control
Renewals Tracker so you'll never miss a renewal again
Notes pages to jot down your thoughts and great ideas
Clear plastic coil binding - bounces back if it gets squashed!
Everything you need in the one convenient, handbag sized, hardcover (so it lasts the full year) planner for just $29.95 plus GST and p&h.
We only printed a limited number, and once they're gone, we won't be doing a reprint.
Click here to find out more and order your copy for delivery in mid-October.
5. On The Menu
Vegetarian Haystacks
Ingredients:
1 can Sanitarium Nutmeat, diced into small chunks
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can baked beans in tomato sauce
1 diced onion
3 tsp MOO Taco Seasoning (or 1 pkt taco seasoning) https://www.cheapskatesclub.net/moo-taco-seasoning.html
Method:
Mix and heat. Serve over a bed of corn chips and top with chopped tomato, lettuce, grated cheese & salsa, guacamole or sour cream as you would for tacos.
Notes:
Nutmeat is available from health food shops or the health food aisle of Coles supermarkets.
Use MOO pita chips instead of corn chips - they're not only cheaper, but healthier too.
Diced beetroot and well drained, crushed pineapple make good toppings too.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Tuna Surprise
Tuesday: Fettucine Alfredo, salad
Wednesday: Sweet'n'sour chicken, fried rice
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Spring rolls, fried rice
Saturday: Tacos
In the fruit bowl: Oranges, bananas
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
6. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
A Pantry Designed for Cooking for One or Two
Cooking for one or two isn't really all that different to cooking for four or six (or five!) - you'll either have leftovers for freezer meals or you'll halve the recipe to make the number of serves you need. And the rules for the $300 a Month Food Challenge are the same - you simply adjust your budget down.
Whether you are cooking or one or two or four or six or twelve, you need some basic pantry items. The only difference between pantries will be the quantities you have stored.
Pantry:
SR Flour
Sugar
Jarred pasta sauce
Tomato paste
Dried pasta
Rice
Stock cubes
Peanut butter
Canned beans (such as chickpeas, cannellinis, kidneys)
Dry breadcrumbs
Extra-virgin olive oil
Dried herbs and spices
Onions
Refrigerator:
Fresh herbs
Eggs
Butter
Plain yogurt
Milk
Cheeses (such as cheddar, Parmesan, and mozzarella)
Lemons
Condiments (such as Dijon mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, and soy sauce)
Jams (such as strawberry, raspberry, and apricot)
Salad greens (lettuce, cucumber, capsicum)
Freezer:
Bacon (divide into individual servings)
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I like to leave some whole and cut some into strips and others cubed for easy use.)
Minced beef (divided into 500g portions)
Frozen vegetables (such as spinach, broccoli florets, peas, beans and mixed vegetables)
Pizza dough (MOO or buy the small, fresh pizza bases and freeze them)
Frozen fruits (such as strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and mango)
Ice cream
So what can you make for one or two with your pantry stocks?
Frozen fruit + yogurt + milk = Fruit Smoothie
Pizza dough + pasta sauce + diced onion + herbs + grated cheese = Margarita pizza
Mince + pasta sauce + grated cheese + cooked spaghetti = Spag bol
Minced beef or chicken + onion + breadcrumbs + eggs + tomato sauce + herbs = Meatloaf
Chicken breasts + eggs + breadcrumbs + Parmesan + tomato sauce + mozzarella = Chicken Parmesan
Chicken breast + onion + mixed vegetables + cheese + milk + flour + pizza dough = Chicken and Vegetable Pie
Eggs + fresh herbs + cheese + salad = Omelette with Green Salad
It doesn't matter the size of your family, or how many you are feeding, you can still stick to the $300 a Month Food Challenge by adjusting up or down.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
7. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
10 Ways to Save for that Family Holiday
Deal With the Overspending Habit
How to Survive Without Credit
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Going Lower and Living our Best Lives
Stockpiles
How Will Brexit Affect Cheapskaters
8. The Cheapskates Club Show
We're back!
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays and Thursdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
Join us live on YouTube every Tuesday and Thursday and see how we are living debt free, cashed up and laughing - and find out how you can too!
Show Schedule
Tuesday: Around the Kitchen Table - join Cath and Hannah for a cuppa and a chat around the kitchen table as they talk about living the Cheapskates way.
Thursday: Cheapskates in the Kitchen - want to know how to cook delicious, healthy and cheap meals? Watch Cath and Hannah as they create cheapskates style cuisine and share their favourite recipes.
Latest Shows
Coming Up
Thursday 26th September: Haystacks!
9. 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
10. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $30 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
Thursday 26th September: Haystacks!
9. 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
10. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $30 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