Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 42:18
In this Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. In the Tip Store - One Simple Switch Saves $20 per Bill; Recycle for a Mini Seed Starter Hot House; Christmas Shopping for Adult Stocking Stuffers Made Easy
3. Share Your Tips -
4. On the Menu - Easy Spaghetti Caprese
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Playing the Half Price Game to Win
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. Own Your Christmas Challenge - Week 3 Tasks and Tips
8. This Week's Question - Is there a cheaper alternative to lens cleaner?
9. Ask Cath
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
I think it's about time for a challenge, one that's going to give you more grocery money - and who doesn't need more grocery money at this time of year!
You all know that the easiest place in your Spending Plan to spend less is the grocery category; I've told you often just how easy it is to spend less at the supermarket. Now I'm challenging you to trim your grocery budget by 10% this week.
Ten percent is easy to calculate. If you normally spend $100 on groceries, this week you are going to spend $90, giving you $10 still in your budget. Obviously if you spend more or less you'll have more or less over. You know how much that should be. And I want you to put that $10 into your Emergency Fund.
If you don't have an Emergency Fund set up, do it now. Create the category in your Spending Plan and then decide whether you'll have a separate bank account for it (an online account with limited access is a good idea) or if it will stay in your main account and you'll track the balance.
So how can you trim ten percent off your grocery money?
First of all do a pantry, fridge and freezer inventory and see just how much food you have in the house. Then you can make up your meal plan for the week using the food you have on hand (don't forget to use up the veggies in the garden if you have any). Include all your meals, snacks and drinks - you don't want to run out of something this week.
Check the bathroom and laundry - do you need soap or bicarb? Add them to the list if you do.
Make up a shopping list, putting only the things you need on it. Check the prices with one of the online supermarkets so you know approximately how much your groceries will cost you. Look for specials and don't be afraid to try different brands.
Go back over your shopping list. How many brand name products do you have on the list? Now you can swap those brand names for the equivalent generic product. Don't go getting precious on me. Sugar is sugar, flour is flour, butter is butter, and wheat biscuits are, well, wheat biscuits. Yes, there may be some things you just won't like. That's fine. But when you can save 25% - 40% I'd at least like you to try. You can always go back to your branded product if there is.
If you survive this week on 10% less, guess what! Next week you can try taking another 10% off your grocery money and see how easy it is to save money.
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
One Simple Switch Saves $20 per Bill
We use a small tuckerbox freezer for the home grown vegetables but about this time of the year, at the end of winter, we turn it off and pack the remaining frozen vegetables into the kitchen fridge freezer. For approximately six months of the year we can get by without using it. This one simple task and switch off saves approximately $20 per energy bill.
Contributed by Kitrina Harvey
Recycle for a Mini Seed Starter Hot House
The new clear plastic trays Coles sell their mince in make great free trays for your seedlings and are reusable. One for tray and another for the top held on with two bulldog clips make a great little hothouse.
Contributed by Kathleen Lauchlan
Christmas Shopping for Adult Stocking Stuffers Made Easy
I wanted some small gifts for nearly 20 adults, but didn't want to have to spend a lot of time and energy shopping. At the start of October I ordered my stocking stuffers for adults on eBay and they due to arrive around the end of November. Brocade lipstick cases for the ladies were just over $1 each, whereas the lowest Australian price online I could find was $5 each. I also chose some camping mugs for the men. I intend putting them in a box or bag with some homemade treats to round out the gift. All 20 gifts bought in one simple online session, and they'll be delivered to my door.
Contributed by Diana Sturm
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. 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
4. On the Menu
Easy Spaghetti Caprese
Ingredients:
250g uncooked thin spaghetti
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, more or less as desired
4 large Roma tomatoes, washed and diced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
100g fresh soft mozzarella (deli packaged), cut in bite size pieces
8 whole pitted black olives, roughly chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water with salt, making sure it remains al dente; drain and put in a very large bowl, add olive oil and toss to coat well, adding a bit more if you want your pasta oilier. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed for flavour. Serve at room temperature either on plates or in pasta bowls.
Italian cuisine is loved not just in Italy, but throughout the world. It is simple enough to learn how to create authentic Italian dishes through practice and maybe even a cooking class or two. Remember, the secret to creating an authentic Italian meal is to focus on using the right ingredients, including plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, and to treat your pasta properly! Have fun and experiment until you put your own spin on a classic meal right from the heart of Italy.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Mushroom & Parmesan Risotto
Tuesday: Easy Spaghetti Caprese, salad
Wednesday: Curried Sausages, steamed rice
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tuna Surprise & salad
Saturday: Enchiladas
In the fruit bowl: bananas, mandarins
In the cake tin: boiled fruit cake, brownies, caramel slice, cherry slice
There are over 1,600 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
Playing the Half Price Game to Win
How would you like to double your grocery budget? I'm pretty sure we all would, but it's not really feasible for most of us. But we can double the amount of groceries we buy with the grocery budget we have, and do it easily.
It's simply shopping the half-price sales at Coles, Woolworths and other supermarkets to buy what we need and use.
When something you use i.e. tinned tomatoes, is on half-price sale don't buy one can - buy two. You've then effectively picked up a can free. Shop the catalogues each week, adding only things you need and use that are half-price to your shopping list. It doesn't matter if you only need one tin of tomatoes this week, you'll use another tin next week - but they'll be back up to full price. Buying two tins now has saved you the price of a tin of tomatoes and given next week's grocery budget a boost.
Using this method you can shop ahead, and effectively save $20 or more a week. That's a cool $1,000 a year, and you haven't gone without a thing.
It's also the easiest way to build your stockpile quickly and painlessly.
So what can you buy on half-price sale?
Tinned food - tomatoes, baked beans, beetroot, pineapple etc.
Oil
Pasta
Tinned and dry pet food
Toiletries - shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrushes
Cereal
Condiments - sauces, jams, peanut butter etc.
Bakery items - tortillas, wraps, muffins, crumpets etc.
Tea bags
Think about what you use, and how you buy it. And then make sure to look for those items on the half-price specials and give your grocery budget a boost.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From the Article Archive
Butter Me Up
Finding the Time to Live Like a Cheapskate
Oh How I Love Freeze-Ahead Meals
Most popular forum posts this week
2018 Own Your Christmas Challenge
Cheats Recipes
How We Reduced, and then Eliminated, Our Debt
Most popular blog posts this week
MOO Household Cleaning Solutions
Everyone Should be Baking - Even on a Budget!
A Dilemma of Ethics
7. Own Your Christmas Challenge
Week 3: Travel Week
This is the week to finalise travel plans for Christmas, and the school holidays. Or at least come up with a plan if you don't need to make bookings. We finalised the Christmas travel plans, confirmed with family and friends and now written on the calendar in pen!
This week's tasks:
Task 1: Write up this week's Christmas Cards.
Task 2: Buy, wrap and label the second lot of gifts.
Task 3: Continue working on handmade gifts, wrapping and labelling as you finish them.
Task 4: Make any travel plans, restaurant reservations etc this week.
If you haven't joined the Own Your Christmas Challenge yet, it's not to late. Join us here, and look forward to a debt free Christmas in 2018.
8. This Week's Question
Q. Does you know of an alternative to the Lens Cleaner I buy from the optometrist? It costs a fortune and with four people in the house wearing glasses I would like to find something more economical. Diane
A. Those little sprays on eyeglass cleaner are very handy and they do a great job. You can easily replicate the formula yourself though and save a bundle. In a clean spray bottle mix one part isopropyl alcohol to three parts distilled water and shake gently to combine. You can buy isopropyl alcohol and distilled water at any chemist. To use the spray, gently mist both sides of each lens and wipe dry with a lint free cloth. There are fantastic microfibre lens cloths that do a brilliant job and you can get these at optometrists.
But a microfibre lens cloth does just as good a job and it can be washed (cold water, no detergent) and used over and over and over, no need to carry a spray with you. Both work equally as well, and I'll admit to using both methods to keep my glasses clean. - Cath
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 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!
11. 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
12. 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 - One Simple Switch Saves $20 per Bill; Recycle for a Mini Seed Starter Hot House; Christmas Shopping for Adult Stocking Stuffers Made Easy
3. Share Your Tips -
4. On the Menu - Easy Spaghetti Caprese
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Playing the Half Price Game to Win
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. Own Your Christmas Challenge - Week 3 Tasks and Tips
8. This Week's Question - Is there a cheaper alternative to lens cleaner?
9. Ask Cath
10. Join the Cheapskates Club
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Contact Details
1. Cath's Corner
Hello Cheapskaters,
I think it's about time for a challenge, one that's going to give you more grocery money - and who doesn't need more grocery money at this time of year!
You all know that the easiest place in your Spending Plan to spend less is the grocery category; I've told you often just how easy it is to spend less at the supermarket. Now I'm challenging you to trim your grocery budget by 10% this week.
Ten percent is easy to calculate. If you normally spend $100 on groceries, this week you are going to spend $90, giving you $10 still in your budget. Obviously if you spend more or less you'll have more or less over. You know how much that should be. And I want you to put that $10 into your Emergency Fund.
If you don't have an Emergency Fund set up, do it now. Create the category in your Spending Plan and then decide whether you'll have a separate bank account for it (an online account with limited access is a good idea) or if it will stay in your main account and you'll track the balance.
So how can you trim ten percent off your grocery money?
First of all do a pantry, fridge and freezer inventory and see just how much food you have in the house. Then you can make up your meal plan for the week using the food you have on hand (don't forget to use up the veggies in the garden if you have any). Include all your meals, snacks and drinks - you don't want to run out of something this week.
Check the bathroom and laundry - do you need soap or bicarb? Add them to the list if you do.
Make up a shopping list, putting only the things you need on it. Check the prices with one of the online supermarkets so you know approximately how much your groceries will cost you. Look for specials and don't be afraid to try different brands.
Go back over your shopping list. How many brand name products do you have on the list? Now you can swap those brand names for the equivalent generic product. Don't go getting precious on me. Sugar is sugar, flour is flour, butter is butter, and wheat biscuits are, well, wheat biscuits. Yes, there may be some things you just won't like. That's fine. But when you can save 25% - 40% I'd at least like you to try. You can always go back to your branded product if there is.
If you survive this week on 10% less, guess what! Next week you can try taking another 10% off your grocery money and see how easy it is to save money.
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
One Simple Switch Saves $20 per Bill
We use a small tuckerbox freezer for the home grown vegetables but about this time of the year, at the end of winter, we turn it off and pack the remaining frozen vegetables into the kitchen fridge freezer. For approximately six months of the year we can get by without using it. This one simple task and switch off saves approximately $20 per energy bill.
Contributed by Kitrina Harvey
Recycle for a Mini Seed Starter Hot House
The new clear plastic trays Coles sell their mince in make great free trays for your seedlings and are reusable. One for tray and another for the top held on with two bulldog clips make a great little hothouse.
Contributed by Kathleen Lauchlan
Christmas Shopping for Adult Stocking Stuffers Made Easy
I wanted some small gifts for nearly 20 adults, but didn't want to have to spend a lot of time and energy shopping. At the start of October I ordered my stocking stuffers for adults on eBay and they due to arrive around the end of November. Brocade lipstick cases for the ladies were just over $1 each, whereas the lowest Australian price online I could find was $5 each. I also chose some camping mugs for the men. I intend putting them in a box or bag with some homemade treats to round out the gift. All 20 gifts bought in one simple online session, and they'll be delivered to my door.
Contributed by Diana Sturm
There are currently more than 12,000 great tips in the Tip Store
3. 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
4. On the Menu
Easy Spaghetti Caprese
Ingredients:
250g uncooked thin spaghetti
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, more or less as desired
4 large Roma tomatoes, washed and diced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
100g fresh soft mozzarella (deli packaged), cut in bite size pieces
8 whole pitted black olives, roughly chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water with salt, making sure it remains al dente; drain and put in a very large bowl, add olive oil and toss to coat well, adding a bit more if you want your pasta oilier. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed for flavour. Serve at room temperature either on plates or in pasta bowls.
Italian cuisine is loved not just in Italy, but throughout the world. It is simple enough to learn how to create authentic Italian dishes through practice and maybe even a cooking class or two. Remember, the secret to creating an authentic Italian meal is to focus on using the right ingredients, including plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, and to treat your pasta properly! Have fun and experiment until you put your own spin on a classic meal right from the heart of Italy.
This week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Mushroom & Parmesan Risotto
Tuesday: Easy Spaghetti Caprese, salad
Wednesday: Curried Sausages, steamed rice
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Tuna Surprise & salad
Saturday: Enchiladas
In the fruit bowl: bananas, mandarins
In the cake tin: boiled fruit cake, brownies, caramel slice, cherry slice
There are over 1,600 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge
Playing the Half Price Game to Win
How would you like to double your grocery budget? I'm pretty sure we all would, but it's not really feasible for most of us. But we can double the amount of groceries we buy with the grocery budget we have, and do it easily.
It's simply shopping the half-price sales at Coles, Woolworths and other supermarkets to buy what we need and use.
When something you use i.e. tinned tomatoes, is on half-price sale don't buy one can - buy two. You've then effectively picked up a can free. Shop the catalogues each week, adding only things you need and use that are half-price to your shopping list. It doesn't matter if you only need one tin of tomatoes this week, you'll use another tin next week - but they'll be back up to full price. Buying two tins now has saved you the price of a tin of tomatoes and given next week's grocery budget a boost.
Using this method you can shop ahead, and effectively save $20 or more a week. That's a cool $1,000 a year, and you haven't gone without a thing.
It's also the easiest way to build your stockpile quickly and painlessly.
So what can you buy on half-price sale?
Tinned food - tomatoes, baked beans, beetroot, pineapple etc.
Oil
Pasta
Tinned and dry pet food
Toiletries - shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrushes
Cereal
Condiments - sauces, jams, peanut butter etc.
Bakery items - tortillas, wraps, muffins, crumpets etc.
Tea bags
Think about what you use, and how you buy it. And then make sure to look for those items on the half-price specials and give your grocery budget a boost.
The $300 a Month Food Challenge
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From the Article Archive
Butter Me Up
Finding the Time to Live Like a Cheapskate
Oh How I Love Freeze-Ahead Meals
Most popular forum posts this week
2018 Own Your Christmas Challenge
Cheats Recipes
How We Reduced, and then Eliminated, Our Debt
Most popular blog posts this week
MOO Household Cleaning Solutions
Everyone Should be Baking - Even on a Budget!
A Dilemma of Ethics
7. Own Your Christmas Challenge
Week 3: Travel Week
This is the week to finalise travel plans for Christmas, and the school holidays. Or at least come up with a plan if you don't need to make bookings. We finalised the Christmas travel plans, confirmed with family and friends and now written on the calendar in pen!
This week's tasks:
Task 1: Write up this week's Christmas Cards.
Task 2: Buy, wrap and label the second lot of gifts.
Task 3: Continue working on handmade gifts, wrapping and labelling as you finish them.
Task 4: Make any travel plans, restaurant reservations etc this week.
If you haven't joined the Own Your Christmas Challenge yet, it's not to late. Join us here, and look forward to a debt free Christmas in 2018.
8. This Week's Question
Q. Does you know of an alternative to the Lens Cleaner I buy from the optometrist? It costs a fortune and with four people in the house wearing glasses I would like to find something more economical. Diane
A. Those little sprays on eyeglass cleaner are very handy and they do a great job. You can easily replicate the formula yourself though and save a bundle. In a clean spray bottle mix one part isopropyl alcohol to three parts distilled water and shake gently to combine. You can buy isopropyl alcohol and distilled water at any chemist. To use the spray, gently mist both sides of each lens and wipe dry with a lint free cloth. There are fantastic microfibre lens cloths that do a brilliant job and you can get these at optometrists.
But a microfibre lens cloth does just as good a job and it can be washed (cold water, no detergent) and used over and over and over, no need to carry a spray with you. Both work equally as well, and I'll admit to using both methods to keep my glasses clean. - Cath
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 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!
11. 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
12. Contact Details
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
Contact Cheapskates