Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter 27:21
In This Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Freezer Meal Planner; Stock; Write It Down
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Easy Apricot Chicken
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Menu Planning
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOOing Coconut Milk
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Lesson 27: Revisiting Your Goals and Priorities
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,
How are you all? We are having fun on our holiday. We did have a sudden change of plans with various restrictions coming and going, but I'm getting better at spontaneous decisions! Or I'm so relaxed it doesn't matter - you can choose.
We've seen some beautiful country that we haven't seen before, put a few things on the "must come back again" list and met some lovely people. It will be hard to get back to work!
We're off on another adventure, so have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
A Freezer Meal Planner
I have a freezer full of ready meals and ingredients but haven't found an inventory system that worked for me. I now stick a blank monthly calendar on the fridge for meal planning. Then I bought a sheet of blank whiteboard magnet and cut it into small labels. When I batch up meals for the freezer or buy meat etc. I write it on one of the labels and put them on the side of the fridge. When I meal plan I then just stick these to the day I want. Once used the label can be wiped clean for another use. All the little magnet labels on the side of the fridge are a great visual of how much food there is to eat in the freezer making me more likely to use things up. If you have a freezer with shelves you could stick these magnets in layers to show which shelf it is on.
Contributed by Emma
Stock
Every time you cook your vegetables - no matter which vegetable or the amount of water that they are cooked in, save the water and freeze. This is your vegetable stock that can be used anywhere that you need stock. Sieve it so you have no additional bits in it or have as is for gravy. You have total control over the amount of salt that is added. This is better than any stock that you will buy.
Contributed by Chris Arenell
Editor's note: I save the water from steamed or boiled vegetables in a tall Tupperware Square Round container in the freezer. I just top the container up with the water until it is full. Once the last top-up is frozen the contents are put into a freezer bag. I use this as the "water" part of the soups I make. No waste of water or nutrition and the soups have a great flavour. Cath.
Write It Down
We are in the throes of moving, a big job because we are downsizing. Like everyone else I have got caught up in technology but with the move so much to remember dates, times, cancel this, book in that it is endless. My memory isn't as good as it used to be so I had notes scribbled all over the place. Then I suddenly remembered I always when working used a good old diary, never forgot a thing. So off to the shops and bought a very glam diary for HALF PRICE but even better I have so enjoyed making notes on the pages, seeing my handwriting and testing my spelling skills again. I haven't wasted the first half of the year instead using up the pages with various notes about the move, good tradesmen tips etc. I have enjoyed it so much that I have suggested to my hubby he makes that my annual birthday present - it's in January (he never knows what to buy me) and I shall continue to keep note of things I need to remember by simply turning a page. Who knows, once it is written I may simply just remember. And technology can go on the back burner that day.
Contributed by Heather
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. On The Menu
Easy Apricot Chicken
Ingredients:
1kg chicken drumsticks
1 pkt French Onion Soup mix
400ml tin apricot nectar
Method:
Per-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Brown the drumsticks. Place into an oiled baking dish. Mix the French Onion Soup mix with the apricot nectar. Pour over the drumsticks. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes, remove foil and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Apricot Chicken
Tuesday: Lasagne
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, potato gems, coleslaw
Saturday: Soup & Toast
There are over 1,800 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
5. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Menu Planning
I typically plan review the monthly menu a few days before shopping day. I still shop once a month for fruit, vegetables, dairy and anything else that isn't bought once a year. Checking the meal plan so I know exactly what to buy, truly helps me stick to the grocery budget.
Even a simple meal plan can stop "random" shopping, which really causes chaos with a grocery budget. Meal planning also stops the takeaway temptation. Knowing you have something planned for dinner is half the struggle of getting tea on the table. I'm not saying we don't ever have takeaway or eat out but the temptation to do so isn't there if we know we have something already planned.
I plan for dinners only. Breakfast is usually porridge or pancakes or toast, and lunches are a sandwich or wrap, or soup or a salad from veggies we grow, so these days I don't plan those meals. Yes, I wing it! But I use what we have in the pantry and make do.
A simple meal plan will get you started. Just list seven dinners you like, and go from there.
Some simple meals that are also inexpensive are:
Spag bol
Lasagne
Rissoles
Meatloaf
MOO chicken tenders
Curry chicken
Curry mince
Meat pie
Quiche
Impossible Pie
Sticky Sausages
Curried Sausages
Sausage Casserole
Kai Si Min
Roast Chicken
Stuffed drumsticks
Plum chicken skewers
Tacos
Enchiladas
Toasted sandwiches
Soup
Chicken casserole
Muffin Surprise
Omelettes
Sausage rolls
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
ACCEPT Menu Planning
Really Easy Meal Planning
How I Write My Shopping List
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Mason Jar Breakfast
Pizza Dough
Whole Orange Cake
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
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.
Latest Shows
1. Cath's Corner
2. From the Tip Store - Freezer Meal Planner; Stock; Write It Down
3. Share Your Tips
4. On the Menu - Easy Apricot Chicken
5. The $300 a Month Food Challenge - Menu Planning
6. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge - MOOing Coconut Milk
9. 2021 Saving Revolution - Lesson 27: Revisiting Your Goals and Priorities
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,
How are you all? We are having fun on our holiday. We did have a sudden change of plans with various restrictions coming and going, but I'm getting better at spontaneous decisions! Or I'm so relaxed it doesn't matter - you can choose.
We've seen some beautiful country that we haven't seen before, put a few things on the "must come back again" list and met some lovely people. It will be hard to get back to work!
We're off on another adventure, so have a great week everyone.
Happy Cheapskating,
Cath
PS: Love our site? We love referrals! Send a note to your favourite newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, friends and relatives, and tell them about us!
2. From The Tip Store
A Freezer Meal Planner
I have a freezer full of ready meals and ingredients but haven't found an inventory system that worked for me. I now stick a blank monthly calendar on the fridge for meal planning. Then I bought a sheet of blank whiteboard magnet and cut it into small labels. When I batch up meals for the freezer or buy meat etc. I write it on one of the labels and put them on the side of the fridge. When I meal plan I then just stick these to the day I want. Once used the label can be wiped clean for another use. All the little magnet labels on the side of the fridge are a great visual of how much food there is to eat in the freezer making me more likely to use things up. If you have a freezer with shelves you could stick these magnets in layers to show which shelf it is on.
Contributed by Emma
Stock
Every time you cook your vegetables - no matter which vegetable or the amount of water that they are cooked in, save the water and freeze. This is your vegetable stock that can be used anywhere that you need stock. Sieve it so you have no additional bits in it or have as is for gravy. You have total control over the amount of salt that is added. This is better than any stock that you will buy.
Contributed by Chris Arenell
Editor's note: I save the water from steamed or boiled vegetables in a tall Tupperware Square Round container in the freezer. I just top the container up with the water until it is full. Once the last top-up is frozen the contents are put into a freezer bag. I use this as the "water" part of the soups I make. No waste of water or nutrition and the soups have a great flavour. Cath.
Write It Down
We are in the throes of moving, a big job because we are downsizing. Like everyone else I have got caught up in technology but with the move so much to remember dates, times, cancel this, book in that it is endless. My memory isn't as good as it used to be so I had notes scribbled all over the place. Then I suddenly remembered I always when working used a good old diary, never forgot a thing. So off to the shops and bought a very glam diary for HALF PRICE but even better I have so enjoyed making notes on the pages, seeing my handwriting and testing my spelling skills again. I haven't wasted the first half of the year instead using up the pages with various notes about the move, good tradesmen tips etc. I have enjoyed it so much that I have suggested to my hubby he makes that my annual birthday present - it's in January (he never knows what to buy me) and I shall continue to keep note of things I need to remember by simply turning a page. Who knows, once it is written I may simply just remember. And technology can go on the back burner that day.
Contributed by Heather
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. On The Menu
Easy Apricot Chicken
Ingredients:
1kg chicken drumsticks
1 pkt French Onion Soup mix
400ml tin apricot nectar
Method:
Per-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Brown the drumsticks. Place into an oiled baking dish. Mix the French Onion Soup mix with the apricot nectar. Pour over the drumsticks. Cover with foil. Bake 20 minutes, remove foil and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Next week we will be eating:
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Apricot Chicken
Tuesday: Lasagne
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: MOO Pizza
Friday: Fish, potato gems, coleslaw
Saturday: Soup & Toast
There are over 1,800 budget and family friendly recipes in the Cheapskates Club Recipe File, all contributed by your fellow Cheapskates, so you know they're good.
Add A Recipe
Recipe File Index
5. The $300 A Month Food Challenge
Menu Planning
I typically plan review the monthly menu a few days before shopping day. I still shop once a month for fruit, vegetables, dairy and anything else that isn't bought once a year. Checking the meal plan so I know exactly what to buy, truly helps me stick to the grocery budget.
Even a simple meal plan can stop "random" shopping, which really causes chaos with a grocery budget. Meal planning also stops the takeaway temptation. Knowing you have something planned for dinner is half the struggle of getting tea on the table. I'm not saying we don't ever have takeaway or eat out but the temptation to do so isn't there if we know we have something already planned.
I plan for dinners only. Breakfast is usually porridge or pancakes or toast, and lunches are a sandwich or wrap, or soup or a salad from veggies we grow, so these days I don't plan those meals. Yes, I wing it! But I use what we have in the pantry and make do.
A simple meal plan will get you started. Just list seven dinners you like, and go from there.
Some simple meals that are also inexpensive are:
Spag bol
Lasagne
Rissoles
Meatloaf
MOO chicken tenders
Curry chicken
Curry mince
Meat pie
Quiche
Impossible Pie
Sticky Sausages
Curried Sausages
Sausage Casserole
Kai Si Min
Roast Chicken
Stuffed drumsticks
Plum chicken skewers
Tacos
Enchiladas
Toasted sandwiches
Soup
Chicken casserole
Muffin Surprise
Omelettes
Sausage rolls
The $300 a Month Food Challenge Forum
The Post that Started it All
6. Cheapskates Buzz
From The Article Archive
ACCEPT Menu Planning
Really Easy Meal Planning
How I Write My Shopping List
This Week's Hot Forum Topics
Mason Jar Breakfast
Pizza Dough
Whole Orange Cake
7. The Cheapskates Club Show
Join Cath and Hannah live Tuesdays on You Tube at 7.30pm AET
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.
Latest Shows
8. The Weekly MOO Challenge
MOOing Coconut Milk and Cream
Now you can MOO coconut milk or cream, probably even easier than buying it when you consider you need to go to the supermarket, find it on the shelves, stand in the queue, pay for it and then get it home.
A 400ml tin of Coles Savings brand coconut cream costs 97 cents.
A 500g packet of desiccated coconut from Coles costs $2.92 and is enough to make 4 cups, or 1 litre, of coconut milk. The difference in price is around 26 cents more expensive to buy the tin.
There are two ways to make coconut cream; option one takes about 2 hours, option two takes just a few minutes. Again the choice is yours - the end result is the same.
Option 1: Soaking method
You will need:
250g coconut
2 cups water
A blender
Cheesecloth or Chux or muslin for draining
Step 1. Soak coconut in cold water for 2 hours.
Step 2. Put the coconut and water into the blender and blend on high until the mixture is very smooth.
Step 3. Once blended, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, gathering up the sides and twisting to close.
Step 4. Twist the cheesecloth tight, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the pulp. Keep twisting and squeezing until you can't get any more moisture from the pulp.
Pour into a clean jug or jar and chill.
Option 2: Not quite instant boiling water method
You will need:
250g coconut
2 cups water
A blender
Cheesecloth or Chux or muslin for draining
Step 1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and pour over coconut. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Step 2. Put the mixture into the blender and blend until very smooth. This takes about 5 minutes so be patient.
Step 3. Once blended, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, gathering up the sides and twisting to close.
Step 4. Twist the cheesecloth tight, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the pulp. Keep twisting and squeezing until you can't get any more moisture from the pulp.
Pour into a clean jug or jar and chill.
Now you have your coconut milk/cream to use in smoothies or sauces or curries or cupcakes or pancakes or whatever you are making, but what do you do with the leftover coconut pulp?
You use it of course!
You can use it as is, adding it to muffins or cakes or breads or desserts. Or add it to yoghurt or fruit salad.
Or you can dry it and use it in baking as desiccated coconut.
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
Lesson 27: Revisiting Your Goals and Priorities
Here we are, six months through the revolution. As you go through your Saving Revolution you may find yourself revising your spending goals and priorities. There is nothing wrong with that, it's a part of having a Spending Plan. We each have a set income, it's our dreams, desires and needs that change and so our spending has to change too.
This week review your goals and aims. Are you on track? Is there an area that needs to be rejigged? Take some time to go over your goals, and make the adjustments needed to stay on track. You'll be debt free, cashed up and laughing sooner than you think!
Log into the 2021 Saving Revolution forum and join the discussions too. They're fun, keep you accountable, and over the course of the year will be an amazing source of valuable hints and tips for you too.
10. 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
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 the first 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!
12. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
13. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates
MOOing Coconut Milk and Cream
Now you can MOO coconut milk or cream, probably even easier than buying it when you consider you need to go to the supermarket, find it on the shelves, stand in the queue, pay for it and then get it home.
A 400ml tin of Coles Savings brand coconut cream costs 97 cents.
A 500g packet of desiccated coconut from Coles costs $2.92 and is enough to make 4 cups, or 1 litre, of coconut milk. The difference in price is around 26 cents more expensive to buy the tin.
There are two ways to make coconut cream; option one takes about 2 hours, option two takes just a few minutes. Again the choice is yours - the end result is the same.
Option 1: Soaking method
You will need:
250g coconut
2 cups water
A blender
Cheesecloth or Chux or muslin for draining
Step 1. Soak coconut in cold water for 2 hours.
Step 2. Put the coconut and water into the blender and blend on high until the mixture is very smooth.
Step 3. Once blended, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, gathering up the sides and twisting to close.
Step 4. Twist the cheesecloth tight, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the pulp. Keep twisting and squeezing until you can't get any more moisture from the pulp.
Pour into a clean jug or jar and chill.
Option 2: Not quite instant boiling water method
You will need:
250g coconut
2 cups water
A blender
Cheesecloth or Chux or muslin for draining
Step 1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and pour over coconut. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Step 2. Put the mixture into the blender and blend until very smooth. This takes about 5 minutes so be patient.
Step 3. Once blended, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, gathering up the sides and twisting to close.
Step 4. Twist the cheesecloth tight, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the pulp. Keep twisting and squeezing until you can't get any more moisture from the pulp.
Pour into a clean jug or jar and chill.
Now you have your coconut milk/cream to use in smoothies or sauces or curries or cupcakes or pancakes or whatever you are making, but what do you do with the leftover coconut pulp?
You use it of course!
You can use it as is, adding it to muffins or cakes or breads or desserts. Or add it to yoghurt or fruit salad.
Or you can dry it and use it in baking as desiccated coconut.
9. 2021 Saving Revolution
Lesson 27: Revisiting Your Goals and Priorities
Here we are, six months through the revolution. As you go through your Saving Revolution you may find yourself revising your spending goals and priorities. There is nothing wrong with that, it's a part of having a Spending Plan. We each have a set income, it's our dreams, desires and needs that change and so our spending has to change too.
This week review your goals and aims. Are you on track? Is there an area that needs to be rejigged? Take some time to go over your goals, and make the adjustments needed to stay on track. You'll be debt free, cashed up and laughing sooner than you think!
Log into the 2021 Saving Revolution forum and join the discussions too. They're fun, keep you accountable, and over the course of the year will be an amazing source of valuable hints and tips for you too.
10. 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
11. Join The Cheapskates Club
For just $25 the first 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!
12. Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change my email address?
This one is easy. When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name at the top of the page to go straight to your profile page where you can update your details, change your password and find your subscription details.
Not a Cheapskates Club member? Then please use the Changing Details form found here to update your email address.
How do I know when my membership should be renewed?
Memberships are active for one year from the date of joining. You will be sent a renewal reminder before your subscription is due to renew. You can also find your membership expiry date on your profile page.
When you login to the Member's Centre just click on your name to go straight to your profile page where you can will find your join date and your expiry date.
What will you do with my email address?
We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list.
How did I get on this list?
The only way you can get onto our newsletter mailing list is to subscribe yourself. You signed up to receive our Free Newsletter at our Cheapskates Club Web site or are a Platinum Cheapskates Club member.
13. Contact Cheapskates
The Cheapskates Club -
Showing you how to live life
debt free, cashed up and laughing!
PO Box 5077 Studfield Vic 3152
Contact Cheapskates