Hello Cheapskaters, Happy Mother's Day to all mothers for Sunday. I hope you all have a lovely day. I have no idea what the kids have planned for me but whatever it is I'll love it. We are having a Mother's Day dinner rather than lunch this year, with my Mum and by brother and sister-in-law and of course all our children. I have no idea what we'll be eating, but whatever it is we will love it. To help celebrate Mother's Day, we are running a membership sale. All new Platinum memberships are just $25 until 8pm on Sunday 9th May. Platinum memberships are the perfect Mother's Day gift. They don't take up any space and they don't have any calories! Best of all this gift lasts for one whole year :) Click here to order a membership online for your mum (or anyone else!). To order by mail or direct deposit click here. We must receive your completed application form by 8pm Sunday 9th May 2010 to be eligible for the special price. One of the highlights of my day is reading the mail. You share snippets of your lives with me, as you would an old friend and I am so honoured by your trust and friendship. Thank you for your letters, I really do enjoy them so much, not that I can try out the recipes as there are no facilities here for us to cook - we have all our meals included in accommodation costs -  but It's so good to read other people's ideas.  As I shall be 90 this year there's no hope of doing some of those exciting holidays either.  Keep up the good work, I think you are brilliant.  Beryl Howe  We are back at our property after having spent eight months living in Melbourne with our daughter, it was great fun, a lot of work, but great fun.  I took over the house in every aspect of life: shopping, bills etc.  With the ideas from Cheapskates we have managed well, beyond my wildest dreams, financially. In our circumstances it was nothing short of miraculous!  Carol Ryan Just a note to let you know that we are off on our grand trip around Australia. We'll be gone six months, have taken the kids out of school (they are yet to realise they WILL be doing some schoolwork) and we leave on Mother's Day. Two years ago we were in debt. Today we are debt free (apart from the mortgage) and we own our new (to us anyway) caravan and Pajero to pull it. We have worked out our budget, added a little leeway for fuel increases and we are off! This would still be a pipe dream if I hadn't seen Cheapskates on TV and signed up for the newsletter. I joined at the very next special and we have never looked back. Keep an eye out for e-cards Cath, we plan to send you one for each stop we make on our trip.  Jenny and Tony Marshall Have a great week everyone, 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! PPS: You can read this newsletter and past copies on the website in the Newsletter Archive.

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Cheapskates Tip of the Week

This week's winning tip is from Kelly Turner.  Kelly has won a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club for submitting a winning tip. Medicine Cabinet Inventory Saves Hundreds of Dollars Last night, I could feel the inklings of a headache coming on, so I decided to reach for the Panadol before it took hold. When I pulled down the medicine box out of the cupboard, I decided I should check out the expiry date of the things in there and declutter all the old unused items whilst I was at it. To my horror, there were medicines in there which had expired as far back as 2007! There were unfinished prescription medicines that had been there for so long I didn't even know what they had been taken for in the first place. There were even quite a few medications which I had duplicates of, and they were all past their expiry date. As I started tossing these medicines into the bin, I thought about how much money had been wasted, buying unnecessary medicines, some of which had cost over $40! There was literally hundreds of dollars worth of now useless medicines clogging up my cupboard. I decided to write up a list of all the medications which we were left with and their expiry dates. I wrote this list into the notebook which I carry around with me in the nappy bag. This way, whenever we go to the doctors and are told to buy 'such and such', I can check the list before I head to the chemist and hand over my cash, and see whether we already have that medication at home. This list will also ensure that I can keep track of which staple medications (such as Nurofen, Panadol, Infant Panadol etc) are about to go out of date and need to be replaced. There is nothing worse than having a sick child in need of Panadol at 10pm on a Sunday night when there is no chemist open! So as you can see, taking 10 minutes to check the medicine cupboard at home will not only benefit your health, but also your bank balance! Congratulations Kelly, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.

The Cheapskate's Club website is over 2,000 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 Tuesday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now!

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Submit a Tip

Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club valued at $29.20. Remember, you have to be in it to win it! Enter your tip here

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Money Saving Meals

Banana Muffins I found myself with three black bananas this week. It's not often that bananas last long enough to go black in our house but I had hidden these three and then promptly forgotten them. That is until I opened the small cupboard where I keep the cake tins and found them sitting on a plate. Thankfully I have a wonderful banana muffin recipe that takes less than five minutes to mix and only twenty-five to bake, so piping hot, fresh muffins in under 30 minutes! Banana Muffins Ingredients: 2 cups self-raising flour 2-3 over-ripe bananas, mashed 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 cup chopped walnuts Method: Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Combine all ingredients, beating with a fork until just mixed. Pour into greased and floured or paper lined muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool before icing with lemon icing or cream cheese frosting if desired. There are over 700 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File.

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Last Weeks Question

  

Last week's question was from  Suzanne, asking about wedding gift etiquette. We have received so many suggestions for Suzanne, here are some of them. The others will all be added to the Tip Store so you can log in and pick up some fantastic ideas. Kylie Pozzebon answered I understand your dilema. Five years ago my brother-in-law married and the reception was held at the Sheraton in Townsville.  Four of us went.  I decided to make a guest book - which with consultation with bride and groom turned into a canvas.  I created it with gold pen, personalised love verses, lilies and other embellishments.  I have also made a guest book for another relative at their wedding.  I bought a wooden book from the Wooden Book company at Mullumbimby, and decorated the border of each page with personalised love sayings/verses, hearts, photos of the wedders and other embellishments.  Each page was different.  I had so many comments on both projects and both brides and grooms were extremely happy.  The canvas cost me $50 and the book about $100 with all of the embellishments. Alison Rantin answered Shop online at Peter's of Kensington - they have some really lovely homeware from exclusive brands with really good savings. It is still 'high end' but will cost much less than paying full retail price and the service is excellent. Website:  www.petersofkensington.com.au Carla Stankowski answered This is my absolute failsafe wedding present that looks expensive, tasteful and that they will enjoy and can't return! Give a subscription with a wine club where they will get deliveries throughout the year - free delivery, about 16 top notch bottles (four delivered every three months). Website:  www.cellarmasters.com.au/wine-club/index.asp   Kylie Roberts answered Something unique is good and usually that is hand made. I have given some lovely hand crafted chopping boards made from Australian timber as gifts recently - cost $40-$50, and were very well received.   Susan Goldsmid answered I've had this dilemma a lot this year. Every few months David Jones has a sale on good crystal, china and photo frames. You can save fifty percent or more on most glassware. They are known brands, such as Royal Doulton, which look impressive as wedding gifts. You may still have to spend $100 but you will have a $300 gift. It does mean planning ahead but it has saved us over $1000 this year. Making the card saves another $5 to $10. Kim Harrigan answered I have never heard of a custom dictating that a gift should equal the price of your meal, and have never been told the meal price per person of any wedding I have been to. My suggestion would be to send a polite but firm inability to attend. Weddings should be a celebration not a gift giving competition.    Kerry Robinson answered Kmart offered Electronic Picture Frames for $20 a while back - they were a special advertised only on their website - I purchased several and put them away for gifts. The beauty of these items is that its hard to know the cost - as some are cheap, and some are quite expensive. So whether you purchase from Kmart or not, the idea of an electronic picture frame is a good one. Everyone I gave them to were really surprised at the "expensive" gift and very appreciative. To add value, you could add a memory stick with some photo's already downloaded - they could be old photo's you have of your loved one, or you could take some photo's at the wedding to include.    Di Pickford answered Hi Suzanne, I wonder if the young couple have their own home or a place to start a veggie garden. Maybe you could make up a "voucher" to put in their card that you will start a veggie garden for them and put them on the path to the start of a "Cheapskates" life long habit.

Do you have a question that needs an answer? Send us your question and receive the combined knowledge of your fellow Cheapskates to solve your problem! Ask a question

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This Weeks Question

Julia asks "My boyfriend and I want to get married one day. However, I've come to the realization that he doesn't care about money or our financial future. He owes money on his credit card, car loan, HECS, utility bills and has even had letters from debt collectors about unpaid bills. I want to help him get it all straightened out so we can start our married life with a clean and healthy financial slate, but I don't know where to start."

Do you have the answer? If you have a suggestion or some helpful advice for Julia we would love to hear it. Click here to send your answer

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Join the Cheapskates Club

Join the Cheapskates Club for just  $25.00 until 8pm Sunday 9th May 2010 and get exclusive access to the Cheapskates Club Platinum Member's Centre containing thousands of ideas to save you money, time and energy. Join the Cheapskates Club today

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change my email address? This one is easy. If you area Platinum member login and click on the Edit Profile button, then on Change Password. If you are a Silver member 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 Journal Web site or at the Channel 9 Money Expo. We never add names to our list unless you have voluntarily opted in.

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Contact Details

The Cheapskates Club - Showing you how to live life debt free, cashed up and laughing! Cheapskates Club PO Box 4232 Ringwood Vic 3134 www.cheapskates.com.au info@cheapskates.com.au