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Your Cheapskates Club Newsletter: 24:10
Newsletter
1. Cath's Corner
2.In the Tip Store - Give Yourself a Reward for Good Cheapskating Habits, Save $5.31 on Milk Each Fortnight, Pick Up Pet Hair Instantly
3. Cheapskate's Winning Tip - The Car-Chauffeur Club
4. Submit Your Tip
5.On the Menu - A Hearty Soup
6. Last Weeks Question - What makes you feel rich?
7. This Weeks Question - Where to find cheap and safe pool fencing
8. Subscription Information
9. Frequently Asked Questions
10.Contact Details
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Hello Cheapskaters,
Welcome to this week's newsletter! And welcome to all our new Platinum members, I hope you enjoy the Cheapskates Club.
It's exam time in our home (and I guess in every home with kids in secondary school or uni) and I can tell you it's heads down, books open and lots of late nights. Papers are spread everywhere. Tom has set up in front of the fire and I dare not even think about tidying up until the end of the week. AJ has a new floor in his room - books, folders and papers in a lovely abstract design, it reminds of that old Pro Hart ad for carpet. You can't see the carpet at all, and he has another three weeks until his exams are over. And these are only the mid-year exams!
My job has been to keep them fed, with lots of their favourite things and get them to exams on time. Oh, and remember to pick them up afterwards (sorry Tom, I didn't mean to forget you!). So, to make my life a little easier, it's been soup and crumpets or toasted muffins all round. Thank goodness soup can be a meal in itself and crumpets are easy to make and freeze really well.
We are half way through June already and the entries for our Get a Deal competition keep coming in. If you haven't already, you still have time to enter, entries close on 25th June. Click here to enter, because you have to be in it to win it!
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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Give Yourself (and the Family) a Reward for Good Cheapskating Habits
When you change from free-spending to Cheapskating, the whole family must change. Sometimes there are a few complaints until the new habits are established. Think about how good it feels to get a bonus at work for doing a good job. Why shouldn't the family, working hard at saving money, have the occasional reward for doing a good job of saving? Every couple of months I make a point of collecting the utilities bills, the supermarket receipts, and importantly a print-out of our London Adventure account. Then we sit around and admire our efforts in keeping the bills down and our holiday account up. We reward ourselves by buying some sort of treat for everyone. Once we bought a meal out but everyone was so horrified at the cost they didn't want to do it again! So now we buy something for everyone up to the value of about $10. It makes us all feel that we are getting something tangible and special for our hard work. And the treats are often chocolates as we're all sweet toothed, and I buy these from the bulk outlet which makes us all feel super smug. What's better than a treat on the cheap?
Contributed by Georgina, Keilor
Save $5.31 on Milk Each Fortnight
Approximate $ Savings: $127.24 per year
Whenever a recipe calls for "milk" I always replace it with powdered skim milk. If it is a cake or slice you can place the powdered milk straight in with the dry ingredients and add the necessary water (with the wet ingredients) to make up the correct amount. A quarter cup of powdered milk and one cup of water makes one cup of milk. I find this saves the "real" milk for cereal, drinking, cups of tea etc and you really can't tell when the powdered milk has been used in cooking. Some people worry about the calcium being lower in skim milk but it is actually slightly higher than full cream milk. 250ml skim milk reconstituted = 288mg calcium whereas 250ml full cream milk = 285mg of calcium. Obviously the skim milk is also very low in fat. I always feel that cutting down on fat is a good thing for the family and to be encouraged early on in life. We know that fat in arteries builds up over many years so it's never too early to start good habits. A one kilo Homebrand (Woolworths) skim milk powder costs me $5.99. This makes ten litres of milk as you get ten cups of milk powder in the packet. The equivalent if buying milk in three Litre containers at $3.20 each is $11.30. This is almost half the price! This is a saving of $5.31! If you go through one packet a fortnight like I do because I cook a lot you will save $10.62 a month or $127.24 a year!! Every little bit helps :) !
Contributed by Jennifer, Mt. Pritchard
Pick Up Pet Hair Instantly
Are you a pet lover, but hate the constant battle with removing hair from your prized fabric covered furniture? Well, stress no more! Simply put an old rubber glove over a clothes brush, dog brush, old hair brush or hand brush then work over the furniture. You will see the hair instantly collect in a pile making it easy to remove. No need to get the vacuum out either. You can also use this to remove pet hair from clothing.
Contributed by Roz, Murray Bridge
There are 8,513 other great money, time and energy saving tips in the Tip Store. | | 3 | | Cheapskates Tip of the Week | This week's winning tip is from Ann Booth. Ann has won a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club for submitting a winning tip.
The Car- Chauffeur Club
Approximate $ Savings: $250 per month
My friends and I have started our own little "car-chauffeur" club that is saving us all a lot of money each month. We take it in turns at being the " car-chauffeur". We carpool for school drop offs and pick ups, saving petrol but also time. We also use one car between three of us to do our weekly grocery shopping and bill paying. The day we allocate for this, we finish by having home prepared coffee and lunch together. We also pooled our money to purchase fruit, vegetables and meat in bulk. My weekly spend on these items has decreased significantly since we started our little club. And to top it off, I have also decreased the amount of fuel I need per week by roughly one third, saving around $25 a week on fuel alone.
Congratulations Ann, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.
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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!
| | 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 | A Hearty Soup
I grew up in a home where the soup pot was never empty. Even in summer, there would be a pot of soup simmering on the stove or waiting in the fridge to be warmed and devoured. So it was expected that I would carry on the simmering soup pot tradition for my own family.
We don't have soup all that often during summer. But in winter there is always a pot of soup ready for the weekend. Friday night tea and Saturday lunch just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't soup and hot buttered crumpets or toasted English muffins.
Here are two of our favourite soups for you to try.
Debbie's Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
1kg medium pumpkin, peeled and chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 litre chicken stock
1 tsp nutmeg
300ml cream
Pepper
Sour cream for serving
Method:
Place pumpkin, potato, onion, garlic in a large saucepan and barely cover with stock. Boil until soft. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Return to saucepan. Add nutmeg and cream. Add pepper to taste. If desired, drizzle cream on top of the soup once in the bowls. Serve with fresh crusty bread.
Tomato Soup with Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients:
350g chicken mince
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese
sea salt
cracked black pepper
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups tomato puree
85g dried macaroni
Method:
Place chicken mince, green onion, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix until combined. Roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls about the size of a 20-cent piece. Place on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Place stock and tomato puree in a saucepan over medium heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Add macaroni and meatballs and cook for 10 minutes, or until macaroni is cooked. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
And if you haven't made crumpets before, you have to try this recipe. It is so easy, and the toasted crumpets are so good you'll never buy them again. You can use egg rings to make your crumpets. Or cut rings from a 180g tuna can, they are a good size. You can also buy crumpet rings from homeware shops, for around $4 each. The tuna can rings work just fine.
Crumpets
Ingredients:
4 cups plain flour
2 tsp dried yeast
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
500ml warm water
250ml warm milk
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
Method:
Mix water slowly into dry ingredients, mixing well until a thick batter has formed. Knead well until thick and smooth, about two minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for an hour, then add the warm milk and bi carb soda mixture. Beat well so there are no lumps, the mixture should resemble thick pancake batter. Grease a heavy based frypan and egg rings or crumpet rings and place one tablespoon of mixture in egg rings or two tablespoons of batter in crumpet rings. Cover and cook over moderate heat until bubbles rise, leave a little longer so the bubbles set slightly then turn and cook a few seconds to set the top. Covering the crumpets helps the bubbles to rise and set. This recipe makes about 18 egg ring or 12 crumpet ring sized crumpets. Toast to serve. Freeze well.
Do you have a favourite soup recipe? We can't wait to try it and add it to the Recipe File. Share it with us here. | Last week's question was from Eva Clarke. Eva was wondering what special thing about Cheapskating makes you feel rich.
Ellen Delandro answered
I always feel luxurious and rich when I have a pamper day at home - exfoliate my whole body, colour my hair, slather on some gorgeous smelling moisturiser that I was given for my birthday last year, give myself a facial, manicure and pedicure, make a pot of tea the way I like it and crank up the music! Always works a treat, and hardly costs me a thing (other than the hair dye), because I've been blessed with family members who like to give me beauty products for Christmas and my birthday.
Jessica Williams answered
Knowing that through all the little sacrifices made with being a 'Cheapskate' that I am helping to give myself, my husband and my two daughters security and peace of mind of coming close to having our mortgage paid off in under 5 years, that thought makes me feel rich.
Diane McAllister answered
I always smile when I look out my kitchen window and see our veggie garden. I used to buy all our fruit and veg, and waste most of it. These days I grow most of it and waste nothing. I get to pick it fresh as it's needed and even the scraps and peels go back into the compost. I love knowing I'm not wasting money on food anymore.
Traci Delaney answered
I feel rich every time someone comments on how nice I look, or how well dressed my children are. If they only knew all our clothes come from op-shops or trash'n'treasure markets and most cost under $5 an outfit. I just smile and nod when they tell me they bought such and such on sale and it was only $20, or $30 or more.
Diane Smith answered
I always feel rich when I open my purse and see the $20 note sitting in the first pocket. It's my "whatever" money that I can do absolutely anything that I feel like with it. Diane Smith
Linda Gillham answered
Each year during the September school break my family travels to Margaret River, Western Australia for a 10 day break. We enjoy 10 days of total enjoyment - each child picks an activity - horse riding, cave exploring or bush walking. We eat out at restaurants and have ice cream and coffee when we feel like it. This 10 day break makes me and the family feel special. When asked with envy by friends how can I afford to travel to Margaret River each year I use the magic word “BUDGET”.
Hester Hutchison answered
It's a spoon! - just one long handled teaspoon, and it's not even part of a set. When we have ice-cream with some decadent homemade sauce, then eat it with the long-handled spoon, it makes us feel wonderful!!
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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Michelle asks
"Our new house (on a rural block) is very close to a large dam. We'd like to fence our yard, with pool fence standard fencing, but need around 100m and the best price we can get is around $5000. Any Cheapskaters with tips on getting cheaper but still safe fencing?"
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If you have a suggestion or idea for Michelle let us know. You will automatically entered into our Tip of the Week competition, with a one-year membership to the Cheapskates Club as the prize.
Click here to send your suggestion.
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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.
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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
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| HINTS & TIPS |
Two simple money saving tips......
Saving water and money!
Whether you pay for your water or not, an easy way to save is to halve the amount of water coming out of the tap-each time you turn it
Nancy
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