Welcome to all our new Cheapskates Club members, I hope you are having lots of fun (and learning lots of tricks) in the Member's Centre. Don't forget to pop into the forum and introduce yourself. We are a very friendly and helpful bunch, I'm sure you'll fit right in. I have had a lot of fun this week talking about weddings. Did you know that the average cost of a wedding in Australia today is $28,000! Yikes!  Thank goodness we were married 21 years ago, 'cos I can tell you now, even if I wasn't a Cheapskate, there is no way I would spend that much money on what is essentially a fancy party.  And it seems I'm not alone. There are some fantastic tips for beautiful weddings on a budget in the Tip Store.   Some of them are very creative. We had a giggle on ABC radio Darwin on Monday night over the "Fake the Cake" tip. What a brilliant way to have the "cake" of your dreams without spending hundreds of dollars.  And what about "Ten Cent Invitations"  - there is a tip that will save you hundreds of dollars.  There really is no excuse for spending a fortune on the wedding of your dreams when you see the fantastic tips in the Wedding section of our Tip Store. Do you have a fantastic tip for a beautiful wedding the Cheapskates way? You can send it to us here. We'd love to see it and add it to the Tip Store.   It seems weddings aren't the only thing that are costing Australians a fortune. There was a report on page 31 of last Sunday's Herald Sun on the increase in the cost of basic groceries since 2000. It struck a chord with Cheapskaters and I am proud to say we are beating the odds - instead of our grocery bills sky rocketing, they are coming down! Way to go Cheapskaters, give yourselves a pat on the back. "Just want to thank you so much for Cheapskates! You have truly opened my eyes to where I can save money without a lot of effort! I joined the Cheapskates Club in March and estimate I’m saving $60 a week on food using Aldi as well as Coles. In today’s (20/06/2010) Herald Sun is a list of groceries with prices for years 2000 and 2010. Going through my price book and checking the items I buy, the price I pay is 35% less than 2000 prices and 55% less than 2010! You are offering a fantastic service to Australian families, keep it up! Many thanks," Val Regnier "I would like to take this opportunity to say that I love receiving the Tip of the Day and the other information provided on Cheapskates – it has led to a complete change in the cleaning materials that I use around the house as well as giving me heaps of other ideas."  Liz Stillwell "Absolutely LOVE the website.. has inspired me so much!"  Louise "Love Cheapskates!!!!"  Ros There are only two days left to enter our June competition. With two cash prizes up for grabs, click here to send us your best tip on how to Get a Deal. Entries close 5pm tomorrow, 25th June 2010. 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 Janelle Collins.  Janelle is a Platinum member of the Cheapskates Club so her membership has been extended by twelve months for submitting a winning tip. See First Run Movies for Less Recently I went with a group of girlfriends to see a movie, and we only paid $10 each per ticket. We bought a book of 10 tickets from Hoyts for $100. There were only 7 of us, but the remaining 3 tickets were snapped up pretty quickly for later. The only condition is that we couldn't use the tickets after 5pm on a Saturday, but we went on a Sunday night anyway. Great for a cheap girls night out. Congratulations Janelle, I hope you continue to 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

When life gives you lemons you make..... This past week I was given lemons. Lots of lemons. So when life gave me lemons I made lemonade and lemon cordial, lemon butter for our toast and a couple of delicious pies. When life gives you lemons, I hope these recipes will help you use them in a delicious way. Homemade Lemon Cordial Ingredients: 2 kg castor sugar 1 litre water 30g citric acid 30g tartaric acid juice and pulp of 6 lemons, strained finely grated rind of 2 lemons Method: Dissolve water in sugar over heat in a stock pot. Add citric acid and tartaric acid. Stir to ensure completely dissolved. Cool. Stir in juice and zest and bottle. Make up 1 part cordial to 2 parts cold water. Old Fashioned Lemonade Ingredients: 1 cup castor sugar 1 cup lemon juice 3 cups soda water, chilled Method: Place the caster sugar in a saucepan with one cup water and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves to make a simple syrup. Allow to cool. Stir in the lemon juice. To serve, top with chilled soda water. Adjust sugar if necessary. Microwave Lemon Butter Ingredients: 125 g butter, chopped 1 cup caster sugar finely grated zest of 2 lemons 4 eggs 2/3 cup strained lemon juice Method: Place butter and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Add lemon zest and stir well.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs and add lemon juice. Strain egg mixture onto hot butter mixture and whisk quickly to combine.  Microwave on High for 2 minutes. The mixture may look like scrambled eggs. Whisk until smooth and microwave for 1-2 minutes longer. Whisk again and leave to cool completely. Press a piece of clingwrap over the top, making sure there are no air pockets, to prevent a skin forming. Keeps for two weeks in the fridge. Lemon Meringue Pie Ingredients: 1 pre-cooked pastry case ½ cup cornflour 1 cup castor sugar ½ cup lemon juice 1¼ cup water 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 3 eggs, separated 60 g butter ½ cup castor sugar Method: Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Combine cornflour and sugar in pan and gradually stir in ½ cup lemon juice and 1¼ cups water. Stir until mixture thickens then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the lemon rind, egg yolks and butter.  To make the meringue beat whites  until stiff, then add the sugar and beat until peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Pour filling into the pastry case then using a spatula put the meringue mix on starting at the edges and working inwards, being sure to take meringue right to the edge of the pastry. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, cool before serving. Do you have a fantastic recipe for lemons? We can't wait to try it and add it to the Recipe File. Share it with us here.

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Last Weeks Question

Last week's question was from  Michelle, who would like to fence the yard, which is close to a dam, with pool fencing.

Carol Longworth answered
I am going to suggest eBay (or other second hand dealers). If you are after a large quantity of identical fencing this is a good place to look. We recently purchased second hand gal fencing and sprayed it with enamel green paint before erecting. Looks terrific and blends in well with landscape. I hope this helps.

Koby Lewis answered
Try anyone you know of that is renovating or demolishing an old house, very rarely will they keep fencing of any kind.  Other wise have a look at your local tip. You would be surprised at what you would find and what a simple lick of paint can do.  

Danielle Green answered
Hi Michelle, we had a similar problem but found the best solution - GARAGE SALES! We always found unwanted pool fencing panels, sometimes only one or two, other times  we would find 15-20 panels. Some needed painting so they were all the same colour.  Garage sales are on every weekend all over Australia, and they definitely saved us many thousands of dollars.  
  
Rebecca Smith answered
Pool fencing can become costly as its a specially made type of fencing. I also live in a rural area with dams surrounding the area. A cheaper (yet equally safe) option may be to locate a recycled building supplier who has HEAPS of timber. Create vertical pickets, with a couple of horizontal rails and make a fence. Enclose it with thick wire and lacquer/paint the wood so it's waterproof. I saw a farmer do this to his acreage property, and it looks great.. not to mention a really outback look! I hope my suggestion helps! :)  

Lisa Norton answered
Do you know anyone that has a tin roof and is about to get it replaced? We just had our roof replaced by our landlord, and he has left behind the old sheets of tin for us to build a fence with. Then all you would need to buy are the poles to hold it up, (we are going to use the arms of an old clothes line that is already broken, but I wouldn't recommend this for a fence being built near water.) The sheets of tin from the roof are very sturdy, and are corrugated. They will be perfect for us to keep out the rabbits and the foxes when we build our veggie garden! And all for free! Hope this helps. 

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

Ruth writes "My husband is an interstate truck driver who leaves home on a Sunday night and is away until the following Friday. He has a tuckerbox, fridge and a two burner gas camp stove in the truck so he can cook his own meals (eating on the road costs a fortune). I make snacks and some meals for him but I am running out of ideas for things that are tasty, healthy, quick, easy and cheap. He doesn't have a freezer, just the portable fridge, so keeping food fresh can be a problem. Can anyone give me some meal ideas I can pack for him?"

If you have a suggestion or idea for Ruth 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 ideas

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Join the Cheapskates Club

For just 8 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. 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