Hello Cheapskaters, And a warm welcome to all our new subscribers and Platinum members. You've joined us at a really fun time of year, our annual Christmas in July challenge. July is the month we plan ahead for a cash Christmas, one we really own.  You don't need to be born organized, or even particularly love Christmas, to join in. The only requirement is a desire to enjoy the holiday season without owing anything on December 31st. Cashed Up Habit No. 17 is a good start. Long-time Cheapskaters will already know about this habit, but new members may not. This is the habit of saving in your Fifty Box. It still works for us, only these days I have a "Fifty Pig" sitting on my desk, where all our silver goes. It's habit now for us all to empty our pockets and purses into the piggy bank each night. I love to hear the tinkle of the coins as they drop into the pig.  We haven't decided what we are going to use the money for just yet, but we are having a lot of fun talking over ideas and coming up with suggestions. "Hi Cath, I have just counted my 50 cent pieces, and I have a grand total of $287.50. That is AWESOME. I have just started a box for each coin denomination. My kids are also starting to put their coins in a special box at the end of each week. We have made a bargain that they can open the box one week before Christmas, providing they keep adding to it.  My twelve year old is putting all his money in there at the moment. Even the $20 he earned from weeding and mowing our neighbour’s yard over the past four weeks.!  Your tips are awesome!!   Thanks."  Ann Booth If you haven't signed up for the Cashed Up Habits e-course, you can do it here. It's free, it's fun and you'll end up with some amazing new money saving habits.   I also had some fun this week with the crew from ACA. We had a ball talking about the best ways to save money on your household bills: the electricity, gas and water.  They were in stitches when I told them our sneaky way to reduce water consumption even more in the kids' bathroom - plug up every third hole in the low flow showerhead!  They still have their four minute showers (thanks to the free shower timer we received).  We still collect the water in a bucket while waiting for it to heat up (this saved the veggie garden over summer).  They had no idea they were "voluntarily" using even less water  during their four minute shower! There were some great ideas in the story, and you can find the Bill Busters fact sheet and video here.  There are also some great tips for saving on utilities in the Tip Store too. Keep up with your site, it's terrific and I love my daily emails.  Best wishes,  Joanne Roberts Great website, newsletter and Cashed Up Habits Cath. I wish everyone success.  Nicole Soyer I have recently joined Cheapskates and really love it. I am a member of another Savings website but like the variety of Cheapskates.  Kathlene Sheen I really need to be a Cheapskates member, I have the book, but I love the website also and really can't be without, it keeps me on track, and it is so comforting to know that other people are out there like me and who want a stress free..debt free life!   Vanessa The Cheapskates Club is here so you don't need to be alone in your quest to live life debt free.  You are welcome to enjoy Silver membership for as long as you like. And you are welcome to become a Platinum member any time you like too. Either way, we are here to support and encourage you. Have a great week everyone, and stay warm! 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 comes from Jacqui Lamb. Jacqui has won a one-year Platinum Cheapskate s Club membership, valued at $29.20, for her winning tip. The Two Week Rotating Debt Reduction Plan l need to pay my credit card off, as l am over having the debt hanging around.  It isn't maxed out but it's an annoying bill that we shouldn't have, so l have come up with a plan. l have been making weekly payments of $30.00 but my new plan is to work on a two week cycle.  Week number one every $1.00 coin that ends up in my wallet at the end of each day goes into a jar and at the end of the week it is added to my weekly credit card payment. This has been adding around an extra $10.00 dollars (some weeks there has been $15.00) to my regular credit card payment.  In week two l collect $2.00 coins; at the end of each day l place them into the jar, and then at then end of the week they get added to my weekly credit card payment. My highest for week two with my $2.00 coins has been an extra $20.00. It's amazing how my balance is coming down, faster than ever before. l have been tempted to try a third week with $5.00 notes but just haven't been game enough yet,  but am sure l will get there.  Those little gold coins sure add up; give it a go and see for yourself.

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

There's nothing chilly about this chilli dinner This version of the traditional favourite Chilli Con Carne is simple, quick, cheap and very warming - just right for this time of year. Team it with brown rice and a chunk of warm cornbread and you'll have the family begging for seconds. Chilli Con Carne Ingredients: 500gms mince steak 2 tbsp of oil 1 onion chopped 1 tsp of salt 1 tbsp vinegar 4 tbsp tomato sauce 1 tbsp chilli powder (more or less to taste) 1 can red kidney beans, drained 1 can baked beans Method: Fry mince in oil until lightly browned. Add other ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add kidney beans and simmer another ten minutes. Good with rice, tossed salad and cornbread. Easy Corn Bread Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups plain flour 3/4 cup polenta 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 egg, beaten Method: Heat oven to 205 degrees Celsius. Grease a 20cm square pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg until moistened. Pour into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Do you have a favourite chilli or corn bread recipe? 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  Catherine, who is expecting her first baby and would like ideas that could become family traditions.  We received so many lovely ideas, here a just a few of them. You'll find the others in the Tip Store.

Claire Petrie answered
Our family has lots of traditions - and my step-children love them so much they were very quickly adopted by them as well!  Using cheap exercise or scrap books, paste in all your children's birthday cards each year, with a note of any special gifts given. Another tradition is that when giving gifts within the family (Christmas, birthday etc) at least one item has to be home-made.
   
Leanne Cugley answered
Always have one night a week (ours is Sunday) when you have a roast (or your families favourite dinner) so that as your kids grow up they know that "Sunday roast" is a guarantee at home. They can then ask to bring a friend and they will both know what to expect and it won't put pressure on you to come up with a great idea at short notice. The family gets to spend time together each week (and you get to know your kid's friends)and as they get older they can help out with the cooking or bring desert!

Louise Burch answered
A simple family tradition we have is the measuring wall. At every birthday the child's height is marked on a particular wall. (The only wall that it is permitted to draw on!)
   
Linda Gillham answered
Friday Night Lolly Night - for the past fifteen years we have Friday Night Lolly Night. This is the only night when we have treats and lollies (candies). Each daughter get a chance at picking a treat, then after dinner we have the treats. No other day during the week do the girls have treats or lollies. This allows us to keep to our bi-weekly food budget and also monitor what the girls are eating. And yes we have had the conversation -" but all the kids have this in their lunches at school". So we allowed the girls to select Friday Night Lolly Night or treats in their school lunch. They always say Friday Night Lolly Night. My girls are 18 and 14 years old - a great family tradition that is easy to implement and keep.

Emma Deans answered
I'm not very good at keeping a baby diary but what I have always done for my kids is every birthday I write a description of them at that age on the back of their birthday card or a piece of paper. I write about what they are like as little people, their favourite things, any funny words or things they do, the sort of thing that you think you will always remember but somehow end up forgetting. And of course how much we love them and what makes them special. It is lovely to go back and read the 'Will at 2' or 'Sam at 3' descriptions and remember their little quirks.

Quentin O'Keefe answered
When our boys were small, we invited all available family and close friends to birthday parties (our family and close friends did also). By the way, we decided that birthday parties involving other children would happen every 5 years and for the years in between, the birthday child could have a dinner of whatever they wished but it had to be home-made (a lot of planning went into those decisions). Now they are all adults, they remain very close friends with their first cousins and know their extended family well. At Christmas, to emphasise the importance of family, my sister, brothers and I would coordinate our Christmases at home and away. It would be Christmas at home in Canberra one year and Christmas away with our in laws the next year. On the away year, we always get together the weekend before Christmas. These arrangements are still in place 33 years later and, as a large, extended family, we remain close and our respective children are great friends and support to each other.

Cheryl Alleyn answered
When my children were born I started a Christmas decoration box. Each year I boughtor made one special decoration for them. When they were old enough they got to pick a special decoration (up to a certain price). Every decoration was marked with their initial and placed in a special box along with anything they made at kinder or school. Each year at Christmas they loved putting their own decorations on the tree and remembering when they bought or made them. When they moved out of home and had their own tree I presented them with their box to start their own Christmas tree decoration collection.

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

Melody asks "Does anyone have ideas for a cheap hen's party? My friend wants to rent a house by the beach and have a party. I'm thinking this will cost a small fortune with renting the house, food, alcohol and entertainment. Any other reasonable ideas?"

Do you have some ideas for a hen's party that will be something the bride will  remember fondly, and still help Melody's budget? Share your ideas with us, we'd love to hear them and we'll add them to the Tip Store for future reference too. Click here to send your ideas

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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