Reading the Frugal Way

I love to read but buying books is getting expensive, especially in Australia and in this year of NO SPENDING, books are out of the question although I did slip up once and bought a book for my birthday. I have solved this by getting hold of free Kindle books. You can get many and varied titles on a vast amount of subjects. These are examples of some of the titles I have about living simply:

How To Make a Budget 
Shopping and Cooking Frugally
Vegetable Container Gardening
Craft Business Heroes
Slow Cooker Recipes
Winning the Clutter War
The Rich Mama Plan
One Year Without Money
The Organised Kitchen

They have children's books, travel books, educational books, as well as fiction stories. Here is a wonderful website to find freebies. http://fkb.me/

Just a warning, the books change from day to day from being free to being charged, so make sure you check before you click the buy button. Kindles are so handy for people like me as my eyesight is not as good as it once was and I can set the words to a larger font, also I can read in the dark as my kindle is on my ipad and its back lit, so my reading does not disturb the bearded wonder while he is sleeping.  Everyone is happy.

Taking A Step Toward Getting Rid Of Disposables

As time goes on, I am thinking more and more of ways to save money and NOT buying disposable dish cloths is my latest thing. I have bought knitting cotton and an now taking my size 3 1/4 knitting needles and whipping up my own. I have had fun trying lots of different stitches and made cloths of varying sizes. These wash and wear very well and will last for years. No more throwaway dish cloths for me.

Gift Cards

Have you ever received a pre-paid gift card for Christmas or a birthday?  I sometimes use these gift cards at places I shop to buy groceries, or hardware, as I earn them from doing surveys.  During the year I earn about $300 of these cards and I always use them for necessities therefore saving money on my usual grocery spend. Then I just use the cash allotted for that particular expense to save for a bigger item or to put extra into the mortgage.

Sites for surveys are:

www.pureprofile.com.au

www.opinionspaid.com.au

www.valuedopinions.com.au

www.myopinions.com.au

http://www.rewardscentral.com.au/join/default.aspx?refer=A00010

http://www.yourvoice.com.au

http://www.myview.com.au/

What's Been Happenin' ?

I thought today I would reflect on what been going on around here of late.  I bought a 10kg bag of onions for $3.00 so sliced and chopped madly and have loads in the freezer in convenient little bags to be dragged out and chucked into a curry, stew, and

I doubled the recipe.

and made 4 big coffee jars full and a small jar full as well. It can be used just spead on crackers, or with cold meat but I love to add it to my curries and stews.  Very delish.

Mimi's Onion Relish.

You need 4 decent sized washed and sterilized jars for this amount.

1 kg onions (different onions give a different result. Try red, eschallots, pickling onions or brown ones)
2 tablespoons oil
250 gms sugar
300 mls vinegar (different vinegars will also give a slightly different result in colour and flavour, so try balsamic, white, apple cider, sherry or even red or white wine or sparkling wine)
3 tablespoons honey or golden syrup
1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Peel and slice the onions thinly.

Heat a large frypan over a medium heat and slow cook the onion until it's limp, about 5 minutes.

Add the other ingredients and mix well.

Reduce the heat to very low and simmer, stirring regulary to prevent sticking for one hour.

Cover the pan and continue to cook over a very low heat for a minimum of 45 minutes but up to several hours depending upon the depth of flavour and the consistency you're after, stirring regularly. I have simmered mine virtually all day on a very very low heat, and after 10-12 hours, they are divine.

The confit is ready when there is not liquid and the onion has been reduced to a chunky paste.

Spoon into sterilised jars and refrigerate.

Keeps for up to six months.

In the garden....

I have raised beds and in this one I have been harvesting carrots, parsnips, and beetroot. I have bunged in some peas but they are only 10 cm high as yet. The pansies are doing rather well in fact, what turned out to be an idea of making it look pretty, they have become weeds, self sown everywhere.

This one houses my garlic and shallots and more pansies.

Broad beans are coming along nicely, as soon as spring really gets here they will grow almost taller than me.

Lemons galore for my lemon meringue pies and citrus cordial.

Also harvested was a couple of caulis which get made into cauliflower cheese and chucked into stirfries and curries.

The beautiful winter we have been lucky to have here has made the chooks think its spring. They are laying in force, so plenty of eggs to eat and sell. Frittata anyone?

Lastly, I finally finished the olive oil from this 3 litre tin so decided it would be perfect to plant some mint into so I can have it handy on the kitchen bench. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and taking an interest, I appreciate you all. Feel free to leave a comment if you want.

Deb

Transformation

From this

I picked the last of my mandarins to make this:

A mandarin cheesecake:

Base

250g Nice biscuits

120g butter, melted

 
Filling 

250g cream cheese, softened
395g (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh mandarin juice

1 tablespoon gelatine mixed with 1/4 cup boiling water. 

Method

Crush the biscuits in a food processer and mix with the melted butter.  Press into lined tin.

Filling

Mix all ingredients together and pour into base.

Enjoy with whipped cream.

6 Tips to Shopping for Good Health (as a Frugalista)

                                  

1. Shop the perimeter of the supermarket. Try your best to stay out of the inside aisles where all the tempting processed junk food is sold.
2. Buy produce that is IN SEASON and/or on sale.
3. Buy in bulk, preferably when on sale.
4. Buy meat when it is on sale and freeze whatever you will not be using immediately.
5. Meat-pool- Go in with a few family members or friends and buy a cow, pig, sheep and share it between you all.
6. Buy at farmers markets, farm gates and food co-ops.

The Wonders of Thermal Pot Cooking

I recently became the owner of a thermal pot and I have found it a real boon for making lovely slow cooked meals for very little cost. The food is prepared and boiled for 20 minutes in the stainless steel inner pot and then the lid is placed on it and then you can put it inside the outer pot with the outer lid closed and then its left for about 6 hours to cook with the residual heat. It makes the meat so tender and melt in your mouth. I like it better than a slow cooker as it uses less power and my slow cooker tends to cook  a bit fast and I wouldn't feel safe leaving it on when I am not at home. 

How to Start Your Own Home Based Food Co-op

Food co-ops can be a great way of buying food in bulk for a cheaper price and an excellent way of working with others for a common result. The instructions here are for a monthly home based co-op.

Step 1: Ask your friends, neighbours or advertise for people who live locally to join your co-op. About 12 families would be ideal, so that you only have to work the co-op yourself once a year.

Step 2: Meet up and get to know each other and discuss what is available in your area and what kinds of foods you would like to source. Brainstorm all the things that you would use and where they could be bought from. For example: there is a cheese factory and a butter factory in my town, orchards and farms nearby. There is also a dry goods warehouse where I can get sultanas, flour, sugar etc in bulk, as well another place that sells bulk soap and washing powders. Go through the yellow pages to find out what is available. Start making some phonecalls. Often, what is available may vary throughout the year depending what is in season.

Step 3: Make a list and a roster and decide on the initial investment. $50 per family for example. This money will be the buying fund and will be passed on to the next buyer the following month. Decide what day of the month is pick-up day. A shopping list is distributed to

each family and a day for return is agreed upon.

Step 4: The first organiser goes through the orders and works out how many kilos of any specific item to be sourced then makes the phone calls to order. They will need to drive around to pick up items to be bought back to be divided according to the orders. Make sure you have boxes (per family) and wrapping (for such items as cheeses and butter) good scales for weighing large amounts.

Step 5: Delivery Day:  By now the boxes are packed with the families' items and are lined up with their order form and amount to be paid for when they are picked up.  Make sure that the next person on the organising roster has the contact list of suppliers, scales, wrapping and the buying fund. The new order forms can go out to families to be perused and returned by the specified date.

I always found pick up day was a lovely day of socialising as everyone drops by for a cuppa and a chat and to pick up their goodies. Sometimes these evolved into barter sessions where other goods and services were swapped. Sometime is turned into a BYO food and drink to share, party where we played music and had fun.

If you ever decide to get out of the co-op, it is polite to try to find a person to take your place. If the whole thing is to be dissolved then the float needs to be divided equally betwen all the families.

Deb

Making Citrus Cordial

Today I noticed how laden my mandarin and lemon trees were, and I remembered how much the bearded wonder enjoys homemade cordial so I set out to make a batch.

After picking the fruit, I washed in in the sink to remove any dirt or bugs.

I collected the zest from about 4 lemons then I juiced the remainder (there were about 14).

I collected all the peel from mandarins and lemons and boiled them on the stove to extract as much flavour from them as I could. I strained it after about 30 mins cooking and threw the peel into the compost.

I found it easier to juice the mandarins with a stick blender and strain. The pulp was added to the pot on the stove.

The strained citrified water was measured out into a measuring jug and had the equivalent amount of sugar added to make a syrup. I added 2 teaspoons of citric acid and the same amount of tartaric acid to the syrup and stir till sugar is dissolved. This helps with the shelf life. The acids are natuarally occuring acids and can be bought at the grocery store.

I mixed the juices and the zest with the syrup and bottled in hot sterilized bottles whilst the liquid was hot. I put the lids on whilst all still hot and a vacuum was created and the lids will pop in when sealed correctly. If you have any that didn't seal, use that bottle first.  Once opened keep in the fridge. Tastes delicious mixed with icy cold water.

Reward Yourself, Without Spending a Lot

When you’ve accomplished a goal or mini-goal, you should celebrate and reward yourself.  However, if you do this too often, and your rewards cost a lot, you’ll soon go broke. Occasionally  it’s OK to splurge, that’s a statement coming from me, someone who promotes frugality, so I thought it would be interesting to post a list of some ideas of cheap or free rewards.

Some cool ideas: 

• Borrow a book/DVD/CD from a library.
• Make chocolate chip biscuits (delicious and simple to make!)
• Dip strawberries in chocolate.
• Take a day off and go for a bush or beach walk.
• Ask your other half for a massage.
• Or erotic fun.
• Have a bubble bath by candle light.
• Make a smoothie.
• Download a couple songs that you love. 
• Spend time with a loved one. Is there someone you haven’t talked to in a while? 
• Wear a “hot” outfit on an ordinary day. Do your hair, put on make-up and wear earrings.
• Have an “at home” date night.
• Give yourself some quiet time to relax.
• Take a nap.
• Watch your favourite TV show.
• Do something you love.
• Window shopping (if that’s what you’re into, but leave your money and credit card at home).
• Go to an art gallery.
• Go to a museum.
• Have a cup of special tea.
• Imagine you are planning a trip by using travel sites on the internet.
• Sleep In. For those of us who have the luxury of a weekend off, why not take one day and sleep in for a little bit. 
•  Be the guest. Have you been saving those nice towels and sheets for when you have guests and they are just languishing in the cupboard? Take some time out to make your bed once in a while with those nice sheets and use that fancy soap for yourself. You will feel better just from using something that you do not normally use on a regular basis.
• Pick some flowers as they give you a great emotional boost from just looking at them.
• Sing, especially with a group of others.   Enjoy
  Deb

Which Everyday Illness is the Best When You Are Being Frugal?

Being a teacher, I come across kids that have a range of illnesses and it got me thinking if I got sick, how would it effect my No Spend Year?

If I had the Flu my expenses would be a trip to doctor {cash for doctors bill and petrol}, medication {from the chemist, petrol}, "immune boosting" foods like chicken noodle soup; tissues, cough lollies, magazines or movies. I would lose some sick leave.

If I had a Cold, my expenses would be over the counter medication, possible trip to the doctor, "immune boosting" foods, tissues. The duration is shorter than the flu, offsetting some of the cost. I would be able to go to work.

If I contracted Conjunctivitis, my expenses would be a trip to doctor and medication. Plus I would lose some day’s sick leave as I am not allowed to attend school with a contagious condition. 

If I had Gastro. My expenses would be zero. The benefits would be that I couldn’t drive anywhere, can't eat anything, can't do anything. Losing 2kgs in one day.  

I guess I am lucky that so far none of these apply, as teachers seem to be immune to a lot of these nasties.

Stay well everyone,

Deb

Keeping Warm The Frugal Way

As many of you know, I live in Tasmania which is one of the colder parts of Australia so keeping warm is really a challenge here.

For a start, when I designed my home, I made sure it was oriented to take advantage of the lovely sunny winter days we have in Tasmania. Even though the outside temperatures struggle to make it to double figures, the inside of the house is heated by the sun through northerly easterly and north westerly facing windows.

I have a heat pump (split system air conditioner that I run 24/7 during late Autumn to early Spring and as it has a thermostat and is set at 14 degrees during the day and overnight while we are sleeping, it doesn’t even come on through the day while the sun is shining. I prefer to do this than heat the house from scratch each day as its cheaper to have it running all the time.  In the evenings, when we are home from work, I put it up to 23 degrees. It takes a while to heat up but usually I am busy preparing dinner so it doesn’t worry me. It costs about $70 per quarter to run this as it’s charged on the hot water rate.  Having solar panels assists in reducing electricity costs.

I also have insulation in the ceiling, under the floor and in the wall cavities. Even though I have vast expanse of glass (got a great view to take advantage of) I use heavy drapes to keep the warmth in during the evening and night.

I have an electric blanket with turns itself off after an hour in bed and if I am still chilly when I am watching TV of a night, I will put a wheat bag into the microwave and put it on my cold bits. We also have been known to put a nanna rug over our knees if it’s chilly enough or put on an extra jumper. 

Deb

Mindfulness Challenge

I have just spent a week with my daughter and grand-daughter and seen the way that they live compared to my own, simple life.  I escorted them to the city, somewhere I rarely visit as it holds little interest for me. The attraction for them was visiting the many and varied shops to look as well as buy. They were influenced by the signs that said “30% off” and the like, with no regard to whether it really was good value, or was it really needed, and no thought of where it was made so you can weigh up the options. They came, they saw, they bought.

To anyone who has been following my blog, you will realise this is in contrast to my way of doing things. I like to live mindfully and consider valuable things like, do I have a need for it, is it value for money, is it going to end up in land fill, will it add to my debt, how can I satisfy myself without wasting money? 

Try asking yourself every time you start to buy something, “Do I really need this?” Is it completely necessary to spend this money on this thing? So for those of you who enjoy tackling a challenge, I’ve got one for you. Starting today, begin a Money Mindfulness Challenge. Why would you want to do this? Well, for two reasons. First, you will save some money and discover just how much you spend on mindless stuff. Secondly, you might discover some pleasure in living simpler and having less. Here’s how it will work:
1. Get into the Right Head Space
If you’re going to be part of this challenge, you need to prepare yourself mentally. For the next seven days, you won’t be living the lifestyle you have been living up until this moment. This will be an exercise in financial and emotional dieting. But there will be great results in the end if you stick it out.
2. Get A Savings Jar
Get a jar for savings. Pull out any silver or one or two dollar coins you have in your purse and put them in the jar. You can keep any notes, but once you break them, put the change in the jar. You will be surprised at how it mounts up.
3. Plan your Meals and Try to Be Creative with what you have.
Go through your pantry and refrigerator to take inventory of what you have in stock right now. Using the food you have in the house, write a menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the next seven days. If you don’t have enough food in the house for seven days, plan menus using very simple, inexpensive, but nutritious ingredients that you can purchase. Go buy those ingredients at the grocery store, purchasing home brand items if possible but I only consider Australian products. Do not purchase any other items except what is on your list. Remember local foods are best.
4. Credit Cards 
Unless it’s an absolute emergency, do not use a credit card during this week. An emergency is like a hospital visit or a family crisis, not having a pizza craving or having to have that handbag because it’s only on sale this week. Over the long term it is advisable to save an emergency fund of at least $1000.
5. No Café Coffees, No Junk Food
Make coffee at home. Pack your lunch (use the leftovers from last nights dinner). If you regularly purchase coffee or junk food during the week, you will be surprised at how much you save this week.
6. Dinners Out, Entertainment
For the next seven days, you must not eat out. Every meal must be either eaten or prepared at home. Any entertainment must be free. No movies or other activities that cost money, unless you have already paid for them or are using a voucher. Spend some time finding free ways to have fun. Do some research about what’s happening in your neighbourhood. Think about a BYO dinner party where each couple brings a dish whether it is soup, main or dessert. Consider spending time outdoors, playing games with your family, reading (libraries are free), exercising, or doing creative activities. How about using that time to de-clutter, clean, reorganize, and pull out useless stuff to sell or give away. Don’t forget you can sell on Ebay and Gumtree.
7. Spend Mindfully
Any time during the week you start to pull out your purse to buy something, ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” You probably don’t, but if it is something you absolutely do need, ask yourself, can it wait?
8. What You’ll Be Buying
Not much. You can pay necessary bills. You may need a few groceries. You may need to pay for parking or petrol, although you might find alternatives to driving like using public transport. Your kids may have events or activities to attend that cost money. If they are optional, can them and think of free alternatives.
9. Make It A Habit
Consider participating in a Money Mindfulness Challenge once a month or at least once a quarter. In between, stay mindful about your spending. Keep asking yourself, “Do I really need this?” Keep a running total of your spending.
10. Consider the implications on the planet that your buying creates.

First, Take a Cauliflower

I went to the farmer's market today and picked up some vegies as my caulis are not ready yet and I hadn't planted any swede this year. I was going to prepare them for the freezer to be used in curries and soups, at a later date. Here is what I did.

I chopped into pieces and put into the top of a steamer. I even sliced up the hard stems and popped them into the bottom of the steamer to boil so that I could pop them in soups later.

The swede, a humble vegetable that absolutely comes into its own when added to soups and casseroles. Great winter food. It was chopped up and put into the water in the bottom of the steamer to cook slightly while cauli was being steamed.

oops blurry photo

Swede and cauli stems draining before being bagged.

Nothing was wasted. Even the chooks benefitted from the outer leaves and the snails that were found among them.

Slow Week Round These Parts

I haven't got much to post about this week as I go about my frugal life. I am still not spending on unnecessary bits and pieces just the essentials like groceries and petrol. I harvested shallots and made a delicious caramelised Shallot Tart.  I also replanted some smaller bulbs to that they could grow on. Today, my groceries were a bit more than expected as I have been keeping it  very low for the last 6 - 8 weeks. Today, I bought bacon bones to make soup, leeks to make a leek pie, cabbage to make coleslaw and stirfry, and chicken wings and bacon because they were really good value so I bought some to stockpile in the freezer. Cheese on special, to freeze and ham for my lunches. At the risk of sounding dull, I was pleased with what I got for my money.

Shopping the Shelves at Home

If you are anything like me, you have a good stockpile of goods in the pantry. I have been the kind of person to add and add to the stockpile to the point where storage was becoming a problem.  Through April and May I have made a concerted effort to shop the shelves at home and I inadvertently have fallen into doing the $21 challenge without even thinking about it.  If you look at my expenditure page, you will see that my grocery spending has been quite small during this year.  I now have room in the pantry and I will continue to live like this till the pantry is empty, then I will focus on stockpiling again.  This way I am using foods that might have been at risk of going out of date.  Unfortunately I have never been much good at stock rotation when I was a busy full-time worker. Now that I am part time, I hope to be able to keep up with this. 

When I am stockpiling, I read the specials catalogues and buy things that I would use only when its on special, often buying multiple packs at the time. 

How do you organise your shopping?

The Money-Less Man

Blurb from back of book......

Imagine living for an entire year without money.  Former businessman Mark Boyle did just that and here is his extraordinary and compelling  story.

How do friends and family react?  What do you eat? Where do you live? How does it effect your social life and relationships? How do you wash? In this landmark book, Mark Boyle finds out the hard way and, in the process, explores the consequences of our obsession with money. Encountering cuttlefish toothpaste, seasonal foods, skill swapping schemes, and compost toilets, Mark even travels to Ireland without a penny and faces the unthinkable: a cash free Christmas.

Following his own strict rules, Mark goes back to basics and learns ingenious ways to eliminate his bills and flourish for free. The Money-Less Man will inspire you to question what really matters in life.

What Do You Consider as Excess?

Spending lots of money on gambling and alcohol, having 4 TV’s, going out for $100 dinners, or holidays overseas twice a year?  It’s all a matter of priorities and choice, a very personal decision. 

Many people may think that we are excessive for owning 3 cars when there are only 2 of us. I can justify that decision by saying the bearded wonder and I live 20 minutes from our jobs, with each of us going in opposite directions. I drive a relatively newish little petrol savvy car which I bought to replace my rather ancient, little petrol savvy car. Now rather than get rid of that little car, I gave it to the bearded wonder to drive to work, knowing that I would only get $500 if I tried to sell it. This car replaced a moderately aging, dual cab ute in being the “drive to work” car. The ute, when driven to work, used loads more petrol than the old little car. But why do we need to keep a ute? Because we are renovating our shack and need to carry timber, cement sheet etc and we tow a boat with it when we are at the shack. It gets used one weekend a fortnight, when we visit the shack.

Now we have the shack, we do not take holidays elsewhere, as we absolutely adore being down by our beach. We do not smoke and the bearded one only drinks his own home brew. I drink water. We go out to dinner once a year, if that, and then we share a meal as I can’t eat a full meal on my own. My meals fit on a bread and butter plate. We do not have Pay TV as I can’t see the point in most TV programs and the ones I do want to see, I can see for free. I had fake nails once in my life, about 3 years ago and was horrified at how the wrecked my own nails for 2 years after, so would consider them unnecessary and ridiculous. I do not use make-up or beauty treatments, only sorbeline  on my hands after gardening. I refuse to buy bottled water as we live in Australia, not a third world country (or Adelaide) where the water is VERY drinkable, especially here in Tasmania. I do not colour my hair and I have embraced my grey hair with joy. We have NEVER been into designer brands and often get clothing from the op shop. I am not a reader of magazines, so save a fortune on the gossip mongering that happens with those, about people I have no interest in.

 I prefer to read blogs of real people who are doing useful, creative and interesting things with their lives. I also love reading books and I have a THING, that is, I love to spend money on books, non-fiction in particular, however this has been curtailed almost, during this NO SPEND YEAR.  I have been writing myself a list of books to get from the library instead.

As a teacher, I see the amount of little packets of junk that children come to school with in their lunch boxes and think that is excessive, but that is not my choice. Often these are the people who grizzle first about not having money to do this and that. Sometimes I feel these parents lack the ability to stand up to advertising, peer pressure or pester power and they fall into the same old traps always getting the same old results.

I guess my point is……….if you can’t afford it, then it’s excessive, if it’s bad for the planet, then it’s excessive , sometimes we need to sacrifice now to achieve long term results.


Deb

You Can Grow Some Food, Even in Small Spaces.

After I mentioned that I get produce from my garden, I received a comment from someone saying that they couldn’t possibly do what I do as they don’t have enough space to grow a garden. Growing a garden, providing some food for yourself and your family need not take a lot of room. Here, let me show you.

Here I used an old fridge to grow leeks, before the leeks were in I had in lettuce and spring onion.  This is a wicking bed where there is a water reservoir below the holes in the sides. This saves me from having to water all over summer as we are away at the shack for a month.

This is my brassica bed and its also a wicking bed made in a big plastic tank about 160cm across. The netting to to prevent the cabbage moths getting into it.  I am on my second planting for the year. The previous cabbages have finished and now I have more, as well as broccoli and cauliflower.

Another wicking bed in an old fridge, this had lettuce, parsnips and chard and now it had cauliflowers and chard. 

These tanks are 160cm across and this one grew potatoes, capsicum, beetroot, chives and lettuce, now it has garlic, green beans, capsicum and chives.

This tank held potatoes, butter beans, beetroot, parsnips, carrots, now the beans and potatoes have finished I have planted more beetroot and carrots.

Strawberries have grown here on the deck in these pots.

Another way to grow strawberries in a small space is to grow them in guttering in a wall. (picture from sallygardens.typepad.com)

My grapes grow up a trellis

My corn was planted in a space, a triangle 2x2x2 metres and I got enough frozen for a year.  At the far end of the triangle, I have a mandarin and a lemon tree.

Even though, here we have plenty of room for an orchard and grow nectarine, peach, apricot, green gages, apples, plums, I realise not everyone has the space. But now you can get dwarf fruit trees which we have planted on our small block at the shack.

Under the walnut tree, I have the home for my 3 egg layers. The white cage is an extension yard for them.

Pumpkins ramble among the flower garden.

Here is an example of a meal from our garden. Everything on the plate, minus the lamb chop was grown here.  And if you can't grow your own, you can always forage. Even though these blackberries are not ripe in the picture when they are, its worth hopping the fence and picking for jam making and pies

Deb