We had a camera crew there for most of the day from the tv show Today Tonight. The sound man came in to listen to my talk about feeding a family for $300 a month. I thought he'd come back into the room to unhook me from the microphone. He said he was listening and leaning. That put a smile on my face.
Lots of information and tips was shared around the room from locals who know where to get the best deals. So many came away from the day inspired and ready to tackle their budgets.
Please watch this space as Cath and I hope to do more workshops very soon.
Here's what else I got up to this week -.
* Gratefully received some apples, English breakfast muffins and some lemon slice.
* From the Adelaide Cheapskate's workshop I bought home a small bag of lollies, a couple of packets of snack sized biscuits, a few tea bags, sugar, coffee sticks, accom toiletries and a bottle of water.
* Bought $1 toothbrushes from Woolworths while I was in Adelaide. I also bought more toothbrushes for 59 cents and Dove soap for 89 cents from Terry White chemists.
* Made the most of the Spotlight 30% off sale to buy some card making equipment. I used my clothing allowance from Winter as I didn't buy many clothes.
* Gratefully received a gift from my blogger friend Annabel. She bought me some baking supplies. The wrapping paper is beautiful and will be used for card making.
* Froze two single portions of left over tuna pasta bake.
* Ate out of the freezer three nights in a row. I need to make more room in the freezer for when legs of lamb come on sale in Spring.
* Saved all washing machine water for each next load and dried all clothes on clothes horses.
* Fed the compost bin with lots of kitchen scraps.
* Fed the chickens some bread crusts and grass.
* Juiced and froze some more lemon juice.
* Made a double strength batch of Miracle Spray.
* Emptied the supermarket shelf of white choc bits on sale in Coles. Mind you, they only had three packets. I received a rain check for six more packets. This rain check is valid for twelve month so I'll save it and try to get more stock while the sale is still on.
* Filled up with petrol before it goes back up..
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| Annabel, Cath and myself |
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| Fellow bloggers - Annabel, Cath, myself and Tania |
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| Cath doing her talk. |
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| Annabel talking about the beauty industry. |
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| Everyone's place setting with a goody bag and biscuits. |
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| Our room is ready |
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| Ready to go |
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| The present from Annabel |
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| Flowers Darren is growing |
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| On my kitchen windowsill. |
What frugal tasks did you complete this week ?
As I travel for work I also keep the hotel consumables. My girls love to take them when they go on camp or travel as they are the perfect size. Darren's flowers look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMy girls love the little toiletries too Phil.
DeleteDear Wendy, I cannot believe that was only one week ago today! It seems like a month ago as it has been a busy week!
ReplyDeleteI think there was a lot of inspiration that day! You must have been tired too when you got back. And you still had a good week!
Sometimes I am amazed at what can be achieved in seven days. I still get things done over the weekend but I view this as a time to rest a bit and review the week then on Sunday I try and plan the next one. This really seems to help plus lists. I get more done with lists!
Today I am doing some cooking. I am making quiches/flans in a few flavors ie spinach and sun dried tomato. One will be dinner, two will be gifts and some for the freezer.
Have a good weekend! With love Annabel.xxx
Yes I was a little tired Annabel as I didn't sleep well while I was away. My voice was croaky by the time I got home. Too much talking with Cath - hehehe !!!
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased Adelaide was such a success. When will it be on A Current Affair??? or have I missed it already :-(
I love the shots of the flowers... thanks for sharing.
Purchased ten tomatoes, multiple cucumbers (I think there were about a dozen. I ate a few lol) two large zucchini, two capsicums for $2 from the markets
Made tomato sauce from the above tomatoes (used one to make bolognaise for tea this week…very yummy.
Made zucchini spaghetti for tea out of above zucchini, have eaten lots of zucchini for main meals. We like them so it’s not a chore.
Made dill pickles from above cucumbers
Made muffins
Made pita bread
Made a few loaves of bread
Made a few batches of yoghurt. I use a couple of table spoons from the previous batch of yoghurt to make the next batch. It is so much cheaper this way. I had heard it gets thinner as you go if you use this method but so far I have not found it an issue and I have made two or three litres a week for the last two months.....have you had an issue with it getting runny or thin by doing this???
I have dehydrated broccoli, capsicum, bananas
Washed all clothes in cold water and used the sun and wind to dry them or used clothes horse.
Gave myself a manicure
Gratefully received three foam boxes to add to my container garden, with the offer of as many as I need whenever I want them
Gratefully received milk bottles to use as pots for gardening from Hubbies work café
I planted more seeds in the garden and milk pots.
Purchased virus software from JB HI FI, got 85% off. Different vouchers and a sale used all at once.
Purchased two carved wooden picture frames for $1 each from the markets… I will print photos of my grandmother and put into frame for gifts for my cousins
I am working on curtains for front and back rooms. I got yards and yards of expensive rubber backed material for $30 at St Vinnies the other day. It is so pretty and exactly the colour I wanted..right place right time..... I will probably have some left over after making floor to ceiling curtains (two full walls).
Created a ghost garden in the front yard with netting... when the netting was pulled over the vegetable pots in the garden it looked like ghosts in the front yard, so I did what all good gardeners would do...I added eyes to the netting to complete the ghosts :-)
Linda
Another productive week Linda. I only save yoghurt to make one other batch as I make it sweet. I have heard it can only be saved 3 - 4 times before starting to go runny. If it's still working for you that's great.
DeleteCath and I were told the story should go to air on Today Tonight last week. I've checked the website and couldn't find it so it looks like it hasn't aired yet. I'll post a link as soon as I get one.
Last Tuesday Today Tonight showed Cath talking about credit cards. My friend in Adelaide said it was on and that she saw the back of me lol! Apparently not much about cheapskates workshop at all. Unless they are going to show more on another night, I think too much time has passed though.
DeletexTania
xTania
I'm keeping a look out on the Today Tonight website.
DeleteHi Wendy, just watched this on the site. Cath speaks about credit cards and shows the workshop toward the end. Here is the link.
Deletehttp://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/credit-interest-tips
xTania
All meals except 2 made from scratch. On Monday i bought a RTC pizza from Coles for $4, and today due to timing we bought lunch out. But we only bought one and shared it, along with a coffee each it worked out reasonably cheap.
ReplyDeleteAll washing dried inside on clothes horses. Heater turned off a couple of days, and windows/doors opened for fresh air.
Each evening after cooking the meat the leftovers have been portioned out and frozen, we now have enough chicken and silverside for 3 meals each, tonights mince will make another 4 meals.
Maggie, it's such a good idea to freeze the leftovers. You'll get a few nights off from cooking. What a bonus.
DeleteHello Wendy, I've discovered your blog through Annabel, whose blog I discovered through Mimi! I love that you all record what you do each week that saves you money, it's probably quite a nice 'reward' to see it listed. I watched your Christmas special recently after having a look through your blog, and felt really inspired to make gifts and a lovely meal that doesn't break the bank. I really looking forward to reading more of your posts :)
ReplyDeleteJen
Welcome Jen. Yes Annabel and Mimi are blogger friends. We all visit each other's blog regulary.
DeleteListing what I do each week spurs me on to do more. I'm glad you enjoyed the Christmas special. I was recovering from laryngitis when filming that story so I was quite my usual self. It would have to be one of my favourite tv stories.
Thankyou for visiting me blog and I hope to hear from you often.
Hi Wendy, thanks for your blog and your generosity in sharing your tips for a frugal yet abundant life with us. I read regularly but haven't yet commented. I am a mum of one and am due to ho back to work part-time after finishing my maternity leave so this week I've been busily meal planning, cooking and freezing and building up our stockpile to prepare for the days when my husband and I work and dinner will have to be on the table quickly. We also recently bought our first home so, while I've always been thrify, I've gone into overdrive to make sure we keep our expenses in check so we can pay our mortgage off quickly. The main way I do that is through controlling our food costs. I aspire to have our grocery bill as low as yours but for now it's about $120 a week. Nappies tend to bump it up a bit.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for all that you share.
Jo
Thankyou for commenting Jo and welcome. It sounds like you are on the right path to being wise with your money. Don't forget to freeze any leftovers. These will become a cheap and easy meal to get on the table.
DeleteWe paid off our mortgage quickly ( on a low income ) by putting any pay rises, government bonuses, andt ax returns onto the mortgage. We always saw these as bonuses and didn't really need them but our mortgage did.
Please keep in touch as I'd love to hear about your journey xoxo
Dear Wendy,
ReplyDeleteA week gone already? This week has flown by very quickly for me. I did enjoy the workshop very much and I have a new outlook toward my frugal life. Now I am home I hope to implement some of what I learned last Saturday. First off I will be removing unnecessary things that are in my pantry, and put things in order.
I haven't managed to be too frugal this week. I did bring home two bags of organic plain flour and two coconuts from my mum when we passed through today. From Ceduna I brought home some lemons and a fig tree cutting I am hoping to get growing. The weather wasn't kind so we didn't get to do any fishing, but we did go to the local fish factory and bought some fish to bring home. Although a bit expensive, it was still cheaper than what we pay here, and there are quite a few meals for us. We took our own caravan with us and saved money for accommodation. We also carried our own food and water, so more savings.
Have a great week,
xTania
Hi Tania, you won't know yourself with the extra room in your pantry. This week I cleared half a shelf by stacking things a little better and filling up containers.
DeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteWow, the workshop looked fantastic. I bet they were all itching to try lots of the ideas over the coming weeks. Annabel's wrapping paper looks gorgeous and Darren's flowers show spring is around the corner with everything waking up.
This week I made: Lamb shank soup(using your recipe for Roast beef soup), family said, it was the best soup ever. Lemon slice (can I freeze this when made?), Snag rolls, Yogurt, Castor sugar, Popcorn(for school lunch boxes), cupcakes, stewed apple and an apple crumble.
Whizzed up in the food processor, leftover bits of rice crackers, pretzels, chips etc that were stale to use in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Picked lettuce from our garden, used the tank water and saved water to use elsewhere. Cleaned out the picnic basket ready for spring and to rotate things in it like tea bags etc. I picked some White Jonquils from the garden and put into the water in the vase, some blue food colouring. In a couple of days they were blue and I then also put some more white ones in and changing the water to just water and I had blue and white flowers which looked beautiful.
Tried to use less water in the steamer pot as I always seem to have a lot leftover. I sold a necklace which I no longer wear which paid towards DS1's cricket registration. Filled up on petrol $116.9. Gratefully received some KFC chicken and Pastizzi's. Bought a BBQ chook just before they were about to get rid of them in Woolies for $5.00 and stretched it out for 3 meals(Roast, Honey mustard Chicken and Fried rice).
Last week I bought some wire shelf racks for the pantry. These are great although the small bottles of essence etc kept falling over. So I made a cardboard placemat with 1/2 a piece of pink paper, a piece of cardboard and some contact. Now they stand up and I can wipe over this if I need to.
I popped into Savers this week and bought a cushion and a book for the card making and used my 20% off, total $4.00.
Savers are having a Spring sale on Monday 7th September ,50% off all clothing 8am - 9pm.
I heard fruit and vegies prices were on the rise by 15-25%. Next week, more seed/seedlings planting.
Have a great week,
Maureen
Wow, what a great week you had Maureen. The workshop was wonderful and everyone was inspired to try new things. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to do these talks. It was great to catch up with Laine who travelled from Adelaide to Melb for the previous workshop. She's due to have her baby any day. Cath and I were so excited to meet Annabel and Tania.
DeleteLove your idea about adding those things to the bread crumbs. Every bit helps.
I'll put the Savers sale on the calendar. Thanks xoxo