This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 26th October 2024

 It hasn't been a super frugal week since last weekend.  There are some weeks lots of things need to be done or made.  Other weeks I look back and wonder if any money was saved.  Some tasks have become second nature to us and we don't think twice about them.  This was one of those weeks.

Each week I keep a piece of paper on our fridge and jot down all the thrifty things we've done.  It gives us a sense of achievement and motivates us to find more thrifty things to do.

Here's our list for the week - 

*  I picked a bunch of flowers from our garden.  While flowers bought from a florist or supermarket are quite pretty,  they are super expensive and quite often don't last more than 5 days.  I love having fresh flowers in our home as much as possible.  Growing them ourselves means I can pick the colors I like,  when I like with little to no cost.

*  I made a double batch of muesli bars for our morning teas.  Darren was getting quite worried when he took the last one from the jar in the pantry the other day.   We still have a few store bought bars on hand but we don't like them.  They are way too sweet and sickly for our tastes.  They are the generic brand ones from Woolworths that I bought about 6 months ago in a bid to cut costs ( before I discovered the great recipe I now use ).  Maybe the grandkids will like them.

*  I dried all the washing on the line and clothes horses.  We've had a few rainy days this week so I popped the clothes horses outside under the pergola.

*  We saved the shower warm up water each day and used it to water lots of plants outside.  

*  We used the solar lanterns each night to light up our loungeroom.

*  I baked three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.  I used recycled bread bags and tags to freeze the bread.

*  We picked sugar snap peas,  lettuce,  silverbeet and lemons from our garden.

*  A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I had bought a mirror from Savers op shop for $15.  Over the last 10 days I repaired a small dent and painted the frame.  The paint came from Kmart on clearance for $1 and I probably used 50 cents worth.

*  We took Luka and Bryson to Gardenworld to see the dinosaurs.  It was free entertainment for them and we bought an orange tree.

LINKS -

Crunchy Muesli Bars

Wholemeal Bread With Extra Goodness

Handmade soap

A ' loaf ' of handmade soap

The mirror I painted

Flowers from our garden

                                                 

                                                                  A trip to Gardenworld

How have you saved time,  money or energy this week ?

More Side Hustles That Earn Extra Money

 Following on from the article I wrote a few weeks ago, I have more side hustles to share.    Earning this extra money has really helped us when areas of our budget were really tight.  Gift giving and holidays are two areas that quite often benefit from my side hustles.   

*  I dig up raspberry plant runners from our garden and sell them in Spring / Summer.  I sell them for $8 but their retail value is $15.  I also give some as presents and the money I've allocated for that present  is put into other areas of our budget.

*  I've been hired for serving food at functions.  I have a cleaning client who has quite a few family occasions.  She hires me to makes sausage rolls,  slices and other treats and also pays me to serve and clean up afterwards.

*  I've done babysitting for friends.  This isn't something I've done often,  but it has paid well.

*  Mending can be a great way to earn good money and isn't too time consuming.  I've hemmed jeans,  curtains and school dresses for friends.

*  There can be a real market for home baked goods.  One of my cleaning client asks for homemade muffins a few times a year.  She has them for her morning teas and gives some to visiting grandchildren.  Occasionally she asks for mini quiches and sausage rolls too.

*  I've sold bottles of Miracle Spray to a few people.

*  I sell lots of handmade items.  These include hand knitted dish cloths,  microfibre / flannelette cleaning cloths,  Christmas decorations,  beaded angels,  bath bombs,  bookmarks,  hanging hand towels ( lots and lots of these over the years ),  decorated hand towels,  gift tags and fridge magnet pegs.

*  I've run craft afternoons showing people how to make the beaded angels.  At these afternoons I also sell the kits.

*  Darren regularly mowed the lawn of a friend many years ago.  

*  Darren has completed online surveys years ago to earn a little extra pocket money.

 LINKS -

Earn Extra Money With Side Hustles 

Hand knitted dish cloths

Mini quiches for a friend

Hand towel and soap gift sets

Homemade relish

Beaded angels.

Do you have any side hustles that earn you a little money ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 19th October 2024

 Well,  it certainly has been an eventful week.  Saturday and Sunday was busy getting my kitchen and notes ready for the Sunrise tv segment on Monday.  I was up at 5am Monday morning to put the extra layers of makeup on.  The cameraman arrived at 6.45am so my goal was to be ready by then.  We filmed at 7.45am and by 8am the cameraman was packing up ready to go to his next job.  I handed him a muesli bar for his breakfast ( he hadn't had any ) and he said it was really,  really good.

After all the excitement I needed a cuppa and muesli bar to calm down.  I hadn't had much breakfast earlier because I was too nervous to eat.  Then I headed out to do my monthly grocery shop.  By the  afternoon I was snoozing in my recliner chair.

Thankyou to everyone who messaged me,  prayed and left lovely comments.  Live tv is quite scary.  There are no second takes.

For those who are new here - WELCOME  !!!  I hope this blog encourages you to find ways to stretch your budget and save some money.  All the recipes,  photos and articles are my own except for 2 - 3 recipes.  They have been shared with permission by the original owners.  Nothing has ever been made up or copied to gain a few extra likes or comments.  

Here's how we saved money this week -

*  Darren filled up the thermos each morning with boiled water from the kettle.  We use it throughout the day for our cuppas or cooking at dinnertime.

*  I picked lots of the new Spring growth from our rosemary bush.  I'm drying it in paper bags that I hang up for 6 - 8 weeks.  The paper bags keep the dust off yet allows the rosemary to breathe.

*  I purchased a mirror for our bedroom from Savers for $15.  I'm in the process of painting it and I'll show a photo when it's finished.  I've been wanting and looking for a mirror for the last 5 years and they are either way too expensive or not the right size.  This one fits both criteria.

*  I baked cranberry hootycreek biscuits and choc chip biscuits using dough I'd frozen previously.  We've enjoyed these for our work morning teas.

*  When I was out doing the monthly grocery shopping on Monday,  I found a bag of mushrooms on the clearance table at our local fruit and veg shop.  They looked really good too.  The bag was $1.79 and weighed almost 500g.  That's a pretty good bargain considering mushrooms are well over $10 a kilo in the supermarkets.

*  I dehydrated some fruit for one of Darren's co workers.  They paid me for doing this.

*  Our savoury snack jars were looking a little low so I made pita chips using pita bread from the freezer.

*  I made a bottle of surface spray using water from the kettle and a dash of dishwashing liquid.

*  We picked silverbeet,  lemons and lettuce from our garden.

*  All the washing was dried on the line outside.  It was wonderful to have a fresh outdoor scent through our clothes.

*  I made a bottle of Miracle Spray for laundry stains.

*  We saved the shower warm up water and used it on all the pot plants outside.  We saved so much water I started using it on the veggie garden too.

*  I'd had a few inquires about my handmade soap.  So it was time to make a few batches so they have time to cure and harden before Christmas. I'll post photos next week when I've cut the bars.

LINKS -

Muesli Bars

Miracle Spray

Cranberry Hootycreek Biscuits

Choc Chip Bickies ( Cookies )

Pita Chips

Freshly picked rosemary

From our garden

Making Miracle Spray

Making pita chips 

How have you saved time,  money or energy this week ? 

My Menu Plan For Oct / Nov 2024

 After the latest round of media stories,  I thought it was time I shared our latest menu plan.  Many people on social media thought we didn't eat meat.  Others thought we had a high carb diet or didn't eat at all.  It was quite hilarious to read so many assumptions.

We eat meat most nights of the week and while there's not a lot of meat in the meals,  it's still there,  we can taste it and see it.

It's hard to explain everything in our menu plan,  the cost of each item,  when I bought it and how much I use,  but I will explain a few things.

*  Legs of lamb were bought earlier this year from Tasman Meats.  They were $7.99kg and I think I bought 3 or 4 legs.  The butcher was quite happy to cut them in half for me and wrap them up.  I cook legs of lamb in the slow cooker and a full leg won't fit in.  I used leftover grocery money I'd been saving for a sale like this.  It's called my grocery slush fund.

*  Chicken drumsticks were also bought from Tasman Meats when they had them for $1.99kg last month.  I bought 10 kilos and portioned them up into meal sizes and froze them.  

*  The chicken dump bags are drumsticks in a snap lock bag with diced veggies,  liquid chicken stock,  sauces and seasonings. I did these meals in bulk when I bought the drumsticks.   I defrost the meal in the fridge then ' dump ' it all into a casserole dish and cook it in the oven.

*  The fish we eat is Woolworths Basa fillets.  The current price is $8 for 1 kilo.  I coat them in seasoned flour then pan fry in a tiny bit of oil.  I also cook them in the oven in foil with seasonings.

* Tuna casserole,  tuna pasta bake and Massaman beef curry are the only meals that use tinned soup,  ready made pasta sauce ( I mix it with a tin of tomatoes to stretch it out ) or a packet of seasoning.  I buy these items because that's the recipe,  it tastes better or it works out cheaper.   Everything else is completely made from scratch.

*  Many of the meals are made in bulk,  portioned out and frozen for future menu plans.  For example,  lasagne costs about $20 to make.  I get 12 serves from my big dish.  Even more if I use TVP and add extra veggies to the sauce.  I only need to make lasagne twice a year and I always have the ingredients on hand.  I don't go out and buy it all in one hit when it's on the menu and we don't eat it day after day until it's gone. 

*  We grow many of our veggies and freeze excess.  We eat in season too.

*  " Get Your Own " on the menu means we can eat whatever is in the house.  That might be leftovers,  bits and pieces from the freezer or something simple like pancakes,  toasted sandwiches,  soup,  eggs on toast or ' wing wong for a goose's bridle " as my mother in law would say.

*  Sometimes we move the meals around if our plans change.  If food has been defrosted in the fridge it's safe to keep for another day.

All the recipes for these meals are in the recipe section.

Some of our garden produce

Some of the fruit we grow

The latest menu plan

Some of the meals we eat

We eat chunky,  hearty soups.

Tuna pasta bake before adding cheese

Chop suey

Slow cooked lamb with silverbeet and mash

The big 12 serve lasagne

How I serve lasagne

Roast beef ( a rare treat now ) with lots of veg

Do you write out and use a menu plan ?

TV Appearance

 Tomorrow morning Monday 14th October 2024 I will be appearing on Sunrise Channel 7 at 7.45am.  Live from my kitchen and talking about our make,  bake,  sew and grow life and how to save money in this cost of living crisis. 

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 12th October 2024

 This week seems to have flown by so quickly.  The family came over on Sunday for a belated birthday gathering.  Luka and Bryson ( our grandchildren ) brought over party hats and balloons because a birthday is not a birthday without them.  Luka was very quick to point out that most of the balloons were green - my favourite color.

I've tried to get into the veggie garden as often as possible to get rid of the weeds that have popped up with the warmth.  I'm happy to say I'm winning the battle.  My goal has been to pull out at least 100 weeds a day.  They are not big weeds.  Just babies really.

Here's how we saved money this week - 

*  I dried all the washing on clothes horses over ducted heating vents and outside on the line.

*  We saved the shower warm up water and used it to water the plants outside.

*  I planted lots of green bean seeds out in the veggie garden.  I also planted Luffa seeds.  Hopefully this year we get a long hot Summer so that they grow to maturity.

*  I used our own compost on the veggie garden as extra nutrients when planting the seeds. 

*  Darren picked a bunch of beautiful hot pink roses from our garden.  Their scent is lovely and strong and fills our home.

*   The  pedestal fans we use during Summer are starting to get a little rickety and have always had me worried when the grandchildren come over.  It's so easy for them to put their fingers through the grill.  After doing some research over Winter,  we went and purchased a tower fan from The Good Guys.  Their price was $179.  I found a cheaper online price for $149 which they agreed to match.  We added on the Gold Service extended warranty for an extra $35 which gives us a total of $180 in store credit over 3 years.  To top that off,  we already had $60 in store credit to use on the fan.  I know its confusing but in the end we only paid $124 for the fan but the total value in product and credit is $359.  BARGAIN.  We use the store credit throughout the years to purchase gifts for family.

*  I made Christmas cards from gift tags and birthday cards from old cards given to me.

*  I baked three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  We picked silverbeet,  lettuce and a few lemons from our garden.  I also dug up just over 2 kilos of potatoes.

*  We had a few good sunny days that helped us charge the solar lanterns for night time use.

*  Darren had a work morning tea / afternoon tea at the hospital he works at.  Everyone brings something to share so I made a batch of scones.  Darren picked out a jar of homemade jam from the cupboard and we had a little bit of cream left in the fridge.   He said the scones went like hot cakes and some of the staff were fighting over the last one.  The scones cost well under $1 to make,  the jam is 15 cents per jar and the cream did need using up but the amount used cost under $1.       

LINKS -

Scones

Wholemeal Bread With Extra Goodness

Flowers Darren picked

Recycled birthday cards

Gift tag Christmas cards

Homemade bread

Silverbeet plants that keep on giving

Freshly baked scones

Please check my Facebook pages tomorrow ( Sunday ) for a tv appearance announcement .

How have you saved money this week ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 5th October 2024

 It looks like the weather has turned here in Melbourne.  We've had a few days of 25 degrees Celsius ( 77 Fahrenheit ) with the nights and early mornings still being a little cool.  I've enjoyed being out in the garden even if it was to pull out hundreds of weeds each day in the veggie garden or to just water the plants.  With the sun shining for longer periods and the warmth,  the weeds have decided to pop up and say hello.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I'd had a photo shoot with a major Australian magazine.  This week my family's story featured in a 2 page spread in Woman's Day.  If you are interested in purchasing this magazine,  it will be available in supermarkets and newsagents until this Sunday.  I have posted a photo on my Facebook pages too.  As far as I'm aware,  Woman's Day will be doing a Facebook promo with a link in a few weeks time. 

Here's how I saved money this week -

*  I cleaned the inside of our kettle with citric acid.  I do this at the start of every month and it always amazes me how clean it comes up.

*  I baked 3 loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.  I store it in the freezer and use recycled bread bags to store it in.  These bags get used over and over again.

*  I made a double batch of muesli bars for our work lunches.

*  I dried all the washing on the line outside on the warm days.  On the cooler days the washing went on clothes horses over the ducted heating vents.

*  I sold 2 unwanted items on Marketplace.

*  I found 6 volunteer sugar snap pea seedlings growing in our veggie garden.  I dug them up and planted them with the other sugar snap pea seedlings.  They must have self seeded from last season.  At least I hope they are snap peas.  Darren said they could be sweet peas.  I'll give you an update in a few weeks.

*  We charged the solar lanterns on the sunny days and bought them inside at night to light up our loungeroom.

*  We saved the shower warm up water and poured it on some plants outside.

*  For my birthday on Tuesday,  I chose to have dinner at home.  We had salmon over mashed potato with a side salad and lemon.  For dessert we had a quarter of a cheesecake from The Cheesecake Shop  for dessert.  This dinner was much nicer,  cheaper and quieter than going to a restaurant.

*  I picked a few lemons off our tree.

*  We gratefully received some vegetables which I turned into a pot of soup.  From that pot I got 10 generous serves.  Most will be for my work lunches but we did have some for dinner one night with homemade herb and garlic bread.

*  I cleaned the dishwasher with bi carb and vinegar.  I wiped around the door seals with kitchen detergent and water.

*  I made up a bottle of surface spray with cooled water from the kettle and a dash of dishwashing liquid.

*  I dehydrated quite a few lemons ( for Summer drinks ) and mandarins ( for snacking ).  

Gifted lemons

Filling the dehydrator with lemons and mandarins

In the garden.

How have you saved money this week ?

My Latest Greeting Card Designs.

 Just to change things up a bit I thought I'd share with you about the card making weekend I went on last month.

Myself and four good friends made our way down to a holiday house at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula for a weekend of card making.  Together we made over 170 cards for carious charities and nursing homes connected to our group.  

We also worked on our own card projects as well as sharing and teaching new designs to our group.  My personal goal was to finish off the rest of the cards I needed for this year and to use up some of the scraps from my stash.

There was lots of tea / coffee drinking,  talking,  eating,  laughing and more eating in between card making.  Most of these ladies I've known for over 10 years and we've shared the ups and downs of life together and prayed for and supported one another. 

Here are the many of the cards I made over the weekend -

                                                              CARDS FOR CHARITY

                                   SOME OF THE NEW CARDS WE LEARNT TO MAKE

                                                         THE NEW CARD I SHOWED

                                                       NAOMI'S 1ST BIRTHDAY CARD

Do you make your own greeting cards ?

Earn Extra Money With Side Hustles

 Over on the Cheapskates Club YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago,  Cath spoke about side hustles you can do to boost the family budget.  Many of these side hustles Cath has done herself when money was tight.  Even today I know she has many little income steams that helps keep her budget on track.

Over the years Darren and I have faced many financial hardships due to insufficient work hours,  low pay rates and our choice to be a single income family while I stayed home to raise our girls.

Having a few little side hustles meant we could save for holidays,  have enough money for groceries,  buy gifts,  replace our ' make do ' furniture for quality items and purchase cars with cash.

Here are some of the side hustles I've personally used to bring in a little extra cash.  Some of these hustles I still do to this day.

*  I polished silverware for a friend who was hosting Christmas at her place.  The silverware was family heirlooms that she wanted to use and display for the occasion. 

*  Some of my cleaning clients needed their ironing done.  This was additional work on top of my cleaning hours so I treated the extra money as a bonus.  Some of these clients enjoyed my ironing so much that it became a regular part of my cleaning visit.

*  Speaking of cleaning,  my cleaning work first started because we were living below the poverty line.  We desperately needed extra money to make ends meet but I didn't want to put our daughter in day care so I could work.  Somehow I managed to fit in a couple of regular clients when Darren had a day off and my work has snowballed from there.  When our girls were school aged,  I would clean during school hours.  When the school holidays came around,  the girls would come to the cleaning jobs with me.

*  I make jam from the fruit we grow.  Most of the jam is put away for our personal use.  I sell a few jars here and there which more than covers the cost of the sugar and gas used in the cooking.  I also give some as presents which frees up some of the gift budget.  This money is then put into other areas of our budget.

*  During the long lockdowns of 2020,  I made and sold many,  many face masks.  This was an unexpected side hustle that kept money coming into our home when I wasn't allowed to work.

*  Making my own greeting cards started out as a money saver for our budget.  The price of greeting cards had gone up from 4 for $2 to a minimum of $1 each in the discount shops. With the basic supplies I had on hand,  I started making very simple cards to put with presents.  Then I helped form a card making group and it turned into a hobby that earns me a little bit of money when I sell them on Facebook. 

*  I sell unwanted items on Marketplace.  Darren and I have always been wise with our purchases so we've never really had much to sell.  Still,  I've managed to sell DVD cases,  spare yoghurt makers, pet items,  a snow suit from my teens,  small electrical appliances,  Tupperware and pieces of furniture.

Jam has been a good seller

Some of the cards I've sold over the years -
   

                                                 

                                            

                                       

What side hustles have you done to earn a little extra money ?