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 ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 21st September 2024

 The last few weeks have full and eventful.  We celebrated Father's Day followed by our wedding anniversary the next day.  During that time,  Melbourne was hit by a ferocious storm in the wee hours of that Monday.   It was quite frightening and sounded like a cyclone was swirling around our home.  We heard a big crash outside but couldn't find anything other than a bin knocked over.  

The winds continued all week and we heard another crash on the Thursday but still couldn't see any damage.   I went to a card making weekend on the Friday and came home Sunday afternoon just as the rains came down again.  That's when I discovered we had a major roof leak.

Darren climbed up on the roof to find at least 7 broken tiles.  We heard from our next door neighbour that the house at the back of us lost a trampoline sometime during the storms and we think it hit our roof.  Darren said there were 2 trampoline springs up on our roof. 

Darren used the spare tiles we had to do some repair work with the help of our next door neighbour. Unfortunately the roof still needs more work.  We also have water damage inside our home which still needs attention.

We celebrated our granddaughter Naomi's first birthday on Tuesday and her party was last Sunday.

I also had a photo shoot with a major magazine this week.  That was just a little bit exciting.   We had lots of fun dodging rain and gusts of wind.  It's never a dull moment with Melbourne weather.

So after all of that,  here is my frugal list from the last few weeks -

*  Darren and I took our grandsons Luka and Bryson to the Jurassic World Dinosaur display.  It was a lovely day out into the city with a first time tram ride for the boys.  To keep costs down we took water bottles,  fruit and snacks for all four of us as well as sandwiches for the boys.  

*  Even with all the rain and strong winds we've had over the last few weeks,  I've managed to get most of the washing dry on clothes horses and the clothesline.  Only a few items were dried in the dryer.

*  Recently I bought a craft stamp cleaning mat.  It needs a cleaning spray to go with it but I was able to make that myself.  This retails for $23 but I made it for under $2.

*  I planted tomato and sugar snap pea seedlings.

*  I made up a big bottle of foaming hand wash using cheap shower gel and cooled water from the kettle.  I refilled the pumps around our home with this.

*  Darren and I went out for dinner for our wedding anniversary on the 2nd September.  We used a voucher to help lower the cost of our meals.

*  We filled up both our cars when petrol was $1.68 per litre.

*  On the colder days I turned our heater down just a little bit to 19 degrees Celsius.  Usually we have it on 20 degrees during the day.

*  I gratefully received lemons,  oranges and mandarins from a couple of friends. 

*  I wrote out a menu plan for the next four weeks.  This is quite an easy task to do when I keep old menu plans that worked well.  I just switch around a couple of meals to suit any occasion coming up.

*  I refilled the herb and spice jars from bulk packets I bought at Hindustan Imports.  This is a far cheaper option than constantly buying those little jars at the supermarket.

*  We are enjoying the homemade muesli bars so much that I make them on a regular basis.  I made another batch last weekend.

*  I dug out the dehydrator and dried the gifted oranges and a few mandarins.  They turned out really well and are so delicious.

*  Three loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness was baked this week.

*  I picked the last of the mandarins from our trees.

*  I bought 3 Summer tops from Savers and used a 20% off discount voucher to get them even cheaper.

*  There are some great bargains to be had as the department stores clear out old stock.  I picked up gumboots for the grandchildren for $4 and  Minecraft backpacks for $1.98.  I also picked up a couple of items for the gift cupboard and insect repellent products on clearance.

*  I made honey joys for Naomi's party using items I already had on hand.

First time dehydrating oranges

The finished product

Luka at Jurassic World

Both boys looking at the dinosaur

Bryson with his dino pet

Darren on Father's Day

Naomi turning 1

Honey joys for the party

$1.98 clearance bargain

Have you found any clearance bargains lately ?

How have you saved time,  money or energy the last few weeks ?

I'll Be Back Next Week

 I'm taking a short blogging break due to life being super busy at the moment.  

We had a very full last Saturday when we took Luka and Bryson to see a Jurassic World dinosaur display in the city.  Sunday was Father's Day and Monday was our wedding anniversary.  This weekend I'll be away at a card making weekend having lots of crafting time,  tea drinking,  chatting and eating.

I hope to be back next week and I'll have lots of photos to share.

Please keep your frugal list going and we'll share them together next weekend.

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 31st August 2024

It's been a crazy week for weather in Melbourne ( also across Victoria and other states ).  We've had high winds for three days straight which has made it challenging to be out in the garden.  I bought a few vegie seedlings earlier in the week but I'm so glad I've held off from planting for now.

We lost one large shrub in the front garden but other than that there has been no damage.  We are grateful there are no tall trees around us.

Here is our frugal list for the week -

*  I made a double batch of muesli bars.  Darren likes them with nuts and some fruit.  I like mine with fruit and more of the cereals.

*  I made lots of pita chips from pita bread for snacking and lunchtime nachos.

*  We saved the shower warm up water and kitchen water.  This was used to water some new plants and vegie seedlings.

*  All the kitchen scraps went into the compost bucket.  This was then emptied into the compost bins outside.

*  We used the solar lanterns in the loungeroom most nights.

*  All washing was dried on the line,  on clothes horses on the deck or inside over the ducted heating vents.

*  I gratefully received lots of supermarket paper bags from a friend.  We used them for our household rubbish.  I also gratefully received some lemons

*  I made a big pot of beef,  tomato and vegetable soup.  We ate some for dinner that night and I put aside 4 portions for my lunches.  The rest went into the freezer for an upcoming card making weekend.  

*  I picked more mandarins from our tree.  This is such a blessing and money saver.

*  Darren,  myself,  Megan,  Luka and Bryson went to a free Bunnings Father's Day Fair on Thursday night.  We had a free dinner of bbq sausages in bread with bottles of water and fairy floss.  They had a tea cup ride,  a baby animal farm,  Father's Day crafts,  a spinning wheel ( with prizes ),  wooden Father's Day signs to take home,  children's secondhand book giveaway ( help yourself  ) a fire truck and police car,  a photo booth and a few other stalls.  Towards the end of the night they were giving away Bunnings tshirts with every spin of the wheel.  We ended up with tshirts for the whole family including Darren and Kurt.   We also bought home a Bunnings basketball which the boys were thrilled about.  Megan even won the Rotary raffle first prize of a power tool pack.  We had such a good time and hope to go to more in the future.

*  I made ANZAC biscuits using dough I'd frozen earlier.  We have an outing with our grandsons over the weekend and we'll be taking some in a backpack with water bottles,  fruit and sandwiches.

LINKS -

ANZAC Biscuits

Crunchy Muesli Bars

Chunky Beef And Vegetable Soup - I used 250g of beef mince

Chunky beef and veg soup

Mandarins from our tree

Homemade muesli bars

ANZAC Biscuits

Lots of pita chips

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

    

Our Frugal Night Time Routine

 Money saving tips can be as simple as turning off a light.  Here are all the frugal things we do at night to save a little extra money -

*  After dinner and when we are ready to settle into the loungeroom we bring the solar lanterns inside ( after charging all day ).  They are placed around the loungeroom and the lamp is turned off.  If the lanterns have been fully charged,  we get 4 - 6 hours of good light from them.

*  We turn off lights in the rooms not being used.  Both Darren and I grew up with this being a common practice in our families.  Lamps are never left on in the hope that someone might go into that room.

*  Before bed we turn off the standby lights on the tv and double check that other appliances haven't been left on.

*  A soon as it's dusk we close the curtains and pull down the blinds in the laundry.  On hot days we keep the blinds down in the bathrooms too.

*  If the washing has been outside on clothes horses,  we bring them inside and place them over the ducted heating vents.  

*  We use battery operated lights hidden under the overhead bathroom cupboards.  These are also great in case the power goes off.

*  Darren prepares his lunch,  snacks,  water bottle and lunchbox ready for work the next day.  He also brings his own tea,  coffee mug and cutlery so these are always restocked and cleaned.  If I've got a cleaning job the next day,  I fill my water bottle and have a morning tea snack packed ready to go.

*  If it's cold or windy,  we make sure the draught stoppers are on the external doors.

*  Blankets are used when we watch tv at night in the colder weather.  Our ducted heating automatically turns off at 9pm.  By having the blankets handy,  we are not tempted to turn the heating back on.

*  The overnight ducted heating temperature is set at 15.5 degrees Celsius.

*  In Winter we put a blanket on our bed.

*  Meat is taken from the freezer and placed on a tray in the fridge for dinner the next day.  This helps us avoid the takeaway temptation.

*  All dinner leftovers are portioned out into containers and put in the fridge.  If I remember,  I then label and put them in the freezer.  This avoids picking / nibbling at what could be a proper dinner serve.

Lots of blankets in our home

A programable ducted heating controller

Using draught stoppers

Do you have a frugal night time routine ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 24th August 2024

 My frugal list is not a big one this week.  We both had a busy weekend,  then work for both of us.  I spent some time in the veggie garden pulling weeds and turning the soil over ready to do some Spring planting shortly.  

I guess my biggest achievement was staying away from the shops and not needing any groceries.  Even when I took my Mum grocery shopping on Monday I didn't buy a thing.   Darren did buy 4 kilos of apples from a grower near our church office.  He needed them for his lunches and the apples on offer at our local fruit and veg shop have been of a very poor quality.

Here is our frugal list for the week -

*  We saved the shower warm up water and kitchen water ( from drink bottles etc ) and poured it on the mandarin trees,  strawberry plants and a few pot plants.

*  Dried all the washing on the line.

*  Refilled the foaming hand wash pump in our bathroom with shower gel and water.

*  I fed silverbeet,  bread crusts,  weeds and grass to our chicken.

*  I picked silverbeet,  mandarins and lemons from our garden.

*  I juiced lots of lemons and froze it into icecube trays.

*  The super cheap dinners this week were  - chunky chicken and veg soup  

                                                                      -  homemade pizza on Darren's flat breads

*  We used the solar lanterns a few times this week when they were charged enough.

*  We both filled up our cars before the price of petrol goes up ( predicted any day now ).  We paid about $1.71 a litre

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

 LINKS -

Wholemeal bread with extra goodness

Chunky chicken and veggie soup

Wholemeal bread with extra goodness

From our garden

Picking silverbeet

How have you saved money this week ?

Our Frugal Morning Routine

 Being frugal doesn't take up a lot of our time.  Our days can be as busy as the next person with work,  running our home,  working in the garden and for me writing this blog. 

By completing a few simple tasks each day,  we can see a real difference in our utility bills.   We don't suffer from bill shock.  Yes our gas bill is a little higher in Winter due to heating our home but it's nothing extreme.  

Here are a few simple things we do each morning before we start the day or leave for work -

*  I take the solar lanterns from the loungeroom and place them outside in the sun.

*  The shower warm up water bucket is taken outside and a quite a few plants are watered.  Before I had a front loading washing machine,  I would pour the water into the machine.

*  I double check that all electronics not being used are turned off at the wall.

*  I charge phones,  laptops,  shavers and the 2 in 1stick vacuum if needed and only if the sun is shining on our solar panels.

*  Check the weather to see if it's going to be suitable for hanging washing outside on the line.  If not,  the washing is hung on clothes horses either over a ducted heating vent or outside on our covered deck.

*  Darren fills our thermos with boiling water for cuppas throughout the day.  Each day this can save  boiling the kettle 2 - 3 more times.

*  We have a breakfast of toast made from my homemade bread,  homemade jam and a cup of tea.  There are no expensive cereals or cooked breakfasts.  The toast has lots of fibre and keeps us full for at least a few hours.

*  The kitchen water bucket is also emptied on a few plants outside.

*  I open the curtains is the sun is shining.  If it's overcast and cold I only open them a little.  Just enough to see where I'm going.

Do you have a morning routine that saves you money ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks Saturday 17th August 2024

 You never how how a week will pan out and this week was one of them.  Darren and I were having a lovely afternoon tea out on the deck in the glorious sunshine on Sunday.  I came inside to check my phone for messages to find our photo back in the headlines on FB.  A story for Channel 7's online page had gone live a day earlier than I than expected.

Of course there was the usual backlash and accusations ( gotta love the trolls ) that come with a story like ours.  Some people just can't grasp that with planning, saving and a little sacrifice,  they too could have a debt free life.  Anyway,  those who are regular readers will know that I've never hidden anything.  Nor have I made anything up for clickbait or likes.

Monday afternoon came round and my good friend Cath from The Cheapskates Club contacted me to see if I'd be interested in doing a guest appearance on her YouTube show Tuesday night.  Cath quite often does media interviews and lately her daughter Hannah has shared her savings story too. We thought it was time to explain exactly how we feed our families for $75 per person per month.

I think the show went quite well and the feedback from those who watched it has been really good.  It was a wonderful chance to share how Darren and I became completely debt free 14 years ago.  If you'd like to hear our story,  please watch the show.

On Thursday and Friday I did interviews for 2 well known Australian magazines.  I think I have a photographer coming next week for one of them.  Just a little bit of excitement this week.  Really,  I'm excited that I can continue to share our story,  give hope to people struggling and show others all the fun ways to save money.

So with all that's been going on,  as well as running our home,  working and gardening,  there's not a lot of frugal tasks on my list.  I'll share them anyway and I hope to have a longer list next week.

Here's how we saved this week -

*  I made a batch of muesli bars for my morning teas.  I tailor the bars to suit our different tastes.

*  I've started putting a ceramic lid on my cup of tea to keep it hot longer.  Now I don't need to use the microwave to reheat my drink.

*  I dried all the washing on the line.

*  We've started saving the shower warm up water again.  Darren bought home a sturdy bucket for free and we've used the water on our outdoor plants and fruit trees.

*  We recharged the solar lanterns on the sunny days and used them at night.

*  I picked lemons,  mandarins and silverbeet from our garden.

*  I picked up 6 bags of mini choc chip cookies from Coles for 50 cents each.  Some will be put away for a holiday later in the year and for Christmas stockings.  The grandsons will love them.

*  I bulk cooked cottage pie and froze the other meals.

*  Gratefully received more paper supermarket bags from a friend.  We use them for our household rubbish.  

Home grown mandarins and oranges

50 cent bargain

 

In the garden

A blessing

Slow cooked lamb in gravy with veg

How have you have money this week ?

Cost Of Living Crisis Series - Where I Buy Our Groceries.

 As most of you know,  my current grocery budget is $150 a month for 2 people.  This includes food for 3 meals a day and 2 snacks.  It also includes basic cleaning ingredients that I need to make laundry liquid,  laundry powder,  stain remover,  surface spray,  shower cleaner and pretty much anything else  to keep my home clean.  The $150 a month also includes basic toiletries,  foil /  paper products ( like baking paper etc ) and cleaning cloths / scourers.

 Since the massive increases in food prices,  I'm now only buying ingredients to make all our own food.  Treat food like chips,  chocolate,  lollies and savoury biscuits are bought on sale from my gift budget and included in our birthday,  Christmas and Mother's / Father's Day presents.  We are at a time in our lives when we don't need  'things ' but enjoy treats. This has worked really well for us over the last few years and we are never short of a treat in our home.

Here are the places I buy our groceries from -

Herbs,  spices,  dried fruit,  nuts,  yeast,  grains and seeds are bought from Hindustan Imports in Dandenong.  They are a wholesaler that specialises in ingredients and they offer a variety of bulk sizes to fit any budget.  I make a trip once or twice a year to stock up.  The money I spend comes out of any leftover monthly grocery money - my slush fund.  I do check prices against Woolworths and Coles and always factor in the 10% discount I get at Woolworths.

Meat is bought from Tasman Meats,  Australian Butchers,  Costco ( while Megan has a membership ) or Coles.  I always look out for specials on legs of lamb, chicken drumsticks,  roast beef and silverside. Clearance items of red meat are bought at Coles.  I only buy according to what money I have left in my grocery slush fund. When I bought a bulk pack of beef mince from Costco back in June,  I'd been saving my leftover grocery money ( slush fund ) for 3 months.

Fruit and veg is only bought if we are not growing it at a particular time.  I check the prices at our local fruit and veg shop before I go to the supermarket.  I do get 10% off at Woolworths because we have insurance with them.  I factor this in when I check prices. I do buy frozen beans and corn kernels from the supermarket if we've run out of what we've grown and frozen.

Teabags are usually bought at Coles or Woolworths.  On the rare occasion discount shops like NQR,  The Reject Shop or Shiploads ( Tasmania ) have teabags quite cheap so I'll stock up.  

For toiletries like shampoo,  conditioner,  deodorant and toothbrushes I wait for good deals at The Reject Shop or NQR and REALLY stock up.  Toothbrushes are regularly $1 each at these stores. I also have a local op shops that carries toiletries for $1 each.  I check them out a few times a year and stock up if it's a good brand.

For hairspray,  spreadable butter,  oils,  frozen fish fillets,  dishwashing liquid,  dishwasher powder and  laundry soaker I shop at Aldi. The reason would be either the quality is better or the price is cheaper than the supermarkets.

Kitchen  cloths / scourers are bought at various places.  Usually I wait until a product is on clearance and buy heaps.  I've bought from Bunnings,  Coles,  Woolworths,  The Reject Shop,  NQR and Shiploads ( In Tasmania when on holidays ).  

All other ingredients on my shopping list are bought at Woolworths.  This includes flour,  sugar,  butter,  milk,  eggs,  cheese, pasta,  toothpaste,  foil,  cling wrap etc, toilet paper,   tinned foods like tomatoes,  tuna,  salmon,  corn,  creamed corn and soups ( for casseroles ).  

If I've missed anything,  please ask and I'll be happy to share when I buy that item from ( if I buy it ).

Some of the groceries I buy often.

Ingredients to make lots of goodies

Always on the hunt for red meat bargains

Do you have certain shops you buy your groceries from ?

I'm on YouTube Tonight Tuesday 13th August 2024 at 7.30pm

 Tonight at 7.30pm  I'll be making my debut as a special guest on a YouTube channel called The Cheapskates Club.  It's Cath Armstrong's channel and she is the founder and owner of the online savings group The Cheapskates Club.

Together we'll be talking all things grocery shopping,  menu planning,  shopping lists and our grocery budget.  I'll be explaining how I spend just $37.50 ( $150 a month ) for all our food,  basic toiletries and cleaning ingredients.

Please join us for this live chat and if you have any questions for us,  have them ready.

Here's the link to the channel -

The Cheapskates Club