Unfortunately, the bills don’t stop even if the pay packet does. There is still a financial responsibility to your creditors. If you're facing financially hard times it’s time to sit down and come up with a game plan.
The reality is that there are certain bills that can’t go without being paid. Your family needs a home to live in and the basic comforts like heat, electricity, transportation and a working telephone. These are the bills that warrant getting paid first. For the telephone, there is no rule that says you need a mobile phone and a landline. Some people use their mobile phone as their only number. This saves on the cost of two telephone services. What about food? Everyone needs to eat. You can lower your food costs with store sales and shopping in bulk when necessary. Visit the butcher shop and have them cut up your meat to save money. Read the $300 a Month Food Challenge posts in the weekly newsletters. You find them all in the Newsletter Archive on the Cheapskates Club website. If money is tight, entertainment is often the first to go. You may have to do without cable television or cut back to the basic channels since everything has gone to digital signal. If you want to watch movies, purchase the ones you like when they are on sale. This way you can watch them over and over without paying any additional fees. When there is nothing else you can cut and money is still stretched too far to meet all the bills, it is probably time to call the creditors. No one wants to do it but you will have a more favorable outcome if you call them before your bills start falling behind. If you have been a good customer who has had on-time payment in the past, they will help you to make your payment in some form without ruining your credit. For your monthly utility bills, there is a service many of them offer called the Equal Payment Plan. Here, you can enroll in the program that averages your monthly usage and comes up with a payment amount that stays constant. This will help you avoid larger bills in the summer or winter months. A plan like this also makes budgeting limited funds a whole lot easier. As for any credit card bills, making a payment arrangement won’t adversely affect your standing with them or the credit companies. When you are back on solid financial footing, you can resume your normal payments. When the economy is down, it affects everyone, but bills are still going to come due. Use the above tips to help you stay afloat in hard times.
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Cupcakes, those old-fashioned childhood favourites are making a comeback, albeit in a much more glamorous form. Gone is the basic patty cake, covered in icing and hundreds and thousands. Instead in it's place are delectable confections of rich, buttery cake and colourful, flavoured icings beautifully decorated with flowers, sprinkles or cachous. There are whole shops devoted just to cupcakes, and they charge top dollar for each of these delicious treats. You can make your own cup cake confections at home for just a fraction of the price of the bought ones and I guarantee they will be every bite as good, if not better. Not a cake decorator? Neither am I. These days you can buy ready made cake decorations for just a few cents each, ideal for extra special afternoon teas or birthday parties. For everyday cupcakes you can use jelly crystals, hundreds and thousands, grated chocolate or honey comb, jelly beans, coconut - whatever you have on hand and your cupcakes will be gorgeous. Basic Cupcake Mixture Ingredients 250g sugar 125g butter or margarine 300g plain flour 3 eggs 1/2 cup milk 2 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp bicarb soda Method Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beating well. Add milk and then flour, bicarb and cream of tartar. Beat well. Place in patty pans and bake 10 minutes at 200 degrees. Makes 24 patty cakes. Variations Chocolate: add 3 tsp cocoa with flour Coconut: add 1/2 cup coconut to the mixture Strawberry: add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries to mixture Platinum members can login for full access to the Recipe File
Not a Platinum Cheapskates Club Member? Please upgrade to a Platinum Cheapskates Club membership to be able to access our Member's Centre. Click here to upgrade your Cheapskates Club membership today Monte Carlos are an old Australian favourite, Arnotts sure picked a winner when they added these delicious coconut and raspberry cream biscuits to their Assorted Creams range. We Aussies buy them and enjoy them, but why? You can MOO Monte Carolos, really you can. And they are so easy; yet another thing we love that we've been conned into thinking we can only buy. So get out your mixing bowls and biscuit sheets, flour and butter and MOO them. And say "no" to buying these delicious biscuits because you can MOO them. This recipe was submitted by Bridie West, and it's become a favourite in our house. When you serve homemade monte carlos to visitors with their cup of tea they are suitable impressed - another thing we've been brainwashed into believing we have to buy. Cross them off your shopping list, get out the ingredients and have a go at making your own. I guarantee you won't ever want to buy them again (sorry Arnotts, but MOOing is better). The recipe makes about 25 biscuits and doubles really well also. Monte Carlos
Ingredients: 185g butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-1/4 cup self-raising flour 3/4 cup plain flour ½ cup coconut Filling: 60g butter ¾ cup icing sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla 2 teaspoons milk raspberry jam Method: Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line biscuit trays with baking paper. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg and vanilla, beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients and coconut, mix well. Roll teaspoonsful of mixture into balls. Put on lightly greased oven trays, gently press down with a fork. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack. While the biscuits are cooling prepare the filling. Combine the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and milk, mixing together until smooth. To assemble, put a teaspoon of jam and a teaspoon of prepared mock cream in centre of half the biscuits. Top with remaining halves, press together lightly. From 31 Days of MOO 2015 When Disaster Struck I was devastated. It felt like our world had crumbled around us and life would never, ever be good again.
That feeling lasted about six months. In that time we discovered we were expecting our gorgeous daughter. We were living in half a house (because we'd ripped the back off our house to start renovating). AJ was getting ready to start pre-school. Interest rates went up, and up, and up and still that mortgage had to be paid. It was when we were at our lowest point that I said "NO MORE!" We were not going to live anything other than the life we had planned. We were not going to lose everything we had worked so hard for. We were not going to give up, roll over and spend the next 60 years miserable. That's when I became a dyed in the wool, true Cheapskate. The pity party was over and plans were being made. I won't lie to you and say it was easy. It wasn't. There were times when my babies were eating Weetbix for dinner yet again or when I had to call the gas company and arrange a payment plan for the bill so we'd have heat when I just wanted to run away. But then good thing started happening. Little changes Wayne and I were making started reap benefits. Shopping once a month and only once a month with a detailed list meant our grocery bill was under $200 and no one was eating Weetbix for dinner. We were eating healthier too. I didn't have the money to buy convenience or packaged foods, so our pantry, fridge and freezer were packed with ingredients. I learned to cook from scratch (really from scratch - not the "just add water and mix" from scratch). Knowing the meals we were eating were truly homemade and healthful made time spent in the kitchen well worthwhile. The food we ate was preservative and pesticide free and often organic. It was enough to have me doing the happy dance around the kitchen. Another benefit was fewer trips to the doctor. As a family we had fewer illnesses, caught fewer bugs and just generally seemed less susceptible to viruses and colds. The money we weren't spending on doctors and medicines helped pay the bills. Not having any money, and there were times I didn't even have 5 cents in my purse, helped us decide what was important and what wasn't. We decided to focus on the things that were important to us as a family and ditch everything else. Suddenly we were saving money, more than we had ever saved when we had two incomes. Our income was around one third of what it had been and yet the simple changes we were making out of desperation were working. We were living life pretty much as we wanted. The bills were being paid. And we were building savings. And we were happy. Every time I went to town I'd stop at the ATM and get a mini statement, just to make sure we hadn't miscalculated or were dreaming. By simplifying our lifestyle and ditching the things we didn't really care about we had reaped numerous rewards. We are homebodies. We love our home and our family and like nothing better than being home together. While before DS we'd be out most weekends, after DS we started staying home. We'd invite friends over for a barbecue in the backyard. The kids would play in the sandpit and on the swings, on hot days they'd run under the sprinkler while we grown-ups watched from the back verandah. Instead of going out of town to playgroup every week we had playgroup at our house. And birthday parties became fantastic affairs, with the house decorated with balloons and streamers and the backyard full of hidden treasures and homemade piñatas waiting to be whacked. Life was simple. It wasn't always easy. We still worked hard. We started growing as much of our food as we could. I learned to bottle and freeze and dehydrate to preserve excess food. I also thanked my mother over and over for persisting in teaching me to sew. We may not have had any money but we were all well-dressed. I've used those sewing lessons from Mum many times over the years to give hand-me-downs a frugal makeover or to stitch up something new from scrap fabric. I've even managed to master breadmaking. Those first few loaves made great bricks. These days my bread is delicious and I've progressed to naan and crumpets and English muffins and pita as well as rolls and scrolls. And they're all good, and frugal. We were building community along with our family and it was good. We discovered that living the Cheapskates lifestyle does not necessarily mean giving up everything. It just means scaling down to a more manageable place so that you have more time, money, and energy to enjoy your newfound simple life - focusing on the things that are important to you and ditching the rest. These little discs work so well and are so simple you'll wonder why some genius hasn't decided to market them and charge a small fortune! Be glad you've found this post, you'll just love using them.
If you are using cloth nappies, just pop a couple in the bottom of the nappy bucket to keep the odour down, then tip the whole lot into the wash. Easy. We are well past the nappy bucket stage in our house, but I still make up these little discs and slip them into the laundry hamper in the bathroom. I also put them into organza bags (from the $S Shop a while ago) and slip them into the boys' shoes and boots to help with the odour. Nappy Bucket Fresheners You will need: 2 cups bicarbonate soda 1 tsp peppermint oil Cold water Paper patty pans Step 1. Stir the oil into the bicarb soda. Step 2. Add just enough cold water to make a very thick paste. Step 3. Press enough mixture into the bottom of each patty pan so it's about 2cm thick. Step 4. Put them on a cake rack to dry and harden. To use, just drop two or three into the bottom of your nappy bucket. When you're ready to soak the nappies tip the whole lot into the machine and soak and wash as usual. If you are using disposable nappies, drop two into the bottom of your nappy bin and then when it's full dispose of as usual. These make a cute and useful gift for new mothers. Make a batch and store them in a ziplock bag. To present them tie them up in a little organza bag and add to a hamper or gift. I just popped into the Cheapskates forum and the chatter is about mooing coconut milk or cream (technically the same thing, just a different name in different areas).
Now you can MOO it very easily, probably even easier than buying it when you consider you need to go to the supermarket, find it on the shelves, stand in the queue, pay for it and then get it home. A 400ml tin of Coles Savings brand coconut cream costs 97 cents. A 500g packet of desiccated coconut from Coles costs $2.92 and is enough to make 4 cups, or 1 litre, of coconut milk. The difference in price is around 26 cents more expensive to buy the tin. There are two ways to make coconut cream; option one takes about 2 hours, option two takes just a few minutes. Again the choice is yours - the end result is the same. Option 1: Soaking Method You will need: 250g coconut 2 cups water A blender Cheesecloth or Chux or muslin for draining Step 1. Soak coconut in cold water for 2 hours. Step 2. Put the coconut and water into the blender and blend on high until the mixture is very smooth. Step 3. Once blended, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, gathering up the sides and twisting to close. Step 4. Twist the cheesecloth tight, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the pulp. Keep twisting and squeezing until you can't get any more moisture from the pulp. Pour into a clean jug or jar and chill. Option 2: Not Quite Instant Boiling Water Method You will need: 250g coconut 2 cups water A blender Cheesecloth or Chux or muslin for draining Step 1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and pour over coconut. Let cool for 10 minutes. Step 2. Put the mixture into the blender and blend until very smooth. This takes about 5 minutes so be patient. Step 3. Once blended, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth, gathering up the sides and twisting to close. Step 4. Twist the cheesecloth tight, squeezing as much moisture as possible out of the pulp. Keep twisting and squeezing until you can't get any more moisture from the pulp. Pour into a clean jug or jar and chill. Now you have your coconut milk/cream to use in smoothies or sauces or curries or cupcakes or pancakes or whatever you are making, but what do you do with the leftover coconut pulp? You use it of course! You can use it as is, adding it to muffins or cakes or breads or desserts. Or add it to yoghurt or fruit salad. Or you can dry it and use it in baking as desiccated coconut. Or you can dry it, grind it and use it as coconut flour. If you're on a GF diet, you'll know just how expensive coconut flour can be. Now I'm going to tell you just how easy it is to MOO it, you won't ever want to buy it again. To Make Desiccated Coconut or Coconut Flour You will need: The pulp from making the coconut milk A baking sheet Baking paper Food processor or blender Step 1. Pre-heat oven to 80 degrees Celsius (or as low as it will go if it doesn't go down this low). Step 2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Do not be tempted to grease the tray or use cooking spray - it will ruin the end result. Step 3. Spread the coconut pulp in a very thin layer over the baking sheet. Step 4. Bake for 45 minutes or until the coconut is completely dry. Step 5. Let cool a few minutes. If you want it as desiccated coconut, let it cool completely and put into a canister. To make coconut flour add the dry coconut to a food processor or blender and process in short bursts until it is ground to a very fine texture. That's it. Easy. A little cheaper than buying coconut cream, a lot cheaper than buying coconut flour. From Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing When we started out on this journey it was all about frugality, with a little survival thrown in. Over time though, it has morphed into something else entirely. Yes, frugality is still a big part of our Cheapskates lifestyle, but it's not the main part.
I have come across and even met people who are so focussed on frugality that they have lost the joy in living. They are so focussed on saving money that they miss out on the things they would truly enjoy just to save a dollar. In their quest to save money they have become mean, and not just with their money, but with their sense of charity, their humour, their compassion, sympathy and empathy. They have forgotten why they chose to live a frugal life and live in loneliness and despair, scared to enjoy the fruits of their frugal ways. That's not what we're about. Yes, we deliberately look to save money. That's just commonsense. Why pay more than you have to for something? But we don't sit in the cold because it's not cold enough to turn the heater on (when is it by the way? I always say not before Mother's Day but that's just a guide). We don't strain our eyes by only having one 40 watt light bulb burning, and we don't risk stubbing a toe because we only have one light on at a time. And we most definitely don't starve ourselves or run the risk of rickets because we only eat mince and rice. Yes, I make my own washing powder (and if you haven't tried it may I suggest you do?). That's just commonsense. For around $10 and 5 minutes I can have enough of the best washing powder I've ever tried to last for a year. Why would I pay six or more times that price for a washing powder that makes my daughter itch unbearably and that causes us all to sneeze when we put clean clothes on? And I cook from scratch. I actually like it these days. Pre-Cheapskates I didn't enjoy cooking at all. These days I take pride in serving delicious meals to my family, knowing they are budget-friendly, as well as nutritious. When I look at the shelves and see the jars of jams, apricots, tomatoes and sauces sitting there I feel a little satisfaction, knowing that the fruits of my labours (literally) will feed my family in through the coming winter. So often the perception is that if you live life the Cheapskates way you don't buy anything new. You don't eat out or go to the movies, you don't have holidays, all your clothes are secondhand and your home is sparsely furnished with rubbish. We don't eat out every week, but we do eat out on special occasions. And we always enjoy the meal. I think it's because it is special, something different to our normal meals. There is the saying that what you don't cook yourself always tastes better, I think that's because it's a treat, something out of the ordinary. When we eat out we can afford to go somewhere fantastic because we don't do it regularly, we haven't used all our money on run-of-the-mill meals. We've saved for one truly special meal. And you know what? Most of the time it costs under $50 for the two of us, often with a voucher, sometimes without. Living frugally isn't about going without. It's about having the things you want, without the commonly associated debt. It's about seeing the difference between saving for a purpose and just saving. It's about understanding what is important to you and what is not. I see no point in saving the shards of soap, just to boil them down and re-mould them into another cake when I'd much rather have a nice bar of my favourite shea butter soap and really enjoy my shower and my itch-free skin. I do see the point in keeping them to grate into my laundry powder - they're being used up and saving me money. So, yes, it is about frugality. Frugality is important, without it we wouldn't be able to live the way we do. But it's not the most important part of our lives. We watch our pennies and look for ways to trim expenses because we like the end result - a debt free, cashed up life, where we laugh with joy every day. What I'm trying to say is that living the Cheapskates way isn't just about saving money. It's about changing your priorities so that you can live life debt free, cashed up and laughing too. Living on a budget is the key to financial freedom, but getting started can be frustrating. When we look at our expenses and see all of those bills we're paying every month, it's easy to throw our hands up in disgust. But what about all those little expenses we incur? You might be surprised to find out just how much they amount to.
It's easy to dismiss cutting back on little things. A few dollars a month won't make a significant difference in the big picture. But a few dollars here and a few dollars there adds up to a few more dollars. When you cut back in a lot of small ways, you could end up with a lot more money at the end of the month. From Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing While many families are conscious of the fact that stretching their meal-planning budget to the maximum is essential, many of those very same families are becoming more and more aware of how easy and cost-effective baking on a budget can be.
Here are a few baking recipes, tips, and strategies to bake and save money at the same time. One of the best things about fruit that has become a bit overripe is that you can utilize it in many creative baking recipes. Overripe bananas can be used for banana bread or even banana nut muffins for breakfast. Strawberries can be made into jam and leftover rice can be used for rice pudding. Even extra noodles from last night’s spaghetti can be used to make a noodle pudding. When baking, try to bulk bake. Utilizing a gas or electric stove costs money, so why not batch bake and freeze the leftovers. Cooking in bulk can save you time as well as money. Being able to reach into the freezer and defrost a batch of muffins can be a tremendous time-saver as well as money-saver. Not having to stop at your local cake or bread shop when you are on the run saves money, time and energy. Not to mention that home baked goods have only the natural ingredients that you put into them. Shopping in bulk and shopping in season will save you quite a bit of money as well. Buying out of season items during off-season periods will cost you more, so pay attention to the fruits, nuts and other baking ingredients of the season on your bulk buying trips. Some great baking recipes can be rather simple as well. Peanut butter cookies (if there are no peanut allergies) are simple to make and delicious too. Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup of peanut butter 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoonful of vanilla is all you need Method: Combine all the ingredients and drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet, flatten and bake for 15 minutes on 160 degrees Celsius. Banana Bread is inexpensive and easy to make. Another bonus is that banana bread can be used for a dessert or even for an on-the-run breakfast treat. Banana Bread Ingredients: 2 large mashed bananas 2/3 cup of sugar ¼ cup milk 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil ½ teaspoon of vanilla 3 eggs 2-2/3 cups of MOO Bisquick mix Method: Mix all ingredients; pour into a greased loaf pan. Cook for one hour at 160 degrees Celsius. Baking does not have to be just for dessert. Broccoli and bacon quiche is another amazing breakfast bake, but it goes down equally as well for a light lunch or dinner. Broccoli and Bacon Quiche Ingredients: ½ cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed and drained ½ cup grated cheese 1 strip of cooked and crumbled bacon 3 eggs,beaten ½ cup cream salt to taste a dash of garlic powder. Method: Place the broccoli, cheese and the bacon in a pie plate that has been coated with cooking spray. Pour over the mixed egg substitute, cream, salt and garlic powder on top. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes. With today’s economy in the state that it is in, going back to baking is a delicious and cost-effective way to feed your family. Shared from Debt Free, Cashed Up and Laughing Finances have a knack for becoming complicated. You want so badly to have a workable Spending Plan, one that is accurate so you are confident that you will be able to live below your means. You add in every little expense you can find and spend hours fine-tuning your income and expenditure columns, adding and subtracting and balancing until the figures dance before your eyes and you have pages and pages of columns and graphs. And you give up in despair because it's just too hard to use.
Stop! You can have a workable and accurate Spending Plan. Making your Spending Plan as simple as possible will allow you to get a better handle on your finances so that you can focus on matters that are more important. Simplifying your Spending Plan can have positive effects on all aspects of your finances by helping you keep everything under control. Stressing out over your finances is a waste of your time, so rein them in today with a simpler, easier to manage budget. Follow these strategies to make your Spending Plan easy, workable, and effective: 1. Start with a simple spreadsheet Keeping things in a spreadsheet can simplify your budget significantly. Set it up however you like or download our Simple Spending Plan template, it's under "Tools and Guides" on the Printables page. It's easy, uncomplicated and yes, simple. Or you can search for a free template for Excel or Google Docs; just choose something that works for you. 2. Devote 60% to your expenses The 60% Solution is a budget strategy that entails fitting your expenses into 60% of your gross income so that you can dedicate the remaining 40% to debt repayment, short-term and long-term savings, giving and fun or entertainment expenses. 3. Devote 10% to giving Put 10% of your gross income toward your favourite charity, church, school - you decide, but give. If you've never given before it will be hard at first. I am often asked why this is important, especially if you have debt or don't have an Emergency Fund. Refrain from touching this money for any purpose unless the circumstances are dire. 4. Devote 10% to debt repayment Use the Payment Push if you have more than one debt to get your debts paid down quickly. This money is for debt repayment, so make sure it is gone as soon as it hits your bank account and you won't be tempted to spend it, or accidentally use it for something else. You can set up a direct debit to your debt accounts easily to make sure your debt money goes to debt. 5. Devote 10% to building your savings This money is for building your Emergency Fund. Aim for $1,000 to start, then keep on saving until you have at least six months living expenses. When you have that six months of living expenses saved, you can stop saving and add that money to your debt repayment. But once all your debt is cleared, start saving again and aim for at least twelve months of living expenses saved in an easy to access account. Spend this money when you need it, because that is precisely what you're saving it for. 6. Devote 10% to your "fun money" Everyone in the family needs to be able to enjoy a treat now and then, or buy something they want that isn't a part of the regular household spending. You can spend this money in any manner that pleases you. This is guilt-free money that you can spend on movies, entertainment, eating out, comic books, junk food or anything else that you wish. 7. Reduce the number of categories you use This is a biggie, and the thing that over-complicates and over-whelms so many new Cheapskaters. Many budget software programs instruct you to use a million different categories or subcategories. If you want to simplify your budget, use as few as you can. Rather than having a category for every entry, combine some expenses into a larger category to keep it simple. Download our Simple Monthly Spending Plan and use it - it is simple, easy to use and it works! 8. Pay your bills online Automate your bill payments as much as possible so that you don't have to remember to pay your bills every month. Consider automatic bank withdrawals and pay bills online through automatic debit whenever you can. 9. Automate your savings Every time your pay is deposited into your account, have a transaction scheduled that will transfer a specific amount into your savings from your checking. Aim to find a high-yield savings account for this purpose. 10. Keep your fun money in cash form Take out your 10%, keep it in cash, and use it as you see fit. Watching the cash disappear from your wallet can actually teach you a lot about where the money goes. If you investigate, you'll find plenty of ways to simplify your budget. Do what works well for you and your family. Avoid struggling with a new budget plan because you think it must be better. If it isn't actually helping you budget, then it's not the "better" option for your needs. Sometimes simpler is more effective. |
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