Money saving idea's

[bogfrog]

*bump*

The dreaded winter-power-bill phase has arrived and I'm feeling the pinch.

Keen to hear anymore ideas on stretching meagre quantities of money over ever-increasing requirements.

Ps anyone who went into cacti collecting thinking its fine to spend all your surplus funds on cacti cause if you ever need money you can just sell them on to another cactus freak - GET REEAL! It doesn't work like that. Wish someone had told me way back when.

[waterboy 2.0]

It aint flash Ceres, but bubble wrap on windows makes a helleva difference if you have shit blinds/curtains

and or there is no pelmet over the curtain rod.

Can keep a fair bit of heat in if the building design is shit.

[DiscoStu]

you can make a massive pot of lentils for like $5-$10 that'll last you several days, pair it with rice and you can go a week easy.

[Brendo]

Muesli bars have saved me tons recently. I generally prepare my own lunches but snacking inbetween which I'll admit I do too often sometimes costs $5 or more just for the one snack.

Coles/Woolies stock about 20-30 different varieties of bars, and I've noticed there are always a few lines on special. I'm generally able to pick up a box of 12 bars for $3-4. In my opinion that's quite reasonable, and my hunger is kept at bay for a few hours while at work

[brooa]

growing your own food is a big win. fishing to if you like fish.

[incognito]

If u smoke cigs try an e-cig. At 20 buks an ecig and 5 dollar refill bottles I reckon I've save360 buks the last month

[Dreamwalker.]

*bump*

The dreaded winter-power-bill

if you have a suspended floor, and the house hasn't been insulated (as in not the typical new nz cow shed concrete slab floor)....and you don't mind crawling under...lay some plastic sheets on the ground under the room you heat, it will stop the damp from rising (damp just sucks the heat away). Free non uv plastic sheets available in bins outside Mitre 10 etc.

The bubble wrap is a great idea.....toss an old mattress/carpet or black plastic rubbish bags filled with shopping bags in you ceiling will help big time aswell.........find some cheap polar fleece to hang/staple above the door...........

Edited May 30, 2014 by Dreamwalker

[CLICKHEREx]

The pioneers philosophy: Make, make do, extend, or do without. Change your mindset; is this expenditure necessary? Save at least 50% of your discretionary income, but allow regular and occasionally bigger treats so you don't feel deprived. Make a detailed monthly & yearly budget.

Use cut up plastic orange bags as scourers. Wiping out grease with damp newspaper first, reduces detergent needed to a few drops. I turn my water heater down to the minimum setting, until 15 mns before showering, then up to near maximum, and as soon as finished, back to minimum (better for singles, or couples than families). Switch to 8 watt fluorescents except where bright light is needed (where I keep a cheap $8 Reject Shop lamp with a brighter bulb for short term use).

The combination of rice, and beans provides all the basic amino acids, so meat, fish, or poultry is unnecessary (but I still buy chicken drumsticks @ $1.99/kg, and freeze most, and/or Basa fillets @ $2.99/kg). Woolies mackeral, around $1.70 mashed, with soy and/or fish sauce adds a lot of flavour, protein, and omega 3 fatty acids. Add pumpkin/carrots and cabbage for a healthy, inexpensive diet, along with Coles/Woolies frozen generic peas & beans (< $2/kg; fresher and cheaper than most greengrocers). Defrost in a pot of water so it's near room temp, before cooking. Buy foods like rice in bulk if practical.Generic oatmeal is a filling, nutritious, and inexpensive breakfast, and any leftover can be used to extend stews, curries, or chili dishes.

Use a pressure cooker to bring to the boil, then turn off heat, and cook by retained heat in a hay, or straw box (Bunnings). In a large cardboard box, or tea chest, etc. fill with straw, or get 2 garbags, half fill with bean bag polystyrene beans and seal; place 1 on the bottom of the box, then the pressure cooker; cover with the other bag and wait 30 - 60 mns, and cool in water, and refrigerate/freeze some, eating the rest hot. My local IGA supermarket has 5% Seniors discount on Thu, for most items, but I'd only buy if it worked out cheaper than elsewhere. Factor in transport costs. Know prices of regular items available in different places, locally; make a list and a map of each store, to save running around.

Wear warm clothes inside, in winter, and reduce heating to a minimum, and only when required. In summer, I use fans until around 32 - 33, then evaporative cooler, until 36 - 37, and only then use refrigerated air cond., switching off after dark and using less expensive methods, except if still very hot later, I'll put on the air cond for 10 - 15 mns before bedtime, to cool the room, then turn it off, and use a fan, because once asleep, you don't notice the heat. Use door snakes when cold.

Home brew like Tooheys Lager, or Draught (supermarkets) can be made for $0.45 per 750 ml bottle. I use no brew improver and just wash out with water, not sterilising, but still have had no problems. Cover the wort with a doona, sleeping bag, or old blankets, and place it on 3 bricks, with a 15 - 20 W bulb underneath, in winter. In summer, if hot, drape a wet towel over, with an end in a bucket of water, and use a small fan if very hot.

Dominos pizza $4.95 Mon/Tues; ($6.95 Supreme anytime for seniors) freeze unused, maybe add sliced olives, anchovies, chili, sliced champignons (can be frozen) etc. Pedros (SA & NSW) have cheaper Tues, with very good seafood pizza @ $7.95, or mushroom & ham @ $4.95 (better with olives and/or chili). I alternate for variety, and to save. Sometimes I'll buy clothing from op shops, Target, Big W, or K Mart.

Go to your public library and ask the librarian to direct you to books on home economics/saving tips, and mags like "Grass Roots", & Choice.

http://www.simplesavings.com.au have many thousands of money saving tips, but I refuse to pay their joining fee, (around $60) with lower annual renewal fees, although you could get together a collective of friends/neighbours, one signs up and gives the password only to those sharing the cost. I suppose we could do it here, if we get 10 or so forum members together, and find an acceptable "money man", preferably someone else, but I'd organise it for 1 yr if there is enough interest.

Edited June 1, 2014 by CLICKHEREx

[waterboy 2.0]

^ +1 on "Grass roots" worth a read over at times for some good ideas. When it comes to the veggie patch , grow what you like to eat and what is expensive...buy what is of quality and cheap to buy locally.

as an example here I can buy top notch onions cheap as, but snow peas are expensive here .....so I grow shit loads of snow peas of better quality, and blanch and freeze the rest to have them at hand over the year.

Potatoes the same as onions here - cheap as and high quality by the bulk, so don't grow them other than the odd specialty varieties at times.

I have seen many people with ample garden space and good soil grow things that can be easily purchased and but the more expensive ones, or lol...even worse grow stuff they really don't like or eat much of (like a yard full of blackjack zucchini...rofl)

[paradox]

Potatoes the same as onions here - cheap as and high quality by the bulk, so don't grow them other than the odd specialty varieties at times.

i would have to disagree with that sorry dude. i think they're both worth growing yourself because they are two of the worst crops when it comes to systemic pesticide. In most situations they both receive around 30 applications of systemic & every single cell is riddled with the filthy shit.

i wish i had some good advice for saving money. probably the best thing i can come up with is to not be an easily manipulated brain dead nonce. The vast majority of what people waste their money on is some useless shit that they don't even need or want that they misguidedly fantasized would make their meaningless lives more bearable & usually because they don't quite realize the extent to which they have been brainwashed from birth to be little more than dumb-fuck consumers. So just wake up to yourself & enjoy those simple things that always have & always will be what life is all about. Usually doesn't cost a thing.

[waterboy 2.0]

^ fair call on open market onions and potatoes..... I am lucky to have a lot of choice and access to farms, and not all of them growing for the supermarket or junk food supply chains.

Onions are pretty tricky as the main supply lines have a mass of triazine classes put into the contracts.

EDIT...lol I do live in hippy/hillbilly land

Edited June 2, 2014 by waterboy

[goodude]

ive decided having a gf is expensive. thinking i might just survive on porn n masturabtion.

[Sallubrious]

ive decided having a gf is expensive. thinking i might just survive on porn n masturabtion.

Who's going to find your socks ?

When I was single I was always getting luaghed at because I was wearing different colour socks, telling them I had another pair the same at home wore a bit thin after while.

It reminds me something one of my mates said to his Mrs one time.

He said " We haven't got enough money for both of us to go into town - I'll just go"

[Dreamwalker.]

ive decided having a gf is expensive. thinking i might just survive on porn n masturabtion.

Richard Pryor had a line like that, the trouble with relationships, its either feast or famine, wouldn't it be nice if you could save sex up, you could go to your fridge and get a blow job.

[Auxin]

Strip clubs are much too expensive.

Just arrange it with all your friends so you can all get together in someones house once a week and dance with the girls on one side and the guys on the other.

And then tell me, so I can move to Oz

[katu]

Do not collect cactus.....

[Auxin]

And if you do, start from seed and make your own soil.

I've got a fuckton of cacti but I've hardly spent any money on them.

Nearly all I've grown from seed and most those seeds were got in trades or as generous giveaways. I compost garden waste and tree duff to mix with my garden loam and basaltic sand I haul home from hikes four kilos at a time. I bring home all discarded plant pots I find. I make plant tags by cutting up other peoples soda cans and "writing" on them with an old ball point pen with no ink in. My only problem is that my house becomes a forest of dormant cacti in winter.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Auxin

[LokStok]

mmm.

how many shitloads to a fuckton i wonder?

[Sallubrious]

mmm.

how many shitloads to a fuckton i wonder?

I'm not sure but I wouldn't want to be carrying it home 4 kilos at a time in my backpack.

[Auxin]

Its exercise! What I find odd is that people pay good money to exercise in a gym when theres a whole (free) world outside.

It does require advanced planning to haul home minerals bit by bit. The ability to just go and buy a cubic meter of whatever in the time it takes to take a shower gets people damned spoiled, frugality runs quite counter to that mindset. Just produce or haul in the crap you'll eventually need, little bit by little bit, and it accumulates to the requisite quantity eventually.

[mesq]

The title of this thread makes me cringe

[paradox]

[Dreamwalker.]

Any one know what the sky satellite & setbox wattage usage is when the tv is off?

[paradox]

don't know but this table might give you some idea

http://standby.lbl.gov/summary-table.html

[Dreamwalker.]

wow thanks......20 - 30 watts when its off....and the printer is idling away 2 - 5 watts.....really adds up even the modem ....pays to switch stuff off at the wall.