So, what did you do today?

Were you careful with your money today?
Did you use your resources wisely and stretch your dollar till it couldn't stretch any more?

Here are a couple of thrifty tips to incorporate into your daily living and over time they WILL make a difference! You may have heard these concepts preached before ..... BUT have you adopted them? If not, why not?

Be sparing in your use of appliances. Turn off equipment that is rarely used because standby mode is still an energy drain. Avoid tumble-drying your clothes and instead harness the freshness of the sun. Let your hair dry naturally a few days a week - better for your hair and the electicity bill both! Do you really *need* every gadget that you have plugged in this week?

Monitor the price of petrol. It is likely you will find the cheapest days to refuel are Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Aim to put petrol in your car when it is cheapest and not on a Friday afternoon when the price has peaked for the week.

Stock up on grocery specials. When shopping, if you notice a great price on a non-perishable that is  regularly on your shopping list, it is wise to stock up if (a) you have the storage room and (b) you are certain that you will use it. Great savings can be made on goods such as laundry powder, toilet paper and dishwashing liquid if you know the special price represents good value. If you've got nowhere to store them this becomes a bit of an issue .... but hey, it could be a great motivator for clearing some space!

Try a cheaper alternative. Ditch brand loyalty and trial a less expensive version of a product. You may find that the taste or performance exceeds your expectations. If you don't want the neighbour discovering that you serve your kids home brand bikkies just empty the packet into a Tupperware container and throw away the packaging! She'll never guess!

As you can see, it's really not rocket science. In fact it's pretty much habit forming once you start. So, how were you thrifty today?

Yummmy Pasta Budget Beater

As much as I'd love to be great in the kitchen, the sad and pathetic truth is that I'm not.

In fact, I even aspire to be ordinary. Sigh, one day ....

I do say that it's good to know your own strengths and weaknesses though and, in order to improve on my domestic-goddess-cooking-stuff deficiency, I am always on the look out for recipes that are super simple to make and that will satisfy the family. Even better are those meals that taste so much more delicious than the effort required and here is one of those - a Monday night favourite in this household and absolutely quick and easy!

Trev's Tomato and Bacon Pasta!

Thanks go to my father, Trev, for this foolproof easy-peasy dish!

The Recipe

You'll need:

Bacon - approximately 375g (I use more but have a big eating man!)

Onion

Garlic (1 teaspoon crushed or the equivalent fresh)

Tin of Tomatoes (I use home brand diced tomatoes)

Sugar (approx. 2 teaspoons to reduce acidity of tomatoes)

Pepper to taste

Pasta of choice (spirals are good!)

Method:

Chop bacon and onion. In a non-stick pan cook bacon, onion and the teaspoon of crushed garlic until the onion is transparent and the bacon is cooked.

Add the tin of tomatoes and the little bit of sugar. Adjust amount of sugar you use according to taste as it will help reduce any acidity in the tomatoes. Season with pepper to your preference, you won't need salt because of the bacon being salty.

Turn it down to a low heat and let it simmer while you cook the pasta as per packet directions. Serve the sauce over the pasta and top with a little grated cheese. QUICK, EASY and YUM!

All the ingredients can be purchased for under $10 and this easily feeds our family. Bargain! Thanks Trev, you're a legend!

 Let me know if you rustle it up and be sure to share any delicious variations that you invent or stumble across!

Coming soon ....

Coming soon as part of A Thrifty Household is this new project and I am excited!

Keep an eye out for more!

Don't let time slip away!

Being thrifty is all about making wise decisons in the allocation of your resources and time is possibly one of the most precious commodities that you have. Time is limited but also very easy to waste in so many ways and to use your time efficiently is certainly a learned skill for some, my hand certainly goes up to this!

Thinking about making the most of your time is one thing, but getting off your bum and spending this resource effectively is something altogether different. Please be assured that I'm not taking taking a highground here as I can be the world's biggest time waster when I set my mind to it.

This post is dedicated to five simple ways that you can be gainful with your time and therefore thrifty with this valuable resource. Who knows, maybe after a while these can become part of your regular thrifty household routine?


Turn the tele off, now is the time to ......

1. Go for a walk! Going for a brisk walk and focussing on your fitness is never a waste of time. Being in optimal physical health ensures your body functions efficiently and is a super way to clean out any cobwebs! Take an iPod and let 'er rip!
2. Prepare your "To Do" list for the next day (or the next week if you'd prefer). A list provides structure, organisation and focus. Place it somewhere very visible to remind you of what you plan to accomplish. Then you can enjoy crossing off tasks as they are done. Ahhhhh satisfaction indeed!
3. Get in touch with someone you've been thinking of. The world is a complicated place and we all lead busy lives. Keeping in contact is never easy, often getting overlooked or postponed until the inevitable "tomorrow". Spending the time to make a phone call, send an email or even to write a quaint old-fashioned letter is time well spent. Your dear friends will be so pleased that you made the effort!
4. Organise your pantry and plan your meals for the week. Gather any recipes you'll be referring to, arrange a shopping lsit of needed ingredients and post the menu somewhere for the family to see. Think of how efficient you'll feel and just  how much time you'll end up saving by not having to continually answer the "What's for dinner Mum/Honey?" question.
5. Dust two pieces of furniture. That's two, not one. Two pieces at a time is not an overwhelming chore and you'll feel like something has really been achieved!

Ok, it's time to step away from the computer for me. I'm off for a walk and then to do some dusting. Good luck with incorporating these ideas into your routine and don't forget to let us know how you go!

OKMART is better than just "ok" - a review!

With its very American-sounding store name, I was initially a little hesitant to check out the online shopping site OKMART but really I shouldn't have been as already it has saved me many, many dollars.

The things to love most about shopping at OKMART include:

The prices. They are good. Each item lists the manufacturer's RRP and what you will be saving in dollars and as a percentage.

They promote a price-matching policy where you can submit a competitor's price on any product that you can source online cheaper. OKMART will then not only match it, but quite often beat it and adjust their price accordingly so that it then becomes the product's regular selling price for all customers.

Free shipping on all orders over $150. Anything under that total ships for the flat rate of $6.95 which is still very reasonable. Delivery is quick.

PayPal is accepted for online shoppers not wanting to use a credit card.

There is a huge range of products to choose and these are very efficiently organised into clearly defined categories.

Just as an example, the infant formula I have been giving my daughter retails at the local Woolworths supermarket for $28.95 per tin. Ouch! On occasion it has been on special for $25.89, a worthwhile saving of $3.06. The local chemist stocks the same brand for the regular price of $25.99 which is a permanent saving of $3.05.The tins there are a little dusty though (hmmmm) but this is as good as I thought I was going to get until I stumbled across OKMART. At $23.50 the online price at OKMART saves $5.45 per tin on the Woolies price and with a purchase of 7 tins I well and truly qualify for the free shipping and as a bonus am stocked up for a good while! The savings total $38.15 and my supply is delivered to the door. Very thrifty indeed and well worth a looksie!

Value-Schmalue

What does the concept of  good VALUE really mean to you?
Do you think that value means cheap? Well if you do, we'll just have to agree to disagree as I don't think that at all!

When deciding if something is good value or not, here are some factors to be considered ..

• Is it durable? Something may initially seem to cost a bit, but will it see out the task and last the distance? Buying something cheaper may not represent value at all if it has to be replaced in next to no time. Good value often means good quality.
• Will it do the job well? There's not much value in an item that is not fulfilling it's need or its purpose no matter how cheap it may have been. If it doesn't work well or doesn't get the job done then I'm afraid it's not really a bargain no matter how rock bottom the pricetag.
• Do you even like it? If it's not likeable then it's possibly not good value as it may not get its full use! Of course that's not to say everything that is nice represents value so don't twist my words!
• Is it *reasonably* priced? Yes, price is certainly a factor in value. Although manufacturers may nominate a RRP (Recommended Retail Price) remember that retailers are free to sell goods at any price they choose and that shopping around pays off. Check online for some instant price comparisons but don't forget to ring around bricks and mortar stores too!

A challenge this week then is to think about the last 5 things that you purchased and whether or not they represented good value? Let me know if you are surprised by what you find!

Book Bargains!

Books are one of life's greatest pleasures! With a good book in your hand it is nearly impossible to be bored or lonely! Books are wonderful to share with others and with likeminded friends it's quite economical to get into the habit of trading libraries so that there is always plenty of fresh reading material on hand.

If you live in a metropolitan area you may be very familiar with your local library. Many regional areas have great library resources too, often with a mobile library van run by a fellow booklover who is happy to source reading material for you by title, author or area of interest. The very best thing about public libraries is the cost: ususally free to join, free to borrow and an inexpensive place to buy preloved books when they a huge cleanout - sometimes twice a year!

Here are some thoughts on sourcing great value pre-loved books!

• Sharing books with friends or family! You may like to even start a reading group to regularly get together and discuss what's between the pages! There is always great satisfaction loving a book so much that you can't wait to share it with someone else who'll love it too! Be sure to keep a good record of who you borrow from and who you lend to as it can be easy to forget where books belong!
• Your local public library! It's free and many have a booking system where you can nominate to be informed when a book you are dying to read gets returned ready for you to borrow.
• Op shops and garage sakes can be the surprising place for some wonderful books at great prices. Keep your eyes open and you might just find something very interesting indeed!
• See if there is a Lifeline Bookfest in your capital city. I know that there is one twice a year held in Brisbane and the number of books available can only be described as mindblowing. Thousands and thousands of preloved books painstakingly ordered into categories and as cheap as chips. If you can get there, be sure to take along a grandma-shopping-bag trolley!
• If there is a specific title you are chasing, try ebay! There is a good chance that you may find someone selling a gently read copy and of course it never hurts to look.

The joy of reading can be a very inexpensive past time which provides hours of vicarious enjoyment. If it's been a while between books, I challenge you to redsicover the wonderful world of words and share here any other ideas you have for finding good value reading material!

Introductions and welcomes

Welcome to my very new blog! It's nice to have you here!

In the past, I admit that I have been a bit of a serial blogger. A hundred and two fantastic ideas, keen as mustard, make a start, then think of a billion things to write about that don't quite fit the theme. Get a bit frustrated, spit the dummy and back to the drawing board. So what's different this time? Well, finally I've decided to focus predominantly on something I have a great passion for, and under which umbrella many of my thoughts and writings may be able to find a home: thriftiness.

In my circle of friends and family, I do know some who are fortunate enough to enjoy the spoils of generously huge bank accounts. Hard earned, well deserved and half their luck I say. For me, for most others, and for you too I bet, coin is a limited resource that needs to be stretched to its maxiumum potential. I don't just like a bargain, I *love* a bargain but this does not automatically mean cheap as we all know that cheap can be nasty. A bargain represents value, it means making the most of the money you have available by spending it well on creating a good quality life.

A THRIFTY HOUSEHOLD is meant to be a treasure chest of tips, reviews, ideas and thoughts on living well for the best price. It's all about value.

As a mum of three (2 boys, ages 13 and almost 11 and a fifteen week old bubba girl) I am in the firing line of the family budget. I appreciate that it's a hard gig and that the bank account seems to dwindle without intervention. Sounding familiar to you? If so, I am hoping that you will join me on this quest to live the good life on less. Any tips or ideas that you would like to submit will always be welcomed and acknowledged - contact me so I know you are playing too!

I'll be seeing you again soon!