In the right spot at the right time

It's not often that I find myself at the supermarket just as they are doing the markdowns but I did this morning. It's a bit of the old "I'm just going to get a loaf of bread" and I walked out with 4 green bags of marked down chicken, steak, sausages, chops, schnitzels and mince. There's enough meat there to feed us for a month (about 6 weeks if we have fish and meatless meals occasionally) for the grand total of $86.78. What made it even more of a bargain was the gift cards I used to pay for it. I had five Coles gift cards that had to be used up within the next couple of months (you have to watch these cards, they do expire), all with about $10 on them so I used them to pay for the meat and I only had to hand over $31.30 in cash. The gift cards were freebies from a couple of surveys I completed so I was more than happy to use them to pay for the meat. And I'll confess that I had a lot of fun digging through the meat fridge looking for the markdowns and then working out if it was a good deal or not. My little handbag calculator had a real workout.

I've had an update on Nick's Challenge too. The website www.nickschallenge.com is up and running and businesses are already submitting their discounts so if you're a business or know of a business that wants to take up Nick's Challenge and help those in need please go to www.nickschallenge.com and register now. AND if you are a pensioner and looking for discounted goods and services, please go to the website to view the free discount listing.

I am so pleased too that the Cheapskates Club has taken up the challenge and from today we have a concession membership available all the time, not just as a special offer.

This heat is really getting me down. I must be getting old I think, anything over about 34 and I just lose all my energy. With days of 35,39 and 40 coming up I've been on a get cool crusade. There are some great ways to keep cool and to keep your house cool and comfortable in the Tip Store if you're in need of help. I've already trawled through them and put a few new strategies into place around here, including moving from the office into the family room. My office is at the front of the house and it gets the full mid-day sun and becomes unbearably hot, even with good insulation and fans. The family room on the other hand is smack bang in the middle of the house and so stays pleasantly cool all day. Thank goodness for laptops and extension leads is all I say.