Take 5

I was so excited this morning to see an interview I did a few weeks ago published in this week's Take 5 magazine Budget Blitz. Please forgive the horrible photo, I'm not as stuffy as that picture makes me look, really!

Now the secret is out, everyone will know just why we started living the Cheapskates way. When I talk about living the Cheapskates way it is because in the beginning we had to and now we do from choice, we like being free to make the choices that suit us best. I have every intention of being a Cheapskate for the rest of my days.

We are into the fourth day of the school holidays and we still haven't been out or spent any of the holiday money I had put aside. The kids have been busy playing games or catching up on their DVD watching. Limiting the time spent on computer games and TV during term time sure does make them a lovely treat during holidays (and it saves us money too!). No doubt by the weekend they will be ready to get out and get active.

I was talking to Joseph Thomsen (ABC Goulbourn Murray) yesterday about how to keep the kids entertained during the holidays. We were both lamenting the hold technology has over our kids, although we were both happy to admit that it does have its advantages too. One of my favourite ways to keep the kids amused is to get them to prepare dinner. They have to menu plan and cook and serve the meal. And clean up of course, it's not a holiday for mum if she has to do the cleaning up too. We will have some interesting meals over the next week or so but at least I won't have to prepare them.

Another thing we have done this week is drag out the cards and play snap and I've been teaching Hannah to play solitaire. I'm finding that all those old fashioned amusements are coming back into favour as everyone looks for ways to stretch their budget. Keeping the kids amused doesn't have to be expensive and it's nice to know people can be Cheapskates without even realising it. Imagine how good they'll be when they do realise?