Living the Cheapskates Way - Without Feeling Deprived

We've been living this way for so long it has become more than a habit, it is so much an ingrained part of our lives that when I went to my inbox yesterday afternoon and read Shelley's email I was a little confused.

Shelley wrote "I've been trying for months to be a Cheapskate. I write a meal plan and a shopping list and I try to stick to it. I go around turning off power points and lights in empty rooms. I've instigated the no air-conditioner unless it's over 30 rule in the hopes of keeping the power bill down. I don't buy anything unless we need it, and I try to shop around and buy as cheaply as I can. I haven't bought new clothes in over six months and I've cut back my hair cuts to every 12 weeks instead of the regular 6 weekly trim I've always had. I know the bill money is there and we are still eating, we are getting a little ahead on our mortgage and I know I should feel good about it but I don’t. I just feel deprived, like I'm missing out. What am I doing wrong? How can you live like this for so long and be so happy and contented."

Really, what was the problem? She was paying the bills, feeding the family, they had a roof over their heads and a regular income. What did she have to feel deprived about?

I am happy and contented, thank you. And I apologise to Shelley for my lack of empathy.

What she missed, and I had forgotten, is that we have been living this way for almost 20 years and in the beginning I felt just like Shelley. I hated having to not only count but account for every cent we spent. I hated having to deliberately find free things for us to do at home instead of going out to dinner or to the movies or taking the kids on holiday like we had been able to. I was like Shelley too, I really, really hated not being able to get my hair cut every six weeks. For me that was the absolute hardest part of our lifestyle change so Shelley has all my sympathy, I know just how she feels.

But that was our time of extreme frugality. It was the time when we had to cut right back to the bare bones of spending to just survive.

What helped was knowing that this was just a short period of time in the grand scheme of our lives. That it wasn't forever, things would improve. Once we'd paid off some debts and worked out a true spending plan for the tiny income we had life became easier. We still had to count and account for every cent but there was room in the budget for occasional treats (and eventually I was able to get my hair cut regularly again).

I had also changed my attitude. I liked our lifestyle BDS (before disaster struck), I most definitely did not want to change it. The problem was that our income had dropped dramatically and wasn't going to improve any time soon so I had to find other ways to maintain our standard of living.

I found other ways to have the things we needed and wanted. I learned to shop smarter, cook, sew, knit, grow a garden. I learned to entertain at home instead of going out. I learned how to throw a birthday party for 20 kids for $20. Basically I changed the way I looked at the money I spent and what I received for it.

Wayne and I also sat down and had a good hard look at our lifestyle. We looked at the things that were really important to us and at the things that were really just fluff, things we did and had because everyone else had them or did them. And we consciously chose to ditch the stuff that wasn't important to us so we would have the money to pay for the things that were.

Often when you first make the decision to live the Cheapskates way you go at it all gung-ho, believing it has to be all or nothing and the changes must be immediate, but it takes time to completely change your lifestyle, especially if you are changing a family's lifestyle at the same time.

Remember baby steps, and one at a time. Along the way allow yourself a few treats and if you find something you really, really dislike, look for a frugal alternative that will fit with your new lifestyle.

There is no right or wrong way to live the Cheapskates way. What works for one Cheapskate may seem beyond mean and miserly to another, and a complete extravagance to yet another.

It's up to you to choose how you live the Cheapskates way. You choose just how frugal you want to be and just how that will fit in with yours and your family's lifestyle.

Shelley what I'm trying to say, in a very long-winded way, is try not to do anything that makes you feel deprived or like you are missing out.

Cheapskating isn't about being miserable with the most money in the bank.

It is about learning how you can live life debt free, cashed up and laughing.

It's about living the good life for less, and enjoying every day of it.

From Spendthrift to Cheapskate in 4 Easy Stagesc

When someone is a new Cheapskate it can sometimes be overwhelming hearing about how other Cheapskates manage to live. Experienced Cheapskates tend to automatically live the Cheapskates way, saving money, time and energy has become an ingrained habit for them and they don't even think about how to stay within budget. Sometimes we forget the stages we went through on our journey to frugality:

S - Spendthrift Extraordinaire - buys name brands
1 - Fiscally Conscious - buys name brands on sale
2 - Bargain Hunter  - has switched to cheaper or generic brands
3 - Novice Cheapskate - makes own at home using commercial mixes
4 - Champion Cheapskate - makes own at home from scratch

Here are some examples of the differing stages and what they could involve:

Washing powder

S - buy brand name, use full scoop
1 - buy on special
2 - use 1/2 scoop
3 - change brands
4 - make Cheapskates Washing Powder

Snacks

S - Buy brand name multi packs
1 - Buy brand name bulk pack and portion out
2 - Switch to generic multi-packs
3 - switch to generic bulk packs and portion out
4 - make your own (pita chips, crackers)

Takeaway Pizza

S - buy from the pizza parlour, have it delivered
1 - buy from the pizza parlour, pick it up
2 - buy from the pizza parlour with a discount voucher, pick it up
3 - switch to fresh pizzas from supermarket
4 - make them at home (see Penny Pinching Pan Pizza) and have 3 for the price of one bought

Nappy Wipes

S - buy brand name
1 - buy brand name on special
2 - buy brand name, cut in half
3 - switch to generic
4 - use wet face washers and a plastic bag

Spray and Wipe

S - buy brand name
1 - buy on special
2 - use less/dilute
3 - cheaper brand
4 - switch to Miracle Spray

Finding your perfect level of Cheapskateness is personal. What is ideal for one person or family may be extravagant to another and make another feel completely impoverished. Not everyone is at the same place on their journey to finding the Cheapskates way and not everyone will find their ideal level of Cheapskating at the same place.

As you travel the road to the Cheapskates way take the time to try each step and evaluate whether it works for you or not. There will be times when a level four change won't bother you at all and other times and situations when you won't be able to cope with anything other than sticking at Spendthrift Extraordinaire (mine is coffee; I have a brand I like that I buy on sale and I won't change it, so for coffee I'm at a level 1).

As you go from buying brand names without a thought, to checking the price and buying if on sale through to switching brands, cutting the amount you use and making things yourself from scratch you will find the level you are happy at. It won't be the same for everything either.  As I've confessed, when it comes to coffee I'm a dedicated spendthrift. And that's ok. I am more than happy to go to Champion level on something that's not as important to me (washing powder for instance) so I can stay at Spendthrift level with the things that are important to me.

Take each stage slowly and remember:  we are all at differing stages. This is your personal journey. Enjoy the trip.

Everyday Ways to Live Like a Cheapskate - Part 2 - Toiletries

1. A good substitute for shaving-cream is any hair conditioner. This also has the advantage of being see-through, handy if trimming the edges of a beard-line, or side-burns. When travelling, it makes for one less product to pack!

2. Razor blades are expensive and a great way to keep them sharper longer. In a small saucer I put some oil (olive/vegetable) and this keeps the rust at bay.

3. Liquid soap refills are around $3/250ml ($12 per litre). Refill the dispensers with budget shampoo ($2 per litre) and save $10 per litre.

4. Don't even bother using a body scrub, just buy a pair of those 'rough' shower gloves for $2, use your regular soap for your body and scrub all over. Works perfectly!

5. For the best, most economical body scrub around - just mix some grainy sea salt with a little home brand baby oil. The salt is a great natural exfoliator and the oil also moisturises your skin at the same time - two birds with one stone!

6. To make your eyebrows appear thicker, use hair spray or mousse on an eyebrow brush and brush the brows straight up.

7. Before sharpening your lip or eye pencils, put them in the fridge for a few minutes. They will sharpen to a nice point quickly and easily, without breaking.

8. For inexpensive beauty treatments check out your local TAFE beauty salons. Trained beauticians and hairdressers supervise all work and you get to look fantastic and save a bundle.

9. If you like to take your make-up off with facial wipes substitute with baby wipes at less than half the price.

The Fine Line

There is a saying about a fine line between love and hate.

Living the Cheapskates way there is a fine line too: a fine line between Contented Cheapskate and Sad Skinflint.

Whether you choose to live the Cheapskates way out of necessity (sudden un-employment, huge debts etc) or to have the cash to do the things that are important to you, the line has to be drawn: just how far can you go without becoming a mean, sad skinflint?

For me not buying takeaway food on a regular basis frees up money for music lessons for Hannah. The boys can play their sports because we choose to recycle clothes and buy from garage sales and op shops before we resort to paying retail. This frees up the cash needed to pay for sports fees and other activities and we have a contented family.

I would feel like a Sad Skinflint if I didn't buy the brand of coffee I enjoy to just save a couple of dollars. Instead I wait for it to go on sale and then use the grocery slush fund to stock up, I never pay the regular supermarket price and I am a Contented Cheapskate.

By using generic sugar, flour, custard powder, bi-carb soda, coconut and icing sugar I have the cash to buy the coffee I like. We don't notice any difference in the end result of my baking, we are not missing out on any treats and I am able to enjoy good coffee.

In our quest to live the Cheapskates way sometimes we go to far. There is no purpose in going without something you need, enjoy or even want if you can afford it just to not spend money.

We cut back on things we don't particularly care about so that we can have the things that are important to us. There have been times when I've gone too far (a rissole recipe using just bread crusts, herbs and water springs to mind) and the exercise has ended up causing us to be unhappy.

Using the bread crusts and herbs along with some chopped tomato, a grated onion and an egg to make a Mock Chicken however saved us some money, used up leftover crusts and it was delicious with gravy and baked vegetables.

With things like electricity, gas, water, telephone and petrol trim them little by little until you find that you need more, then ease the trimming just a bit. You've found your fine line and by easing back a bit you are on the Contented Cheapskate side.

With clothing, shoes and so on you can work out exactly what you need to maintain a comfortable wardrobe. Add a couple of spare outfits (for those times the washing hasn't dried or you just plain ran out of time to do it) and you'll be on the Contented Cheapskate side.

Not giving yourself enough clothing will end up costing you money. You'll be washing more often, perhaps having to resort to using the dryer, and your clothes will be wearing out and looking old much faster. This is the Sad Skinflint side of the line.

In all things, trimming a little, gradually, lets you find exactly where you want to be in your Cheapskates lifestyle and when you are contented with where you are you'll find saving money, time and energy easy.

On a cold and wet Thursday

Thursday is my day I spend with my Mum. When the kids are home they spend the day with us. Mum loves being Grandma and she is so proud when the boys carry her shopping bags or push the trolley around the supermarket for her. She loves that they go and get her coffee for her when we stop for a cuppa (her Thursday treat).

I love that I somehow managed to raise two strapping young men who actually like spending time with their Grandma and their cranky mother and do it without being asked.  When they are going to be home on a Thursday they always ask on a Wednesday night if I'm going out with Grandma so they can come.

But today is cold. My hands are freezing as I am typing this up. I can see through the loungeroom window that it is raining. It's dull, windy, overcast. Not at all a nice day. And it's school holidays. That means crowded shopping centres.

So today we are picking Mum up and bringing her back here for morning tea, lunch and perhaps even afternoon tea. I have knitting to do and I know she will bring hers. Hannah is home today too and she has knitting. I can see us all sitting, with cosy rugs over our knees drinking copious cups of tea, having a great old gab-fest, knitting up a storm.

There are scones in the freezer for morning tea. I have some sausage rolls and vegetable soup in the fridge to warm up for lunch and if we really want anything for afternoon tea there is date loaf in the cake tin. What is it about really cold, dismal days that make us want to eat? I have no idea, I don't really care, we'll just eat as much as we want and enjoy the day together.

Perhaps if Mum has anything urgent on her list we'll stop at Aldi when we take her home. If not, we won't bother with the shops at all today and just keep those chores for next week.

I know we won't miss it. A no spend day is a great day, especially when we are surrounded by loved ones.

Are Your Friends Making You Poor?

You love your friends. They make you laugh. They support you when you need someone to lean on.

The problem is they may be making you poor.

If you're on a budget but your friends aren't, it can be a real challenge. This is especially true when your friends are big spenders and use shopping as an emotional crutch.

They like to go to the best restaurants, order the most expensive items on the menu and visit the most expensive clubs. They may dress in designer labels, drive a great car, live in a nice home and have all the latest and greatest gadgets as soon as they're released.

If you have friends like this it can not only cause you to spend more money than you’d like, you may compare your lifestyle to theirs and feel you come up short. You may feel motivated to emulate their lifestyle even though you can't afford it.

Take a look at how you spend your money. Are your friends influencing your decisions and spending habits?

If so, it’s time for some deep reflection.

It’s time to take a look at how your friends influence you and how you can regain control over your spending habits. Presumably your friends will be true friends and will like you regardless of how much money you have to spend or what you spend it on.

Have an honest discussion with yourself and then with your friends. Together you can come up with a plan to keep everyone happy.

Remember the Cheapskates way and ditch the stuff that's unimportant to you so you have the cash to enjoy the things that are.

Start with Something Simple

Saving money is easy in theory. You just stop spending and bank that money. But in practise it can be hard, especially if you are new to the concept of Spending Plans and saving.  Cheapskater Helen has come up with a way she can have something she loves and save money without feeling deprived or that it's too hard.

"I struggle to save money so I’ve started with something really basic. I only go to coffee shops who supply the daily newspapers and up-to-date magazines. I save $8.80 on newspapers alone and a lot on magazines. This together with a Coffee Club voucher system means I'm also saving about $4.50 a week on my coffees. Total saving just on these two things alone $13.30 a week! ($691.60 a year!)."
Contributed by Helen, Mosman

What Does it Mean to be "Frugal"?

Some people shudder at the word “frugal.” Others faint. Many begin to hyperventilate. Few run to the door screaming. Why do people panic and go mad at such a word? What is it that makes people fidget at its utterance?

Most of the population believes that to be frugal one must give up the fun things in life and live a dreary, depressing existence, which causes these feelings of fright and anxiety. This just isn’t so.

Becoming “frugal,” as one might say, is just learning how to manage your money in a smarter, more productive way so you are able to live life debt free, cashed up and  laughing.

It also means being creative when it comes to shopping, managing your money and living life in general. Living frugally is finding opportunities to save money and seizing them. It’s an adventure that’s never ending.

Living a frugal life is not something to be fearful of. It may require some dedication that hasn’t been needed before and it might mean giving up a few luxuries, but if you work at it in the correct way, being frugal is not something to fear. All anyone has to do is take some time to evaluate how he or she spends their money and decide what actions need to be taken to save money, hence, living frugally.

There are two main points to be made when learning about being frugal and having a frugal life. One, you have to become smarter with your money management and secondly, you have to work at becoming smarter at your spending.

Master those two points and you've mastered living the Cheapskates way.

One is Enough

Back in the eighties there was a show on television called Eight is Enough. Now the eight referred to in the title was children. And I guess for most families eight children would be enough.

But what about eight pairs sheets? Or eight outdoor chairs? How about eight handbags? Or eight pairs of jeans? Eight pairs of shoes? Or even more!

Living the Cheapskates way is about saving money, yes, but it's also about living simply and sustainably, living contentedly with what we have, and having enough. When we have enough we don't need any more.

So how much is enough? Is one enough? Or do we need eight to have enough?

In all honesty when we go camping one is enough, and sometimes more than enough.

We have one towel each.
We have one green bag of clothes each.
We have one cup each.
One plate each.
One bowl each.
One knife each.
One fork each.
One spoon each.
One multipurpose pot/pan/griddle.
One chair each.

And it works. We have everything we need. We can camp for weeks and have enough.

So why do we surround ourselves by more than one at home? What is it that causes us to have so much stuff? Stuff that we may never use, stuff that is forgotten about, lost in the back of a cupboard? How many is enough?

How many pens do you have in your handbag right now? I just counted mine - four. I can only use one at a time so why do I feel it necessary to carry three spares? If the one pen I have doesn't work I am sure there will be someone who can lend me a pen if I need it. If that fails I can always buy one. I don't need to carry the other three. One is enough.

Clothes are another thing we tend to have more than enough of. Ready-made clothes are cheap, it's easy to buy multiples. I'm sure we all know someone who buys the same shirt in every colour just because they're available. They an only wear one at a time. Gone are the days of having one set of work clothes on, with one in the wash and a set for Sunday. We can only wear one outfit at a time, do we really need to fill wardrobes so tight they won't take another coat hanger?

Just because we can buy multiples (and warehouse stores like Officeworks and Costco and big buy department stores like Big W and Kmart, even supermarkets encourage multiple buys) doesn't mean we should. Or need to. Pens are cheap, but that's no reason to carry three more than I need in my handbag.

I still have a stack of 1c exercise books I bought at Officeworks years ago. So many years ago that I can't remember when exactly. Now I'll use them up, because they are there. But did I need to buy the hundreds that I did, just because they were 1c each? No.

This year as you strive to reduce, reuse and recycle look at what you have. You may realize, like me, that you have more than enough. You may also realize that having enough will make you happy, that you don't need more than enough to find contentment.

By realizing what enough means to you (and it will mean different things for different people and that's OK) you may find that you don't need to work full-time to be happy. By understanding what enough means to you, you could find you have more time to do the things you love instead of taking care of all the clutter of more than enough.

You may even find that you can be really, truly happy and content with less.

Find Ways To Reward Yourself

Living the Cheapskates way isn't about deprivation.  Saving money can take a toll on you and your family so it's important to plan your own rewards.  Having places you can eat out that don't cost a fortune, local places you can visit for a day out that are inexpensive, and small luxuries or treats you want to buy that you can save for will make the budgeting a bit easier.  Build a "rewards" category into your spending plan and add to it regularly. It doesn't have to be much - $5 a week will give you $260 a year you can use to splurge without worrying about how it will affect your budget.

How does this save money?  By having a list or idea of things that are inexpensive for rewards, it will make it less likely you'll spontaneously splurge on something expensive.

Planned rewards is splurging without the guilt!

How Long Could You Survive?

Over on the Greening of Gavin blog there is a post called "Can you survive 72 hours on your own?" (and if you don't read Gavin's blog, it's worth having a look - his journey to sustainable living 6 years ago is very much like our journey to frugal living 19 years ago).

And that had me wondering: how long could you survive?

Having lived through a disaster, as well as under threat of being cut off by flood and having to rely on tank water, I aim to be prepared for whatever the future throws at us.

My pantry is stocked with up to twelve months of some staples (canned goods, cleaning supplies, toiletries) and up to six month of others. I buy them once a year between Christmas and New Year - the kids dread it because it's a huge shopping day.

I'm moving away from freezing fruit and veg and bottling or drying more simply because if the power goes out for longer than 3 - 4 days full freezers are an issue. I'd open them once, take out what we needed for the 72 hours and then close them tight, and wrap them in as many blankets and doonas as I could to keep them insulated.

I keep a six month supply of beans/lentils/flours/ that would fill the protein gap if the freezers full of meat, poultry and fish failed.

We also have a good supply of water on hand at all times - the suggested minimum is 10 litres per person per day, extreme rationing is 5 litres per person per day. It can be done - we "budget" the 5L/pp when we are camping/travelling - you quickly learn to not waste a drop.

We've built a solar cooker (I've put pictures and instructions in the January 2014 Journal - I know it's a few weeks off but with Christmas and the silly season I'm working ahead) and have the gas bbq and the gas camp stoves and bottles to fit. Also a good wood pile and the combustion heater/stove for heat, hot water and cooking if required.

I know how to use the camp oven for bread, cakes, dampers, stews, roasts, soups so I could prepare meals over a fire or on the barbecue or wood heater.  I also have a lot of kitchen utensils that rely solely on manual labour: an old fashioned grater, an egg beater (it was my mother's and is older than me - a genuine vintage item), whisks, good knives, strainers, wooden spoons, a Quick Shake, a bamboo steamer and a V-Slicer. Even my Fowlers Vacola is a stovetop model - no electricity required.

Straw broom, carpet sweeper (it was Mum's too), mop and bucket take care of the floors.

We'd drag out the solar shower for baths/showers and recycle the water (cleanest person first, dirtiest person last).

Washing is covered with our camp washer - a bucket with a lid. I fill it with water, add a teaspoon of washing powder, drop in the clothes, put the lid on and give it a few shakes. Let it soak for a half hour or so,  a few more shakes and it's time to rinse (same process with clean water). To "spin" the clothes I wrap them in a towel and twist the ends. You'd be surprised just how much excess water this gets out of them, they're almost dry when they come out. Shake and hang on the line to dry.

We all have bikes to ride - no need to use the car and waste fuel if it's scarce.

So we'd survive, and probably better than many of our neighbours, if we were stranded. 72 hours would be like a long weekend camping for us.

How would you survive? Would you have enough water? Could you prepare three meals a day for yourself and your family? Would you be able to keep your frozen food frozen? Is your garden big enough to feed you for a few days continuously? Would you have transport? How would you cook? Heat water? Wash clothes? Flush toilets? How would the kids cope - would they be able to amuse themselves without TV, iPods, computers, mobile phones etc.?

How One Person with a Small Voice Can Change the World

Those who know me personally know that I am naturally quiet. I don't go around all day preaching my beliefs about frugal living or the environment or food security or financial responsibility or even just responsibility or the lack thereof.

I can't be the person who turns a blind eye, accepting without question everything I'm told, that the economy isn't really struggling, that global warming is just a whole lot of propaganda spread by greenies, that the things that are happening in this world aren't really happening.

Until someone says something or something happens and then I know I can't just sit back and say or do nothing. I am just one person, with one small voice, and perhaps on my own I can't make huge changes, but I can encourage others to make a stand for what's right and true.

I believe that even though I am just one person, I have the ability to make a difference in my children's' lives, to make the future a little better and a little easier for them. I believe that I've been given a gift in the Cheapskates Club where I can spread the word about living the Cheapskates way. 

And so I talk about what I am cooking and share what is growing in the garden, how my family is living, where I've found great bargains, the things that we enjoy and sometimes even the things I think are just plain ridiculous. I speak up when I think someone could be saving money or time or energy by changing their attitude or actions. I talk to the people around me.

Just about every time I go out, whether it's just to the Post Office or the bank or shopping or for lunch with friends (yes, even I splurge on lunch out occasionally) the conversation will turn to frugal living or affordability or budgets and I sit and nod, throwing in the odd comment here and there.  It seems that everyone desperately wants to save money or time or energy and so I share the few changes I made way back when that started this crazy journey and leave hoping that perhaps my words have been just the incentive they needed to make better choices for themselves and their families.

I don't wear rose coloured glasses. I know that the world will never be populated just by Cheapskates and that's OK. We are all individuals with the ability to make choices for ourselves (yes, you can make up your own mind, you don't need to be told what to think or believe). I just want to encourage everyone to take back the responsibility for the way they live and make their own choices based on their personal needs and wants. 

To be more aware of the things that are really important to them, and the things they do because "everyone does it" or "everyone has one" or "everyone goes there". To realise that to be truly happy and content, whether they live the Cheapskates way or not, they need to be true to themselves and ditch the unimportant stuff, that they don't have to play "keeping up with the Joneses".

I want to encourage everyone to explore new options and realize just how many good choices there are for them. 

And most importantly I want to encourage them to spread the word and share this thinking with the folk around them. To encourage others to change their thinking, to ditch the things that aren't important to them so they can enjoy the things that are.

Share what you believe in. Stand for something. Take back responsibility. Let others hear your small voice.

And one small voice by one small voice, we can change the world.

I Think Its Interesting

I think it's interesting that so often people equate living the Cheapskates way with spending hours and hours shopping, cooking from scratch and cleaning. They think that to save money, you need to work hard and go without the luxuries in life.

Well I am here, along with my family, to prove them wrong.

Grocery shopping is not one of my favourite things to do so it's a certainty that I would spend less time than the average Australian in a supermarket or shopping centre. I spend less than 2 hours a month on grocery shopping and probably less than another two hours a month on any other kind of shopping.

When it comes to cooking well lets face it, Gordon Ramsay would probably turn his nose up at my gastronomical delights, but even I can whip up a couple of pizzas in less time than it takes to get them delivered, for about half the price of one from the pizza shop! In fact we can have a cooked from scratch meal on the table in under 30 minutes, even if we've just walked in the door after a long day at work, school and sport. It can take that long to decided between pizza, Chinese or fish and chips if you are really tired. By the time you've rung and placed your order we are sitting down to a freshly prepared and cooked meal. The difference is that we have saved around $25 and get to sit down to eat exactly what we want.

While a cleaning fairy is on my 'one day' wish list simply because there are other things I would rather be doing (like working on Cheapskates) you can be pretty sure that I don't spend any longer cleaning our home than most working mothers do. It's no harder to clean with water and a micro fibre cloth or a splash of vinegar and a sprinkle of bi-carb than it is to use an all in one spray cleaner. It takes me around 5 minutes every three months or so to make a batch of washing powder at a saving of around $20 and the plus is I am not lugging home a heavy box of laundry detergent every fortnight.

The point I am trying to make, in this twisted and convoluted way, is that the spendthrifts have it all wrong.

Cheapskates don't spend hours and hours trolling the shopping centres. We know what we want and where to get it at the cheapest possible price. Our trusty price books save us money and hours searching for the best bargains.

We don't spend hundreds of dollars on takeaway and home delivery meals. We have homemade takeaway, save a fortune and teach our children that you can have fun and save money at the same time.

We are not polluting our homes and our bodies with supposedly fast cleaning products. We use one or two multi-purpose products that do an excellent job and are budget priced.

We live within our budget, regularly adding to our PoM accounts and emergency funds.
We eat tasty, freshly prepared meals with our families.
We spend time doing the things we enjoy with our families and friends.
Our homes are clean (tidy may be another matter, especially if we have kids!).
We wear fashionable clothes and dress our children well on our budgets.

As Cheapskates we choose to spend our money, time and energy on the things that are important to us and not waste them on the unimportant stuff.

Amazing Things Happened When We Started Living the Cheapskates Way

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.

Putting it all in order

I've been collecting things since I was a child. It started with a stamp album, some stamps and a few First Day Covers for my seventh birthday and it's grown from there.

When I was thirteen I was given an old tin  of embroidery cottons and some stamped linens to embroider. They had been my great-grandmothers and they were the start of my love of embroidery. That love led to me collecting patterns and designs and instructions, mostly from magazines and newspapers. I'd see a pattern I like and tear it out and stick it in a scrapbook.

When I was in my twenties I started collecting recipes. Same sources: magazines, newspapers, old recipe books, scribbled notes from my mother and her friends. And I'd stick them in a scrapbook.

I also started to collect hints and tips and ideas on homemaking. Ideas for ironing or flower arrangements or how to decorate a Christmas tree (and one day I'll follow those instructions and have a fairy tale tree). And I'd stick them in a scrapbook.

All this was well before the days of the Internet. The magazines were bought by my great-aunty Madge, given to my Aunty Hazel, who read them and passed them on to Mum. When Mum was finished with them I was allowed to rip them to shreds. Iconic Australian magazines: Women's Weekly (which was weekly back then), New Idea, Woman's Day and Family Circle. Family Circle was my favourite, it had the best recipes and crafts. New Idea came a close second.

These scrapbooks inspire me to make a home.

Why am I sharing this? Because my scrapbooks are falling apart. I need a new way to keep my clippings in order. I could scan them and store them on a portable hard drive (and I probably will) but that seems a little clinical and well, too modern for my taste. I could bookmark webpages I want to come back to, and there are sites like Pinterest for storing my favourite pages, but I still need to trawl through all the stuff I pin or bookmark to find what I want, and it is time consuming and frustrating.

The alternative is to put them into new scrapbooks, 2013 style scrapbooks. This appeals to me.  I like having a hard copy to read, to hold, to flick through for inspiration. I like the idea of having pages where I can write notes and new ideas or variations to recipes or patterns for the future. And I like that perhaps one day I'll be able to pass my scrapbooks on to Hannah, so that she can flick through them and be inspired to make a home.

The old style scrapbooks I used years ago aren't around anymore, and as I've found they don't last all that well, especially with constant flicking. And they're a little ugly truth be told. I like pretty things.

So over the next few weeks, or months, or even possibly years, I am going to make new scrapbooks for all the clippings I've used over the years that I've come to love and rely on. I think I'll use the same style of journal that I use for the garden. It's hard-cover, with lovely soft lined paper but rather dull. I can pretty them up with a gift wrap cover and some labels and they won't cost much - about $1.50 each.

There will be room for my notes of course. I can see at a glance that MOO buttermilk with vinegar is good for a quick mix, but to get good buttermilk a real buttermilk starter works best. And that using 2 tablespoons of ground ginger is just as good as freshly grated in the ginger syrup we love to add to soda water in summer. My notes also remind me that warming the vinegar for the shower cleaner helps it emulsify into the dishwashing detergent without creating a huge bottle of froth.  It's the notes that make these scrapbooks so very valuable.

But the very best thing about my scrapbooks is that I can see there are still hundreds of great ideas I've tried over the years that I can share with you. Ideas that will hopefully inspire you to make your own herbal shampoo or try a simple sunburn remedy.

And when you've tried them perhaps you'll be inspired to start your own journal of clippings and notes, either in pretty notebooks or in neatly organized files on your computer.  Clippings of hints and tips and recipes you've tried and loved that you want to keep to use now, and keep to pass on to future generations.

Sometimes I Just have so much to share

There are days I have so much I want to share with you I just don't know where to start or what order to put things in.  Some things deserve a post on their own, but how many posts can I subject you to each day?  Some things become stories and articles for the Journal, but even then I struggle to fit everything in. Some things become Tip of the Day posts and emails, and again I struggle to fit everything in.  I can share some things in the Members Forum, but again it is a struggle. I can add a little to each newsletter (it's one reason why I do a weekly newsletter and not a monthly one, there is just too much information to share - and if you haven't subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Bright ideas to save you money, you can do so here).  

This morning I woke up to an interview with Lloyd Nicol from Team UOW, talking about winning the Solar Decathlon held in China (Datong to be precise) with their design for a retro-fit of an existing house.  How cool is it that it is possible to completely retro fit your house to be energy efficient from the very frame up and out!  I really want to let you know about this project (if you don't already) because it is so exciting. You can read more about Team UOW, the project, their amazing house, the competition and their win here. 

And there's the bedroom makeover we did for Hannah's birthday. Her room is just gorgeous, and we did it all on a rather tight budget and still managed to buy beautiful bed linen, a new bed and mattress, a new dressing table, shelves, bedside table, lamp, curtains and wall art.  Her bedroom has gone from a rather boring beige and little girl décor to a beautiful, grown-up shabby chic for under $600!

On top of those two exciting happenings there are the usual day-to-day savings. I was rather excited this morning to hear labna being touted as a super food for women (on Today, Channel 9 this morning) and used as an ingredient in a beetroot salad. Labna is so easy to make and is very frugal and versatile, especially if you make your own yoghurt. That segment reminded me that perhaps it was time to remind you all not only how to make and use labna but how easy, convenient and economical it is to MOO yoghurt.

Thinking about making yoghurt reminded me that I haven't shared my new ginger beer recipe, or the instructions on how to make it. MOO ginger beer is so much better than bought (even better than Bundaberg) and of course it is a fraction of the price. I started the ginger beer plant on Sunday so we'll have some ready when the weather warms up.

That's just four things I want to share with you, and there are more.

While I was getting the meat out of the freezer for tonight's dinner, it reminded me that it had been a while since I defrosted the freezer or updated you with how the freezer organizing is going. And that reminded me of bulk meat buys, where to buy, the top prices I am prepared to pay, how to package and store that meat to get the very best from it.

Of course bulk buying made me think of the question from Christine, asking for a copy of my shopping list and by default that had me thinking about stockpiling and how I build my stockpile, what I stockpile, where I buy those items and the top prices I am prepared to pay.

Can you see my dilemma?  There are just six thoughts since 6am this morning. There will be more throughout the day.

I need your help. I have all this information and thousands of ideas and hints that really work, but I need to know what you want to know so I can share it with you.

Please leave a comment below and tell me what you want to know about. It might be cleaning. It might be how to tackle the laundry. You might want to know the vegetables you can grow that will have the biggest impact on your budget. You might want to know how to keep the cost of travel down. Perhaps you are interested in how we can be well dressed on $200 a year. It could be that you are craving a simpler, more self-sufficient life and want to know where to start.

I'm waiting, with bated breath and coffee in hand, to find out how I can best help you live life debt free, cashed up and laughing.

What is living the Cheapskates Way?

When you think of living the Cheapskates way do you think of a life of deprivation, hard work, hoarding and miserliness? 

It’s nothing like that. In fact living the Cheapskates way is closer to simple living, where you strive to become as self-sufficient as possible.  When you think of simple living, the idea of doing without electricity and getting up at 4:00 a.m. might be a connotation that crosses your mind. That may have been the ideal behind simple living back in the day, however, that is not at all what it means by today’s standards and it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with living the Cheapskates way.

The Cheapskates way is a way for individuals and families to return to traditions and practices that will allow them to go back to basics while freeing up their time, their money and their sanity.

Some practices of living the Cheapskates way are as follows:

· Bottling, freezing and drying vegetables
· Growing your own vegetable garden
· Preserving fruits and jams
· Baking your own breads
· Making homemade pizza
· Batch cooking meals
· Buying in bulk
· Organizing trips in your vehicle to save time and petrol
· Making things from scratch to save money
· Sewing your own clothing
· Making your own soap
· Recycling and reusing
· Making creative next day meals from leftovers
· Going green
· Deleting unnecessary stressors from your life
· Hand washing clothing
· Home haircuts
· Being energy wise in the home
· Avoiding unnecessary debt

Some of the benefits of frugal living, to name a few, are:

· Saving money
· Saving time
· Saving energy
· Living debt free
· Making your own food without preservatives or pesticides
· Deleting some stressors
· Spending more time together as a family
· Having more time for yourself and your spouse
· Living greener
· Having pride in doing it yourself
· Becoming more organized
· Becoming more efficient
· Becoming more self-sufficient

These are just a few benefits of living the Cheapskates way. Individuals and families today are looking to unplug from technology and plug into each other. Baking, gardening, batch cooking, recycling, purging and crafting are all things that can be done as a family unit. They want to ditch the debt so they can enjoy their lifestyle.

The key is working in unison as a team while working to incorporate simpler times when families worked together, ate together and played together. There are so many benefits of frugal living such as financial savings, saving time, creating more energy and just being a happier, more relaxed individual.

It is no wonder that so many people are yearning to unplug and tune out of technology and tune into each other with a simple, frugal lifestyle. While you may think of the Cheapskates lifestyle as one of using a single light bulb and eating only beans and rice, it is not quite that drastic. It is, however, lucrative, profitable, productive and overall fun.

How to Live the Cheapskates Way in 2012

You'd think with all the technology available to us that living the Cheapskates way in 2012 would be easy, or at least easier than it was in 2010, or 2007 or 2002 or ever really.  But that technology doesn't always make it easy, it quite often makes it harder.

We are bombarded by advertisements on the TV, on radio, on our computers, via email and even on our mobile phones telling us we need this gadget or that gizmo will make our lives easier or we really want the latest thingamajig. We are told almost every minute of every waking hour that we must buy the very latest must have craze.

So, to help you stick to your Spending Plan when tempted, ask yourself these questions:

1. 1.Would my parents or grand-parents have needed this item?
2. 2.Would I really use this item enough to get full value for money out of it?
3. 3.How will buying this item affect my savings goals?
4. 4.Does it cost more than $100? If so, apply the $100/24 hour rule.

When you forget momentarily that you are living the Cheapskates way, ask yourself those four questions. I guarantee they'll get you back on track in no time.

UWMD

What is UWMD?

It's simple, and I am sure you already know, it's not a new concept by any means:

• Use it up
• Wear it out
• Make do
• or do Without

We all like our things to be new and shiny, and that's what we expect. There is an expectation that everything we have, get or buy should be brand spanking new, from a flashy department store. And we don't care if the packaging is better than the item - that's all a part of the expectation.

Having nice, shiny, new things isn't bad. I like new things too. But if you want to save money, time and energy and live without debt, all the while being environmentally conscious and doing your part to save the planet, then you need to at least sometimes UWMD.

The ability to live a simple life

I've never thought of myself as a trend setter and indeed I don't think I've ever set any trends but it appears that within our particular environment I am. Or rather we are - Wayne and I are a partnership and our lifestyle is as much a result of that partnership as it is of my efforts.

Seventeen years ago - wow, it's that long - when disaster struck we stepped back and took a long, hard look at our lives, our lifestyle, our hopes, dreams and goals. It was a forced step back and a very forced look, but we did it.

What we realised was that a lot of what we did was based on what others around us were doing and our concept of what was expected and indeed acceptable amongst our peers.  It was like being hit with a brick to realise that for the most part we preferred being at home with our young family or spending time just together. We didn't have to be doing anything special or have organized "date nights" or even leave the house.

We weren't big on eating out or parties or long holidays (although I am partial to room service). We didn't want a bigger house (more work) or new cars.

Instead we wanted to be able to enjoy the things we had.

And so although we refer to that time as "WHEN DISASTER STRUCK" in hindsight it wasn't so disastrous.

We stepped back and made the decision to put our money, time and energy into the things that were important to US. If our family and friends didn't like it, that was OK. But we wanted a better life, not a busier life.

And we wanted it for our family.

So the decision was made. Things were tough but I would be a real stay-at-home mum. We would raise our children with our values to our standards. We would become the family we wanted to be.

In a nutshell we would ditch all the stuff we did and had that wasn't important to us and focus on the things that were.

We switched from avid 20th Century consumers to simple living. We made our tree change without realizing that was what we were doing.

In fact at the time my main focus was keeping a roof over our heads, food on the table and the new baby.  I didn't even notice that turning the sandpit into a veggie garden was making us self-sufficient. Or that cooking from scratch and learning to recycle were lessening our impact on the environment.

Those realizations came later, after we'd become comfortable with our lifestyle and decided that we were happy, happier in fact than we'd ever been before.  We were living better on less than half our previous income and it was easy.

It was so easy that we had friends and family members, even mere acquaintances, asking us how we did it. To the outside world our lifestyle hadn't changed all that much, but our circumstance certainly had and they knew it.

Fast forward all those years and we still live simple lives.  Not to be confused with poor lives, or miserable lives or hard lives. I am very fond of my creature comforts and while I would one day love to go off-grid, for the time being we are connected and make use of the electricity it supplies. I still go shopping and yes, I even buy new things, but not before I've tried to find whatever it is used or to recycle or remake something I already have into it.

There is a family joke that if ever anything happens and we have to choose what to take with us in a hurry I'll opt for the dishwasher and the vacuum. I probably would too!

Because we decided 17 years ago to focus on what's important to us and do away with all the things that weren't and that were actually making us unhappy, we became by default a part of the simple living movement.

Simple living or living the Cheapskates way, doesn't matter what you call it.

I'm just so grateful that disaster chose us to strike, because we've never looked back.

And we've never been happier.

PS - a quick update on our EWSM Real Food Challenge. 

It's easier than I thought it would be.  I am sure having a fully stocked pantry, with a good stockpile to fall back on helps. But those things help with any pantry challenge. I love that I am concentrating on our food, putting more thought into making our meals consist of real food.  Things like tomato soup ( Karina asked how to get around using canned tomato soup here, EWSM Real Food Challenge Days 3 - 6 ) haven't posed a problem.

Sticking to our meal plan - well sort of!  It's school and Uni holidays here so everyone is home. That means we are busy doing lots of out of routine things and some of our meals have been swapped around, but they've all been real food.  The meals we haven't eaten will slot into next month's meal plan easily enough.

This challenge does mean though that the veggies are being gobbled up faster, there are gaps showing in the garden. My Diggers catalogue arrived today and I spent a lovely half hour drooling over seeds, planning what to put in the gaps and what we'll be eating for the next few months.

One thing I have noticed on this challenge, and I absolutely love it, is that my shopping time has been cut even more. These days on my "short shops" I literally run in, pick up the milk, cheese and eggs and leave! Depending on the queue at the checkout I can be in and out of the supermarket in under 10 minutes!

Oh joy, oh bliss, oh more money in my purse :)

How are you handling the EWSM Real Food Challenge?