Frugal travel: how to save money on luggage and on Airport transfers.

Singapore Changi Airport.http://youtu.be/uJD4keVZwds
The real secret of happy frugal  travelling is to take the absolute minimum of luggage. It is even possible to manage with just 7-10 kg of cabin luggage if you are really thoughtful and disciplined. If you travel with a budget airline that charges extra for checked luggage you will save a lot of money and time if you don't have any checked luggage at all. Provided you are able to easily carry your own luggage and are willing to do a little homework it is often possible to save a lot of money on airport transfers by using public transport. You can research frugal airport transfer arrangements online .or by making a phone enquiry or at the enquiry counter at the railway station.

For example, recently we discovered how to save a lot of money getting to and from the Melbourne Airport. Suppose for instance you have arrived by train from the country at the Southern Cross station in down town Melbourne and have a plane to catch. The options would seem to be. Catch a taxi for around $50 or catch the Skybus direct to the Airport. The Skybus costs about $15 per person so for a family of 3 thats $45.

In fact under these circumstances  it is possible to get to the Airport free of charge. This is because your V-line country rail ticket includes  use of the suburban network for at least 1 hour after arriving in the city.

The trick is to catch a suburban train to Broadmeadows station and then catch the 701 public bus to the airport. The 701 bus will drop you just across the road from the Tiger Airlines terminal. You will need to walk a
a few steps from there ro all the other terminals.

If you are travelling from Northern Victoria the country trains stop at Broadmeadows you will save both time and money by hopping off the train there. Your ticket to Broadmeadows will be up to $5 cheaper than if you travelled all the way in to the downtown station at Southern Cross. It is only about 20mins to the airport from Broadmeadows by bus.

By travelling light and catching public transport to the airport you will save time and money.

Save money on entertainment: Read a book!

                                          Reading can be the most frugal of all pastimes!

Here in Australia it is possible to read a lot of books without spending big at the bookshop.

Here's how: first stop is your local public library. Here in Portland our local municipal library offers books for children and adults, magazines, cds and dvd's can also be borrowed. The librarians are friendly and helpful. There are comfortable chairs, There is even free internet access and PCs to use.

Of  course you will come across some books that you will want to read over and over again. All homes should have a library of their own, We recently came across a relevant quote: "Rich people have big libraries poor people have big tv's".

The challenge is how to build up a nice private book collection without breaking the bank. The answer is to buy good quality second hand books from garage sales and thrift shops. Another alternative is to buy books from surplus library stocks. Of course you will need a lot of time to find the book you really want this way. Used book stores are also a great option if you are prepared to spend a little morecash and want to save time. If the collection grows unmanageably large you can always have a garage sale and sell them and get most of your cash back or maybe even make a small profit. Many  people also make a little extra cash re-selling used books on Amazon.

Our preference nowadays is to buy hard back books rather than paper backs. A good quality hard-back book will last for centuries if cared for. Most paper backs will fall apart after a few decades. The hard backs look so much more impressive on the shelf and are a good long term investment. We are quite proud of our "Great books of the western world", collection there is at least 10 years worth of serious reading there, the whole collection of more than 50 beautifully bound books can be picked up on Amazon at a very reasonable price.

                                             

                                                                           
A good quality reading lamp is a worthwhile investment and consumes a lot less power than a TV or PC.  Of course If you read in the day-time of  sunshine is free of charge!

                                        

Another challenge is how to combine an interest in travelling with an interest in reading. We always travel with at least one good book and swap with travellers we meet. In some English speaking countries you will find books cheaply and easily, but in some other countries it is more difficult. The 21st solution here is really the e-book. It is possible to download a lot of classics for free and a small external harddrive weighing around 100 grams can contain 1000's of e-books.

 

It is not really  necessary to buy a Kindle or e-book reader if you travel with a netbook or laptop you can download the Kindle for PC software free of charge, Many public libraries now have e-book collections so it is possible to "borrow" e-books these days without even visiting the library.

There are some excellent websites for readers, book-lovers and collectors. For example reading-the-great-books offers guidance and reading suggestions on the great books. Perhaps it is best to just follow ones interests. If you find an author you enjoy read all that authors books. If you find an interesting subject read more about it.   Before too long you will discover you are smarter, wealthier and wiser.

Frugal but tasty, oats for breakfast.

  Try oats is by for a lowest cost tastiest and healthiest breakfast. Put the recipe is simple one   cup of oats and 3 cups of water in a large bowl stir and cook in the microwave for 10 minutes. Serve with a little milk and honey. Porridge doesn't have to be boring. There are many tasty variations possible.                                                                      

                                                                             

For example add sliced fruits apple or banana. Add spices cinnamon, cloves cardamon (if you like it spicy). Dates, sultanas or any other dry fruits can be added. Try  different kinds of honey Tasmanians leather wood my favourite. You can add some skim milk powder before cooking for extra protein to build more muscles.

Microwave cooking is the best way to go because it is automatic and gets consistent result every time. Preparation takes less than a minutes and you can take a shower while it cooks. The healthy benefits of oats are numerous in particular it contains lots of soluble fibre that can actually reduce your cholesterol's.

 

     To encourage your kids to like porridge try reading then " Goldilocks and the three bears).

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Save Money on Transportation

Here in Australia most families have a car and many families have 2 cars.
The cost of owning and running a car is accepted by many as just the necessary overhead cost of everyday life.

However when you stop to consider all of the expense involved it starts to make sense to consider alternative transport arrangements.

We sold our car in August last year just before we went overseas.
We certainly don't miss the depreciation. service charges, maintenance, fuel, tyres, insurance, registration, parking charges, speeding tickets and carwash expenses. Many people spend 20% or more of there income on these car expenses. So in effect they are working one day a week just for the car,

For the last 3 months we have managed fine without a car. We Ride the bus. everyday or two and walk or ride a bicycle around sometimes. The supermarket and other local business will deliver goods for a small fee. We calculate that in about 6 months without a car we will save enough to go overseas for a month or so.

We have noticed that we are getting a lot fitter since we sold the car.

We are fortunate that our daughters school is just 5 minutes walk from home. My daughter's first day walking to school.

It is true that we have to plan our outings and shopping a little more carefully but this is a small inconvenience really. We have found that travelling interstate is much easier and cheaper by public transport. It is also possible to hire a car or even a truck very easily  for a day or two at reasonable cost.

In recent months I have noticed an increasing number of folks zipping around town on motorised bicycles. These bikes have motors of less than 200 Watt power output and can be ridden without registration
license or insurance just like a bike. These bikes can have electric or petrol motors and are certainly a low cost way to travel that may become more fashionable soon particularly amongst the more intrepid retirees.

Electric Bikes are an interesting alternative. 

If you are considering a motorised bike you should investigate rules for your state, the 200 watt petrol motor conversion kit are a low cost ($385)option compared to the electric kits. There are some stylish 48cc "Easy Rider" style choppers about.

It is possible to spend thousands of dollars on a top of the range push bike.

However I bought my machine for just $30 at a thrift shop and it goes just fine.  In summer time it is just a 15 minute ride from our home to some really magnificent scenic beaches and fishing spots. It makes more sense to me to spend a day at the beach than a day working to support a gas-guzzler.

For some readers it may be more practical to buy a bicycle or conversion kit online. There is a very large range available on Amazon.com for example.

Save Money bake your own Muffins.

We made a batch of delicious and healthy muffins recipes available on line choose one that's uses vegetables oil. We use olive oil not batter  and  because it is good for the heart and health. You can use Any oil that's polyunsaturated and high in omega-3. We bought some nonstick muffin pan from Safeway. Muffins can be made with almost infinite variety of ingredients using whatever fruit you have on hand or in season. We blend the fruit with the oil and other liquids ingredients and mix with the dry ingredients.

 

 

We like to add lots of cinnamon and ginger. We used baking powder because its quick and easy.   You can also try using yeast. Use the making dough, cycle on your bread machine if you want lower sodium content. If you have you oven going to roast a chicken.There is is room for a couple of trays of muffins.

Once you start baking your own, you will never wants to buy baked goods from the supermarket again. Save money with 1 minute bread.
Malaysian's flat bread.

How to save money on your water bills.

How we save money on the water bills. We have installed a 5000 litres rain water tank in our back garden which has substantially reduced our use of town water and hence our water bill. We use the rain water for laundry and bathroom as well as on the garden. As the town water here in Portland contains quite a lot of minerals as added bonus is that we can use best laundry detergent. We find that rain water actually taste a lot better than town water and prefer to filter it and boil for tea and coffee.

 

 

 

The decisions to install a rainwater tank depends on a number of factors including the quality and cost of town water. The annual rainfall in your area and the area of your roof.Do you have a suitable space in your property for a tank? Do you access to spare cash or low interest finance? Do you pay high rates of income tax on your income? Are government grants or rebates available? Is an experienced plumber available at reasonable cost?

Our rain water tank has prove to be worthwhile for us. We like the peace of mind that comes from knowing we have a few thousand litres in reserve in case of  water interruptions or restrictions to the town supply. We are considering adding some additional storage tanks to our system. Gardening and plant more vegetables.
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How to save money on the hot water and heating.

We Installed a gas boost Solar hot water system in 2009. Our gas bill for70 days during summer was $48 consisting of $23 service to property charges and $25 for actual consumption.

 

 

Solar energy provides most of the heat required for hot water with gas boosting only required occasionally as a result our gas bill in manageable. In winter we use a gas space heater in the receiving room which provides adequate heating for the household because we have good insulation in the ceiling of the house.

 

                                                    Energy choices at the home.

Solar Panels to Generate eletricity.

We installed a 1.5 Kw Solar Panels (photo voltaic cells). On our roof a few years back in 2009, together with an inverter, an installation cost it was a sizable investment at the time, but it has proved to be worthwhile as the price of electricity continues to increase and the equipment has proved to be maintenance free.

 

 

Today is a cloudy day but the panels are still producing 500 watts. Electricity now cost around 26 cents a KWH, so each day the system generates about between $1 to $2 worth of power.

 

 

 

If we generate more power then we are using the power is fed back into the grid and we receive A$0.23 per kWh.

                                                                                    
If you are planning to sttle down for a few years and have some ready cash investing in your own solar system is something to consider. Particularly if you are fed up paying high electric bills.

Save money on toys.

It is certainly possible and very tempting to spend a small fortune on toys for the kids.
However  thrifty parents would rather save that cash for future education expenses and travel adventures. 

The secret is the 3Rs ,"reduce, reuse, recycle" .
Firstly reduce, don't buy a lot of cheap toys that will break within days but invest in a small quantity of good quality toys. It is also possible to borrow toys from the toy library here. We also save on batteries by using rechargeable batteries.
                          

Secondly reuse:  simple toys can be used in all sorts of elaborate ways which will develop your childs imagination. For instance our daughter has a collection of soft toys that star in all sorts of "pretending
games". She plays school, circus, olympics and pirates with them. A large collection of wooden blocks is also used in lots of different games. 
Thirdly:  Recycle we buy almost all of our toys at thrift shops and garage sales for a tiny fraction of the new price. We have fun making all sorts of toys out of recycled material like plastic bottles and cardboard boxes.   

One of our daughters favourite toys is "Robot Dog" he cost only $1 at a garage sale. He is missing an ear but still is a brave and very economical watch dog. Robot dog in action.
If you want occasionally  buy a brand new toy as a special treat you will find the widest choice and the cheapest prices online.
                           
Remember buy only safe age appropriate toys make sure there are no small parts or other choking hazards. A dog toys for sale at amazon.com buy now.
                                   
It is much wiser to spend more quality time with your child reading and playing with simple toys than to spend that time working to buy expensive toys.

I love my new phone!

Perhaps you are wondering what buying a new mobile phone has to do with frugal living in Australia?

Well I just love my new Samsung Galaxy

It has saved me heaps of cash already.

I no longer need to buy a geographic positioning system (a gps), a camera, a video camera, alarm clock, an FM radio or an MP3 player.

I can even make phone calls! (It works fine in rural Australia)

Its Google friendly, "powered by Android" , I can access  Google Search,  Gmail, Google Maps, Googl+, calender and Youtube while I am on the road.

It adds a new and profitable dimension to going to garage sales, I can check the ebay or amazon price of a potential bargain before buying it for later sale online,

At just 115 grams, it helps me really travel light and save a heap on excess  baggage charges. Only one rechargeable battery to keep charged. Only one manual to read,

I found the GPS really invaluable when we were moving house  moving house. from the city recently.

The Samsung Galaxy really is something no frugal and adventurous Aussie Pinay can do without!

Free Camping with a Caravan.



A Caravan Low Cost holiday acommodation in Australia.

 

 

 



 

 

In December 2009, we bought a second hand caravan from a private seller who advertised in our local news paper for just $2,200. It was a 14 foot 1980 Millard pop-top. We used it to tour around South Australia, Victoria and New South wales until August 2012. We some times stayed in caravan parks, but quite often in rest stops.  We bought a useful publication about free camping spots, it even had GPS references of each camp spots. 


Many country towns have realised the wisdom of being RV friendly and often provide free campspots just out of town with lots of facilities.

One of our favourite campspots was Gum Bend lake, just out side Condobolin, NSW.  Shower facilities, Picnic tables, boating, fishing and playground all completely free.  Generally the further away you are from the state capitals the easier it is to find free campspots.

We had no problem with the van and sold it easily on EBay after 3 years and got our money back.

We found that our Ford falcon had no trouble towing the van. The van provided cheap accommodation during our holidays at minimal cost. Smaller older model pop-tops are a good investment if you choose carefully. Be sure to check the bearings, tyres and brakes are in good condition. Smaller older vans are easy to tow and are built to last. It is wise to try a low cost van for a while before committing a newer more expensive van.

How we bought the best value house in Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

We bought a beautiful stone house with town water and eletricity on one acre of land for just $59,000. ( + Stamp duty and conveyancing about $2000.)

                                  We painted the interior  and replaced floor coverings.

 

                                                                       

                                We  mowed the lawn and tided up the backyard.

We sold the scrap wood and other materials found in the backyard tidy up for $300.

 

 

 

 

 

                               
                                                                                   
The town of Peterborough is a town that time seems to have passed by. It is well suited as secure low cost a home base for grey nomads and other retired people good health care and public transport available. Or others with steady passive income. It is only a matter of time before it is discovered by the bohemian artistic set from Adelaide, just 230 km away.
To find low cost real estate go to www.realestate.com.au select the state then search under "All suburb" then sort by price.

It pays to track your rewards points.

We cash in some reports reward points from our credit card and recieved $100 shopping voucher. If you pay for groceries etc in your card and other shopping on your card.  Chances are after a few months you will accumulate enough points for another shopping trip.

Home made bread is thrifty and tasty.

An authomatic bread maker produces a delicious and healthy loaf of bread in a few hours.
Its very simple to use weighing the ingredients ensures a excellent result everytimes.
500 grams of flour a 400 grams of water teas spone of yest and the pinch of salt. Is all you need to make a delicious loaf of bread.Here is our bread machine in action.

It is wise to buy an accurate set of digital scales and weigh the water and flour. Makes
 We actually buy our flour in 5kg bags at the supermarket, as "bread mix". Its virtually the same price as flour about $2.20 a kg and incluses a dash of salt. We use wholemeal wheat flour but there are a number of other tasty varieties available. Each 500g loaf costs about $1.10 compared to $3 or more ready made loaf at the super market.

Latest model bread maker costs around $86 new:

It will pay for itself in no time, and can even be used to make jam as well.