Teach you Kids to Save Money.

                                                             Celyne's when she was 3 year old.

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We started to teach our 5 year old daughter about saving when she was about 1 year old. We have opened a bank account at the Commonwealth bank for her. She now has a few thousand dollars in savings. The bank gave us a money box for saving coins in the shape of a platypus. She also has two piggy banks.  One of the coins is for coins from overseas that we bring home from our travels.  Sometimes she play shops with the foreign coins  and with her animal toys as customers. The other piggy-bank is for Australian coins.  

We pay her a small allowance. She can save some in the piggy bank or the platypus bank. When the platypus bank is full we take the contents to the Bank and deposit the cash into her account.
The piggybank is for short term savings for toys or occasional treats. The bank account is for longterm savings for her future studies at University. The account earns a good interest rate.
By encouraging our daughter to "spend some for fun but save some too", we are helping to prepare her for a prosperous and happy future.                                       

                                                  

If life gives you lemons... Make lemonade!

If you have adult taste buds you will probably enjoy bitter lemon drinks. We have a lemon tree in our garden and so we decided to experiment with home made lemonade. We just cut the lemons in half, removed the seeds. Then threw the lemons peels, pith and all in the blender with some water and a generous amount of sugar. It is the pith that gives it the bitter taste. You will need to experiment a little to get the taste just right. Keeping in mind that commercial soft drinks contain about 16 teaspoons of sugar in each can. It takes a lot of sugar to make it taste just like the commercial product. At least with home made lemon drinks there are no artificial colours or preservatives and you are in control of how much sugar you add.       

Blend on high for a few minutes then pour into a nice jug and refrigerate for a few hours. The sediment will sink to the bottom leaving a tasty delicious and very thrifty drink on top. Serve with ice cubes in a tall glass' It's delicious on a hot summers day and full of vitamins.

Save money on green vegetables. Our Silver beet (also known as Swiss Chard.)

Our silver beet is growing extremely well in just 2-3 months. Our seedlings are now fully grown. They are providing an abundance of fresh organic silver beet. The leaves just keep growing. We expect them to do so for several more months.

The challenge now is to find some healthy tasty ways to prepare it. We did some on line research and discovered that young tender leaves can be used in salads as an alternatives to lettuce. More mature leaves and stalks can be cooked quickly in the microwave or steamed and served with lemon juice and olive oil. "Spinakopita" (Greek style Spinach pie can be made with silver beet, ricotta cheese, eggs, filo pastry and is delicious. If you have blender you can make a delicious pesto sauce for pasta with some walnuts, olive oil and feta cheese simply blend them together. Warm a little in the microwave and serve on pasta. Curried chisk peas with silverbeet is also a frugal and tasty combination.

Silver beet is absolutely packed with vitamins and minerals, especially if it is eaten fresh. If you have a juice extractor try making a juice blend with silver beet and apple for a power packed start to the day.

                                                                 
                                                                                                

Save money burn fire wood for heat.

                   Wood Heat                          

                                                   

 

A big advantage of living in a rural area is that wood heating is often a viable option. Firewood can usually be purchased more cheaply in rural areas. If you are prepared to be a little resourceful it can sometimes be obtained virtually free of charge. Our friends Lita ans Sam have a large wood heater in their home which keeps them warm and cosy in the winter months. We have some experience of wood heating because recently we lived for 18 months in Condobolin N.S.W. in the house with a wood heater. We found that we need to purchase around $200 worth of firewood to get us through the winter, however we also made use of scrap wood found around the place. Wood can also be obtained from state forest at very low cost. A license to gather firewood from State forest can be obtained on line from relevant state government department. To gather firewood you will need a robust trailer or pick up truck. Chain saws are dangerous. If you do not have the necessary experience knowledge and skill to operate, a chain saw it is strongly advisable to do a formal training course at your local TA FE. In a small town there is also likely to be a wide variety of sources of scrap wood available. from , For example from old pallets, small factories and construction sites. You might like to place an ad in your local newspaper, "Scrap wood removed free of charge". It is important to avoid burning chemical treated , painted or damp wood. If you obtain green freshly cut wood you will need to cut it, store it for 6-12 months in an airy dry place before burn it. It is even possible to make briquettes using waste paper by soaking them and them compressing into handy blocks with a special press, and them allowing to dry thoroughly, this process is of course a little labour intensive. If you buy a house without a wood heater,

                                             

 

 will need to invest a fairly large amount for installing good quality wood heater to make efficient use of your wood. This investment will pay for itself in just a few winters because of the savings on heating cost. We found that our stove with a window at the front gave an abundance of cheery light and radiant heat and was usually more entertainment and relaxing to watch than T.V. The stove also produced a steady supply of wood ash which is useful source of potash and minerals for the garden. There is a certain art in lighting and managing your stove which comes with experience. It is certainly a comforting sight to have a large pile of firewood ready for the next 2 or 3 winter particularly it has been obtained at negligible cost. It means that you have to worry about a heating bills. If you are living in a rural area and you are planning a new house or renovations a wood heater is certainly well worth considering. 
           
There are thousands of other wood stove  on amazon to choose from to suit your situation.  We recommend you find out more about wood heating by reading this book;