Here are some ideas for a great frugal Christmas.

One oily ragger writes, “During the year I have accumulated lots of reward points which I am giving as gifts. In addition to the vouchers, I will make a food item for each person so they will get a edible handmade gift, and a recycled card. That’s what I call a frugal and stress free Christmas!”

We reckon gift cards are a great way to go, especially when a suitable gift for that someone is not obvious. The great thing is that many oil raggers have squirreled away reward points during the year, which can be converted to gift cards. So no cash outlay, and the lucky person receiving the card can use them in the post-Xmas sales to maximum advantage. It makes so much sense. Just a reminder that you need to allow a week or two for the vouchers to arrive in the post – so get redeeming!

We have also been having a think about what to do with all of those presents that are simply not loved. In days gone by the prezzie currency used to be a bottle of wine – if not wanted it was simply given to someone else. Nowadays we notice that fewer people are drinking alcohol, so wine doesn’t always make the grade when trying to make an impression – unless it’s really expensive and the person receiving it knows it’s expensive! We think the new currency is a bottle of olive oil – a good quality cold-pressed boutique variety, produced locally. Locally produced honey is another great idea, and, even better, honey comb – yum!

But here are some suggestions to deal with the problem of unwanted presents:
• Sell them and save the money or use it to buy something you need.
• If you do give the present to someone else be careful that you don’t give it to the person that gave it to you! The easiest way to keep track is to keep the card it came with – or write the name of the giver on the parcel.
• Return the gift or exchange it at the store, but you will need the receipt or an exchange card.
• Donate the gift to a relative/friend or to a charity shop.
• Use it for some other purpose. For example, if someone gives you an unusual shirt you could put in the “fancy dress” box.
• Swap the gifts with others who also received “unwanted” presents. Here’s an idea: Christmas swap meetings – everyone gathers around on Boxing Day and exchanges stuff they don’t really need!
We have a challenge for you. Do you have any ideas for generic gifts that suit the person who is impossible to buy a present for? The oily rag community and millions of frantic Xmas shoppers would love to hear from you! We will post your suggestions on our oilyrag.co.nz website as soon as we receive them!

One great idea is a basket of fruit and veges – and eggs if you have hens or ducks – from your own backyard? Add some home-baking, and, hey presto, you have a perfect gift!

Annual report. We are pleased to say 2018 has been another bumper year for frugality. We have received many hundreds of tips from readers and the Oily Rag Club now has over 7,000 members. It’s amazing that people have been practising frugality since the beginning of civilisation but oily raggers are still able to come up with new and interesting ways to turn penny-pinching into serious savings. On a personal front, we have been busy planting more fruit trees and tending to the garden, which is productive all year round. We are also figuring out ways to recycle building materials and refresh furniture because we are in the middle of a house renovation which is a challenge.

Best wishes for a fun and frugal Xmas! Frank & Muriel Newman.

The good news is that the cost of an electric vehicle has gone down 5 cents a km over the last year to 76 cents, but the cost of a conventional petrol vehicle is up 3 cents a km, also to 76 cents. The convergence of the costs has for the first time brought electric vehicles costs on a par with petrol.

It is highly likely that the running cost of electric vehicles will continue to come down, relative to petrol, as the production of electric vehicles increases and the price per unit falls. Given the simplicity of an electric engine, we believe there is potential for transport costs to be reduced significantly in the future. For most of us, the up-front cost of owning an electric is still too much of a hurdle so it looks like we will be still filling up at the petrol station for a while yet.

Paul has a tip for frugal motorists. “There is an app for mobile phones for this called ‘Gaspy’. It’s a kiwi bit of software using the GPS on your phone it shows the cheapest petrol stations near you and the distance from your current position to it.”

Gaspy is well worth a look if you want to get the best deal on 91, diesel, and 95 fuels. This is how they describe themselves: “The prices on Gaspy are crowd-sourced which means we rely on like-minded consumers to locate and share the best fuel prices in NZ for shared benefit. By working together we can all enjoy cheaper gas and put pressure on Big Oil to maintain competitive pricing.”

While the data does not come from service stations directly and may not include all outlets, a look around the site shows crowd-power is providing sufficient data to achieve the objective – which is to show users where they can buy the cheapest fuel. In the Bay of Plenty and Auckland areas, for example, they say savings typically are about 13 cents a litre. In Northland and the Waikato, it’s 10 cents.

It’s easy to use. Just put in the location you wish to search. The APP will then list the outlets ranked by price. Select the location and it will take you to Google maps to so the location. Click directions and the navigation will take you there. Simple. Money saved.

Not only is the APP great for those who want to save money, but also for those who want to do their bit to bring greater competition to the fuel retail industry. There is no question competition results in better pricing for the consumer, and that’s a great thing. Consumer power is market democracy in action.

We use the APP, and find it especially useful when we are visiting a town and we don’t already know where the best deals are, or filling the tank on a long trip. By thinking ahead a hundred kilometres or so, we can plan the pit stop and get the best economy from the refill. As a general rule, we have found Gull is typically the cheapest place to fuel-up – their self-service stations in particular.

While on the subject of fuel prices, something to think about when you are replacing your vehicle is the type of fuel it uses. Most cars run on 91 octane, but some run on the higher 95 octane fuel. These are generally higher performance cars with higher compression. There is no benefit in using 95 petrol in a car where the manufacturers recommend using 91.

The higher octane fuel costs anywhere between 10 and 20 cents more a litre, depending on where you shop. That’s significant money over the life of the vehicle. We recall the case of a motorist who was bragging about how frugal they were because they shop around for the lowest fuel. They were less effusive when it was pointed out that having a vehicle that ran on 95 octane fuel instead of 91 was adding at least 10 cents a litre to their fuel bill.

Did you know that tyre pressure affects fuel consumption because when under-inflated their rolling resistance increases? According to one tyre company, every 10% under the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure costs about 2.5% in fuel consumption. So if a tyre is running at 27 PSI instead of 30 the extra fuel consumption will cost about six cents a litre based on today’s pump price. To find out what tyre pressures are recommended for your vehicle, go to energywise.govt.nz/tools/tyre-pressure, or look for a sticker in your car’s door jam – or check your owner’s manual. The recommended pressure for most cars is usually between 30 and 35 PSI.

It’s amazing how many money saving and money making opportunities are springing up from the IT revolution. The buzzword is “connectivity”. It’s now so much easier to connect with folk without moving our lips, which is a remarkable thing! Here’s an example.

Harriet from Brisbane writes, “Use the Kerb app to park or lease a space to save money on parking or earn money renting a space you don’t use!”

This Kerb app is new to us, so we did some snooping on www.kerb.works.

Essentially it works like any market that brings buyers and sellers together. In this case, the “product” is a parking space. Usually, it’s somewhere to park a car or motorbike, but it could also be a marina berth, or a helicopter pad – no doubt many oily raggers will be either looking for space to park their helicopters or have helipads available to rent!!

The way it works is very similar to AirBnB, but for parking spaces rather than living spaces. It’s a great idea. It will be of particular interest to those with a parking space but no vehicle, as well as businesses that may have surplus car parks as part of their office lease. We know of one company for example that was committed to taking six car parks as part of their lease, but after changing the nature of their work only needed two.

Kerb started in Australia but now operates in a bunch of cities, including Auckland. Their website shows that in downtown Auckland there are car parking spaces available from $10 a day. Bookings may be for one or more days, with discounts for the longer term.

It’s a great idea and shows how developed the “sharing” economy has now become.

The big players in this economy are, of course, Uber and AirBnB.

Although Uber was the first ride-sharing cab off the rank there are now a number of companies operating this type of service, so those wanting to earn some extra money as a driver have options. Zoomy is already operating in Auckland and Wellington, and a company called Ola is about to enter the market offering a lower per-ride commission rate.

While snooping around the sharing economy we came across a bunch of other not so well known sharing sites, including one called Dog Buddy. It’s a dog minding service where those with pets that need to be minded, connect with those who have the time and desire to mind them. For pet owners it’s a great alternative to kennels (which is a little like a boarding house and you never quite know what your pooch gets up to!) and a great way for people who love pets to spend time with a pooch and get paid for it.

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Alchemist from Dunedin writes, “Sometimes buying meat from a butcher is cheaper than the supermarket. Shop later in the day and make friends with your butcher. S/he will be happy to tell you how to get the best out of cheaper cuts”.

Rosiesview from Whangarei writes, ” When we are lucky enough to get free Limes we juice them and freeze the juice. We use it all year for cooking – and in drinks. Homemade Lemon Lime & Bitters is a particular favourite, along with Thai recipes.

Peedeenz from Hastings writes, “To get a better tasting citrus juice, do not – or try not to – get the oil from the skin in the juice. This is the stuff that they make into the citrus cleaner and is quite bitter. Next time you peel an orange or lemon, squeeze a bit of peel and you’ll see a fine mist spray from the skin. This is limonene. It is quite flammable and can soften adhesives used to attach jar labels. If you are courageous, gingerly taste it… yuck! It takes a lot of sugar to disguise its taste, so don’t include it. Either peel the fruit if you use a press or wash it off your hands after ‘squeezing’ each fruit if you use a lemon squeezer. The time spent doing either will give you a healthier juice and save you money on unnecessary sugar.”

A reader writes, “I am looking forward to the next Little Garden promotion by New World. My kids love collecting the seeds and watching them grow in the raised garden we have created. The Little Garden website says they are planning some exciting things ahead. Can’t wait.”

Unfortunately, New World has in the last day or so said they will be replacing the Little Garden promotion with one to reduce food waste. That will be a disappointment to many. While reducing waste is good, oily raggers are frugal folk tend to hate waste already! But what do you think?

September is the start of the best season of the year for the garden – and now is the time to get things ready for the harvest to come.

The secret to a good DIY garden is placing the growing beds in the right location and getting the soil right. With the basics in place, your garden will probably produce much more than your family alone can eat.

Raised garden beds about 300mm high are popular because the frames are moveable, and the beds are easy to work and free draining. Having a number of beds allows crop rotation and the opportunity to “recondition” soil in the bed(s) not being used. Growing a green fertiliser crop like lupin or mustard seed is good.

The ideal garden should be sited to collect plenty of afternoon sun. The sun warms the soil, and the warm soil then acts as an incubator for growth. The site should also be sheltered from chilly winds – preferably fringed by protecting trees and shrubs, but not so close that they block out the sun or that their roots invade your garden and steal valuable nutrients.

Once the site is right, the next thing to attend to is the soil. If your soil is heavy clay or infertile, then goodness will need to be introduced. You can, of course, buy various fertilisers at your local nursery, but those living off the smell of an oily rag will want to avoid this.

Animal manures are excellent fertiliser, but most will need about six weeks to dry out, otherwise it may burn the roots of young plants. Other sources of goodness are home-made compost, blood and bone (dead carcasses), haystack bottoms, sawdust, seaweed, lake-weed, and leaves.

For free sawdust, try a local wood-turner, joiner or timber-mill. These guys have heaps of wood shavings and dust and they are normally glad to give it to you because it costs them money to remove it. Make sure the sawdust is from untreated wood.

Seaweed and lake-weed can be collected while on a family outing, a sack full of leaves can be gathered from your own yard or from a local park, and haystack bottoms from farmers, who also may be able to supply various types of manure. Stables, of course, are a goldmine for the manure collector!

If you are new to gardening then you may want to start with seedlings, but those with some experience will find it even more satisfying propagating their own seeds. It really is so easy, and nothing beats fresh vegetables from your garden – even silver beet tastes good!

A reader from Northland, in a place well known for citrus growing, says they juice all of their surplus mandarins. The juice is sweet and delicious, and it freezes so well that the benefits extend far beyond the growing season.

For sour varieties of citrus, cordial may be the way to go. A mix of fruit juice, sugar, and water, there are lots of ways to go about making the concentrate that allow you to alter the ratio of sugar to suit your taste and the bitterness of the juice being used.

An oily ragger from Whangarei says they carefully planned their small citrus orchard so it provides a continual supply of oranges, mandarins, and tangelos, throughout the winter months. That was a few years ago and they are now seeing the benefits. “We planted oranges, mandarins and tangelos. We also have a grapefruit tree, a lemon tree and a lime tree which are cropping very heavily. The trees are easy care and we benefit from the fruit at a time when other things are out of season and right when we need the extra vitamin C.”

The oily ragger has so many limes that he would like to hear from others about ways to use them all. Perhaps you have a favourite lime marmalade, a special dessert that uses limes, or do you have a favoured lime-based dressing for salads or seafood? If you have some suggestions to share, please contact us through our website at www.oilyrag.co.nz.

Those who have more fruit than they need can, of course, donate it to others. Maureen writes, “One of our local community centres has a food cart outside it. Anyone can drop off food such as grapefruit, lemons, baking, leftovers from local cafés etc and anyone can pick them up. When people leave something they put a post on the Neighbourly community FB page. Such an unselfish, helpful idea.”

Some oil raggers like to barter their homegrown fruit and vegetables with other like-minded individuals. How about this for an idea? A money-free home-growers market where back-yard grown produce is bagged in 2.50 trade dollars, 5 trade dollars and 10 trade dollars sized bags, and traded for other produce of an equivalent value. Best of all, surplus produce is exchanged for produce that is needed and no money changes hands – just bags of homegrown goodies.

Here are some tips for those wanting to grow their own citrus. Now is the time to plant. They grow best in a warm, sunny spot sheltered from strong winds. They don’t like wet feet, so make sure the soil is free draining – or if you have a heavier soil, then plant on a raised mound or on a hillside. Citrus like to be fed and love seaweed tonic. Make your own by placing washed seaweed in a sugar sack, which you then submerge in a barrel of water. After a few weeks you will be able to start drawing off seaweed soup concentrate. Dilute about five parts water to one part concentrate when watering the citrus. They also like potash, which for most oily raggers is provided from their wood burning fire. If the leaves of your citrus are yellowing then its most likely due to a nutrient deficiency.

Teresa from Auckland writes, “As a bathroom cleaner, I use one bar of sunlight soap and a green foam ‘scratchie’. It sits in my shower and I clean one wall every second day or so. Works a treat.”

Maureen has some advice for beating the winter chill. “I have just made a draught stopper from left over polar fleece and soft toy filler. Also in older houses check that windows and doors are closing right shut. If not buy the stick on strips for the areas where the windows and doors do not meet the frames.”

Butterfly Lady from Blockhouse Bay writes, “Slow cookers are a great way of cooking casseroles/stews but who can afford to buy one? Try making your own slow cooker… it’s called a straw box. I use a strong carton or a chilly bin, which I pad with towels (or any clean insulation fabric/paper), one folded neatly in the bottom. To prepare your stew, use a casserole dish (with a lid) on the top of the stove. Bring the finished stew to a rolling boil – stir it well to make sure ALL is boiling. When the recipe says “leave it to simmer for x hours” transfer the pot and lid into the straw box. Ensure all the nooks are stuffed with insulation. Close the carton and put to one side for at least four hours. You cannot overcook a stew made in this way. After four hours, test the meat with a skewer to make sure it’s cooked. I once cooked a meal as I drove between Auckland and Taupo!”

As a matter of interest a straw box comes by many names, including a haybox, fireless cooker, insulation cooker, wonder oven, or its more generic name of retained-heat cooker. They became popular during WWII as a way of conserving energy. Things are not so desperate nowadays, although commercial versions are still used by campers. All sorts of materials can be used for the insulation besides hay – shredded paper works well! In fact, anything can be used as long as it packs down well and creates small pockets of air.

Peedeenz from Hastings writes, “For those with welding and mechanical skills and a bit of spare time, converting old decommissioned propane cylinders into a pot belly stove for heating the shed works well. There are a number of YouTube videos showing how to do this. Since scrap metal dealers don’t want the cylinders, go to the place where they retest them and ask if you can have the failed ones. They have no valves, a hole has been drilled in them to prevent them from being used again, and they have been washed out during the testing process. Angle grinders, a cheap arc welder and a bit of scrap metal can turn out a nice little shed heater. Use it safely to burn old pallet wood and junk mail brickettes – homemade of course. It can be mounted outside the shed and the heat ducted in to the shed if there are safety concerns. Use the ash from paper and untreated wood in the garden as it is a source of potassium. Use an old speaker magnet to remove the nails from the ash. Have a warm winter!”

Adrienne from Christchurch has a couple of pie recipes to share. “Here’s a recipe for those with a toastie pie gadget. Cut a pastry square in half and place on the toastie pie maker. Use leftover mince, spaghetti, baked beans or a mixture of chopped onion, bacon, 1 egg, and grated cheese. Put the other pastry half on top and lower the lid but don’t click it down because it allows the lid to rise as the pastry cooks. Eat hot or wrap in plastic film and place into an ice cream container before freezing. Something different for lunch!”

The second recipe is a quick and easy bacon and egg pie. “I use a pastry square on a casserole lid or pie plate to make this. Cook half a cup of peas. Boil a potato and slice. Chop up a slice of bacon and an onion. Place the bacon and onion on the pastry first, then other ingredients. Beat two eggs and add a tablespoon of milk. Pour over the mixture then top with grated cheese. Seal the top by folding the corners over and cook in an oven for 25mins.”

Nmkozik from Oamaru says she swaps home grown veges with neighbours – as well as giving surplus produce to her elderly neighbours, so they don’t go without. What a nice person Nmkozik is, and it just goes to show the good things that come from living off the smell of an oily rag.

• About 40% of all household heat is lost through the ceiling, so insulate this first (it’s a little like you putting a hat on!). Ceiling insulation needs to be 100mm to 150mm thick to be effective, and it needs to be airtight, so there are no sneaky leaks.
• Walls account for about a quarter of lost heat, but these are more difficult to insulate unless you are building a new home or extensively renovating. One way to insulate is to reline the interior walls with gib board. We are doubtful about the economic benefits of going to the expense of injecting foam into the walls and that sort of thing.
• Raised wooden floors can also be a problem. It is estimated that just over 10% of heat loss is through the floor. Wood fiber insulation board and floor coverings are an effective way of minimizing heat loss through the floor. Another alternative is to fit insulation below the floor. You have no doubt seen the advertisements for polystyrene insulation that fits between the floor joists, but some people just staple cardboard between floor joists to create an insulated layer of air.
• Just over 10% of the heat of a household is lost through windows. Well-made, full-length curtains or thermal drapes are a simple answer. Thick, heavy fabrics are the most efficient. Light materials should be lined. Because a lot of air is lost around the edges, the curtains should extend 150mm on each side, and below the base of the window. A full pelmet is recommended. Heavy drapes are more heat efficient than blinds.

We think the best way to approach heating solutions is to look at the lowest cost options first – curtains. They can be made very cheaply as K.W. writes, “We have recently lined the existing curtains in our house with new woollen blankets from the army surplus shop. The blankets are folded double and stitched together making an open ended bag which is then attached to the curtain at the top so that the completed article consists of three layers, being the original curtain and two thicknesses of woollen blanket. This has increased the average temperature in the house appreciably by reducing the heat loss through the glass. We believe this to be far more cost effective than double glazing.”

There are lots of others things you can do like making your own “stop draught sausages” to eliminate door draughts. This is a fabric sausage filled with sand or sawdust. By adding buttons as eyes, these sneaky heat hounds develop a personality of their own and can be an excellent family project!

• Leaky window and door joinery can be sealed with sealants or a self-adhesive foam strip.
• A wood burning coal range or potbelly stove is a cheap way to heat your home and a great way to save on cooking costs. A lot of the warm air from stoves gets trapped in the ceiling – it’s amazing how hot it gets up there, where it’s not needed.
• The best way to make use of this wasted heat is to have a ducted ventilation system that takes the warm air from around the stove and pushes it through to the colder parts of the house, but there are limits on how far you can duct without significant heat loss. A cheap version is to install a small swivelling fan high up in a corner of a room to drive warm air down to where you need it most.
• Warm a bed rather than a bedroom. Electric blankets are very cheap to run and hot water bottles even cheaper.
• A thick layer of newspaper under mats keeps the room warmer in winter and makes the carpet last longer.

For those with fireplaces, John has sent us his ‘recipe’ for making a perfect oily rag fire. “It all starts with junk mail. Use the newsprint type as the glossy paper does not burn so well. Next add dead cabbage tree leaves – the one’s that wrap around your mower blades and are really difficult to remove. Take a handful, fold them, and wrap them together. Then comes the kindling. I use dried flax flower stalks. Break them into pieces about 330 long – they work a treat. Then it’s a layer of pine cones. Once they are hot and roaring, I add the large pieces of firewood. Start with a softwood like pine, and after that use a mixture of hardwood and softwood. Before bed, add only hardwood so it lasts through the night. Next morning it’s just a matter of bringing it back up to the desired heat. The best thing is all of the materials are available free.”

Some regions have started harvesting olives. An oily ragger up north says they have some mature olive trees that are providing them with enough very tasty olive oil to last a whole year. This is how their numbers work. A mature olive tree will produce up to 20kg of fruit. The yield to oil is usually between 15% and 20%, so 20kg should produce between 3 to 5 litres of oil. The trick is picking them – which can be time-consuming if picking by hand – and finding a local olive press that will handle the quantity. Most processing companies have a minimum quantity – depending on the size of their press – so it may be a case of finding other olive tree owners and combining crops to meet the minimum requirement. In any case, don’t just let your olives go to waste!

John has a tip for raised gardens. “I make them, out of discarded pallets. There is a business not far from us that puts them outside their premises for people to have free. I dismember them and re-cut the timber to suit. The result is about 800mm by 500mm by 300mm high. It takes about three pallets to make each one. The timber is not treated so it won’t last forever, but the price is right (!) and there’s no shortage of them.”

Mary has a trick for winter gardening. “We have a number of raised garden beds. This is an ideal base to add a mini greenhouse. We built one that was only about 500mm high with a sloping lid which can be propped up with some old casement stays we had in the shed (my hubby never throws anything out!). It’s perfect for winter greens, and a great way to utilise beds that would otherwise sit empty over winter”.

Speaking about beds sitting idle over winter if you have unused space in your garden, why not grow a green nitrogen crop like lupin and mustard seeds to add goodness ready for spring planting.

For many oily rag gardeners comfrey is an essential part of their gardening regime. The leaves are rich in nutrients and break down quickly in a compost bin. To make comfrey fertiliser soup, half fill a container with comfrey leaves and top it up with water. Put a cover over and let it brew for a month or so. It’s quite powerful so dilute it before applying to plants. Plant comfrey under fruit trees to draw up nutrients from deep in the soil.

Seaweed can also be made into a soup for the garden. We sun-dry the seaweed, then stomp on it with heavy boots. The bits are then placed into a drum of water and left to brew for about six to eight weeks. We draw off the syrup into plastic milk bottle containers and store for use later. We dilute the concentrate about five to one and apply to leafy vegetables and fruit trees. The result is vibrant and healthy plants that are disease resistant.

Winter is a good time for making compost to use in spring. Bev writes, “There are a couple of kitchen waste products that are also good fertilisers for the garden. Egg shells are high in calcium so do the same job as lime. I store the shells for a week then bake them for about 20 minutes in a moderate oven (after the roast comes out). I grind them up into a fine powder and spread directly over a garden bed. Coffee grounds have a high nitrogen content so I spread them on leafy crops or add them to our compost bin.”

Those are great tips from Bev. Why not see if your local coffee shop has grounds available for free. It means they will not have to pay for the cost of disposal and you will have free fertiliser. Worms like coffee too, so the grounds can also be used for worm farms.

Now is also a good time to tend to last year’s strawberry crop by removing and planting the runner plants. The best runners to plant are the ones closest to the mother plant. It’s good practice to replace about a third of your weaker or older plants every year. Strawberries also suit being planted in large pots, so if you have an excess of runners that’s a good way to use them. One oily ragger has written to us to say they are using their runners to create a vertical garden by hanging pots of strawberries on a wall in their garden.

Josephine from Otorohanga has some suggestions about dehydrating greens. “I removed some leaves from a red cabbage and dried them for hours in the oven on a low heat. Next, I did kale on a cake rack in the electric fry pan squashed under the high lid on the lowest setting for about four hours, turning it until there was no steam on the glass lid. Greens shrink amazingly. I then whizzed them and put them in a screw-top jar. I sprinkle 1 teaspoon per person on each dinner plate, or in each serving of soup. It’s yummy and healthy. The cheapest dehydrating is in the sunshine. I place the leaves in a bug proof cage – it takes about four days in the sunshine.”

Gaynora from Kapiti says, “I’m shocked over the number of disposable cleaning cloths in supermarkets. I cut up old tee shirts etc then use and reuse them. I can still have different colours for different tasks.”

A budgeting advisor writes, “I would like to share with you information about the MoneyMates program the Budget Services provide around the country. MoneyMates is a free, confidential educational program to learn and share in a comfortable environment. A small group of persons get together to learn and share about financial topics that are relevant to them: best way to get a loan, consumer rights, Kiwisaver, tips on making ends meet, etc. It is a great program and we would like more people to know about it!”

We have discovered that MoneyMates it is part of a Ministry of Social Development initiative called “Building Financial Capability”. They say:

MSD has changed how it funds and supports budgeting services. A new approach, called Building Financial Capability (BFC), was developed through co-design with the sector. The aim of BFC is to build the financial capability and resilience of people, families and whanau experiencing hardship.

We are putting in place a suite of products and services from prevention to intensive support that will help people have:

• reduced unproductive debt
• reduced stress caused by financial problems
• increased short- and long-term savings
• improved financial confidence and capability
• improved resilience to cope with financial shocks
• improved financial and material wellbeing.

They say there are four core parts to delivering BFC.

1. Financial mentors – focused on helping people with their finances
2. MoneyMates – peer-led support group programme that encourages people to learn from others as they talk about money and finances in a group situation
3. MoneyMates Fund – grants to support innovative ideas that will build the financial capability of people in hardship
4. Community Finance Initiative – affordable credit for individuals on low incomes.

Any initiative to help people take control of their money is good but we wonder if MSD and its BFC is getting a little bit too fancy for its own good. We think it’s pretty simple – if you save part of everything you earn then tomorrow will be better than today. How do households on a low income save money? The same way everyone else does – by not spending everything they earn. The easiest way to do that is to put something into a dedicated and preferably untouchable savings account – like Kiwisaver.

Saving involves setting priorities – and doing what oil raggers do – growing your own fruit and vegetables, drinking lemon water instead of expensive sugary drinks, making lunch each day instead of buying it, not wasting money on smokes and booze, giving up the Sky subscription, using the local library, seeing a trip to McDonald’s as an occasional treat rather than a regular event, buying from an op’ shop instead of hire purchase, and all of the other things which each save a few dollars, but add up to many dollars by the end of the week.

While the MSD may have well-intentioned programmes encouraging better money management, our observation is those who most need to save don’t, and won’t unless they are compelled to do so. Unfortunately, not a lot is done in the schools to teach young people about money – it seems the priorities nowadays are on other worthy causes like recycling and worm farms. Saving money does not make the grade as something to be encouraged, despite its huge importance.

Caro wrote in response to a column about recycling and says, “I live in Auckland and around this area there is the ‘Free Cycle’ website which people can join, where everything is free. The ‘Neighbourly’ web site also has free stuff and wanted free stuff. There are recycling depots around Auckland, where you can now go to get cheap items. I hate seeing rubbish dumped on the roadside when the Auckland Council has a recycling site.”

Caro also has some no-nonsense comments about managing money. “People spend too much on vices. They do not know how to budget. All these agencies are handing out lunches, raincoats, shoes, breakfasts etc, when other people are looking after their children – stop some of it and make people budget for the necessities. Every State house around where I live has a Sky dish, and flash cars parked in the driveway. I own my own home, have one income and cannot afford Sky! Why can they? Because their children are being provided all the free stuff because they scream poverty. Grow a vegetable garden, budget hard and be money smart – it is not hard. I brought up three strapping lads on my own with no help. I cooked, grew vegetables, shopped savvy at the markets, never ever had handouts for anything – and they have gone on to places, as did I. I feel good about the journey and it makes you a better person for it.”

Bill tells a story about a chap who was only able to work part-time because he did not have transport to get to work. “He spent whatever money was in his pocket – whatever his kids wanted, they got, until the money ran out. So his boss had a chat to him about saving and they agreed that he would hold back something from every pay and put it into a savings account. Within a few months there was enough put aside to buy a car, and he was then able to get full-time employment… “

J.P. from Auckland writes, “Anything bought from an Op’ shop saves you 15 percent GST – on top of a bargain.” The IRD website confirms donated goods and services sold by non-profit bodies are exempt from GST so they do not include GST in their prices. It’s no wonder charity shops are so popular!

Essie from Auckland writes, “Coffee. To save money, and for health, I dig up, wash and dry a few dandelion roots when they get in the way in the garden. When using the oven for something else, I pop the roots in for about 10 minutes all up to get them to dark brown colour (never burnt). Cool, and store in the fridge in a jar. When I want to spin out my morning coffee, I take about two tablespoons of dandelion root and a dozen coffee beans, and grind them up together for a nutritious, inexpensive cuppa. I don’t like strong coffee, so this suits me fine, and the dandelion is good for the liver – win, win!”

We know how nice Loquats are but Essie has this tip about using the seeds. “I steam (or boil) the big seeds until edible. They can be ground up and used in making almond biscuits with a little almond essence. A Taiwanese lady told me loquat leaves are a tonic – they pick a couple, leave them to dry in the house, then crunch them into a fine powder and steep in boiling water before drinking as a tea tonic.”

Oily Rag Ed’ – There are some who say the seeds are poisonous (and other seeds as well) so just check before using. We have some Loquat trees that will be fruiting this year for the first time so we are very interested in learning more about this. Let us know your thoughts.

Dutchapple from the Coromandel has this tip. “When bottling relish, stop the sterilised jars from cracking by placing a knife into the hot relish to help release air.”

Adriana from Auckland has a question: “What’s the best thing to do with old broken unusable phones?”  We know a family that placed all of their old mobile phones in a time capsule. They removed the batteries then wrapped them in water tight plastic bags. They took the view that they may be collector’s items when the capsule is opened! What do you do with your old phones?