Let us know if you have suggestions for Frugal Kiwi. One of our favourites is Cheese Crisps – use a loaf of country-style bread sliced very thinly (better still, bake your own!), olive oil, and grated cheese. Place the bread on a baking tray, brush with the oil, lightly sprinkle over the cheese, and bake until crisp and golden – about 15 minutes. Break each slice into large pieces and serve warm or at room temperature. To turn these into an ultra-healthy treat, add a smear of marmite to the bread, or, to spice them up, add a touch of garlic to the oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and sesame seeds. For an extra special occasion, serve with dip or salsa.

Try a pot luck dinner – this when everyone brings along a plate as their contribution to the meal. That may mean you end up with multiple pavlovas and nothing much else, but that’s all part of the fun and people like pavlova anyway; it would be a bit more worrisome if you ended up with multiple beetroot salads and nothing else!

Or what about a progressive dinner. Entrée at one house, soup de jour at another, the main somewhere else, and dessert somewhere else again. That means you get to nosy around lots of house and no one person is stuck with all the preparation or all of the clean up activity.

Theme dinners can also be pot luck or progressive but the main idea is that the entire dinner takes on a theme, such as Mexican, Italian, Oriental… not only providing an interesting taste treat, but if you dress the part and listen to the music, or watch a DVD, you can share in that country’s culture too!

The one thing that’s the same for all of these ideas is the notion of fun, frivolity and frugality – that’s the oily rag way.

The flour has a cup, and the tea has a spoon.
I measure the cats dinner, soap powder and peas.
The porridge and Blitzen, sultanas and cheese.
I measure the milk for a cuppa as well.
If visitors come, you can easily tell.
I count out the squares on the loo paper too.
And use the lid on the top of the cheapest shampoo.
What all started out as a vanity whim,
has made my costs and my hips, exceedingly trim.

[What an excellent oily rag verse! Nothing terse, not even a mild curse. And the odd riddle, that made us giggle. – Oily Rag Ed’]

Candles stored in a freezer for a few days will burn slower.

Will try the teabag as firelighters that is on your tips [the teabag trick works well – Oily Rag Ed’]. Does any one else have any ideas?

Am also looking for a bread recipe. At the moment, I am using large fruit cans that are recycled.

With your baked bean challenge, baked beans are excellent emergency supplies, as they can be eaten hot or cold.

(If there is – could they please contact Oily Rag Ed!).

I am a living example of living a frugal life style. I have 4 children and a husband who all have learnt how it works. Mu eldest son is saving for a house and has told me he would rather pay me rent or board than putting the money in a stranger’s pocket. So he is able to save up for his own house while helping his family financially by paying board. What are families for?

We are here to look after one another and build each other up. As a unit we are stronger than when we are scattered.

By the way we love our vege garden and hot water solar heating system Our average power bill yearly is $140.00 for 6 people in the house! Well I could go on and on.