• Shopping savings tips
• Cooking savings tips
• Entertainment shopping tips
• Birthdays and Christmas savings tips
• Kids savings tips
• At home savings tips
• At work savings tips
• Holidays savings tips
• Luxe savings tips

• Many shops mark down perishables in the last hour before they close - this is a great time to buy bread, cakes, muffins, milk, and the chickens.
• Each week I put a little grocery money aside ($20 to $30) and after 2-3 months do a bulk shop at the market (Vic Market for me in Victoria). When I get home I divide up into individual or family meal sizes and fill up the freezer. That way I can pull out for the family or extra when people are coming over. This way we can afford to buy better meat cuts, seafood etc in bulk at a far less price than the supermarket. Even though the market is a little over an hour's drive each way, I take the esky and some ice packs for the drive. The savings are far worth it.
• There are very few brand name vs home brand items that justify the much higher price, especially in basic consumables like sugar, flour and pasta. Don’t be afraid to forgo brand loyalty and try the home brand version (chances are it’s made in the same factory) and the savings are worthwhile. Saving: approx $5 per week.
• I like the idea of a no-spend week each month whereby you forgo all purchases except for the absolute non-essential items (eg: fresh food/ groceries etc). A good way to see where savings can be made and it may help tame impulse buys because although you might think you need those red shoes you saw in the window last week you might think differently if you come back to them the following week.

• I have a big cook once a month of lunch type meals (bacon and egg pie, bread buns with spaghetti, cheese and bacon with a little oregano heated in the oven, and a few others). I freeze them in meal lots and when you feel like not cooking, they're ready and waiting instead of takeaways.
• Instead of purchasing all the pre-packaged snacks for lunches, I set aside at least one morning each week to cook with my son.... it gives him some fun and cuts our food bill. We usually make simple cakes or muffins as you can add different flavours so easily, and another favourite at the moment is the Anzac biscuits....
• Make meat go further by using heaps of veggies and stuff in dishes. For example, I can make two meatloaves out of only 500 grams of mince by adding oats and carrot and zucchini - it’s a great way to hide veggies too!
• When cooking a roast in the oven, the kids and I will do some baking (muffins, cookies etc) at the same time to take advantage of the heated oven.

• I save $20 a week for school holiday entertainment; it makes life so much easier during the holidays with the kids to have it sitting waiting.
• In many places, your can buy cheap pizza and get $2 DVDs on Tuesdays. I then make homemade popcorn. I print off movie tickets on the computer and have the snack food set up like the movie snack shop. We make pretend money then the lounge room is magically turned into the movies. The kids buy their tickets and snacks then with a torch I show them to their seats.
• Whenever we go to an event we take all our own snacks and drinks in an esky. You can buy chips, lollies and biscuits and soda or juice boxes from the supermarket and it's still so much cheaper than buying there.
• Use the internet to get free printables, colouring-in, puzzles, mazes, and sudokus to entertain the kids
• Go to the beach. This is not just a summer activity. Rug up and go to the beach but instead of swimming, see what kind of things you can find washed up on the beach! Shells, rocks, feathers, smooth sticks, etc are all very interesting! And, if you collect enough, you can take them home and make a mobile out of them or use them to decorate cards or presents for friends and family.
• If the kids want new Playstation or Xbox games, gather up all the ones that they no longer use and trade them in for a new game.