Hello; I’m Ruth Kendall. Welcome to this blog. I live in Fremantle on the West Coast. I’d love to share my tips and tricks on ways to treat yourself well while looking after your money. There are many ways to still live well and enjoy life when you don’t have much. Take action to live better with less by being clever and wise with your money.
I’m writing this post in my public library. Cold, wet weather and dust, noise and chaos due to building works have driven me out of my house. The warm, light filled library allows me to dry out after being caught in the rain. A wall in my house has come down to make my kitchen … More Have snacks on hand
When I swim, occasionally I find pieces of wood, jarrah, only found in Western Australia, on the floor of the ocean. Jarrah was often used for building boats and jetties and when these needed replacing the wood was often jettisoned into the ocean. The jarrah I find has been sculpted by the sea and sea … More A light bulb moment
The last of my Paw Paw lip balm. This appeared to be the case as I squeezed the tube with all my strength. No matter how hard I pressed nothing came out. But was it empty? No, there’s always some left inside impossible to extract. Not being able to squeeze any more out doesn’t mean … More To the last drop
I’ve just gotten over a cold. Well, it is winter and my house is not the warmest. This cold was accompanied by an irritating cough that would escalate in the evenings and wouldn’t stop. The usual pattern is a two week timeframe for my colds whether I take medication or not. As there doesn’t appear … More Winter colds
Last week I wrote about my trip to Lake Ballard, north of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. While I was away people stayed in my house through Airbnb. In fact, for about three weeks my house was occupied through Airbnb. Prior to travelling out to the Goldfields, my friend Frances invited me … More Double or … ?
For some time I’ve wanted to go to Lake Ballard, north of Kalgoorlie, to see Antony Gormley’s sculptures. As the 51 sculptures were installed in 2003 it has taken me quite awhile to make the journey. Lake Ballard and the sculptures were worth the wait and the 740km drive from Perth. To see the sculptures … More Camping Trip
Not so long ago I celebrated my birthday. With lots happening I took a break from this blog. The break led me to consider whether to continue with Living Well on a Shoestring, take a new direction or do something different. Something that struck me was the effort it seemed to take to come up … More Birthdays
Like anyone else I don’t like receiving bills. When bills arrive I might even take a day or two to open them as I’m afraid of the amount of money due. Nevertheless I don’t forget they’re there and I don’t leave it too long to open them. I then record in my diary the bill … More Pay bills on time
Home cooking is the most economical way to eat. Of course for special occasions many of us like to celebrate by eating out. And we can afford to eat out by eating in more often. I have come across interesting articles about how little home cooked meals can cost. Today I saw an article where … More Eat at home
Keeping fit will in the long run save you lots of money. In today’s newspaper was an article “Keeping fit cuts cancer risk”. The research from the US showed that by keeping fit you protect yourself against getting cancer. The fittest people more than halved their risk of bowel or lung cancer and cut their … More Keeping fit
Living well on a shoestring 