I don’t smoke which stops my money going up in smoke. Besides not being good for your health smoking is an expensive habit. Luckily I’ve never smoked though I have been a passive smoker. My father smoked a packet a day. He lit the next cigarette from the smouldering butt of the one before. He … More Up in smoke
My family ate meat, every night except for fish on Fridays. Lamb was our family favourite. Frequently as a family we’d go on a picnic and often cooked sausages over a fire. These were really enjoyable times. One thing I never liked though was bottled tomato sauce. I know it’s almost un-Australian not to like … More The vegetarian option
Waiting behind someone at the supermarket checkout I while away time checking out what’s in their trolley. I’m always interested but more often shocked. There’s so much soft drink in their trolley! All that soft drink must cost heaps every week. In my childhood my grandparents were the only people who supplied soft drink, lemonade. … More Temptations
This is a sensitive topic. Though a funny topic to talk about, when I mentioned this to others they say they’ve noticed similar behaviour. Is it wastefulness I want to talk about? Or excessive consumption? Maybe not really, but it’s certainly about people’s behaviour and I want to focus on one small particular aspect. In … More It disappeared quickly
While on holiday in Adelaide I paid a visit to my favourite recycle boutique, New to You. Full of pre-loved designer label clothes, I feel I’m on a treasure hunt and and wonder if I will strike gold. The joy is the searching especially when the shop is full of so many beautiful choices. The … More Do you really need that many clothes?
I need some money coming in; don’t we all! One day it struck me to see if I could teach a skill I had. OK, what skill? What can I do that many others can’t already do? Like everyone else I’m good at certain things, the things that everyone else seems good at as well. … More A skill to teach
Christmas and New Year I spent with my brother and family in Adelaide. While away I put my house up for holiday rental. Fremantle where I live is a popular tourist destination and many attractions are in easy walking distance or not far by bike and there is always the bus nearby. My house is … More Make money on holiday
Food waste is a huge issue in Australia where it is estimated 20% of food we buy is wasted. We don’t check what’s in our fridge and pantry before we go shopping, we buy too much, we forget to use what’s in the fridge. Fresh food gets left too long and spoils and we throw … More Food waste
I went to stay with my sister when she was housesitting a nice house in Sydney close to the beach. We both noticed that although the house was not seriously grubby or disgusting it needed a good clean. We wanted to clean the house to give the house a lovely inviting feeling and make our … More The cost of cleaning
Despite the poor condition and need for complete renovation I immediately accepted the offer of this chair from friends. I loved the style and cane work. The cane was grey, the metal frame was rusted and broken bits of cane strapping needed reattaching. But hey, I loved the shape, I had not seen a cane … More My cane chair rocks!
Living well on a shoestring 