Thanks for writing
A big thank you for sending in your moneysaving tips. Your suggestions are a great support to those who need to tighten their belts to make ends meet or are saving to make tomorrow better.
Caro wrote: “I live in Auckland, and around this area there is the ‘Free Cycle’ website that people can join, where everything is free. The Neighbourly website 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.”
She 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.”
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 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 fulltime employment.”
Essie (Auckland): “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 to get them to a 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 . . . the dandelion is good for the liver.”
Essie has this tip about using loquat 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.”
(Some say the seeds are poisonous, so check before using.)
"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 to get them to a dark brown colour (never burnt). Cool, and store in the fridge in a jar."