Oily Rag - Frugality Takes Hold

 Read more Oily Rag articles by Frank and Muriel Newman

When the oily rag website was first published a few years back we had no idea it would grow into a community of thousands and have tens of thousands of page views a month. Frugality is obviously sweeping though the suburbs as more and more people appreciate the virtues of saving. It is also surprising that the oily rag website has a large number of overseas readers, and this week’s tips include one from Ohio in the US.

• After years of dirty nails and hands after gardening I recently discovered that if I put disposable vinyl gloves on then the knit type gloves on top - my hands remained wonderfully clean, and the disposable gloves lasted a considerable time. - N.W., Waverley.

• Go to the local Indian food emporium and buy 100 grams each of Ground Nutmeg, Ground Ginger and Ground Cinnamon. Throw together in a suitable airtight jar, shake well and sprinkle a pinch or two over rice for breakfast with a bit of honey. Add Milk or cream. OK on cornflakes and probably OK on oatmeal though haven’t tried it. Lasts quite a few months and gives plain food a lift. - Pamflitt, Hawera.

• I always buy a good quality dishwashing liquid and find I can water it down by about 3/4's and it is still effective. The cheaper liquids often lose their bubbles half way thru the wash. - HREK, Lower Hutt.

• I have a family of 7, 2 adults and 5 kids. My growing lot can go through 2 loaves of bread a day, so you can do the math with the amount I spend on bread a week, so I started experimenting with some cheaper alternatives. The best one I have come up with is this. Grab yourself a bag of high grade flour cheapest being home brand at $2.15. Add enough warm water to form a firm dough, leave to stand for 30 minutes. Break off small amounts of dough roll into a ball, then roll out on floured surface to circles about the size of small dinner plate. Heat non stick pan (medium heat) then dry fry each dough round about 2 minutes either side. One bag of flour makes about 40 "wraps". Fill with desired filling and send the kids off to school happy. I also fill them with salad, chilli and cheese. Kids think they’re much better then boring sandwiches plus you don’t need butter. So butter bill also goes down...winner! - KM, Te Puke.

• Live in a motor home or bus or van and join the Association to get tips about places where you can still camp for free. - E.L., Christchurch.

• Purchase Oat Groats (unprocessed oats) put them in a coffee grinder and grind into a powder.  Add water and soak overnight.  The next day put this in a pan with a touch of olive oil and salt.  In a few minutes, you will have oatmeal. The oat groats cost about 88 cents US per pound (in NZ terms that’s $1.12 for 450g).  Add milk and sugar. Great breakfast for hardly anything. - Motivated In Ohio, Ashtabula, OH U.S.A.

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