Grow your vegetables from seed. Invest in a cheap greenhouse stand so you can get spring/summer veg growing early. It is really easy and a packet of seeds only costs about $2-$3. Better yet save your own seed. This year I grew French leeks from self sown seed and tomato bushes came up in the compost, garlic from a few bulbs of last years crop. Lettuce are great self sowers as is parsley. Just let them hang out where they grow. Perennial veg like asparagus, jerusalem artichoke, herbs, strawberries/berries and fruit trees give up their bounty every year.

Chooks are cheap to keep and provide free manure and dig up the old beds for the following year. (Although hubby says he is not sure if the investment is working when they get tidbits of expensive food like tuna and salmon.)

>> Invest in a cheap greenhouse <<

Must do so soon, have too much shade AND the local possum species cover all the major food groups - they will even eat peel off the lemons.

Recently bought refurbished PC nice little compact - basic Windows added Linux for free. Will recycle old processor - too big and clunky to reburbish, but deconstructing and selling off drives, case to be recycled.

Scored cheap LED monitor from Ebay - old monitor costs more to run and was starting to fail.

Use both sides of recycled copy paper. Shred paper and use in garden mulch.

Wrap meat scraps in newspaper, just like mum used to do. Do not add to compost as meat encourages snakes, foxes etc.

Trade fruit for neighbour's eggs. Go to second hand shops - amazing what you can find. Some people throw out anything.

I find it extremely sad that we've come down to this in our society. Penny pinching.
On one hand we spend God only knows how many millions on people who aren't citizens of this country & our citizens have to resort to penny pinching.
Public servants can't spend their taxpayer funded super quick enough yet Pensioners who to a large extent worked all their life now have to save on the money they saved.
It's just getting better all the time.

So many excellent ideas provided above.

Has anyone tried solar-ovens? If so, how effective are they?

Another idea ... apparently, one can cook casseroles by bringing the temperature up to maximum and placing the cassserole dish in straw in a box and leaving several hours. Yoghurt can be made this way.

Hot water bottles instead of heating in the bedroom.

Making one's own preserves, wines and cheeses. The sap from the end of a grape stalk is recommended as a great coagulant. Have been told (although personally untried), solar ovens can be used when preserving in bottles.

Making your own interior wall paints.

And of course ... making children's paints, toys, dollhouses, etc.

Handmade crafts are welcome gifts. Many art/craft experts make their own charcoal, paints, dyes, etc.

Also ... the obvious ...

Make one's own bread, cake, pizzas, dried pasta etc. Use dried pulses instead of tinned.

All very time-consuming, of course ...

Become very familiar with nutritional needs, and keep to these when preparing food.

Make household cleaning aids ... much cheaper and healthier.

For women, make one's own beauty products ... most of the ingredients are easy to source and purer. The saving is enormous. Ingredients listed on beauty products are generally in % and many are not necessary ... Additionally, there are places teaching how to make beauty products, as well as recipe sites online.

Make paper briquettes for the open fireplace.

Get a goat is you have large enough space (and council permitting) ... wonderful for keeping blackberries, gorse etc. at bay. And great company. Ducks (and geese) are also great company ... ducks get rid of snails and slugs; geese are great weeders ... Of course, one can never eat goat, duck or goose again ...

Danielle

Loving your suggestions. Love the idea of a goat - would save much work on my steep property. We have permission for goats and many similar stock here do you recommend a Nanny or Billy? A nanny would provide milk. Would have to screen off fruit trees.

Also have wanted to make my own yogurt for some time - just haven't gotten around to it, ditto for ricotta (one of my fave cheeses and so useful for many dishes).

I invested in a pressure cooker, and with practice have made anything from braised meats, through to curries as well as swiftly made rich and hearty stocks. I think that the pressure cooker has paid for itself by now with savings on gas.