How to cut costs on your child's school lunches!

So it's back to school time and whilst many breathe a sigh of relief, some of us endure the continuous struggle of keeping our kid's lunchboxes healthy and budget friendly. Here are a few tips and tricks to keep your kids and your wallet happy.

Tip 1:
Limit a tuckshop or canteen bought lunch for your kids to one a month. It's a special treat that way! And it means you don't spend money on food you can prepare at home yourself.

Tip 2:
Buy a pack of 6 juice boxes from the supermarket and use one a day instead of giving your child money to buy a juice at school. Or, you can decant orange juice from a larger bottle into a re-usable drink bottle. Or go for good old fashion, free water.

Tip 3:
Popcorn makes for a yummy treat! Pop it at the beginning of the week and bag it up into Ziploc bags or re-usable containers (with lid). Too easy.

Tip 4:
Home made cookies are a fantastic way to give your little sweet tooth what they want, without costing the earth. Try the Lunchbox Cookie recipe below - it's cheap and oh so easy.

Tip 5:
Make your own fruit in jelly! It's easy... simply pop some homebrand jelly crystals in your trolley. After you've made it up, divide it into some small re-usable containers (with lid) and pop in some diced apple or pear, Refrigerate individually (without the lid) and when you're ready to send it off to school, replace the lid and include a spoon.

Tip 6:
Skip those expensive cheese sticks and cut cubes from the block.

Tip 7:
Re-usable is best! When you think about how much money you are THROWING away (literally) you will be gobsmacked. Buy a good quality lunch box and re-usable containers and use instead of sandwich bags! You could save $16.00 a year per child just on wrapping!

Lunchbox Cookies Recipe
Makes 24 Lunchbox Cookies

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 12 - 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup milk powder
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup dates, chopped
150g butter, melted
1 egg, beaten

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
3. Add the butter and egg
4. Mix together with a large spoon
5. Shape spoonfuls into balls and place onto a baking paper lined oven tray
6. Flatten with a fork or the bottom of a glass
7. Bake at 200C for 12 - 15 minutes

Head over to www.bargainmums.com.au to join the discussion about how YOU cut costs on your child's lunchbox fillings!

It’s never too early for children to learn good savings habits, says Police Credit Union.

There are a number of benefits for children and teenagers to have their own bank account: they develop a sense of responsibility, become financially literate, and learn to only spend what they can afford.

Encouraging children to set aside a portion of their pocket money each week, or any money earned and given, will teach them wise saving and spending habits, the importance of budgeting, and that more money saved will result in greater interest gained.

Having a savings goal will help motivate saving practices, and can be triggered by asking children to think about the things they’d like to have or buy.

Educating young people that money needs to be earned to live, and that there isn’t an endless supply available is a vital lesson, as is learning that hard work can be rewarded with money.

Physically showing children what money looks like and the different worth of each coin or note is a valuable learning experience, and demonstrating what different amounts can buy will allow for perspective, that way the value of money is understood.

Police Credit Union has just launched their ‘Beans Savings Account’ aimed to help minors manage money, and understand the beneficial results that occur through saving.

The ‘Beans Savings Account’ is for members under the age of 18, rewarding minors for saving by offering up to 4.00% p.a interest each month.

The ‘Beans Savings Account’ also provides an opportunity for parents to contribute deposits towards the child’s savings, and interest accumulated on even small deposits over time could build to a sizable amount.

The Police Credit Union believes supporting young people is essential for the community, and the ‘Beans Savings Account’ is a conduit that provides opportunities for young people to learn about managing their money, and develop life skills that will help them for years to come.

The key feature of the ‘Beans Savings Account’ is that kids can earn 2.00% p.a paid on balances greater than $0 and there is bonus interest of 2.00 per cent paid to members who deposit a minimum of $10 and make no withdrawals during a calendar month.

The ‘Beans Savings Account’ also includes free over the counter withdrawals, as well as internet and mobile banking, BPAY, payroll, and periodical payments.

EOFY Tip: Education Tax Refund

It’s almost the end of the financial year so many parents with school age children are thinking about making the most of the Federal Government’s Education Tax Refund and wondering what their children will need in their backpack for the next year. For anyone thinking of using this money for a computer, Intel has some tips on how to pick the best one for your child’s needs.

The processor, also known as the ‘chip’ or ‘cpu’ is the ‘brain’ of the computer; it controls everything the computer does. The processor is the single most important contributor to a computer’s overall performance. Even if your computer has other great features, such as a lot of RAM (think of RAM as a computer’s short term memory) or a good graphics card, you won’t see much performance improvement if you don’t have a good processor to start with.

Netbooks are a great option for younger children. They are small and light so will fit easily into their backpack and won’t tire young shoulders. Netbooks can do the basic tasks that your child will need including writing reports in Word and researching on the web and they won’t break the bank. They also use Intel Atom processors which are energy efficient and will allow the battery to last longer.

When buying for an older student, it is worth purchasing the best notebook you can reasonably afford so that it will last all the way through school, or even into your child’s university years. The way we use computers is continually changing as we do more and more with them. Getting a computer with more top-notch features will mean that it will still be able to run really well in a few years’ time.

The refund is generally available to parents and guardians of children in primary or secondary school who receive Family Tax Benefit A and offers a refund of up to 50 per cent of the cost of certain education expenses, including notebooks and PCs. Parents can receive a refund of up to $397 for every child at primary school, and up to $794 for every child at secondary school, in the 2010-2011 tax year.

For further clarification and special conditions of the Family Tax Benefit A view the Federal Government website.

And for the full list of eligible education expenses visit the Federal Government website.

BARGAIN RECIPE: Stuffed Tomatoes

Healthy and filling... delicious served as a side or as a main.

Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves 6
These can be stuffed with bolognase sauce for something different.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
6 large, firm tomatoes
450g spinach
60g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons pine nuts
salt and pepper

Method
1. Cut the tops off the tomatoes. Carefully scoop out the pulp and discard.
2. Rinse the spinach several times under running water, shake well and cook for 7-10 minutes in just the water adhering to its leaves, in a tightly covered pan. Do not overcook the spinach.
3. Drain the spinach in a colander by pressing the water out with a saucer then chop very finely or put through a food processor to reduce to a puree. Add half the butter and season with salt and pepper and crushed garlic.
4. Fry the pine nuts in the remaining butter, stirring all the time until they are crisp and lightly brown.
5. Drain and add to the spinach puree, mix well then spoon into the tomato cases.
6. Cook in a preheated over, 180C for 20-30 minutes or until hot and not soft. Serve immediately.

Yummy!!