For many, the global economic crisis is still very real for most people, even though those in the media say that the worst is behind us. For some putting family meals on the table that are nutritious, taste great, whilst being cheap can be a challenge.

So I thought today that I’d share some cheap meal ideas that are easy to make and cost around $10 or so.
For me, vegetables are the key in developing cheap meal ideas and are obviously nutritious as well. Proteins like meats, poultry and seafood are obviously important, but they tend to be the most expensive cost in any recipe. So going down the vegetarian path is the first part and then adding them to pasta, rice, nuts and even lentils also keeps the costs down.

Cheap Meals don’t have to taste cheap, so here are some Cheap Meals Ideas which have a gourmet flavour and don’t cost a lot to make;

Oven Roasted Pumpkin Risotto with Thyme

Everyone loves risotto and pumpkin is ultra cheap. If you oven roast the pumpkin together with some fresh thyme it will give your risotto a great flavour. As an addition, try freshly chopped spinach which will give it a great colour as well. If you wanted to add some other ingredients, then you can add bacon, chicken or mushrooms.

Zucchini Slice

My favourite vegetable is zucchini and I love making this slice. It’s kind of like quiche and you can make it with a pastry or without. I simply grate a couple of zucchinis, onions and carrots then combine them with eggs, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. I then pour into a baking tray. I bake for about 35 minutes at 180 degrees. Once again you can flavour with something like ham if you don’t want it vegetarian. Zucchini Slice can be served by itself or with something a protein on the side.

Mixed Mushroom Linguine

Pastas are considered by many as a cheap meal idea and this mixed mushroom pasta is no exception. Using a mixture of button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and enoki mushrooms, sauté these in a little butter and garlic till golden brown. Then deglaze with a little white wine and cream and reduce till a think creamy sauce. Then toss in a hand full of linguine, chopped Italian parsley and serve with parmesan cheese.

Chopped Salad

Relatively unknown in Australia, the Chopped Salads is well know at diners across the USA as it accompanies most meals, however the chopped salad can be served by itself. The Chopped Salad is exactly as it suggested with all the salad ingredients chopped usually into bit sized pieces and tossed together with a dressing of some sort. I like a simple balsamic. My chopped salad includes tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, celery, Spanish onions, avocado, dill and crumbled feta cheese.

Sweet Potato and Corn Soup

We couldn’t have written about Cheap Meal Ideas without including a soup of sorts. I regularly make this Sweet Potato and Corn Soup at home and is simply peeled sweet potato, corn, stock and cream. I bring it to the boil for approx 35 minutes, and then blitz it up in the food processor. My secret is to only put half the corn in first and reserve half for after it’s blended. Add cream and some fresh herbs for added flavour. Serve with butter and freshly baked French stick (or just plain old toast!)

Burgers

Ok, I mentioned that I was going to avoid proteins and concentrate on vegetables, but the humble burger is a great cheap meal. I find the key is in the burger patty. I commonly use two different minces – lamb and beef, breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, egg, salt and pepper. Then stack your burger up with fresh lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese and ketchup and you’ve got a great cheap meal.

Quiche Ideas

Everyone loves a quiche and the best thing about a quiche is the flavours ideas are endless. There are of course your classics like tomato, Florentine (spinach) and Lorraine (bacon and cheese); but there are many others. Why not try caramelized onions and roast capsicum or pumpkin, pinenuts and asparagus. For mushroom lovers, why not make a mushroom quiche. Quiche ideas are endless and the fillings can be from using leftovers in the fridge. Serve with a freshly tossed side salad.

Quesadillas

I first experienced Quesadillas at a small hole in the wall Mexican diner in Los Angeles and since then I always frequent that place when I’m in California. Quesadilla is a toasted tortilla with melted cheese inside and some sort of filling. Quesadilla’s are traditionally filled with chicken, pork or beef, but they can also have mixed fillings. You can make some great fillings using mushrooms, Spanish onions, asparagus, pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes and olives to name just a few. The herb of choice here is coriander and don’t forget to serve with sour cream and guacamole on the side.

Frittata

Unlike a quiche which is baked in the oven, a frittata is like cooked on the stove in a frying pane or skillet. But like a quiche, frittata fillings are endless. Some people like adding cooked pasta for texture and others just add the fillings. Try a frittata with roasted Spanish onions, thyme and goats cheese or roasted capsicums, mushrooms and spinach. If you want to try adding some proteins how about chopped smoked salmon and dill or even ham and cheddar cheese.

For more recipe ideas, visit www.benjaminchristie.com/recipes

Source: http://www.savingsguide.com.au/meal-ideas-when-trying-to-save-money/

A financial planner will help you with investment advice and carry out the work required for you to invest your money, normally on your behalf. This is why it is important to know you trust your financial advisor and that they are skilled at what they do.

The often also handle your ongoing paperwork that is required when investing in different industries and schemes. Financial planners/advisors should also be able to give you advice on wealth creation and the future goal of retirement planning.

Although they will have an understanding of saving money on tax, they should really tell you to discuss that separately with your accountant.

Your financial planner must be able to provide:

• A financial services guide
• A statement of advice
• A product disclosure statement

Ensuring that you are provided with the above will give you a greater understanding of how they operate and whether or not they suite your requirements.

It is also worthy to note that most major banks offer free financial planning and advice.

You should remember however that these advisors are likely to push products and services offered by their institution and often receive commissions for doing so.

Methods that financial advisors make money:

There are two options that are commonly used by financial planners and advisors when it comes to them making money.

These include:

• Commission from the products they push
• Set fees and charges based upon services offered

It would seem that the commission structure would likely save you more money, but often the set fee financial planners are more cost effective as they will refund you the commissions as part of your agreement. Be sure to ask about this when talking to them.

Things to look out for when picking a financial planner:

• Failing to provide how their strategy was created specifically for you and how it will benefit you.
• Failing to provide a financial services guide, statement of advice and a product disclosure.
• Ensure that they make sense and you understand their proposed strategy. Who cares if you look like an idiot.
• Ignoring your key requirements and initial requests.
• Failing to explain why the suggest higher fee options over smaller fee options.
• Asking you to switch investment schemes constantly, this could be for ongoing commissions.

Finding your financial planner

The financial planning association of Australia is a regulated body that ensures all listed advisors adhere to strict guidelines.

You can contact them at: Financial Planning Association, known as FPA.

Some planners will charge you to draw up your initial plan, which is normally less than ideal because it makes it hard for you to compare planners without costings an arm and a leg.

Are you ready for a financial planner?

You don’t need huge sums of money to see a financial advisor. The general rule of thumb is that you need to be able to commit a certain amount each month and you will be fine. Financial planners are looking to see that you are serious and willing to commit a certain portion of your monthly salary to their plan for you. It will add up a lot quicker that way pending they make the right decisions for you.

Some people assume that financial advisors and planners are able to help you get out of debt. This is not normally the case as debt/credit counselors are normally the best way forward in that situation. Financial planning is normally for people who can set aside surplus cash in order to invest.

A quick checklist of what you should do before seeing a financial planner:

• List all of your assets
• List all of your liabilities
• Print out your bank statements for 3 months, super statements and all other accounts
• List your goals
• List your retirement goals
• Think about how risk adverse you are, are you low, medium or high?

Through utilising the above information, you should be able to understand whether a financial advisor is right for you and what the benefit is they can bring to the table.

Choosing the right financial planner is hard, they are technically responsible for your money and its safety so it is vital to know that they are licensed and that you trust them.

Source: http://www.savingsguide.com.au/how-to-choose-the-right-financial-planner/

Some savings accounts will offer introductory rates to incentivise you to join them, while others will consistently remain as industry leaders with their high interest rates for the whole time you are with them.

In the interest of helping our readers, we have put together a small list of savings account providers that we believe to be of the highest quality, highest return rates while maintaining the customer service that we need from time to time.

Click here to find out which banks they are:

http://www.savingsguide.com.au/best-savings-accounts/

Source: http://www.savingsguide.com.au/best-savings-accounts/

Once the opportunity presents itself, I am going to have myself a very beautiful garden. But can I do it on the cheap?

It turns out there are all kinds of clever tips for green thumbs with shallow pockets. Here are some of the best:

Give your lawn some love

Mowing and weeding your lawn is like a hat on a bad hair day; it makes things a whole lot better without much trouble. Just spending a little bit of time making sure your backyard is looking neat will make your garden look a lot better without having to spend a dime.

Feed your plants for less

Apparently fertilizer isn’t a necessity. eHow suggests that banana peel, egg shells and coffee grounds do just as well. It’ll also save you on space in your garbage bin.

Get DIY

Associated Content has a couple of pretty wild suggestions. One of them is to make your own stepping stones. How can you do it? Simple. Get quick drying concrete mix, a discarded pizza box and pour the concrete into the box. The novelty factor of this idea has left me with some exciting inspiration for stepping stones, and I have a heart-shaped cake tin that should be just the ticket.

Ask around

People often have great things in their backyards and are happy to share. Put the word out that you’re looking for seedlings or cuttings, and people will probably overwhelm you with a variety of plants. Make sure you understand how large they might grow, as planting an enormous tree in your tiny square of dirt is going to cause you a lot of unnecessary pain. Think about what kind of plants you want in your garden. For example, planting native plants and flowers can be cheaper, and is better for the environment. They’re also probably less likely to die, which is always cost effective.

Don’t over do it

Have a focus for your garden, a central part that you would like people’s eyes to be drawn to. Designing a garden is like designing a house. Overdoing the garden décor (a term I am so delighted to have learnt in the course of this research) is expensive and won’t make your garden look any better. Have one stand-out feature, like a water feature, and keep everything else relatively simple.

Make it easy on yourself

Do a bit of research and find out what plants are easy to maintain, and grow without much assistance. Sunflowers, crocuses, daffodils are all colourful and will grow whether you want them to or not. Lavender needs no assistance, and rosemary is sure to fill your backyard quickly and with no trouble. Marigolds are cheap and brighten up any pot or garden plot.

Source: http://www.savingsguide.com.au/saving-money-on-your-gardening/

Find which loyalty programs are the best by going to:

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=446858&showcomments=true

We all know that we could save money on our weekly food bill by shopping around but have you ever had the time to compare prices?

http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/5959051/consumer/getting-cheapest-groceries

http://money.ninemsn.com.au/managing-money/tools/saving-calculator.aspx