Want to stretch money like a solo parent? Here are our 11 best hacks

9. ‘In-house’ what you used to outsource: cancel all your services and get your kids earning with jobs such as mowing, cleaning and the like. You’re teaching them a valuable work ethic.

8. Purchase everything you can through a cashback app. And wait to make those purchases until the cashback is boosted to usually 15 per cent or more. I’ve made $749 for nothing in the past five months. 

If there is a boosted cashback deal on Wish or Woolies gift cards, I tweak my strategy, bulk buy cards and then pay for my groceries with them to bake in a discount. Otherwise, it’s…

7. Aldi. No further explanation needed.

6. But with that in mind, what are people feeding their families to keep it frugal? The cost-conquerors say:

• Make a lot more dishes using cabbage and pumpkin (not necessarily together). “Although cabbage is a bit on the pricey side currently, a little goes a long way. And frozen spinach at $1/packet is a brilliantly cheap veg addition.”
• Buy filo pastry and make sausage rolls, jaffles, pies ... cheaper than bread.
• Snap up any bargain fruit and find a way to use it: juice, muffins, fruit leather.
• Grab reduced-to-clear milk and make cheese using vinegar.
• Make small tubs of jelly and fruit salad in bulk for school lunches, rather buying than expensive packaged treats.
• No soft drinks, no cordial. Add Berocca, Voost or Hydralite tablets to water for flavour, plus there’s the secret benefit of making sure kids get their vitamins and minerals.
• Bulk out any meat with legumes – for example, lentils make great fake (good-for-you) Bolognese mince.
• Forget ‘Fish & Chip’ nights: buy frozen from the supermarket (“although it’s not quite the same, so once a month, have a ‘real takeaway’ treat”).

5. On the outings topic: get cocooning, re-creating outside, expensive experiences at home. Think ‘Gold Class’ movie nights with DIY choc tops, under doonas on the lounge room floor. And hello dinner parties where we all offer up our hero dish.

For other socialising ideas, embrace picnics and walk or run with friends before work or on weekends, rather than going out. It’s healthier too.

4. Make your own dog food; “Cheaper and better for your fur baby.”

3. “Pretend you don’t have a dryer.” “If you have solar, learn to use most appliances when the sun shines.” And, important as we head into winter: “Dress warmer, more blankets, rather than heating.”

2. Do a life – and cupboard – inventory and jump on Facebook marketplace or similar to turn what’s lying around into cash.

1. Op shops – especially for necessary household stuff that breaks. Or you can make like one single mother I know from the extremely cost-conscious older generation: she just subbed in empty food containers (like empty ice cream containers) for crockery and storage.

It is not easy surviving on a single income right now, but I will leave the final remark to savings savvy single Mum Marlene: “All I want is to pay my mortgage off. Thanks for sharing.” Thanks to everyone else who shared, too.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is the author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at www.nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow Nicole on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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