November Discounts and Freebies

It's a new month so we've compiled a list of all the discounts, freebies and special offers from brands we work with plus this month there are is a special offer from our business in Vanuatu. Check them out here.

How to Make the Most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Stay away from it all unless you have specific things you plan on buying. Turn off all notifications, unsubscribe from emails and do what you can to avoid being tempted.

If you are planning some specific purchases, there are ways you can save even more with your shopping such as cash back programs, loyalty cards, comparing prices etc.

​Use the tips in this article to see how you can maximise your savings with the sales if you do shop.

Learn how to combine coupons and discounts too.

Personally, as we are away we are not participating in the sales this year but in previous years, this is the time we've bought specific technology, Christmas gifts, travel gear and expensive items for huge discounts.

Know your prices though and check they are not inflated with a fake discount added compared to regular times.

And before you buy anything, use Shopback to get money back on whatever you get.

Reduce Spending and Avoid Temptation

You will be bombarded this time of year with special offers, deals, discounts and the sense of urgency or missing out will be huge.

Marketers know what they are doing so you need to take care of yourself.

Read 5 tips to deal with temptation and these 10 tips to help stop shopping.

You know yourself best though, if there are certain things that result in excess spending, do what you can to avoid those things or put things in place to help stop you.

Our Meal Plan

We are in Tonga so it is smoothies for breakfast and local food for everything else. My older two kids are Tongan so we have always incorporated some of those meals into our life. Here are their favourites:

'Otai - a watermelon coconut drink we have made for numerous Harmony Days and cultural events. I ALWAYS get asked for the recipe. We use this recipe but used all coconut milk, not water. You can add other tropical fruits such as mango. Also, most Polynesians now add sweetened condensed milk to it but that makes it too sweet for us.

Lu or lu pulu, 'ota ika, faikakai amd kei. You can find them all and their descriptions here.

Tongan dishes are typically based on coconut, leaves, fish and fresh produce. They also love corn beef and pork. The traditional cooking style is umu which we've done regularly.

For tips to save money on groceries check out 20+ tips to reduce the cost of groceries plus how to reduce waste/what to do with scraps and leftovers.

The Thrifty Issue Community

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