Cockroach Control On A Budget – 7 Part Series…

Ahhhhhh Cockroaches, not the easiest of pests to control or look at for that matter! They walk where they feel and feed on crumbs and trash which often means they have not been in very nice places so are not exactly clean animals to have around, hence restaurants instantly being closed down when a cockroach is discovered.

This series was originally started when I lived in Egypt where cockroaches and controlling them is a big problem for many people. In hot climates, no matter how clean you keep your home and how many steps you take it’s possible for cockroaches to pay anyone an unannounced visit. Luckily when I had a run in with the beasts I took frugal steps to take control of them myself and I was highly successful. I never needed to call in an expensive exterminator.

The series looks at cockroaches from many aspects. What kind you may have, how to kill them, get rid of them and what you can do to keep infestations under control and all with home-made ingredients on a frugal budget , win-win for everyone!

Much of the information is based on the steps that I myself took and the research I came across whilst learning how to tackle the little (and oddly sometimes cute) blighters.

Cockroach Control Series

So please do have a read through and if you have  any suggestions will as always be greatly welcomed.

Cockroach Control – 7 part Series

1. Cockroach Infestation
2. Types of Cockroaches
3. How to Kill Roaches
4. How To Get Rid of Roaches
5. Boric Acid, Roaches
6. Where to Buy Boric Acid
7. Cockroach Control, Other Tips and Tricks

This series should help you out but of course some infestations can get a little out of hand and the issues may be something you can’t control, like a full scale apartment block infestation! If things don’t seem to be working them it may well be time to have to spend some hard earned cash on an exterminator or try and contact any authorities that may be able to help you out or deal with a wider scale problem.

As long as you keep food locked up and things clean they shouldn’t be a huge problem for your health but of course be vigilant and get professionals involved if you are at all worried.

I hope you enjoy the series and hope it helps if you are having a cockroach issue! - cockroach control

The question “How To Save Money?” is pretty wide open but probably the first thing asked when we realise that spending is too high or debt is increasing.

The first thing that needs to be identified is where is the money leaking from? Then you need to plug the holes to stop your boat sinking any deeper. The next step after that is slow methodical repair to any problems so you can get things running smoothly and sailing back in the right direction.

So in this article we are going to address how to save money by looking at some of the common holes that money may be leaking from and how you can plug them up and keep the money where it needs to be.

How to save money on morning coffee

Everyman and his dog talks about how much cash you can save by not buying coffee in the morning and throughout the day but have you actually listened to the advice yet and started making your own coffee? A Large Thermos Steel Flask (<–Affiliate Link) is only $26 from Amazon and you will save the investment likely in less than a month. The other alternative is to just stop drinking coffee and start drinking water….. I know stupid idea, right! Just add up how much you actually do spend on coffee in any given month! It’s probably enough to justify investing in a top of the line coffee maker!

Save on snack food

I’m not going to say the obvious “Cut down on McDonalds” as you already know this and it’s hardly a revelation that cutting back on fast food will save some cash! But what about the little things. A pack of mints, a small candy bar, a bad of chips. If you are anything like me then you probably find the temptation to buy lots of little bits throughout the week. The simple answer is stop doing it, make a mental note and reinforce it every time you are tempted to buy a snack. Alternatively you can buy in larger quantity at places like Costco and limit your snacks by bringing a few with you each day. This also affords you the opportunity to upgrade to some healthier snacks and give your body a positive boost.

Save on restaurants and eating out

The easiest options to save on restaurant spending is to eat and cook at home. Learning to cook is fun hobby that gives back way more than it costs but even so I am sure you will get the urge to eat out. You can try going with restaurant coupons or setting exact dates once a month when you can eat out. Things like paid market research studies are also an excellent way to eat out and actually get reimbursed plus compensation. I have done this before and it’s an excellent way to keep a restaurant hobby alive!

Subscriptions could be wasting cash!

When you take a look over your bank statements it’s a good idea to grab a highlighter and highlight all your recurring subscriptions. You may be paying for a magazine you never read or a service you rarely use. If you pay extra to have a newspaper delivered, think about the possibility of walking to the shops before breakfast and picking up the paper yourself. I remember finding out I had been paying for months and months for a magazine that was being sent to my old address! Also I had a hosting account with a web provider that I was no longer using and had forgotten to cancel!

The simple question you need to ask yourself when considering cancelling these things is “Do I really Need It?”. Be honest with yourself!

Your utility bills need looking at!

Most people really are too lazy to do anything about this but c’mon guys there is a recession on (ok the Government does not agree on that!) so make use of it! During times of recession those evil corporations are doing all they can to steal business from each other. That puts you as a consumer in a great position. Get all your bills together, add them up and see if you can save by switching companies or changing to package deals for your phone, electricity, cable, net, gas, water…. whatever household bills you have. Just be careful about reading fine print or getting licked into any contracts.

Aswell as saving cash on the utility bills themselves what about using less? I am a bit believer that we should all be consuming less. Consider replacing all bulbs in the house with long life energy savers. Call up your local government as they may even be giving these out free! Make sure taps are not dripping and if it’s easy to do turn off your hot water heater at night. Make sure water is turned off between use and take showers instead of baths. Also if you feel a little cold, just put a sweater rather than the heating.

How to save money on groceries

I probably spend more on groceries than anything else (except rent for my apartment) but I try to be very frugal here too.

I make sure I buy as many fresh, raw ingredients as possible. This actually does save money as you can consider batch cooking and cooking as a new hobby (See my post about Once a Month Cooking Recipes). You can’t spend money easily while you are at home cooking! Also buy in season to save more. For fresh veggies and fruit you may also want to join a local allotment scheme, food Coop or even grow your own…. You can save an absolute ton this way.

By cutting back on meat too you will see a positive effect on your wallet. I have been vegetarian for 9 years now and I am not saying you need to follow my lead but my groceries are cheaper as a result.

Cleaning products can get really pricy but many cleaning jobs can be done with baking soda or vinegar. Also for hari products and skin products consider natural alternatives, supermarket brands or just using less!

Simply cutting down the amount you eat is a good idea too. Cut back on buying snack and sweets. If they are not there you are much less likely to get the idea to eat. If you do have them around to take to work and things put them out of convenience, on a top shelf or something.

Save on transport

The price of fuel is rising and of course I know you want to be environmentally friendly! So cutting back on using your vehicle, especially for short trips, is a must. It may even be cheaper to walk to a local more expensive store than driving out far to a cheaper store. Going to work may be cheaper via public transport or even walking. I used to walk 5 miles to work and take public transport home, then later on I invested in a bicycle and started peddling in both directions. This saves a lot of money over time.

Your Mortgage or Rent

The cost of the mortgage or rent is probably your biggest expense. If you own your home then you might want to check that you are on the best rate available, if not then consider switching your mortgage to a better rate. Just be careful you don’t get locked into any bad deals.

For rent, take a look at your home and consider if you actually need something as big as you have. If you are renting something too large then consider getting a room mate or moving to a smaller apartment or even another neighborhood. If you are struggling to pay your rent and it’s not easy for you to move then you may even consider asking your landlord to drop it! This is happening a lot right now in places like New York City as it’s better for a landlord to keep a tenant rather than risk losing them and not getting a new one.

Save money by learning how to simplify your life

One of the ways I have personally saved a lot of cash over the years is by learning how to simplify my life and I am an avid fan of frugal living for the most part. Simplifying in every area makes living less stressful and generally a lot easier mentally, physically and financially. Read my post on how to simplify your life for a more in depth look.

There are so many other areas to look at how to save money but I hope this article started your cogs turning and gave you some ideas and kickers to get saving more today.

This post is a work in progress so if you have any suggestions for me to add to this article, want to comment ot just feel like saying hello then please leave a comment below or mail me forest.parks@gmail.com.

Thanks a million,

Forest.

A good friend Freddie Taylor from ThinkTaylor.com has just finished reading Seth Godin’s acclaimed Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. He has been blown away by the book and was highly recommending that I read it…..

As you may or may not know I live in Cairo, Egypt. I can order stuff on Amazon but it takes around a month to get here and incurs some import fees. So I decided to get online and see how much it would cost for an an MP3 Audio Download…. Strangely I stumbled across the download for absolutely free!

I had to sign up quickly for an Audible account (respected company owned by Amazon) but that was it…. I am listening to the full version of Tribes, for free right NOW!!

I’ll do a review of Tribes when I have finished listening .

Download Your Free Audio Copy of Seth Godin’s Tribes: We Need You to Lead

Here are some posts from fellow Yakezie blogs related to Seth Godin: Transition from a Workaholic to a Passionate Worker, Never Borrow Money to Pay For Something That Goes Down in Value, Day 13: Will You Be Missed When You’re Gone?

Have you ever sat down and worked out how much you spend on getting your hair cut? If you have then you will realize it’s a lot! Finding ways to get a cheap haircut will help in your frugal ways and help you keep budgets on track.

Here are 10 ways that you can consider getting your hair cut for less.

1. Cut it yourself. For people who want short hair some high quality clippers can be purchased for fairly cheap and it will only take a few home cuts for them to pay for themselves. Longer hair trims can be done with some styling scissors, a mirror and some practice (you may mildly mess up the first few attempts and end up going to the salon to get it fixed). You could also ask a partner to help with the tricky bits.

2. Find a local hair styling college. Hair dressers need to be trained and often local colleges are looking for willing victims. There is a small amount of risk involved but mostly you will come out with a decent and free cut.

3. Look for deals. Especially in this economy many hairdressers are offering things such as cut price day cuts, two for one offers or one cheap evening per week. You may have to queue or even come back week after week but you will save some good cash.

4. Look for a home visit hairdresser. Many hairdressers moonlight as hairdressers too. They will often visit you in the comfort of your own home, bring all the equipment and cut your hair for less than your local salon or barbers.

5. Travel out of town. Out of town places will usually have slightly cheaper prices so it may be worth your while finding an excuse and mixing a haircut with an out of town errand.

6. The Razor cut! A bald head is by far the easiest to maintain and it can look great for men and women. Cut your hair short with some scissors and then  slowly and using a lot of shaving soap clean shave your head, you may need help. Once this is done it’s extremely easy to maintain.

7. Ask for a cut that will grow well long. A good hairdresser will be able to cut your hair in a way that will mean that as it grows it should keep a good shape. By getting such cuts you will be able to lengthen the time between cuts and save money in the long run.

8. Trade for a cut. You may well be able to advertise a swap of services in a local newspaper or somewhere like Craigslist. For example you may be able to do some gardening in exchange for a cut, or help with some DIY.

Looking forward to hearing what you think about these tips or if you have any alternative ideas.

Thanks,

Forest.

You may have guessed from the title but I have just finished listening to the Four Hour Workweek… You know that book that took the internet by storm a few years ago and has just had a new flurry of interest due to an update.

I have been wanting to read the book for quite some time as some well respected bloggers recommended it with high esteem. As some of you know I am in Cairo, Egypt so had some trouble getting a hold of the book but I eventually managed to find the audio book version. Sadly it wasn’t the updated version.

The basics of the Four Hour Workweek Week are simple. Eliminate distractions, get your work done as effectively and as quickly as you can and then kick back and enjoy life. Eventually you want to aim at outsourcing every aspect of your life possible so you can kick back and relax even more… A great concept but not necessarily realistic for everyone (Tim would disagree with me there).

Now here is the overarching thing about this book. Tim Ferris is one of those “I have done this” people. At every possible point in the book he likes to tell you what he has done and how easily and cleverly he did such a thing. If I met him in a bar I would think he was lying about everything and I would hate him for his sheer know-allness and arrogant nature. However it seems Tim has done a lot of this stuff so you really feel compelled to keep listening / reading to find out how! When he says something bluntly and selfishly you cringe… and then the following thought is “but he does have a point”.

Also he uses a lot of case studies and assuming it’s all true you start to believe that some of this advice could actually improve your life. The book is laid out very well and takes you on a journey of not checking email through to traipsing through Europe on a shoestring budget, on your terms!

I guess the book is great in many ways and it will be getting another listen. It gives you ideas, challenges your conventions and tells you to spend some time now enjoying your life. You can’t fault these ideas.

Things you can fault are Tim’s personal methods to achieve this stuff. He often suggests that you lie or manipulate others to get your own way. He does offer some alternatives but overall you realise pretty quickly that this journey is filled with selfishness and if you really do completely follow his lead you may well be left with the guilt of the lies you created to get yourself where you are.

However I don’t think following this book to the tee is necessarily the point. Tim simply lays down a lot of things that I want to do. I want automated business so that I can pursue things that would help this world. I want to outsource my mundane work and supply jobs for people in poorer countries and I don’t want to constrain my geographical location. This book helps push me further into looking into all these areas with much more seriousness and also supplies some of the resources needed to try things out.

Already my Geography is not too constrained and I make a reasonable amount of cash in automated income, nothing great yet but I have tasted some of the stuff I want to do.

Immediate things this book has pushed me to do are increase my productivity and look at hiring a Virtual Assistant to help grow my online business. I’ll be working regular weeks for a while yet though I think… When the debt is gone though, who knows!

Useful Reads Related To This Post:

While you are in Four Hour Workweek reading mode you should also read the awesome review over at Money Funk: The 4 Hour Work Week Book Review

Also Ruth, The Web Career Girl, recently wrote a great post about making better use of your time and that fits perfectly with the start of the book: 4 Ways to Win the Battle Against Procrastination

You may also want to read this post from Penelope Trunk, it really tickled me : 5 Time Management Tips I Learned From Hating Tim Ferris

So what do you think, are you going to read 4 Hour Workweek, have you read this book? Do you like / hate Tim Ferris…. I want your opinions and comments.

PS: I have to legally tell you that links to the 4 Hour Workweek on this post are affiliate links and may earn me a small commission if you purchase the book….

Back in 2007 I when I was in the infancy of my career working online I entered a competition. At this point I was really getting into the idea of buying (or creating a site) and selling sites. This practice is known as blog flipping and it is something that I often do as part of my online business.

The competition that I had entered was looking to see who could create a blog, get the most traffic and then sell it off in 30 days.

I was struggling for a blog topic and after watching CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and other news stations over a few days I kept seeing segments of Frugal Living popping up. So I decided that a Frugal Living blog was the best choice for the competition.

It took a really long time to think up the name but Zeitgeist (due to the online movie, Zeitgeist) was a word I had recently learned and it seemed to be a perfect match to go with the current trend of Frugal Living. I was a frugal person already so I knew this topic would be easy to write about.

And there, FrugalZeitgeist.com was born. I purchased the domain, made a nice wooden looking blog theme and put some content up all in one afternoon. I can be a little fast on the trigger so I did no research before getting the blog going.

Strangely the blog was an instant hit and I found myself really enjoying the subject matter. Social Media was going crazy for it and sending thousands of visitors (much harder these days to get that kind of traffic from social media). As the weeks went on I got really attached to the site and loved writing for it, so decided that I would keep the blog and theoretically dropped out of the competition.

I started interacting with the Frugal world a little more and I came across FrugalZeitgeist.blogspot.com! Like every great idea someone has often come before and in this case a frugal blog already existed with the same name, more popularity and I would say a more genuine intention. My Frugal Zeitgeist was started for the wrong reasons…. The original (and probably the best) was started, it seems, for all the right reasons and is an absolutely excellent frugal resource that I have been reading ever since.

I hope you realise I now blog with the right intentions, although I do make money from this website it is also my favourite of all my sites. I thank other Frugal bloggers such as FrugalZeitgeist.blogspot.com for keeping me involved and passionate about blogging in the Frugal niche.

Oh by the way, the competition never laid out guidelines that I had to sell the blog so by a strange twist I even managed to win lots of blogging goodies too!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on all this and what you think of the Original Frugal Zeitgeist.

Thanks,

Forest.

There is a good reason for wanting to avoid going to the Supermarket, and it is because they have a whole army of experts at parting you from your hard earned cash. The isles have been set out to tempt you in the best possible way, the higher priced goods are all at eye level and you have to crouch down on the floor to get the lower priced stuff, the sweets are by the till, the music is designed to make you feel good, …. The list goes on an on!

So the easiest way to save money is to avoid going to the Supermarket, simple.

“HAH!” I hear you shout, or words to that effect.

But it is simple really, as the Supermarkets have put the tools you need in your hands for you, and all you have to do is a little bit of planning.

Yes, I know, that means being organised, and in this day and age, few people feel they have the time to organise their own bed time, let alone a shopping trip. But trust me, with a little fore-thought, you will save yourself so much time, and money, you will wonder why you didn’t do it before, and all it takes is four simple steps.

Step number One.

Write a list of your families favourite meals, and the ingredients that go in to them. Think about how long you want to stay away from the supermarket, is it a week, a month, or longer? Lets, for arguments sake say you’re planning for a week. That means seven days of main meals, lunches and breakfasts. This will give you an idea of what you need in the food department.

Note from Forest: Check out my post on Once A Month Cooking Recipes, this ebook can save you a lot of shopping trips and help your meal planning…

Step number Two.

Go to your fridge, freezer and store cupboard and look at what is there. What needs to be used up? Is there anything that can be crossed off the ingredient list? Or better still, is there anything there that can be used to make a different meal from one of the ones you had planned, so you can cross the planned meals ingredients off? Now carefully think about all the other little things you need to get, detergent, toilet rolls, shampoo, that kind of stuff, all that needs to be added to the list too.

Step number Three.

Go to your computer with your shopping list in hand, and log on to your Supermarkets website and enter your shopping in. If your Supermarket is like mine, it will tell you if there are cheaper options available, and give you the choice of swapping if you so wish. Be tough, the Supermarket will try to tempt you with all sorts of special offers for things that are not on your list, and unless you have genuinely forgotten to add them to your list, don’t put them in your basket!

Step number Four.

This is the last and hardest step of all. You have planned your meals, and it took a lot less time than you thought it would, once you sat down and did it. You have ordered your shopping online, so have avoided all the pitfalls of visiting the shop and slipping the odd extras in to your basket. You deserve a medal for doing all that, BUT, if you visit a single shop before a week is up, it has all been for nothing! All your hard work will have gone to waste! DON’T DO IT! If you discover something has been forgotten, then it wasn’t all that important anyway, put it on the list for the next shop, and go without until then. You might be surprised at how little you miss it.

Note from Forest: Thanks go out to Sue again for another excellent article….. I try and avoid going to the Supermarket for the exact reasons Sue pointed out!!

I have just recently been in contact with Tara Okelly from the BBC about the upcoming 3 part documentry that they are producing about Money. They are looking for people to feature in the doc and she asked if I would post up the info here for any interested parties.

So here is what she sent…..

‘MONEY’ – a three-part documentary series for BBC2

I hope you don’t mind me writing to you out of the blue. I am researching a documentary series for BBC Television and am getting in touch to ask for your assistance. Would you be interested in talking to us?

The idea behind the series is that with the recession, the furore over MPs’ expenses and bankers’ bonuses, we have all been forced to think about our attitudes to money and which value systems we privately subscribe to. This series will examine whether people from different backgrounds actually take home the amounts of money that we imagine they do, and will explore value systems to discover how people decide how to spend their money. Another film will explore the part that money plays within intimate relationships, and the third film the series will explore assumptions about inherited wealth, to discover whether having family money guarantees a better life.

If you think the series sounds interesting and you’d like to find out more, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. At this stage, we are simply hoping to have confidential research chats with people over the phone. Equally, if you have friends or family members you think might be interested in talking to us, then please pass this information on.

If you are interested contact Tara Okelly via email: Tara.Okelly@bbc.co.uk

Let me know if you end up in the doc and I will be sure to watch out for you….

Money saving tips are pretty easy to come by but I want to do something a little different here for our tips post on Frugal Zeitgeist. I want to give you the chance to add your own money savings tips and create a mega list.

So this list is going to start off blank and it’s now your job to email me (forest.parks@gmail.com) with your tip, and a name/url if you want one and then i’ll publish it on this page until we get a huge list.

Let’s see if we can reach 1000 tips….. Spread this post, Tweet it, Write About It, Pass It On Via Email etc etc….

CURRENT SAVING TIPS COUNT: 1

3,2,1 GO…….

1. Instead of making 12 payments a year to pay of your loans or top up your savings, make bi-weekly payments of half your old monthly payment. That way you will make 13 full payments per year.
   Jonathan – New Hampshire, USA
   
2. Now is the time to buy your holiday gift wrap and trimmings at up to 70% off!
   (submitted Jan 2010), Joan – Vermont, USA
   
3. I recall the idea of not going grocery shopping on an empty stomach. As I recall the few times I did I ended up spending much more money than was necessary. And in the end some items ended up getting pitched.
   So make sure you have eaten a good meal before going grocery shopping, it will save you money as well as help the environment by not having to throw away the things you bought that you really didn’t need.
   Joe from Creative Holistic Business Solutions, Michigan, USA
4. Recycle your wedding dress (and save oodles of cash) by buying a preowned gown, or by selling your dress to another bride after the wedding. Why are gently used wedding dresses the greenest gowns in town? Because if you buy something new, even if it’s made from sustainable materials, you are still gobbling up all the energy and raw materials used to manufacture that new thing rather than reusing something that already exists and consumes no new resources. There are many ways to buy and sell once-worn gowns, including local consignment shops and free wedding websites like RecycledBride.com. (Why yes, that was a shameless plug.)|
   Robert from Recycled Bride.
5. Never spend more money than you earn in any month.
6. Cook from scratch.
7. Cook in season.
8. Review your appliances and their energy ratings.  Turn off and unplug those that are not in use, don’t leave them on standby.
9. Don’t use a tumble dryer to dry your clothes, even hanging over the bath is preferable to that expense.
10. Invest in a push bike and cycle to work, then you can cancel your gym membership and get the added bonus of not feeling guilty because you haven’t gone!
11. Clear out your wardrobe and drawers.  Take a real look at the clothes you have in there, I’ll bet you find some stuff you really like that you had forgotten about, saving yourself the expense of having to buy more!
12. Invest in some seeds and grow some veg, even a windowsill can be used now-a-days with the micro crops that are being produced now.
13. Before you start saving your money, clear your debts and loans.  The interest that is charged on loans is a lot more than you would earn on your savings.
14. Hunt around for better deals on things like electricity, gas, internet, phone, insurance, etc.  Remember that package deals are not always the cheapest way to go.
15. By all means make your New Year Resolutions, but plan them out into small baby steps, recent research show that resolutions are more likely to be kept if they are planned in small manageable bites rather than big life transforming chunks.
    (5-15) All from Dragon Sue

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Note from Forest: Finally we have the awesome Dragon Sue back blogging here! This post on Kefir Grains has got me very excited and I am going to be on a mission to seek them out here in Egypt. They are readily available in USA and UK.

Probiotics are the healthy bacteria that live in all of our digestive systems, without them our immune systems are seriously compromised, and our ability to digest the essential components of our food would be so restricted it would result in serious illness, if not death.

Antibiotics spell death for our life-giving bacteria, (which is what probiotic means – ‘for-life’), and with our Western diet pumped full of meat saturated in antibiotics, we are literally shooting ourselves in the foot!

One way to replenish the probiotics damaged by our diet is to buy those little drinks in the supermarket, but I have a problem with that. They are sold as live bacteria, but I really can’t see how anything can be truly living in a sealed bottle without access to both food and air to grow and multiply. Now I don’t know the mechanics of bottling the stuff, and I’m definitely no scientist, but I just don’t trust it.

Another way to get probiotics in to your diet is to grow your own. Yoghurt is the prime example here, and has been a popular way for the last 30 years or so in the West, but I find the rigmarole of heating milk, and keeping it warm for hours on end a bit of a chore.

So imagine my delight when earlier this year I heard of something called Kefir Grains. From what I have read, Kefir Grains come from the Siberian Steps. Nomads half fill a goats stomach with milk, add these little grains that look like tapioca, and hang the stomach in a door way. Every time someone goes in or out, they give the bag a little knock to stir up the milk, and the next day they have a very healthy yoghurt drink, and more grains with which to make the next batch with.

You don’t need a spare goat’s stomach or a doorway with a hook to grow your own Kefir Grains in your own home though. All you need is a jar with a lid, some milk, a sieve, and a warmish place to let them stand.

Intrigued by what I had read about these little miracle grains, I looked on Ebay, and discovered people were selling grains online! I got mine for the princely sum of 99p plus post and package. When my grains arrived I quickly popped them in to my clean jar, covered them in milk, then put them on top of my microwave, where the heat from the standby would keep them a little warmer than the ambient temperature of my cold kitchen. Every time I walked by, I gave the jar a little swish, because I had read about how the Nomads do it, but I have since learned that the grains don’t seem to mind either way.

The next morning I strained out my grains, returned them to the freshly cleaned jar and covered them with fresh milk. I then stood looking at the strained fermented milk. It looked like slightly sour milk, you know when the fats are just beginning to separate, and I didn’t find the sight appetising. I dipped my finger in and transferred a tiny amount to the tip of my tongue. Mmm, it was very similar to yoghurt, but with the mildest hint of a ‘fizz’. I drank the lot down and wanted more!

Over the following weeks my grains grew in number until they were making ‘yoghurt’ that was a little too strong for my taste, so I split the grains and started a second jar. I had plans for that second jar, I had read about making soft cheese with Kefir, and I wanted to give it a try. The cheese is delicious and now I have a jar dedicated to making cheese and one to making yoghurt.

But my grains kept growing. Soon I had four jars sitting on my kitchen counter, and even with the best will in the world, I couldn’t consume that much every day. So I posted a batch on Ebay, I may as well recoup my initial cost I thought, and I did, and I am now selling enough to cover the cost of the milk to feed them up too! So now I’m getting my probiotic drink daily, for free, and sometimes the auction goes well enough that I make a few pennies on top. Better than paying through the nose for that ‘half-alive’ stuff they sell in the supermarket, and there is no messing around with saucepans, thermoses and thermometers, I reckon I’m on to a winner here, as my health has improved ten fold too!

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