Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today / Business

Oily Rag: Wrestling with finances and rodents

By Frank and Muriel Newman
NZME. regionals·
23 May, 2015 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

If you stuff tin foil into holes in the walls, it may keep the critters away.

If you stuff tin foil into holes in the walls, it may keep the critters away.

Many thanks to those who have risen to the challenge and offered suggestions to some oily rag questions from readers.

Valmae recently asked, "What do others recommend as the easiest and most efficient method of tracking our money? Is there some great cheap or free software or already set-up spreadsheet? It would be great to hear what others find useful, simple and user friendly."

Here are some of the replies.

Yvonne writes, "Kiwibank has a service attached to it which shows how much you earn and spend as well as where you've spent it. It also allows you to form a budget as well as a savings plan, and it shows you how much you've spent on food, household expenses."

Harry from Dunedin writes, "Gnucash works well, is cross platform and free. gnucash.org."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"A great NZ website for budgets is sorted.org.nz," says SPS from the Waikato.

The ASB has a similar service called My Money, which is very good and free for those with online banking. Coding the transactions is quick and easy. The message is, check to see what your bank has available.

Paul asked for suggestions about keeping rats, mice and ants out of the house. J from Christchurch replies, "We found there was a tiny hole in the back wall of the cupboard under the kitchen sink and we think the mice were getting in there. We had mice shorting out the wiring. We stuffed the hole with aluminium foil, and haven't had any mice in since. In winter we always set traps baited with peanut butter in the garage."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The old peanut butter to catch a mouse trick!

"Try using bay leaves to get rid of ants. We have a bush and so we can use fresh leaves but you could try dried bay leaves and see how that goes," advises SPH from the Waikato.

Delia from Whangarei asked about cheap and hearty dog food. Here are some suggestions from oily rag readers.

"I bulk buy frozen food (K9) in 5kg lots for my dog and find that weighing a daily amount and bagging it up in blue bags is a very handy way to store it in the freezer. It helps identify dog food in the freezer," says Canny Scot of Christchurch.

Discover more

Oily Rag: TV takes our message to the masses

23 Apr 05:00 PM

Oily Rag: The penny pincher pick n mix

02 May 05:00 PM

Oily Rag: Thrift gear to cut business costs

09 May 05:00 PM

Oily Rag: Big and bold budget fave our feijoa

13 May 05:00 PM

"To make dog food, make a vege stew, with pumpkin as a base, pasta or rice, boil together and add garlic - not in the drinking water as dogs will not drink water with additives. Don't ever put onions or leeks into dog stew. The garlic helps with worms and fleas," says NP from Hastings.

"Our dog developed an allergy to red meat (very common in older dogs)," says JB. "The vet recommended a diet of cooked rice, veges and a little dried dog food. He advised us to buy the cheapest rice and cook it up in bulk and to add carrots and greens. She lived another eight years on this diet and was very healthy and happy. When we had a chicken, she had the leftovers as well."

"When feeding puppies or younger dogs, boil up all your vege scraps (potato skins and carrot peelings, etc.), then mash them up ... dogs really love it and it's great for them," says Kaye, Te Puke.

It's Budget week, so next week we will be presenting our annual Oily Rag Budget.

It's away at the printers and under strict embargo so nothing can be revealed at this stage. It's fair to say, however, that there is an economic dichotomy within New Zealand at the present time: those prospering off the smell of an oily rag, and everyone else.

Here's a quick comment from our Minister of Frugal Finance: "The Oily Rag Budget 2015 is an opportunity budget - an opportunity for all New Zealanders to be inspired and share in the prosperity and wellness that comes from a frugal lifestyle. I say, waste not, want not, let tomorrow be better than today, let's aspire New Zealand to be the best oily rag nation in the world."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

[We have it from sources close to the Minister that free pumpkin seeds and a raised garden for every household may be part of the budget package!] That's next week.

Thanks so much for your questions and tips. You can send in your ideas and join the Oily Rag mailing list by visiting www.oilyrag.co.nz or write to us at Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.

-Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Read tips at www.oilyrag.co.nz

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Opinion

Nick Stewart: What if you die with a big KiwiSaver balance?

30 May 08:43 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

26 May 07:00 AM
Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

KiwiSaver changes 'a burden' for small businesses and self-employed

22 May 08:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Nick Stewart: What if you die with a big KiwiSaver balance?

Nick Stewart: What if you die with a big KiwiSaver balance?

30 May 08:43 PM

OPINION: How to spare your family pain in accessing the funds at a time of suffering.

'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

'She is not going to prison': Woman avoids jail after cousin's fatal mattress fall from car roof

26 May 07:00 AM
Premium
KiwiSaver changes 'a burden' for small businesses and self-employed

KiwiSaver changes 'a burden' for small businesses and self-employed

22 May 08:00 PM
Premium
Liam Dann: Upbeat Treasury forecasts GDP growth, rising house prices

Liam Dann: Upbeat Treasury forecasts GDP growth, rising house prices

22 May 05:39 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP