Women’s Weekly Road train

The Weekly, the Commonwealth Bank and Today have teamed up to bring you On the Road — a 25,000km tour bringing the pages of The Weekly to life in 100 towns across Australia. It’s a great day of family fun & entertainment. Stop by to check out food, beauty, health, and fashion demonstrations, finance seminars from the Commonwealth Bank, and much more....

Where's the train heading?
Tuesday, 30 January - Moree, NSW
The day starts at 6pm at Broughton Oval with a welcome from The Weekly's editor-in-chief Deborah Thomas. Some of the other highlights include: country singers The Sunny Cowgirls perform and Victoria Edwards sings live with her Road Train Band.

Thursday, 1 February - Bourke, NSW
The Road Train sets up shop at Old Wharf on the Riverbank from 9am to 12pm today. There will be a sewing, knitting and patchwork demonstration from local group The Golden Girls and former Bourke mayor Wally Mitchell joins in the fun to recite famous Aussie bush poems.

Saturday, 3 February - Dubbo, NSW
Join us at the Macquarie Valley Food and Wine Market from 8am to 12pm as we interview food experts and local producers at the visitor's centre car park of the Macquarie Valley Farmers Market. Plus, The Weekly's food director Lyndey Milan cooks up a storm using local produce and The Sunny Cowgirls perform on the Road Train stage.

Head on over & catch up with the Women's Weekly Road Train for a fun day of entertainment.

Snapshot of Super Changes

Constant changes are being made to your Superannuation.... On 5 September 2006 Treasurer Peter Costello announced further changes providing even more incentive for people to boost their super savings.

From 1 July 2007
* Super benefits to be tax-free for people aged over 60 years
* Reasonable Benefit Limits abolished
* Simpler tax treatment for super benefits received before age 60
* Lump sum benefits taxed more concessionally
* Super more attractive for self-employed

From 1 September 2007
* Assets Test for Age Pension benefits will be more generous
* The 50% Assets Test exemptin will be removed for new 'complying' income streams.

What's New?
* New transitional limit on undeducted contributions of up to $1 million
* Revised deductible contribution limits
* Refined undeducted contribution limits
* New transitional rule for employer ETP's
* Invalidity benefits extended to the self-employed
* New rules for quoting of Tax File Numbers
* New pre and post component changes
* New rules for death benefits paid to dependents
* Commutation of complying income streams will not be permitted.

** It is always recommended to speak with your financial adviser to make the most of your Super.... Who knows what the next changes will be or when they will occur.. Hopefully making it a much simpler system to understand. ==> Federal Budget Info

Free Kids’ Lunchbox

MAGGI Back-to-School Offer.....
This offer is exclusive to Coles (Aust) and is only available from 22nd January for a limited time or while stocks last. The MAGGI team are offering a fantastic kids’ lunchbox free with every purchase of specially marked MAGGI 10 Pack noodles. Give your kids the taste they love and the nutrition they need & be quick to grab your free lunchbox. Finally…. after 6 weeks...school’s back... time for mum & dads to catch their breath & take time for themselves!

Free Kids Shoes

Mathers is proudly celebrating over 80 years of expert fitting, professional advice and great service to the feet of all Australians.

They have a great offer..... Receive a FREE** pair of kids shoes... When you buy 5 pairs of full price kids shoes in their exclusive range of kids products - the 6th pair is yours FREE!

** Valid until 31st Dec 2007 Conditions apply. See instore for details.
==> Visit Mathers website

Watch ecoNSW and Win

The NSW Government's free to air digital TV channel is giving you the chance to WIN an LCD widescreen TV or a water saving washing machine. There are also water saving packs up for grabs!

For more information, tune into Channel 45 and watch out for the competitions appearing on screen during the ecoNSW show at 2.30pm and 10pm Monday To Friday. The competitions close on 28th Feb 2007.

ecoNSW also features regular updates on:
* breaking news
* weather
* surf conditions
* water saving products
* dam levels
* water quality results
* water restrictions
* water wise gardening

For more information visit: ecoNSW - ChannelNSW is the NSW Government's Digital TV channel, delivering public and government information into your lounge room.

Woolworths National Drought Action Day

If you live in Australia you might find this of interest.....

On 23 January 2007 , Woolworths will be donating itsentire supermarket's profits for the day to the droughtrelief. The funds will primarily be used by the CWA (Country Women's Association) for immediate supportfor rural families with the remainder to help fund researchinto sustainable farming practices. This is expected to bein excess of $3 million dollars.So if you do your normal shopping on the 23 January youwill helping farming families who are currently doing it tough. Please pass this on to as many people as possible if youwould like to support it. Check out the Woolworths website which confirms the details.

Free First Home Buyers Seminar

Are you thinking about buying your first home? This information packed evening is a must attend event for anyone thinking of buying their first home. Learn the answers to important questions from Mortgage Choice such as:

* What government benefits am I entitled to?
* What if I don't have a deposit?
* What other costs do I need to allow for?
* How much can I afford to borrow?
* Should I get a pre-approval?

Thurs 1st Feb 6pm - 8pm
Manly Leagues Club NSW (Aust)
02 9949 8698

Rainwater Tank & Washing Machine Rebates

Water Saving Rebates & Offers

Rainwater Tank Rebates
Sydney Water has a Rainwater Tank Rebate Program offering customers up to $800 to install a rainwater tank. A special Rainwater Tanks in Schools Rebate Program is also available for schools.

Washing Machine Rebates
A rebate of $150 is available to customers who purchase a new washing machine with a water efficiency rating of 4-star1 or AAAAA. The rebate offer commenced on 1 March 2006 and will run until 31 July 2008. 4-star1 or AAAAA water efficient washing machines save more than 21,000 litres of water a year compared to older machines. The rebate offer could help to save one million litres a day.

These are some of the many ways the NSW Government is helping you to help secure Sydney’s water for life by saving water in and around your home. To find out more and to take advantage of rebates and offers visit the website links above. Please read all information to qualify for rebates & expiry dates of offers.

Save Water, Save Money, Save the Environment!

Vacuum Cleaner Bites The Dust

After years of service my Electrolux vacuum cleaner died yesterday! After a hectic xmas & new year I decided to bring the vacuum out for a big clean.

It's amazing how much dust can collect over the weeks.... Almost finished the whole house... when all of a sudden, there was a burning smell! Smoke was coming out of my vacuum. Certainly was a shock & so was the price of a replacement. Took it down to the repairman, just incase... he said 'in it's day it was a top of the range' but sadly the motor had burnt out. I'm usually vigilant in cleaning out the dust bag after every use. But I wondered if it had been full to start with & this created the overheating. I will never know.

Prices are unbelievable... Must admit I think I had the old one for over 15 years. Served us well. I need one that is easy to move around & I was astounded at the prices of a decent vacuum... almost $400 & up! I'm on the hunt for a new vacuum. So a word of warning... always ensure that you regularly empty the dustbag.

Fresh 'n' Crisp

Fresh 'n' Crisp Fruit & Vegetable Storage Bags

This morning while shopping I spotted some gel pack fruit & vegetable storage bags.

I thought this was quite an interesting concept.... Just ask yourself this question... How often have you thrown out vegetables because they've gone limp or discoloured... this is especially true for broccoli or celery that goes limp after one day!

I thought for a cost of about $2.60 AU for 10 medium bags it was worth a shot at what I could save.

These bags are light green...& I have heard something about green bags before... where? who knows?....The pack states that they contain approved natural ingredients (couldn't find a list anywhere on the pack) which slow down the ageing process of fruit & vegetables.... Preserves freshness, vitamins & flavour.

I will let you know how my experiment went. Of course there are directions which I will need to follow to help preserve my fruit & veges for as long as possible.They also list the suitable produce to place in your Fresh 'n' Crisp storage bag.

On the back of the pack they show a piece of broccoli that was stored for 21 days still looking fresh & green from using the storage bag.... 21 Days my goodness! If it was still in my fridge after all that time it'd make me wonder what I'd been eating!!

Looking forward to saving money by keeping my fruit & veges fresher!

Click Here => For Everday Savings Hints & Tips

Refrigerator Door Seals

As you're most probably aware your refrigerator is constantly using extra energy.. & that means electricity as well... especially if the door seal is not doing it's job.

So, before you replace your fridge....maybe all it really needs is new rubber around your seals. This helps keep the fridge door closed tightly ... keeping the cold air inside where it belongs. Check your local newspaper for a tradesman who replaces the seals. Don't forget to ask him for a quote before he arrives & whether a service call fee applies to help you make an informed decision. If you are eligible for a pensioner discount etc don't forget to ask.

Another tip is to not continually open your fridge door. Try to take items out at one time. Apparently older style fridges also use a lot of electricity.... so ask yourself...Do you really need that extra fridge in the garage? Maybe the dh thinks so... especially if it's chilling his beer!