Leftovers: www.recipegoldmine.com has some great ideas on turning last night's dinner into something else.

Challenge yourself: Simplesavings.com.au has a $21 Challenge Week plan where you use the food you've already got at home instead of heading off to your supermmarket or fast food store. So look in your pantry, fridge and freezer first and come up with recipes to use what you have.

Don't know what to cook with what you've got? Log onto allrecipes.com. Type in the main ingredients that you have and don't have and it will come up with recipes for you.

Pleasant peasant: Think of peasant cooking such as Indian, Mexican, Italian and Asian. They use inexpensive ingredients such as pasta, rice, tomato or curry sauces, beans and vegetables with minimal meat.

No wastage: Soups are great because they are cheap and you can use almost anything. You can also make a big batch and stick some in the freezer for a later date so it saves time. For vegetables or meat almost on their last legs, make a soup with what you have. Get your cook book out or head to websites such as www.bestrecipes.com.au.