About

Lyn Webster has restricted her family grocery budget to just $100 a week, hoping to save $12,000 in a year to invest in a rental property.

Lyn was charting progress in her weekly column in the Taranaki Daily News.

Since starting this project in January 2009, Lyn surpassed her savings goal by 100% in just 6-months. In August 2009 the grocery budget was slashed again to just $75 per week. Savings have swelled to in excess of $30,000 by October 2009.

October, 2010
Lyn has saved nearly $40,000 in a managed fund and takes almost no drawings from her sharemilking business. She has also paid her Mother back $16,000. The family rarely spends over $75 a week on groceries, and are also eating healthier than before.

The environmental aspects are also positive with less wastage and less chemicals used by the family. This lifestyle change is easy to achieve and holds many positive benefits. Anyone can do this if they want to.

June, 2011
Lyn has reinvested her savings by growing her sharemilking business by 25% and moving to Opoutere (near Whangamata). The speaking side of the Pigtits venture is snowballing with Lyn speaking at many functions, groups and community sessions organised by local councils.

This progress has been achieved mainly by Lyn discovering how to make most of the commonly used cleaning products – laundry powder, dish-washing liquid and powder, all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner etc herself at home, quickly and cheaply.  This has enabled her to literally save thousands of dollars.

December, 2012
Despite some unexpected letdowns in the dairy industry including a farm being leased out from underneath her, Lyn has continued dairy farming and is currently leasing 100ha in Northland. Huge moving expenses (in excess of $100K) have cleaned out the savings and forced a rethink of goals. The rental property is no longer on the agenda for the near future. However Lyn has written a book about her new lifestyle which is due out in Feb 2012 and remains confident that her new frugal approach to everyday living will serve her well in the long term.
If I hadn’t learned to live so cheaply there is no way my business would have survived the financial pressure of moving 200 cows plus machinery from Taranaki to Northland via the Coromandel in just two years.
I am grateful I have learnt how to minimise my personal spending. Stevie and I are living well on around $35 a week groceries at the moment. Thank goodness for baking soda…

Publicity in the Daily News has lead to TV appearances on Campbell Live (TV 3) and Good Morning (TV One), public speaking engagements, an article in That’s Life , New Idea and Lucky Break Magazines and requests world-wide to buy the recipes and obtain the books.

Classes

Lyn offers classes that demonstrate the homemade products in Northland for $25, and Lyn is available to travel to demonstrate to groups of ten or more for a flat rate of $150.  The demonstration includes recipes and samples.
Call 09 409 4043

Franchises

MAKE franchises have been set up in communities across New Zealand so that classes, workshops and demonstrations are now available New Zealand-wide. Find a class near you. MAKE home made products has also launched across the Tasman, with classes available in Australia.

If you want to share Lyn’s story with a group, it costs $500 plus travel and accommodation. Invercargill loved Lyn’s presentation in July, and she is going to Lower Hutt in February. Upper Hutt in June brought as crowd of 670, and the Hastings Opera House was a full house.