Stitch

Hi,

Being one of those people who came over without wads of dosh and having to get a big mortgage I was curious about how others in a similar situation have found themselves here financialy. So far we have found Brisbane to be quite expensive. We have thought that we may not be buying things in the right places (any suggestions on decent fruit/veg would be wecome) but buy the time you drive around to find them you're needing to fill up that old tank which in itself is painful.

Would love to hear your views on this.

Cheers

Ginny

MrsDagboy

Ginny the supermarkets are generally expensive for fruit & veg (unless they are in season & there is a glut), the fruit & vege barns are usually cheaper, you often find them at the supermarket shopping centres as well. Dunno where you shop, but there is one near the Commonwealth Bank at Wynnum Plaza & one outside Woolworths at Mayfair (Manly West). Apart from that, the Sunday Markets are often good for F&V, I usually go to Chandler Markets & get my weeks worth of stuff. Went yesterday & got potatoes for $1.50kg (supermarket anything up to $3/kg :scared: ), Pink Lady apples for $2kg direct from the grower (supermarkets usually $5/kg), Mandarins & ruby grapefruit $1/kg (Usually $3 or $4/kg?), pumpkin 90c/kg (often over $2/kg in the supermarket) + other assorted stuff.

The other thing I have been thinking about alot lately & have discussed with a couple of friends from school is doing a F&V co-op sort of thing using the Rocklea Markets (the F&V distribution centre for SEQld). Buying from Rocklea is so very cheap, it will cut down costs a heap IMO. Let me know if you are interested.

Other than that - grow your own , exactly the right time of year to plant most things in the next month or so .

Stitch

Thanx very much for the info. We were at chandler swimming yesterday and saw the signs for the market. Might try that out next week. Will be in touch soon....

cheers

Ginny

Wendy

Hey Ginny,

Hows things going for you now. Are you feeling a bit more settled?

ozzieeagle

Havn't had one of these threads for a while. I'm not sure if the same happens Australia wide as what happens in Melbourne. However our local Markets. Preston and Coburg, are at least as expensive as our Local Safeway. We dont get foodbarns around here. The local Greengrocers are not too much cheaper than Safeway either. With Fuji apples and Royal Galas coming in at about 3 dollars (2.99 why do they say bloody 2.99) through to 4 dollars a kilo. Similar comparative prices apply right the way through the Greengrocer spectrum. The only way to buy cheap at our local markets is to buy cartons of produce . Whereas if we go to Safeway there will always be some fruit on special. I think our lack of foodbarns is probably associated with the price of property in this area.

Vic market is very difficult to get parking at, so in my opinion shopping for a family is compromised by the amount of time and effort it takes to get to the place and back again, especially for bulky fruit and vegies. For meat and fish it is worth going there.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, or maybe the supermarkets are so competitive in this part of Melbourne, that they have become a better option.

MrsDagboy

Thought of you today when I walked past the fruitbarn at Mayfair & saw potatoes 3kgs for $1.99 .

Ohh & now that strawberries are in season you can get them from the shop at the strawberry farm down at Wellington Point for $4/kg for ones that aren't the perfect shape . Absolutely delicious .

jothefw

So glad you've said about strawberries - my MIL makes the most brilliant homemade jam - so good I've never tried to compete and haven't bought shop stuff in over 10 yrs (and we get through a lot of it!)

Anyway obviously can't import food stuffs so think I'll need her to make a load each times she comes - it won't last long but it'll curb my husbands homesickness! When you read about Oz you never see much about raspberries and strawberries and so on ... not sure about mango jam?

thebears

We try and use the local greengrocer as much as possible - costs more than our Safeway but the taste is far superior. Same distance either way (2 mins walk).

MrsDagboy

I make strawberry jam with them when they are this cheap too, I made some a couple of days ago, god the taste!!! It is NOTHING like stuff from the shop, the homemade stuff is sooooooooooo good it's unreal! I make mine in the microwave - absolutely dead easy, chuck it all in, stir it a couple of times & its done! I can make it in the ad breaks of my fav TV show .

Unfortunately we dont get raspberries up here in Brisbane, well only stuff sent up from down south that costs an absolute fortune to buy, so I'll just stick to the strawberry jam .

Whitby Wanderers

[QUOTE=MrsDagboy]I make strawberry jam with them when they are this cheap too, I made some a couple of days ago, god the taste!!! It is NOTHING like stuff from the shop, the homemade stuff is sooooooooooo good it's unreal! I make mine in the microwave - absolutely dead easy, chuck it all in, stir it a couple of times & its done! I can make it in the ad breaks of my fav TV show .

Mmmmmm...sounds delicious Mrs D....do you have a recipie you can share??...We are in Victoria Point and have a strawberry farm literally over the road and I would love to try making some. (but am an incompetent in the kitchen so need a simple recipe!)

Simon

Stitch

kinda, wee lass still having a hard time. How about you guys. Hope all's treating you well.

Cheers

Ginny

JaneandJim

I make strawberry ice cream and its yummy too.

Jane
p.s. let me know when you're next going to Rocklea and you can show me how its done. I've been meaning to go for the last 2 years.

steve`o

is that feasable with the about of bugs you guys get??
i only have to spray once sometimes twice a year at home
i would imagine it would be required a lot more out there??

Wendy

We're doing just fine thanks.

Kids have settled really well, they love school which is something of a miracle really, cos they didn't like it that much in the UK

We've been quite busy getting a house and furnishing it etc, but have just about got organised now. So a couple of weeks of enjoying this lovely place then it's off to work (for hubby anyway ) Hoping he can get one that is!!

How old is your young un?

steve`o

hi wend did you get my email dear


ps sorry for off thread bit