codywhipp1

I've been reading a lot about the high cost of living in Australia, particularly Perth...are there any ways to reduce expenses or live frugally by cutting costs (i.e. couponing, etc.)? I am from the US and may be relocating to Perth in the next few months and was a bit worried about cost of living. Would love to hear others' experiences with how they are cutting costs to stay on a budget.

renth

Don't go out for meals or drinking. Buy an economical car and fill up on the cheaper days by using the fuelwatch web site: http://www.fuelwatch.wa.gov.au/ .

Don't use Telstra for internet/mobiles etc... shop around.

renth

Just seen you'll be working for Rio Tinto. Ignore my previous post. You'll be raking it in.

HelenTD

You can save a lot of money on food by making things yourself from scratch. Also, there are considerable savings when you buy in bulk. If a parent can teach their children how to swim, that can save many hundreds of dollars.

Weebie

Most of the US expats from Rio or Chevron are raking it in over here.

Dorothy

We don't have coupons here the way North America does.

kips

Don't pay full price for anything. Wait for half price specials in the supermarkets eg detergent and toiletries which are expensive here.

codywhipp1

So there are no coupons like in North America, tell me more about these half off sales...how often? What types of stores (food? clothing? household items?)

codywhipp1

I've heard bad things about Telstra...so who is good to go with? Also, any other negative reviews of service providers for cell phones, TV, internet, etc would be good. I've moved to new areas before and there's always growing pains (learning experiences), but anything you guys can do to give me a heads up would be appreciated.

Dorothy

You just have to be savvy with where and when you shop. Some stores have sales all the time and others you haggle with. Food stores are not like Kroeger or Safeway. They're much smaller and not near as much variety. Food is expensive here in WA but there are a few decent markets around depending on where you choose to live. We're in the northern 'burbs so we go to Wanneroo markets if we're looking for bargain produce. Clothing is expensive and again, not great variety. We have Target & K-Mart here but they aren't the same as the American stores; Big W is Walmart, but not Walmart as we know it. It's small with no food section or cheap crap. When I go home (Canada) I always make sure to pop over to Buffalo to do some decent shopping.

Perth is a long way from anything. Think a self contained city the size of Philadelphia plopped down in the middle of the nowhere, at least 3 hours flight from the next decent sized city. No quick commuter train to DC or NY, no cheap internal flights to Miami for the weekend. It's expensive and isolated and if you come from a major metropolitain area of the US it's a culture shock. I'm originally from the Metro Toronto area and still 5 years on find it difficult at times. In summer it's very hot - think Phoenix and in winter it's cold and wet - think northern Oregon weather.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Here endeth the Perth sales pitch.

Dorothy

don't get me wrong anus. I'm content here at the moment but I think people need the good the bad and the indifferent to make up their minds. Perth is very different to the US. Sydney or Melbourne would be cities a little closer to the US model with Costco, longer shopping hours etc but if the OP is coming to Perth he needs to know that it's different to where he's coming from. Take a look at the questions he's asked over the last couple of days

HelenTD

We've been with iinet for years and have always been happy with the service. For more details on what's available, look at http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/. Unfortunately there are some blackspots in Perth, sometimes in suburbs not far from the CBD. You can check which suburbs get ADSL on various websites, including iinet http://www.iinet.net.au/products/residential.html.

deb68

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorothy
You just have to be savvy with where and when you shop. Some stores have sales all the time and others you haggle with. Food stores are not like Kroeger or Safeway. They're much smaller and not near as much variety. Food is expensive here in WA but there are a few decent markets around depending on where you choose to live. We're in the northern 'burbs so we go to Wanneroo markets if we're looking for bargain produce. Clothing is expensive and again, not great variety. We have Target & K-Mart here but they aren't the same as the American stores; Big W is Walmart, but not Walmart as we know it. It's small with no food section or cheap crap. When I go home (Canada) I always make sure to pop over to Buffalo to do some decent shopping.

Perth is a long way from anything. Think a self contained city the size of Philadelphia plopped down in the middle of the nowhere, at least 3 hours flight from the next decent sized city. No quick commuter train to DC or NY, no cheap internal flights to Miami for the weekend. It's expensive and isolated and if you come from a major metropolitain area of the US it's a culture shock. I'm originally from the Metro Toronto area and still 5 years on find it difficult at times. In summer it's very hot - think Phoenix and in winter it's cold and wet - think northern Oregon weather.


:rof

DeadVim

I have to go against the nay-sayers ... I've been happy with the service and reliability of our Telstra home phone/ADSL/mobile plan. 5 years in, no complaints.

Yes, they aren't the cheapest but I'm sticking with them because it just works.

Also heard good things about iinet though so they'd be my first choice if I had to change.