deedee_b

Hello,

Since becoming a full time student and working only 15 hours a week. I am finding it very difficult to make ends meet. After coving rent I'm left with not a lot of money to cover everything else, food, petrol, internet, etc etc. and at the end of all that I am also trying to save for a trip back home!

So I was wondering if anyone had any moneysaving tips out there that might help, or places to go for discount clothes, food, etc etc? I live on the Gold Coast.

There might be some tips/places that I'd not heard about or that others might find quite handy....

Thanks!

HelenTD

I found this recently: http://moneydetective.com.au/.

Jaycee1

1. Food - shop at Aldi for basics like sugar, flour, snacks. I find it cheaper than
Woolworths/Coles
2. Petrol - Its usually cheaper during the week but recently its been expensive
the whole week! Search this site:
http://motormouth.com.au/default_fl.aspx
3. Internet -Join and search this forum:
http://whirlpool.net.au/

All the usual of not leaving tv on standby or computers/laptop/phone/printer plugged on charging turn off all other switches you are not using. Try not to use air-con our bills were so high when I had it on... quite often
J x

Jon77

If you drive go easy on the brakes and the accelerator and keep a good average speed and keep the car air con off if you can (I know that is difficult sometimes in oz).

You will be surprised at the amount of petrol you can save just by changing your driving habits.

If you can manage without a car altogether for a little while and public transport is a viable cost effective alternative then do that.

Just like in the UK supermarkets have reduced items and if you go to fruit and veg sellers towards the end of the day they are usually selling things off reduced. I once got a whole tray of fruit for nothing as the guy was going to chuck them and I took them off his hands, was happy to give them to me, nothing wrong with them either, just that they were not perfect which is what customers demand. The amount of food that is thrown away at the end of each day / week by shops is shocking, there is usually nothing wrong with this food either. Food wasteage is one of the things that really gets to me.

It soon gets boring trying to cut back on your food bills and we all still need treats. Get yourself a good basic cook book and think how you can make some nice things using basic food.

Deancm_MKII

Don't spend it... It's as simple as that. Easy!

Kelli28

Ask for student discount.

LauraMunroBruce

I know the feeling!!
Aside from paying this semesters fees last week I got accepted for an apartment today and have to pay bond and a months rent so my budget is pretty much nothing for the next few months!

Little things I do that help:

Charge up laptop/phone etc while at school. I'm paying $5500 a semester I deserve it!

I too am saving for a trip home and have pictures from my last trip as my screensavers on my phone/computer so that I am reminded of how much fun I had last time and that seems to remind me that the sacrificies I make now will be worth it.

Don't be afraid to tell people that you have no money. I used to have a high paying job and met up with girlfriends for shopping/coffee most days before work and I made up excuses to get out of hanging with them because I didn't think they would want to hang out with me when I couldn't do the things I used to. Yes a few of them did stop calling as often but a few would suggest cheap/free things to do and one friend even admitted she was having money troubles too and was glad that she could now openly talk about it.

The last thing I do is spend some money on something I like. Sounds strange doesn't it? I like dancing, went to full time dancing school, wanted to be a performer then life got in the way. I looked into taking it up again but it was expensive ($20 a class) but then they sold ten class passes for $150, and had student concessions so in the end I pay $13 a class. I go once a week and it gets me out of the house so I am not sitting at home thinking about how little money I have!
I also feel re-energised after every class as if I can achieve anything I want to and that positive attitude helps a hell of a lot when you've only got $4.55 in your wallet and 3days to payday!

SamG

I agree with everyone else - shop at Aldi as much as possile, buy your petrol strategically (not always easy to get the timing right though).

Check with your electricity supplier to see when your 'off peak' times are. I switched my washing machine and dishwasher to being on only 'off peak' and it made a massive difference to my power bill.

Try and go 'cash only'. Work out how much you need per month for your bills (insurances, power, car maintenance etc) and put that aside, then take out your allocated amount for spending money and food and only spend cash for a whole month. You're less likely to hand over hard cash than whip out your debit card (which is too easy to do). You'd be surprised at how much you can save, when I started it I saved $500 in my first month

Good luck, I hope things get easier for you.

sassie

[QUOTE=Jaycee1;9161246]1. Food - shop at Aldi for basics like sugar, flour, snacks. I find it cheaper than
Woolworths/Coles

We use Aldi for 95% of our food shopping. Estimate our grocery bill has cut by at least a third from shopping at Coles/Woolworths.

goldchoccycoin

I started cooking in batches on a Sunday - mostly because I'm lazy/busy during the week and also to try and save a bit of cash!

I cook things like spaghetti bolognaise, thai green curry, massaman curry, chicken cacciatore etc with rice or pasta and then freeze individual portions. I then defrost and nuke and have with salad or zapped veges.

I also bring portions for lunch - I also make pumpkin soup etc that I love.

Saves me heaps!

spuddyo

A lot of food stores like 'bakers delight' throw away all their stock when the shop closes in the evening. Fresh bread baked that day just gets binned, which is a huge waste. The are not allowed to donate to charities etc for human consumption ( too much red tape, it's madness ) but they will generally give it to you "to feed your pet chickens".

I get a huge bag full on friday evenings, french sticks, crusty bread, rolls etc and they last all weekend. A big saving if you've got kids that like bread. Even flower shops throw out gorgeous roses etc, there maybe on wilted flower in a bunch and they just toss them out.