Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

There have been a few threads recently where people have asked if they can live on $55,000 - $60,000 in Australia.
Some people think you can - others think it would be a struggle.

What tips do you have for saving money? It could be bargains in certain shops, cheapest fuel suppliers, a cheap yet healthy recipe, low cost mortgage - absolutely anything that will help people save a bob or two.

In the U.K there is a site called moneysavingexpert.com. Perhaps there is something similar for Australia.

All tips welcome :)

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

I think a lot has to do with what you are used to living on over there. If you can't live on the equivalent in pounds then forget it - also if you live somewhere like (say) a council estate in the North of the UK and live in a £100k ex council house and expect to move to Sydney, get paid $50k and get a better lifestyle most of the time you'll be disappointed.

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Wendy - you must have some good money saving tips you can share :)

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Yep, don't go anywhere :lol:

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Grow your own veg.

Buzzy

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

I suppose it very much depends on your family to how much money you can get away with living on. Hubbie and I are on a student visa in South Australia, and between us have 35 hours of work a week.
Our rent is $280 a week and we have been covering all of our outgoings with that 35 hours a week.
Our main extravigances are phone, internet and petrol (well I could walk some places, but I am lazy).
But I suppose you have to take into account, we have no children, but do have a dog, I don't drink (hubbie does), neither of us smoke. We never ate ready meals anyway, so know how to cook from raw ingredients (which seems to be cheaper), and I have been trained (there is no changing me now) by years of careful shopping by my Mum to not plan what you are going to eat until you get to the shop and see what is best value (which here seems to change daily). We do have the odd take away, which sometimes can work out cheaper than cooking ($4 for a large pizza!).
Neither of us are into shopping so we don't have that addiction to feed. LOL.
We get the odd dvd out and have bought a wii.
We also save a little money as I get to bring some veggies home from my horticulture course.

I suppose the main thing to do to save money is to not buy what you want until there is a sale, which is about every 3 weeks for just about everything. It is a pain in the bum, but we are getting used to it. And shop around, there is no Tesco here with everything cheap all in one place.

I would love to know if there is an equivalent of moneysavingexpert out here. Would be rather helpful. :)

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

I guess you'd need land or an allotment for that?

Or can some veg be grown in pots? (Excuse my ignorance :o)
That is something I'd love to do but wouldn't know where to start

Edit - If you grow your own veg do you just get one crop per year or does it keep coming for a few months?

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

I'm hoping we'll get our own version of it on this thread :D

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

You can grow loads of stuff in large enough pots. We had a belfast sink left in our rental and grew courgettes, and a nice herb garden in it.
In the UK we grew potatoes, carrots, onions, just about anything I could in pots.

I am doing a horticulture course at the moment and we are just learning about hydroponics, and it seems you can grow most veggies that way too, we are just trialing some. I know hydroponics has a bad rep, and can be expensive to set up, but great if you are short of space, or are in a rental.

Have fun.

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Tomatoes are particularly easy to grow. I grew 5000+ off 22 plants one year in the UK. We were eating soup, ketchup and chutney for decades.

Buzzy

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

It's a hard one to answer really because we are all so different.

I go to the supermarket and spend on average $300 per fortnight for 4 of us, whereas I know others that spend $300 per week on the same size family. I have no idea why it's more for them than me :confused: but I do know that I very rarely go over that amount. Last fortnight's shopping was $240 and I still have lots left. I don't do any of the buying at grocer's and butchers etc - all my stuff is bought from Woolies.

Over the past few days I've seen things about pre existing and serious medical conditions costing you lots of money - well since getting here I've spent quite a lot of time at the docs, both for stuff that I had before I came and stuff I have got since getting here and it's cost me the grand total of $15 - that's ultrasounds, x-rays, physical exams with specialists, and a lot of other stuff that I don't want to discuss on here.

I really don't know why some people find it more expensive here :confused: I don't find it more expensive, but then again it's not cheap either. I seriously think that it depends on the person, and it all boils down to the old cliche of you spend what you earn

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Sounds good.
Are potatoes and carrots easy to grow?
I guess most people will be short of space to pots would be the easy answer.
I guess in Australia you wouldn't need a greenhouse?

PB - What are hydroponics?

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Do you shop in particular places Wendy?

Edit - doh! Just seen it's Woolies

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

I hate Coles, it reminds me of Netto :D

On the veggie front, depends really. We have a huge garden but growing stuff in there is a bit hard (cos we're rubbish at it :lol:). We do have huge lemon, orange, peach and cherry tree's though. Also a grape vine and a few other stuff that are popping up in our garden this year.

I did manage to grow tomato's, cucumbers, capsicums and a lettuce this year though. Hoping to get better at it for next year :D

Re: Your tips for money saving and living on a budget in Australia
 

Make your own wine? :D