talbot

Yesterday I bought 1kg lean beef mince for $5.00 at Vic. market here in Melbourne

Margaret3

;once a week take yourself to springvale or boxhill and stock up on your fruit and veg, meat and fish for the week, cheap as chips, also experiment with some of the other asian brands there, kids like some of the lollies from there now

amazed

i use a site called simple savings. http://www.simplesavings.com.au. its full of money saving advice and blogs on everything from groceries to mortgages, cars, hobbies etc. i saved the subscription costs v quickly and now get tips sent to my email . theres also www.cheapskates.com.au/ wish we'd known about both as soon as we moved here as could have saved loads

gjs

Get an offset mortgage,plus a credit card.Put everything on the card and pay it off at the end of the month.

OH has bought a bike and cycles to and from work every day -10kms so is saving $45 on parking fees alone.

Bulk buy as much as possible when things are on Special.

Don't buy prepacked meat/veg.much more expensive and the supermarket meat IMHO is not v good quality.

Visit asian grocers for bargains eg IGA supermarket coriander $2.50 grocer $1,for twice the amount.Mirin - IGA $5.50,grocer - $2 we get all our spices and sauces for marinades there.

If you are going to be using public transport,get multitrip tickets.

Ask for discount for cash when buying white goods ,furniture etc.

Use energy efficient lightbulbs.switch off electrical appliances when not in use.

School uniform shops often sell "preloved" uniforms cheaply.

Buy/rent a house with big eaves!They really help to keep you cooler in the summer and save on air con costs.

Buy hot water bottles.

You will often get a discount if you pay some bills promptly ie with our council, it costs less to pay the whole years rates in a oner rather than paying quarterly same with car rego.

Forget buying DVDs use the internet.

Clearance sales at end of season - we get things like kids pjs in the next size up,winter jackets etc as an example,got 6 pairs of winter pjs and a padded jacket formy youngest for $20 the lot in Target last year and $250 worth of shorts and t shirts a couple of months ago for $65.

Diane

stariston

The good old Aussie shop a docket

The barrter system before GST

Assegai

Read newspapers online instead of buying them

Assegai

Take sandwiches to work for lunch instead of using the canteen or Subway.

Scuba Steve

If, like me, you need a coffee in the morning, take a cafetiere to work and buy a bag of ground coffee every few weeks instead of spending $2.50 every day

jasonlec

If things get real bad, tape rice krispies to the wheels of your car (or soles of feet) when you walk up the drive home.
That way the neighbours will think you have a plush gravel drive and you wont lose any face with them.
p.s be sure to shoplift the rice krispies or buy them by taking the money from a blind beggers cup, notes also seem to make less noise when extracted from tin cups.
If in doubt on shoplifting, get the local hoodie or ner do well to do it for you, promise to split all takings 60/40, then when they come back with the goods announce yourself as a police officer, also take their wallet as id and confiscate any goods as evidence.

Ding Dong

Read these tips in the dark and save on electricity.

MartinH

Here are my tips - some already mentioned.

1. Cut your own hair with clippers (I have done this since 2002 and not been to a barbers since) - number 3 all over.

2. Drive a diesel

3. Never buy the prepacked meats in supermarkets - always buy from the fresh meat counter.

4. Check prices online before you buy - then take the printout to the shop.

5. Don't buy lunch - take sandwiches.

6. Buy a satnav and don't waste petrol getting lost!

7. ALWAYS ask for a discount

Mumfords

my shopping bill for a family of 4 is roughly under $150 per week i shop at woolies then a futher $30 on fruit and veg, i heard a tip on the tv a few weeks back and they said never get food items off the shelves at eye level they a priced the most expensive (but if you 7ft tall or very short this will not apply:rofl) I always by the reduced meat its fine when you get it home and freeze it.
Another thing is i have also started christmas shopping at K-mart and big W getting a few things for the kids each week if there in a sale and putting them on layby therefore having 12 weeks to pay them off at a budget that suits me

Ann

brickies wife

Good advice Ann.

Don't go shopping until there really isn't anything left in the fridge you can make a meal with. I have tried this and can stretch a 7 day shop to 10 days meals.

Always barter for a better price for large goods such as electricals, I even bartered for an electric toothbrush and got 30% off. (Always got the best deal from Retravision.)

Never impulse buy, shop around and if it isn't on sale wait, it will be.

Read the flyers from Coles and Woollies and plan your meals around it.

Buy all your cleaning products, Toiletries and washing powder, in Bulk from Big W.


Tina

Mumfords

glad you replied Tina, thourght i killed another thread

Ann

GinaUK

If you're renting and the place has a garden (bound to), negotiate that the owner pays a proportion of your water bill (or a flat $xx amount).

By watering the garden you're looking after the owner's asset. That was how it was worded on the WA tenancy advice website, who recommended that owners pay for it.

We had no problem with the estate agent getting that put into the tenancy agreement.

Gina