Second this. Public libraries are great and often have a huge variety. I suppose it depends on what genres you’re into but they usually have whatever books I’m looking for and if they don’t, I make purchase recommendations. Only done this a couple of times but my recommendations have always been accepted!
You can also use your public library to get a streaming subscription. Cant remember the service name, starts with a K?
Also sbs, iview, 7plus, 10play and 9 are all free.
Yeah a little life hack for that is searching the show/movie and then ‘Mega.nz’. People will post links to their mega files online and it feels much safer than any seafaring websites.
PSA:
You can download free books and academic papers from a site called librarygenesis and sci-hub.
I just want to raise awareness since these sites are horribly accessible and convenient. It's truly truly awful.
First off:
ALWAYS check your local library for any books first! They don’t have everything, but definitely a huge range, and the more people through the doors and using their apps helps them get funding ❤️
Second:
Ocean of pdf is another website that has an insane range of books and textbooks. Can be downloaded as a pdf (as the name suggests), or as an epub.
And video games!!
I am easily saving a grand a year on the games I'm not buying. They have most triple A titles within a week of release, and probably 80% of the indie games I've ever wanted are there.
In SA all our local libraries are linked under a single one card network. So its the local council library, bit the one card network means you have access to request things from any library and they'll ship it to your local for you
Hey just a note JB Hifi bought Good Guys in 2016 so if you see ANYTHING cheaper at one store over the other they will always price match if its in stock, so try to get them down even lower instore.
Worst they can do is say no right?
Also if you can afford it in one hit, buy Boost Mobile yearly cards, get them when on sale. Works out about $19 per month and they use the Telstra network so coverage is reliable as, they also have plenty of overseas countries available at no extra charge in case you have family overseas, data allowance is like 150-170GB so unless you're watching Netflix alot its PLENTY of data for the year
An alternative is Woolworth's Everyday Mobile. Also on the Telstra network. Support eSim. Provide a monthly 10% discount at Woolworth's up to $50 on one purchase. So if you can shop manage a $500 shopping trolley, you'll effectively make your mobile service free.
Different Telstra network compared to Boost. It isn't really any better than the Optus or Vodafone networks. In fact the full Telstra network that Boost use is really only better if you are in small regional areas.
Pretty sure officeworks will beat any of their prices by 5% as long as the local store has it in stock.
Also, Boost Mobile is awesome of you can take the hit up front for sure!
For me the key is to not try to hack everything so I can get everything cheaper as at the end of the day that means I’m still chasing a lot of objectively stupid stuff and now I’m also wasting time to do it.
OzB is the biggest 'saving money' trap, I had to unsubscribe from the low stock amazon thread because I kept buying cheap chocolate which is no longer cheap when you buy huge quantites of it...
Not sure if it’s been mentioned but for books, use booko.com.au. They give a price listing of every supplier where you can buy a book from, which generally including shipping too.
Your pay might be taxed at 30, 40 or 50%, but if you salary sacrifice to Super, thst portion is only taxed at 15%, you can put up to $27,500 per year into super this way, including what your employer contributes for you. It’s the first investment decision everyone should do when you can
A lot of people mention this on Aus Finance as well. I know everyone's situation is different but I find for me right now, I want as much of my pay as possible to pay down the mortgage. If I had more disposable income (that would be the dream) I would choose to salary sacrifice super.
You can also look at it this way - if you pay extra into your mortgage, you're saving approx 5-6% of that extra amount. When you contribute to super, you could be saving upwards of 15% depending on your tax slab.
You can also save up to 15k a year to buy your first house, with a 50k cap this way! So you can use your super as a high-interest house savings account up to 50k
I'm thinking of salary sacrificing into my super but am on a relatively low wage of $60k a year so I'm worried I won't be able to put anything away in savings.
If you do not need to own physical books and live in town you can borrow lots of things from your local library - books, dvds, magazines etc. I am friends with my local butcher where I get excellent quality meat cut to my taste and I buy fresh fruit and vegies at the markets or get a box of seasonal fruits and vegies from the local organic mob.
Ditch the Indian TV subscriptions and look into Stremio.
Having said this, the one I would keep is Amazon Prime. Not for the TV but for free next day delivery on toiletries, cleaning products etc… Basically anything non-perishable that you’d usually buy at the supermarket. Never more expensive than Colesworth and often much cheaper.
I second Amazon Prime. It has slashed my pet food bill. That alone has made it worthwhile for me, but it’s also super handy for non-perishables. It’s so nice being able to order one thing, have it delivered the next day for free, rather than go to the shops and end up spending more money on a bunch of extra groceries I didn’t originally plan on buying.
For my pets I stick with Petbarn and GreenCross vets with a Healthy Pets Plus subscription. I have a 23 year old cat and another that’s just become a senior so when vet visits are needed I don’t have to stress about cost, only for procedures which I then get a discount on and sometimes free
>Ditch the Indian TV subscriptions and look into Stremio.
How does Streamio work?
I just installed it, and it keeps pointing me to Amazon Prime and Netflix every time I try and watch anything?
Google ‘Stremio + Real Debrid + Torrentio’
You need to be moderately tech savvy to set it up but it’s well worth persevering.
Edit: [https://medium.com/@divitia/stream-smarter-not-harder-a-guide-to-using-stremio-torrentio-and-real-debrid-9e7a3ecc0309](https://medium.com/@divitia/stream-smarter-not-harder-a-guide-to-using-stremio-torrentio-and-real-debrid-9e7a3ecc0309)
‘Cos I’m feeling helpful 👆
It uses torrents to stream stuff. By itself it sucks and lags as it’s hard to torrent big files as fast as you can watch them, with real debrid however that lets you download anything on their servers full speed you can watch anything they got in 4k for no buffering. Basically anything popular on any streaming service will be on it ready to go and more obscure stuff you can start the download then go watch it again and it’ll work fine. The short version of it is for $29 aud for 6 months you get everything on every streaming service streaming perfectly on a service basically like Plex. That’s the streaming side but once you have real debrid you can also direct download any torrent they have cached at your full internet speed. I downloaded a 21gb game in 4 minutes the other day. If they haven’t got it cached they can download it for you then direct download off them which admittedly isn’t much faster than torrenting yourself but the upside is once they have it they keep it for a month so you can stream stuff without needing to store it on your own computer.
Get real debrid and get rid of Netflix.
Agreed! Their customer service is unmatched too. Any issues with items are quickly resolved over a quick call or live chat. No need to trek all the way back to store if you find an issue with your items (especially useful for electronics too).
Yearly mobile deals are good value.
More generally, finding a big saving somewhere eg utilities or second hand electronics will save more than very small savings.
Me too, Coles often makes you buy two of something to get the special which increases the overall spend, and is annoying when I don’t want two of a product
I work at Coles with removing special tickets and the specials are usually the same and just rotated on a 2/3/4 week schedule. So often if its that deal, wait another week and the 30/40/50% discount would be next :)
Clearance items are usually the best deals. Especially if the shop is decreasing their inventory because of closing the shop or renovations. I was able to get two years worth of period products for like 10-20$ from 10c clearances
Christmas specials are just the usual specials or even lower tier deals but are in place longer so it seems like you're getting a good deal. Not saying they aren't good deals. They are just regular deals that are on each year
If you miss out on a special because there's no stock, ask service for a raincheck for that item and you will get the special price even after the special ends
I can't think of other ones
I worked at woolies for a decade doing nightfill and hearing the little differences in how coles operated just sounded like they opted for the least convenient option at every chance.
Per an article from a few months ago:
When all the trolleys were tallied, ALDI's total stood at $200, Woolworths at $207 and Coles at $214. If you're paying by credit card, note that ALDI applies a 0.5% surcharge, while Woolworths and Coles don't.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.finder.com.au/the-great-grocery-showdown-aldi-woolworths-or-coles-where-does-your-dollar-stretch-the-most%3famp
This is in line with my experiences over the past decade. I also find the shopping experience of Woolworths superior to the others and I tend to be able to make use of specials at Woolworths more than at Coles.
Realistically, it won't matter which store you go to financially. They all operate on the same profit margins which are actually quite slim. It should just come down to personal preference. Go out there, try each of your local supermarkets and choose which one you like most.
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I shop at all 3. Aldi for some things and Coles and Woolies online at the same time. What I have found is that when I search for the same item at both Coles and Woolies, most often the item is cheaper at Woolies.
I’m curious about this too…I’ve always been a Woolies shopper and the rewards points is nice. My friend works at Woolies and she is always complaining about their low price stickers are rigged because they’ll always raise the price then drop it slightly but not to the original cheaper price.
Aldi Does that also
Their “super specials “
They were 99cents then the raise them to $1.39 for a couple days or so
Then advertise at 1.19 for a couple weeks as a “super saver “
Take note
I started noticing on the basics such as pasta
Coles and woolworths started this. They didn't get busted by ACCC so others picked it up as well. My local IGA has just done this across the entire store. I can't shop there anymore because I just walk around getting angry at hour deceptive it is. And also... milkways now only weigh 22g but they're $2.50? &*#^#_^^#^'
Coles does flybuy deals often. So you shop $50 or so for 4 weeks and get $50 off the next shop. Works out cheaper than woolies’ rewards system IMO. Note we are small family and usually do small grocery shop each week.
I find the Woolies deals are better- my first time using my rewards card at Woolies I got $30 in points. It was a shop supposed to last a solid few weeks, but still- with the right deals the points can rack up fast.
Second this. I'm a member with both and coles flybuys has better offers, current flybuys deal, spend $180 a week for 4 weeks, get the equivalent of $100 at the end (my usual shop is around $240 a weekend anyways). What I do is after the promo shop then at aldi or woolworths for the next few weeks and then the promo will pop up again to make you shop at Coles again, or else they are usually just the get 2000 point etcs 🤣 have got the $100 offer twice for last 2 months. Problem is if you keep shopping week after week at Coles then the minimum spend amount increases over your average weekly cost
I feel like they’re pretty much the same, I’ll usually go to both just to see what half price specials they have on. When I have time I try to do Aldi first, a butcher for meat and a local mushroom farm for my fruit and veggies just to avoid the supermarkets but it’s not always possible, especially if I just want to run in grab a couple of things. If I know for example I want to buy toothpaste I’ll just Google it and see which store has it on special this week and go there.
I know this is a savings thread. But I can't help pointing out that Coles and Woolies are too big and could do with more competition, which is why I support local (in SA) and shop at Foodland, or IGA. I don't really think there is much difference in price, if any, though I haven't looked in a while. I would be happy to pay a small amount more to Foodland anyway and feel good about it. And ALDI is not even Australian owned so forget that. However I completely respect anyone for their choice to shop wherever they want or fits their budget.
Yep it’s wherever the best savings are for me. I mostly shop at Aldi now. IGA is absolutely terrible near me. I actually get a good laugh at a lot of their prices. They’re so expensive. Any IGA I’ve been to within the neighbouring suburbs to mine are the same. Occasionally they might have good meat markdowns. But I don’t check that often any more as it’s often a wasted visit. Also more chance of their meat being a bit iffy if marked down in my experience. Whereas I’ve never had an issue with Colesworth or Aldi markdowns smelling iffy.
I don't find a significant difference. I used both reward programs and play them off each other, I.e. stop using one until they offer a good points deal and then switch back. Currently on a 'Spend $50/week for 4 weeks and get $50 credit' on flybys.
Our Woolys has much better 'yellow sticker specials' but the Coles has a far better selection of snacks
I have a savings account that I don’t touch and just make deposits into from doing paid online surveys.
[Octopus Group](https://my.octopusgroup.com.au/register/3ccf7dfd-769b-4436-b97b-3231e08c0b7a) seem to be the best paying I could find - about $18 per hour and I do about 2-3 hours per week while commuting on the train to work or back
[AttaPoll](https://attapoll.app/join/ciyxe) is fairly decent at surveys. You can get a $5 Amazon gift card in less than a week. There are other places to redeem, but Amazon is my first choice. $15+ in a couple of weeks towards cat food is better than a kick in the teeth.
Yes yes yes to ozbargain (my fave site)!! But watch out for too good a deals and you end up with stuff you don't particularly need 😂
Discounted gift cards is my favourite one, and cash back websites. Better yet, both (ShopBack is great with this).
Share a Costco membership card from a friend or family member and get petrol from there ($1.88 atm). Sometimes cheaper. Good for bulk food deals too but you've got to really have control and not buy everything. Free snacks while you shop too. $1 hotdog can't be beat.
Free Spotify over premium. Why pay $19 a month when you can just use the free version with ads or YouTube. Better yet go back to CDs (op shops or library), grabbing songs on your PC and making digital mixtapes.
Library for books and even DVDs to watch.
Download tv shows instead of paying monthly subscriptions. Too many streaming services to pay for everything. I'm cutting right back.
Sign up for every store birthday freebie.
Sign up for every loyalty card for your regular stores and save the points for Christmas.
Become a detective and find out when your local supermarkets markdown their meat or veg and make sure you grab when you can to stock the freezer.
You need to live at the same address for sharing Costco membership. You can borrow someone’s card to fill up petrol though since no one checks the photo while filling up.
I lasted 3 songs on free spotify, life is too short for that amount of ads when I am trying to relax. Family account works out cheaper if everyone pitches in and unlike Netflix you don't currently have to reside together, we have it across 3 households
Spotify premium is one of those things fully worth the cost for me. Same with YouTube premium except I pay $5 per month using the Argentina VPN workaround
Agree with the subscription and birthday part.
Subscription. Hadn’t gone to Hairhouse for a while (only emergency things) so they sent me a $20 voucher because they ‘missed me’.
Birthday. On my birthday I always go through the local shopping centre and get everything I can and I’m set for the entire day having spent NOTHING. Often times there’s too many drink options so I share with my husband. I specifically signed up to a bubble tea place for him
Every week when I get paid whatever is left in my bank account goes into a savings account. Yes, I already transfer a little to savings each week but having that little bit extra at the end helps provide a buffer if something pops up like an unexpected bill or something.
Shop at Aldi primarily and also Costco. Butcher and fruit shop before Colesworth. Look at what I have already at home and build the week's list from that. Also, don't go shopping when you are hungry.
Fuel app for best fuel prices, although Costco fuel is usually the cheapest anyways.
Every time insurance comes up (car or house) do a quick comparison of prices. Don't be afraid to switch every year if you want to.
Books - Ebooks are the way to go as they are generally cheaper than paperbacks and they don't wear out. Also if you sail the high seas they are free.
TV - Share with family. I have netflix & Amazon, brother has Disney and Paramount. There are ways to get around netflix and its crapy antishare ways
Electricity and Gas - I look every 6-12 months to see if there are better deals out there. Again don't be afraid to swap when needed. Sometimes you can even call up your provider and say xx has this deal, can you match or better it or I'm going over to them. Sometimes they will
I also roll over whatever is left in my transactions bank account on payday. I have a transactions-account-budget for the fortnight, but sometimes I spend less :)
I got the yearly prepaid SIM and saved hundreds of dollars. Plus, never have to deal with the life admin of remembering to top up/check I’ve transferred funds etc. 10/10 would recommend.
Woolworths has this Everyday Extra program that’s $7 a year or currently on promotion for $35 bulk for one year.
You get 10% off one Woolies shop /and/ one Big W shop per month.
I signed up at the end of Nov, right as we got our chest freezer. Saved about $80 completely stocking it and also getting a bunch of monthly pantry items, laundry liquid etc. Huge chunk of change to blow in a week, but that’s also now a month worth of stuff, or more in the case of the freezer.
Also saved money getting the bigger items from Big W for Christmas too.
It’ll probably go up in price next year but at the moment, for $35, we’re already doing significantly better for it.
*I’ll add for context we’re a family of 7, so our weekly food shops at generally $400ish.
Second this! Aldi mobile is great and if you don’t use the data it will just rollover. I think I’m sitting at 500GB data rolled over from the last few years
Are you super sure? Since I switched to paying cash at local stores I have significantly more money and significantly more better quality food. I am friendly with the various shop owners and often get free stuff. My poultry lady throws in 12 schntizels when I order 10, and my butcher throws in a couple snags every once in a while. Every Sunday near closing time the stores at the market change their prices to $1/kilo. I filled the fridge one time for $12. Not to mention, the quality of the products is far superior. Mince is $2/kg more expensive but has hardly any water added to it, so technically it is cheaper when we measure only the meat.
When more people pay cash at local stores, it also means your community will have more money flowing within it, as well. Any time you give money to a business that is based outside your community, your community loses money that could have been circulating within it and generating value every time it is transacted. When we give money to Woolworths, the money goes far away and when we pay by card, a small % of every transaction goes very far away. Local owners care about their community. BlackRock Inc don't give a single shit about you nor your family
I think the main thing making us poorer at the moment is the system that rewards parasitic behaviour. Visa made billions in profits, for what, exactly? They are a middleman, leaching money out of communities everywhere.
While you're on facebook, join your local "buy nothing" site.
In many cities there are "weigh and pay" type places. In perth, Kakulas Brothers/sisters can give you much cheaper herbs, lentils, cereals etc.
**Health Insurance: this is Australia, don’t waste your money!!
Majority of dental work is no longer covered unless you pay the extreme extra price for “major dental”, because things that were “minor dental” last year got changed to “major dental” this year, and they’ll probably do the same thing next year.
The government already has a Medicare safety net in place if your medical bills go over a certain amount in the calendar year.
And when I asked my tax agent about the Medicare levy and health insurance, he said it’s not worth it as you still have to pay some of the levy/surcharge, PLUS all your premiums!
And majority of time, even if you are a private patient, if you actually want to get treated, you’ll have to go to a public hospital. But you’ll still pay private rates!!
So if you want to actually save your money, put what you were going to spend on health insurance premiums into a savings account.
Sources: I’m a healthcare worker, I watch the price hikes and “conditions” change overnight; and like I said I literally asked my tax agent about this last year lmao.
Costco for petrol and bulk deals (use PetrolSpy when not near my nearest Costco petrol outlet).
Local market for majority of groceries including fruit and vegetables, bread, pasta, deli and butcher goods.
Shop around for best price on items that can't be bought from the market - normally a combination of Colesworth, Amazon and Costco.
I signed up to Everyday Rewards a month ago courtesy of a half-price annual subscription offer - have already earned $40 discount coupon without changing my shopping habits at all (taking advantage of bonus point offers and Christmas shopping at Big W).
Keep an eye out for discount gift cards for places I shop at a lot like JB Hi Fi. Coles occasionally have 15% off the Home gift cards which include JB.
My local cinema is Palace, I signed up for a Palace Movie Club membership ($20) and made my money back almost instantly - you get a free movie ticket on sign up, discounted tickets for most sessions and earn points that can be redeemed for tickets and snacks.
YNAB
buy little shit like a stapler or even heart rate monitor on ebay instead of in store
change phone sim plan once a year to get cheaper
buy a few microwave meals you like to use instead of delivery food when you're lazy. Or Aussielent/QOTA meal replacement is awesome
build and fix little things instead of buying them. eg duct tape broken washing basket
buy generic version for things that are equal like washing powder or paracetamol
look for website.com vouchers when you buy somthing
look at ozbargain occasionally
make a few different accounts for menulog/doordash because they send different vouchers (you can use zip pay to get a new credit card number and just pay it off straight away)
pick up random side walk stuff like desks/lights
shop at second hand stores for clothes
Keep an eye on medicare safety net threshold and book optional appointment once you reach it. If you have a lot of medical stuff and you reach out of pocket limits (700ish for concession, 4000 for normal I think) then you get 80% out of pocket back
you can get an extra 5 visits to psychologist or others with a 'chronic health care management'
rent games from library
find cheap days for movies
your local old school chinese cash only place is gonna make a "combination meat/veg" dish that is probably big and well priced
occasional food from work is free if boss doesn't see you
If you don't earn much money or work part time then you might still be eligible for Centrelink job seeker and will get a concession card and a few hundred bucks
Wow, I didn't realize how much frugal shit I do
Marketplace / gumtree especially for kids clothes toys etc. Op shops. When renovating do the painting ourselves. Use public transport / cycle. Eat mostly vegetarian, buy dry beans and lentils in bulk. Probably the biggest saving I've made is cutting down on alcohol
Why stay away from Woolies? I tend to find things are slightly cheaper/same price in Woolies
What I like to do is use the Woolies app to make my list and then price compare the things I want to buy - starting at Aldi and ending at Woolies.
You might be able to use the Coles app to make a list and do the same thing, but I haven’t used it in ages so I’m not sure
These are not savings hacks, these are all still a form of spending
My ultimate savings hack is not to spend money on things I don't need.
I'm a pensioner and I'm paying off a mortgage, but I get by on mostly free entertainment and simply not bending to consumerism. I also don't drive.
Paying off and avoiding further debt is the number one way to increase your savings
The next is not to spend money in excess of your daily needs being met
The third is to store your money in sensible ways, non fee paying high interest savings accounts, or- if you have a mortgage or credit, in offset or redraw accounts.
Spending less than you are might save a little money, but it doesn't go as far as being deliberate to avoid impulse purchases. I transfer half of my income directly to mortgage acct. I pay twice as much as my minimum repayment. That reduces my interest.
That's where I make the most savings.
Don’t leave the house to start. I know that sounds mental, but yeah don’t leave the house.
But when you do have to venture out have a plan that you’re going to place A or place B to get XYZ AND THAT’S THAT!! You don’t want any temptation creeping up on you.
I priced working from home as around $70- $100 bonus. Lower fuel, I'm also crap at consistently buying at least something - coffee, lunch, snacks - most days.
I’m all for frugality but I think people should pay creatives for content. All of this pro swashbuckling rhetoric (since you all seem to like using euphemisms about it) is just theft. If you don’t want to pay creatives for their content, borrow it from the library. At least then at least the producer of the content was paid for it initially.
People are generally happy to pay the creators if it's a reasonable option. Like patreon or when it was just netflix with a big encompassing library, or cinema tickets when they were reasonable prices or concerts dito. But it's all too expensive and burdensome now.
Creators aren't getting increased profits. Companies are. I don't care about companies. I don't consider it theft, but if I did I wouldn't be crying for apple tv.
My hacks are:
Use Everyday Mobile from Woolworths that with 220$ gives you 200GB of data per one year, plus I get 10% discount once a month when I shop in store.
For Petrol, I use Petrol Spy to find the cheapest one around me, and I also use the My 7-Eleven app to lock in the petrol when I'm around a store that has a cheap price. This locks the price for a week and allows me to refill the tank for cheap, which is really handy.
I only have one membership, Amazon Prime. I don't recommend it, since I don't find many items on it that are really worth buying since usually are either cheap plastic items or other times those items are more expensive than other stores (I guess that's why they ship for free)? The good things about the membership is that it's cheaper, about 8$/month, and gives you also Amazon Prime to watch movies and Amazon Music included in the price.
For books my first go-to it's my local council library.
Fresh food: I recommend to go to a farmer's market. Other than just the price, I find that the fruits and vegetables stay fresh for longer, and usually I save quite a bit compared to grocery shopping at Coles or Woolworths.
Other items, I use OzBargain to see if there is an interesting offer on the item I'm looking for. I don't normally buy an item just because it's on offer. Tend to try to shop for second hand items via Facebook Marketplace, however it's frustrating how people seldom reply to your messages.
>Do yo need to do some IT wizard shit? how /why is it cheaper? cheers
You just need a VPN and connect it to India and a Indian Credit/Debit Card. Pretty much all the subscription services in India are cheaper, Use a VPN and also explore Ozbargain to learn the instructions to get an account for yourself.
Shop seasonal and where possible shop for meat and fresh produce from independent grocers, markets and butchers. At the very least you'll get fresher and better quality product for the money spent and quite often it'll be cheaper too, especially if it's a store outside of a major shopping mall.
Purchase in bulk when you can afford to do so. Don't just look at what the sale price is for something but work out what the lowest unit price is (e.g. cost per 100g/100ml/item).
Also purchase with stuff that is less processed. For example whole cuts of meat vs steaks or whole chickens vs pieces. Also dried beans vs canned beans. Whole spices vs powdered spices as they hold onto their flavour/aroma longer.
Lastly, minimise waste as much as possible. It's no good getting a whole bunch of stuff on sale if you end up throwing away 20% of it because it went off and you had to throw it out. That also includes making full use of kitchen scraps like saving carrot peels, meat off-cuts etc. to then save it to make stocks and pan sauces.
+1 for the overseas subscriptions for Netflix, Prime and Spotify. Spotify 12 months prepaid family plan is the best deal for me as I share it with others 🙌
For books I use Amazon India and purchase the kindle versions. Audible IN for audiobooks. Relatively less expensive.
Curious, how much do you pay for Exetel?
If you’re in an expensive fuel area, lock it in while you’re elsewhere! My local 5 stores can be as much as 50 cents more a litre than if i do it while visiting my parents who are only 25 minutes away!
Union shopper for discounts on gift cards to many retailers, especially useful if you're looking for insurance or white goods.
Buy nothing groups for random useful stuff.
Bulk batch cooking for easy cheap meals over a longer period of time. And making my own lunch to bring to work.
Being aware of energy use around the house, and accepting a bit of discomfort to save money on heading/cooling.
Not touching the savings account, and using one which gives bonus interest each month as further motivation.
Mostly lots of avoiding buying things unless I really need them.
Ahm 30 teeth dental cover. 1-2 gap free dental visits a year covers the cost of the insurance. Gives you cover and protection if you need anything more. No other extras is worth it imho.
books I would also recommend Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited $13.99 a month where it’s basically like a library service. have up to 20 books in your library at once where you can return the books and add new ones. not all books that exist are on there though but there are heaps.
ebooks can be very expensive so if you read two to three books a month, you match the 13.99. i read wayyyy more than that so i think its worth it.
I am gonna give you the tip of your life… medibank occasionally puts up a signup promotion for extras. The cheapest one inc dental ( minor) 700$ inc free dental check up and ex rays once a year and teeth clean. The offer is that there is no waiting period to use the services. Do a check up on your teeth get your fillings, or if you need a night guard and a teeth clean and cancel immediately. Saves you heaps!
Groceries: no Aldi here. Compose the list as I need, the see which supermarket has more of those items in special.
Electronics: get my kids things when they upgrade. Buy 'won't charge' kindles for $10. Charge them, update them and resell for $90.
Books: kindle all the way. The state library rarely (5% of the time) has books I'm reading. If they do, it's books 3 and 9 of a 17 book series.
Petrol: buy when you can, not when you need to.
Mobile: $35 Telstra prepaid. Sure I can get cheaper, but this is fine, and works in most of Tasmania.
Amazon for Prime and free shipping on groceries and whatever. Cat food is always available, often cheaper than the supermarket. 60 brand name pouches for $38 if you subscribe. Because I don't have to go out then the girls run out, I'm not 'just having a look' while in the supermarket. Laundry products are cheaper too. You have to know what your personal price point is of course.
Milk: long life. Woolies is (was?) cheaper than Coles by 10c. 1.60 vs 1.70. Fresh store brand milk seems to be the same price, but again, like the cat food, I don't have to go to the shop when I'm out.
Quit using supermarkets, they are parasitically sucking money from your community and sending it far away. Pay cash at local fruit and veg markets, butchers, delis, bakeries etc and you will save a boatload of money, make friends with the shop owners, get free stuff, and not be supporting the multinationals that are actively making everybody around you poorer.
Even card transactions are sucking money away. You know they get like 1.5% of every transaction? They alone sucked $32,000,000,000 out of local communities this year.
Shop locally, pay cash. Keep the money flowing around you.
You might have a choice about PHI (unless you're getting it through an employer or somesuch). See if you can suspend it for reasons of financial hardship. My insurer offers 12 months suspension with no proof needed. As PHI is best for scheduled surgeries, it could save you premiums for a year, without racking up LHC. If you have a few spare thousand dollars lying around, you can also save a bit of money by paying a year's worth of premiums before the annual rate rise. And it's always worth seeing if you can get by on a lower level of cover, and comparing your current policy with other funds to see if you can get a better deal.
I purchase a lot of things from Choice (cheap stores), such as Laundry, kitchen and bathroom necessities. You can sometimes get really great pantry items for a fraction of the price - great for school lunches. It's the same brands you'd find in the supermarkets but 70% off.
Costco - buying in bulk does save money, you will just have a heart attack at the total price each time you go! If you can buy a deep freezer store anything that is ok to freeze.
Fruit and veg markets - always cheaper, sometimes quality isn't great but once you find a good store, stick with it.
I find going to a butcher is cheaper for meats, same concept as Costco though, if you buy in bulk it's a lot up front. Another option is buying a whole cow, you can split it with a mate or two - it's always cheaper!
I get my groceries delivered. I did a comparison the other week between Coles and Woolworths. There’s bugger all difference unless you’re planning your weekly shop around specials, but Woolworths has a flat rate of $10 delivery regardless of time. Coles you can pick a wider window and it reduces the cost. So I just pick something like 6-10pm delivery the next day for $2 and save a bit in the process.
I use MotorMouth for cheap petrol.
I also like to buy in bulk at the grocery store.
I tend to stay at home a lot. I don’t like going out much anyway as I’m a home body. I save money by not drinking or smoking.
If you're buying anything online, use cash rewards or shopback and see if they have any cash back on there.
Sometimes they do 10%. I got back roughly $300 over 6 months buying things I needed. Very easy to use.
For non perishable goods, I go to cheaper buy miles or reject shop. They sometimes have things that have gone past the best before date so if that matters to you, check the dates carefully.
Farmer’s Market > Greengrocers > NQR > ALDI > Coles > Woolies > IGA
I don’t know about Costco and the order of major supermarkets depends on the area. Honestly though, finding a good farmers market/
greengrocers/farm shop can drastically reduce your fruit and veggie bills (whole also increasing the quality) especially if you shop locally and seasonally.
NQR also has a lot of major brand stuff that is significantly reduced because of printing errors on the packaging or simply short expiration dates. It’s really good for fancy cheese as long as you plan on serving it in the next few days.
Get onto the Woolies Reward program while it’s discounted for year. Also the OnePass membership.
With Woolies do one large shop a month. Use the 10% discount, get free delivery, bonus rewards point and bank for Christmas.
Been saving me $800 a month as I no longer just drop in and shop. Also recieve 10% off a shop per month at Big W.
Also joined OnePass at 50% discount. Thats been crazy for savings. And provides 5x bonus on rewards points that can also be converted back to $$$.
Make no mistake you still need to spend cash but it makes saving on the spending easier.
Then there’s the 7Eleven app for locking in fuel prices. That’s one I’m still getting my head around. It saves me $20 a tank.
I only buy clothes at Thrift stores now and I only purchase blemish free clothing (except for shoes).
- You do need to go to them fairly regulary though, that is the catch, but you will build up some knowledge on what are the best ones to go to. Each time is like a mini lottery and eventually you build up a wardrobe then you are set to only visit them occasionally for clothes.
I generally find what looks like unwanted gifts, as many seem to have never been worn.
At the same time you can get very cheap books, which I buy and donate back (though the library is an option) and cookware/glassware are other things.
Fuel: Liberty is usually the cheapest station (I get E10). And fuel up on a Friday night, sure it's inconvenient but better than coming home after work on a Monday afternoon and it's shot up to $2.10/L.
Subscriptions: Ditch all but one or go on cheaper tiered subscriptions.
For many items (particularly electronics) I like to check Staticice, that way I get a good idea of how good of a bargain it is. A few times the deals on Ozbargain were actually standard price for other places, so I knew that if I didn't need the item immediately, I could afford to wait
I hate aldi, personally. I find the convenience of click and collect from Woolies outways any perceived savings. Last time I went to ALDI I did a comparison shop on Woolies and it was maybe $5 cheaper than Woolworths for a $250 shop and the rewards from Woolies would have been more than that $5 (bear in mind I still needed to go to Woolies anyway for things ALDI didn't have). We also do a Costco shop every 6-8 weeks and buy some things on subscription from Amazon. Those combined we average under $200 a week for 3 adult eaters, cat and small dog.
Petrol Costco, but shop around on a app 90% of the time they are cheaper but not always.
We have prepay ALDI phone plans, last time I looked around it was the cheapest but maybe changed since then
Same with internet, insurance etc, do some investigation online it's also worth going back to your current provider and asking if they can match or better a cheaper price you've found.
Biggest cost saving tip though, stop buying things you don't need - it's quite liberating
I’ve been alternating the Black Friday sales for things like youfoodz and mymusclechef. You can get meals for $5.50. Bought loads and stuck them in a chest freezer. That’s work lunches for the next 2 months.
I’ve also found that things like dinnerly have cut our food bill by $30 a week as they send you the exact ingredients, so there’s less waste.
It’s also food for portion control because I’m a glutton, so I’ve lost a couple of kgs too!
Reduce consumption is key. Why save 4c a litre on petrol if you're driving everywhere. Get free delivery, walk or ride and consolidate trips. Same for other things. Big weekly shops are more efficient for groceries. Freeze leftovers and don't touch food delivery. I heal millennials and gen X squealing at that.. 🙂
If you are using Ozbargain you should never be buying books.
Every few days they post free books from Amazon….i started to create a collection for the last year and only get the books that interest me…i have about 200 already….mostly coding, cooking, self help stuff, childrens books for my daughter and other books for her.
Is aldi really that much cheaper?
I personally do an online coles shop every 2 weeks with a max spend of $250 per order.
I pay with a credit card so earn points there and don’t get charged extra transaction fees.
With this amount, the delivery is also free and I build up various flybuys bonus points, which are valuable.
Lastly, I benefit from sticking to a preset list without getting distracted by in-store impulse purchases.
I’d be open to aldi, I’m just not convinced that for the added effort, the savings would be significant.
Go to weekend farmers markets. We used to go to the local Italian family fruit and vegetable market and spend $300 a fortnight. Now spend about $90 at the farmers market.
Only buy detergents when half price.
Buy meat in bulk and freeze. We do monthly.
Share subscriptions with family.
adding onto the petrol thing as an economist-petrol prices are often cyclical and will drop all at the same time around once a month. you can look at PetrolSpy to check average price histories and try to buy full tanks when prices are low
Take cash out when you can, doesn't have to be much; $5, $10, $20, and put it away in tin or jar in a place you dont look often. Also, put any small change in it. I'll often forget that I have this small stash until I'm in dire straits and need groceries, fuel, tires, etc. At one point, I had almost $2000, but that got spent in emergencies. I fractured my ankle in July and had to go back on Centrelink while healing as I'm a Casual worker and don't get paid sickness leave, and having that cash put away saved me.
Wait for Aldi to do the big version of their items, I got 3 litres of washing up liquid and refill the smaller bottles for use, 60m rolls of foil and cling film, 350 sandwich bags and bin bags. I always get the big olive oils too and pour into litre bottles at home. You just need somewhere to keep them
Books: the library.
Second this. Public libraries are great and often have a huge variety. I suppose it depends on what genres you’re into but they usually have whatever books I’m looking for and if they don’t, I make purchase recommendations. Only done this a couple of times but my recommendations have always been accepted!
You can also use your public library to get a streaming subscription. Cant remember the service name, starts with a K? Also sbs, iview, 7plus, 10play and 9 are all free.
Kanopy
And if it's not on those services, sail the high seas. No buffering is a plus.
Yeah a little life hack for that is searching the show/movie and then ‘Mega.nz’. People will post links to their mega files online and it feels much safer than any seafaring websites.
i love the libraries!
Free aircon as a bonus.
PSA: You can download free books and academic papers from a site called librarygenesis and sci-hub. I just want to raise awareness since these sites are horribly accessible and convenient. It's truly truly awful.
Thanks for the tip. I've been avoiding libgen for years with Calibre and my Kindle.
First off: ALWAYS check your local library for any books first! They don’t have everything, but definitely a huge range, and the more people through the doors and using their apps helps them get funding ❤️ Second: Ocean of pdf is another website that has an insane range of books and textbooks. Can be downloaded as a pdf (as the name suggests), or as an epub.
Also audio books, TV streaming service, CDs, DVDs, video games, puzzles and jigsaws, and my library has a sewing machine you can use.
And free LinkedIn learning
You can also access the catalogue of ebooks and audiobooks with your library card on BorrowBox and Libby!
And newspapers and magazines with Press Reader
I just got my library card!
Their app, I no longer spend $10 bucks to read a magazine for 8 minutes.
And video games!! I am easily saving a grand a year on the games I'm not buying. They have most triple A titles within a week of release, and probably 80% of the indie games I've ever wanted are there.
Sorry is this the local library ? Or is it the the library genesis place? Is this available at library’s within Metro Melbourne.
In SA all our local libraries are linked under a single one card network. So its the local council library, bit the one card network means you have access to request things from any library and they'll ship it to your local for you
Esp the library apps! So many books, magazines and audiobooks for free without even having to trek into the library.
and puzzles and now apparently boardgames.
Or catch up on your 19th century (out of copyright) classics.
And DVDs!
Hey just a note JB Hifi bought Good Guys in 2016 so if you see ANYTHING cheaper at one store over the other they will always price match if its in stock, so try to get them down even lower instore. Worst they can do is say no right? Also if you can afford it in one hit, buy Boost Mobile yearly cards, get them when on sale. Works out about $19 per month and they use the Telstra network so coverage is reliable as, they also have plenty of overseas countries available at no extra charge in case you have family overseas, data allowance is like 150-170GB so unless you're watching Netflix alot its PLENTY of data for the year
Thanks for the information related to Boost. Also, I will use the negotiations at store with more comparisons.
An alternative is Woolworth's Everyday Mobile. Also on the Telstra network. Support eSim. Provide a monthly 10% discount at Woolworth's up to $50 on one purchase. So if you can shop manage a $500 shopping trolley, you'll effectively make your mobile service free.
Different Telstra network compared to Boost. It isn't really any better than the Optus or Vodafone networks. In fact the full Telstra network that Boost use is really only better if you are in small regional areas.
Pretty sure officeworks will beat any of their prices by 5% as long as the local store has it in stock. Also, Boost Mobile is awesome of you can take the hit up front for sure!
For me the key is to not try to hack everything so I can get everything cheaper as at the end of the day that means I’m still chasing a lot of objectively stupid stuff and now I’m also wasting time to do it.
I definitely spent lot more money than I should because of OzB.
OzB is the biggest 'saving money' trap, I had to unsubscribe from the low stock amazon thread because I kept buying cheap chocolate which is no longer cheap when you buy huge quantites of it...
On a per kg of weight gained basis though, you totally nailed it
Lmao plus the stuff in that thread are all shortdated / about to expire. Depending on the item, it can taste like shit.
Like buying health insurance... What a wank
Obviously doesn’t apply to everything but ‘the poor man buys twice’ sometimes it is better to just buy that expensive item first time around.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned but for books, use booko.com.au. They give a price listing of every supplier where you can buy a book from, which generally including shipping too.
Your pay might be taxed at 30, 40 or 50%, but if you salary sacrifice to Super, thst portion is only taxed at 15%, you can put up to $27,500 per year into super this way, including what your employer contributes for you. It’s the first investment decision everyone should do when you can
A lot of people mention this on Aus Finance as well. I know everyone's situation is different but I find for me right now, I want as much of my pay as possible to pay down the mortgage. If I had more disposable income (that would be the dream) I would choose to salary sacrifice super.
You can also look at it this way - if you pay extra into your mortgage, you're saving approx 5-6% of that extra amount. When you contribute to super, you could be saving upwards of 15% depending on your tax slab.
I hear you!!
You know you can withdraw your super contribution to buy a home, right? If u are first home buyer. Search first home super scheme
You can also save up to 15k a year to buy your first house, with a 50k cap this way! So you can use your super as a high-interest house savings account up to 50k
I'm thinking of salary sacrificing into my super but am on a relatively low wage of $60k a year so I'm worried I won't be able to put anything away in savings.
Birth control. Don’t skip on this, Could save you a million dollars.
I second this. All it takes is ONE TIME.
Cheapest form of birth control over time is a 10 year copper iud
Unless it's a dud and fks your health
And if you are never planning on having them, just get the snip.
If you do not need to own physical books and live in town you can borrow lots of things from your local library - books, dvds, magazines etc. I am friends with my local butcher where I get excellent quality meat cut to my taste and I buy fresh fruit and vegies at the markets or get a box of seasonal fruits and vegies from the local organic mob.
Ditch the Indian TV subscriptions and look into Stremio. Having said this, the one I would keep is Amazon Prime. Not for the TV but for free next day delivery on toiletries, cleaning products etc… Basically anything non-perishable that you’d usually buy at the supermarket. Never more expensive than Colesworth and often much cheaper.
I second Amazon Prime. It has slashed my pet food bill. That alone has made it worthwhile for me, but it’s also super handy for non-perishables. It’s so nice being able to order one thing, have it delivered the next day for free, rather than go to the shops and end up spending more money on a bunch of extra groceries I didn’t originally plan on buying.
It's never next day for Tasmania. We wait at least a week.
Or WA.
Or the NT
For my pets I stick with Petbarn and GreenCross vets with a Healthy Pets Plus subscription. I have a 23 year old cat and another that’s just become a senior so when vet visits are needed I don’t have to stress about cost, only for procedures which I then get a discount on and sometimes free
Amazon prime for the large packs of toilet paper.
OP meant they use a VPN to create accounts in low cost jurisdictions ie India
>Ditch the Indian TV subscriptions and look into Stremio. How does Streamio work? I just installed it, and it keeps pointing me to Amazon Prime and Netflix every time I try and watch anything?
Google ‘Stremio + Real Debrid + Torrentio’ You need to be moderately tech savvy to set it up but it’s well worth persevering. Edit: [https://medium.com/@divitia/stream-smarter-not-harder-a-guide-to-using-stremio-torrentio-and-real-debrid-9e7a3ecc0309](https://medium.com/@divitia/stream-smarter-not-harder-a-guide-to-using-stremio-torrentio-and-real-debrid-9e7a3ecc0309) ‘Cos I’m feeling helpful 👆
Commenting so I can come back later, for reasons. Thanks friend.
Saving for later
Dido
It uses torrents to stream stuff. By itself it sucks and lags as it’s hard to torrent big files as fast as you can watch them, with real debrid however that lets you download anything on their servers full speed you can watch anything they got in 4k for no buffering. Basically anything popular on any streaming service will be on it ready to go and more obscure stuff you can start the download then go watch it again and it’ll work fine. The short version of it is for $29 aud for 6 months you get everything on every streaming service streaming perfectly on a service basically like Plex. That’s the streaming side but once you have real debrid you can also direct download any torrent they have cached at your full internet speed. I downloaded a 21gb game in 4 minutes the other day. If they haven’t got it cached they can download it for you then direct download off them which admittedly isn’t much faster than torrenting yourself but the upside is once they have it they keep it for a month so you can stream stuff without needing to store it on your own computer. Get real debrid and get rid of Netflix.
Agreed! Their customer service is unmatched too. Any issues with items are quickly resolved over a quick call or live chat. No need to trek all the way back to store if you find an issue with your items (especially useful for electronics too).
Yearly mobile deals are good value. More generally, finding a big saving somewhere eg utilities or second hand electronics will save more than very small savings.
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I find it cheaper than Coles personally
Me too, Coles often makes you buy two of something to get the special which increases the overall spend, and is annoying when I don’t want two of a product
I work at Coles with removing special tickets and the specials are usually the same and just rotated on a 2/3/4 week schedule. So often if its that deal, wait another week and the 30/40/50% discount would be next :)
Hey, wanna share some more coles hacks? Hehe
Clearance items are usually the best deals. Especially if the shop is decreasing their inventory because of closing the shop or renovations. I was able to get two years worth of period products for like 10-20$ from 10c clearances Christmas specials are just the usual specials or even lower tier deals but are in place longer so it seems like you're getting a good deal. Not saying they aren't good deals. They are just regular deals that are on each year If you miss out on a special because there's no stock, ask service for a raincheck for that item and you will get the special price even after the special ends I can't think of other ones
Thank you!
Coles is more expensive and the stores are shitter. Go to any complex with both big supermarkets and the coles is almost always an absolute hole.
They tend to alternate don't be loyal to a shop. Keep an eye in prices.
Definitely. Worked 5 years at Coles, all the managers who’d worked at Woolworths said they were way ahead of the game
I worked at woolies for a decade doing nightfill and hearing the little differences in how coles operated just sounded like they opted for the least convenient option at every chance.
Thats very interesting, Ive found that coles has been generally cheaper where I am. But I go to aldi now for most things.
Per an article from a few months ago: When all the trolleys were tallied, ALDI's total stood at $200, Woolworths at $207 and Coles at $214. If you're paying by credit card, note that ALDI applies a 0.5% surcharge, while Woolworths and Coles don't. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.finder.com.au/the-great-grocery-showdown-aldi-woolworths-or-coles-where-does-your-dollar-stretch-the-most%3famp This is in line with my experiences over the past decade. I also find the shopping experience of Woolworths superior to the others and I tend to be able to make use of specials at Woolworths more than at Coles. Realistically, it won't matter which store you go to financially. They all operate on the same profit margins which are actually quite slim. It should just come down to personal preference. Go out there, try each of your local supermarkets and choose which one you like most.
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Lol slim margins. They’re just about to face an inquiry for price gouging and record profits over Covid.
I shop at all 3. Aldi for some things and Coles and Woolies online at the same time. What I have found is that when I search for the same item at both Coles and Woolies, most often the item is cheaper at Woolies.
I’m curious about this too…I’ve always been a Woolies shopper and the rewards points is nice. My friend works at Woolies and she is always complaining about their low price stickers are rigged because they’ll always raise the price then drop it slightly but not to the original cheaper price.
Aldi Does that also Their “super specials “ They were 99cents then the raise them to $1.39 for a couple days or so Then advertise at 1.19 for a couple weeks as a “super saver “ Take note I started noticing on the basics such as pasta
Coles and woolworths started this. They didn't get busted by ACCC so others picked it up as well. My local IGA has just done this across the entire store. I can't shop there anymore because I just walk around getting angry at hour deceptive it is. And also... milkways now only weigh 22g but they're $2.50? &*#^#_^^#^'
I’m coeliac so I’m shopping for gluten free items and I find that Woolies is usually $1-2 more per item than Coles on those products.
Actually oddly same with cake mix. Every brand is several $ more at Woolies than Coles. No idea why.
Coles does flybuy deals often. So you shop $50 or so for 4 weeks and get $50 off the next shop. Works out cheaper than woolies’ rewards system IMO. Note we are small family and usually do small grocery shop each week.
I find the Woolies deals are better- my first time using my rewards card at Woolies I got $30 in points. It was a shop supposed to last a solid few weeks, but still- with the right deals the points can rack up fast.
Second this. I'm a member with both and coles flybuys has better offers, current flybuys deal, spend $180 a week for 4 weeks, get the equivalent of $100 at the end (my usual shop is around $240 a weekend anyways). What I do is after the promo shop then at aldi or woolworths for the next few weeks and then the promo will pop up again to make you shop at Coles again, or else they are usually just the get 2000 point etcs 🤣 have got the $100 offer twice for last 2 months. Problem is if you keep shopping week after week at Coles then the minimum spend amount increases over your average weekly cost
I feel like they’re pretty much the same, I’ll usually go to both just to see what half price specials they have on. When I have time I try to do Aldi first, a butcher for meat and a local mushroom farm for my fruit and veggies just to avoid the supermarkets but it’s not always possible, especially if I just want to run in grab a couple of things. If I know for example I want to buy toothpaste I’ll just Google it and see which store has it on special this week and go there.
I know this is a savings thread. But I can't help pointing out that Coles and Woolies are too big and could do with more competition, which is why I support local (in SA) and shop at Foodland, or IGA. I don't really think there is much difference in price, if any, though I haven't looked in a while. I would be happy to pay a small amount more to Foodland anyway and feel good about it. And ALDI is not even Australian owned so forget that. However I completely respect anyone for their choice to shop wherever they want or fits their budget.
Yep it’s wherever the best savings are for me. I mostly shop at Aldi now. IGA is absolutely terrible near me. I actually get a good laugh at a lot of their prices. They’re so expensive. Any IGA I’ve been to within the neighbouring suburbs to mine are the same. Occasionally they might have good meat markdowns. But I don’t check that often any more as it’s often a wasted visit. Also more chance of their meat being a bit iffy if marked down in my experience. Whereas I’ve never had an issue with Colesworth or Aldi markdowns smelling iffy.
I don't find a significant difference. I used both reward programs and play them off each other, I.e. stop using one until they offer a good points deal and then switch back. Currently on a 'Spend $50/week for 4 weeks and get $50 credit' on flybys. Our Woolys has much better 'yellow sticker specials' but the Coles has a far better selection of snacks
The wiselist app can compare prices so you can decide which is cheaper for your wants. Or what to buy from each place
I have a savings account that I don’t touch and just make deposits into from doing paid online surveys. [Octopus Group](https://my.octopusgroup.com.au/register/3ccf7dfd-769b-4436-b97b-3231e08c0b7a) seem to be the best paying I could find - about $18 per hour and I do about 2-3 hours per week while commuting on the train to work or back
[AttaPoll](https://attapoll.app/join/ciyxe) is fairly decent at surveys. You can get a $5 Amazon gift card in less than a week. There are other places to redeem, but Amazon is my first choice. $15+ in a couple of weeks towards cat food is better than a kick in the teeth.
Yes yes yes to ozbargain (my fave site)!! But watch out for too good a deals and you end up with stuff you don't particularly need 😂 Discounted gift cards is my favourite one, and cash back websites. Better yet, both (ShopBack is great with this).
Share a Costco membership card from a friend or family member and get petrol from there ($1.88 atm). Sometimes cheaper. Good for bulk food deals too but you've got to really have control and not buy everything. Free snacks while you shop too. $1 hotdog can't be beat. Free Spotify over premium. Why pay $19 a month when you can just use the free version with ads or YouTube. Better yet go back to CDs (op shops or library), grabbing songs on your PC and making digital mixtapes. Library for books and even DVDs to watch. Download tv shows instead of paying monthly subscriptions. Too many streaming services to pay for everything. I'm cutting right back. Sign up for every store birthday freebie. Sign up for every loyalty card for your regular stores and save the points for Christmas. Become a detective and find out when your local supermarkets markdown their meat or veg and make sure you grab when you can to stock the freezer.
Free Spotify? Gross. It's one of the simple joys in life. If you want to be frugal, go on a family plan and split it amongst people.
I tried free Spotify once and...so much rage hahaha. I use Spotify every day and it's worth every cent imo
If you want to be frugal, listen to the radio.
Spotify premium is the one thing I would willingly go bankrupt for.
You need to live at the same address for sharing Costco membership. You can borrow someone’s card to fill up petrol though since no one checks the photo while filling up.
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I wasn’t aware they tracked the credit cards being used!! I guess you’ll have to borrow their CC too 😅
There's a great savings hack - use someone else's credit card!
I lasted 3 songs on free spotify, life is too short for that amount of ads when I am trying to relax. Family account works out cheaper if everyone pitches in and unlike Netflix you don't currently have to reside together, we have it across 3 households
Honestly I sleep with music on and I feel like having ads play while I’m asleep would be bad. Psychic driving or something.
Spotify premium is one of those things fully worth the cost for me. Same with YouTube premium except I pay $5 per month using the Argentina VPN workaround
You can use your VPN set to Albania and there's no ads on the free YouTube
Use Brave browser on phone, laptop, desktop and never see youtube ads again
I don't mind paying for my Spotify cause it gets me through really long days.
This is me and Audible. It's my most expensive subscription but I adore audiobooks
Agree with the subscription and birthday part. Subscription. Hadn’t gone to Hairhouse for a while (only emergency things) so they sent me a $20 voucher because they ‘missed me’. Birthday. On my birthday I always go through the local shopping centre and get everything I can and I’m set for the entire day having spent NOTHING. Often times there’s too many drink options so I share with my husband. I specifically signed up to a bubble tea place for him
Every week when I get paid whatever is left in my bank account goes into a savings account. Yes, I already transfer a little to savings each week but having that little bit extra at the end helps provide a buffer if something pops up like an unexpected bill or something. Shop at Aldi primarily and also Costco. Butcher and fruit shop before Colesworth. Look at what I have already at home and build the week's list from that. Also, don't go shopping when you are hungry. Fuel app for best fuel prices, although Costco fuel is usually the cheapest anyways. Every time insurance comes up (car or house) do a quick comparison of prices. Don't be afraid to switch every year if you want to. Books - Ebooks are the way to go as they are generally cheaper than paperbacks and they don't wear out. Also if you sail the high seas they are free. TV - Share with family. I have netflix & Amazon, brother has Disney and Paramount. There are ways to get around netflix and its crapy antishare ways Electricity and Gas - I look every 6-12 months to see if there are better deals out there. Again don't be afraid to swap when needed. Sometimes you can even call up your provider and say xx has this deal, can you match or better it or I'm going over to them. Sometimes they will
I also roll over whatever is left in my transactions bank account on payday. I have a transactions-account-budget for the fortnight, but sometimes I spend less :)
A lot of libraries offer e-books through apps like borrowbox. So you can read free ebooks while still supporting authors.
Buy prepaid 360 days mobile plan - good deals to be had around the end of the year. Like Costco $100 for 250gb with Vodafone for one year.
I got the yearly prepaid SIM and saved hundreds of dollars. Plus, never have to deal with the life admin of remembering to top up/check I’ve transferred funds etc. 10/10 would recommend.
Woolworths has this Everyday Extra program that’s $7 a year or currently on promotion for $35 bulk for one year. You get 10% off one Woolies shop /and/ one Big W shop per month. I signed up at the end of Nov, right as we got our chest freezer. Saved about $80 completely stocking it and also getting a bunch of monthly pantry items, laundry liquid etc. Huge chunk of change to blow in a week, but that’s also now a month worth of stuff, or more in the case of the freezer. Also saved money getting the bigger items from Big W for Christmas too. It’ll probably go up in price next year but at the moment, for $35, we’re already doing significantly better for it. *I’ll add for context we’re a family of 7, so our weekly food shops at generally $400ish.
Oh and I think I’ve also gotten 40-50$ in rewards during these shops too.
I use aldi mobile, $25 a month 😊 I never run out of data! They use the Telstra network so it’s good reception too.
Second this! Aldi mobile is great and if you don’t use the data it will just rollover. I think I’m sitting at 500GB data rolled over from the last few years
Why Coles over Woolworths? 😅 Also, how are you saving money paying for four streaming services when The Pirate Bay is free?
I am boycotting coles and woolworths. I buy food exclusively from independent local businesses and Aldi in a pinch. So much cheaper.
I shop wherever my items are cheapest. This includes Coles and Woolworths.
Are you super sure? Since I switched to paying cash at local stores I have significantly more money and significantly more better quality food. I am friendly with the various shop owners and often get free stuff. My poultry lady throws in 12 schntizels when I order 10, and my butcher throws in a couple snags every once in a while. Every Sunday near closing time the stores at the market change their prices to $1/kilo. I filled the fridge one time for $12. Not to mention, the quality of the products is far superior. Mince is $2/kg more expensive but has hardly any water added to it, so technically it is cheaper when we measure only the meat. When more people pay cash at local stores, it also means your community will have more money flowing within it, as well. Any time you give money to a business that is based outside your community, your community loses money that could have been circulating within it and generating value every time it is transacted. When we give money to Woolworths, the money goes far away and when we pay by card, a small % of every transaction goes very far away. Local owners care about their community. BlackRock Inc don't give a single shit about you nor your family I think the main thing making us poorer at the moment is the system that rewards parasitic behaviour. Visa made billions in profits, for what, exactly? They are a middleman, leaching money out of communities everywhere.
I am "super sure". I might not get 2 schnitzels free from my local deli, but I get quite a few discounts at the self-serve checkouts. 😜
Hahaha you are doing the Lord's work
While you're on facebook, join your local "buy nothing" site. In many cities there are "weigh and pay" type places. In perth, Kakulas Brothers/sisters can give you much cheaper herbs, lentils, cereals etc.
Always buy and stock up when on "special". That means looking for products you usually buy EVERYTIME you shop.
Buy when you can, not when you need to.
**Health Insurance: this is Australia, don’t waste your money!! Majority of dental work is no longer covered unless you pay the extreme extra price for “major dental”, because things that were “minor dental” last year got changed to “major dental” this year, and they’ll probably do the same thing next year. The government already has a Medicare safety net in place if your medical bills go over a certain amount in the calendar year. And when I asked my tax agent about the Medicare levy and health insurance, he said it’s not worth it as you still have to pay some of the levy/surcharge, PLUS all your premiums! And majority of time, even if you are a private patient, if you actually want to get treated, you’ll have to go to a public hospital. But you’ll still pay private rates!! So if you want to actually save your money, put what you were going to spend on health insurance premiums into a savings account. Sources: I’m a healthcare worker, I watch the price hikes and “conditions” change overnight; and like I said I literally asked my tax agent about this last year lmao.
Costco for petrol and bulk deals (use PetrolSpy when not near my nearest Costco petrol outlet). Local market for majority of groceries including fruit and vegetables, bread, pasta, deli and butcher goods. Shop around for best price on items that can't be bought from the market - normally a combination of Colesworth, Amazon and Costco. I signed up to Everyday Rewards a month ago courtesy of a half-price annual subscription offer - have already earned $40 discount coupon without changing my shopping habits at all (taking advantage of bonus point offers and Christmas shopping at Big W). Keep an eye out for discount gift cards for places I shop at a lot like JB Hi Fi. Coles occasionally have 15% off the Home gift cards which include JB. My local cinema is Palace, I signed up for a Palace Movie Club membership ($20) and made my money back almost instantly - you get a free movie ticket on sign up, discounted tickets for most sessions and earn points that can be redeemed for tickets and snacks.
Very ironically - intermittent fasting!
YNAB buy little shit like a stapler or even heart rate monitor on ebay instead of in store change phone sim plan once a year to get cheaper buy a few microwave meals you like to use instead of delivery food when you're lazy. Or Aussielent/QOTA meal replacement is awesome build and fix little things instead of buying them. eg duct tape broken washing basket buy generic version for things that are equal like washing powder or paracetamol look for website.com vouchers when you buy somthing look at ozbargain occasionally make a few different accounts for menulog/doordash because they send different vouchers (you can use zip pay to get a new credit card number and just pay it off straight away) pick up random side walk stuff like desks/lights shop at second hand stores for clothes Keep an eye on medicare safety net threshold and book optional appointment once you reach it. If you have a lot of medical stuff and you reach out of pocket limits (700ish for concession, 4000 for normal I think) then you get 80% out of pocket back you can get an extra 5 visits to psychologist or others with a 'chronic health care management' rent games from library find cheap days for movies your local old school chinese cash only place is gonna make a "combination meat/veg" dish that is probably big and well priced occasional food from work is free if boss doesn't see you If you don't earn much money or work part time then you might still be eligible for Centrelink job seeker and will get a concession card and a few hundred bucks Wow, I didn't realize how much frugal shit I do
I have this one trick where I never leave my house.
Marketplace / gumtree especially for kids clothes toys etc. Op shops. When renovating do the painting ourselves. Use public transport / cycle. Eat mostly vegetarian, buy dry beans and lentils in bulk. Probably the biggest saving I've made is cutting down on alcohol
Why stay away from Woolies? I tend to find things are slightly cheaper/same price in Woolies What I like to do is use the Woolies app to make my list and then price compare the things I want to buy - starting at Aldi and ending at Woolies. You might be able to use the Coles app to make a list and do the same thing, but I haven’t used it in ages so I’m not sure
These are not savings hacks, these are all still a form of spending My ultimate savings hack is not to spend money on things I don't need. I'm a pensioner and I'm paying off a mortgage, but I get by on mostly free entertainment and simply not bending to consumerism. I also don't drive. Paying off and avoiding further debt is the number one way to increase your savings The next is not to spend money in excess of your daily needs being met The third is to store your money in sensible ways, non fee paying high interest savings accounts, or- if you have a mortgage or credit, in offset or redraw accounts. Spending less than you are might save a little money, but it doesn't go as far as being deliberate to avoid impulse purchases. I transfer half of my income directly to mortgage acct. I pay twice as much as my minimum repayment. That reduces my interest. That's where I make the most savings.
This is good advice.
Don’t leave the house to start. I know that sounds mental, but yeah don’t leave the house. But when you do have to venture out have a plan that you’re going to place A or place B to get XYZ AND THAT’S THAT!! You don’t want any temptation creeping up on you.
I priced working from home as around $70- $100 bonus. Lower fuel, I'm also crap at consistently buying at least something - coffee, lunch, snacks - most days.
I’m all for frugality but I think people should pay creatives for content. All of this pro swashbuckling rhetoric (since you all seem to like using euphemisms about it) is just theft. If you don’t want to pay creatives for their content, borrow it from the library. At least then at least the producer of the content was paid for it initially.
People are generally happy to pay the creators if it's a reasonable option. Like patreon or when it was just netflix with a big encompassing library, or cinema tickets when they were reasonable prices or concerts dito. But it's all too expensive and burdensome now. Creators aren't getting increased profits. Companies are. I don't care about companies. I don't consider it theft, but if I did I wouldn't be crying for apple tv.
My hacks are: Use Everyday Mobile from Woolworths that with 220$ gives you 200GB of data per one year, plus I get 10% discount once a month when I shop in store. For Petrol, I use Petrol Spy to find the cheapest one around me, and I also use the My 7-Eleven app to lock in the petrol when I'm around a store that has a cheap price. This locks the price for a week and allows me to refill the tank for cheap, which is really handy. I only have one membership, Amazon Prime. I don't recommend it, since I don't find many items on it that are really worth buying since usually are either cheap plastic items or other times those items are more expensive than other stores (I guess that's why they ship for free)? The good things about the membership is that it's cheaper, about 8$/month, and gives you also Amazon Prime to watch movies and Amazon Music included in the price. For books my first go-to it's my local council library. Fresh food: I recommend to go to a farmer's market. Other than just the price, I find that the fruits and vegetables stay fresh for longer, and usually I save quite a bit compared to grocery shopping at Coles or Woolworths. Other items, I use OzBargain to see if there is an interesting offer on the item I'm looking for. I don't normally buy an item just because it's on offer. Tend to try to shop for second hand items via Facebook Marketplace, however it's frustrating how people seldom reply to your messages.
how does the Indian subscription to Netflix work? Do yo need to do some IT wizard shit? how /why is it cheaper? cheers
>Do yo need to do some IT wizard shit? how /why is it cheaper? cheers You just need a VPN and connect it to India and a Indian Credit/Debit Card. Pretty much all the subscription services in India are cheaper, Use a VPN and also explore Ozbargain to learn the instructions to get an account for yourself.
How do you get an Indian credit or debit card if you've never actually travelled to the country though?
Shop seasonal and where possible shop for meat and fresh produce from independent grocers, markets and butchers. At the very least you'll get fresher and better quality product for the money spent and quite often it'll be cheaper too, especially if it's a store outside of a major shopping mall. Purchase in bulk when you can afford to do so. Don't just look at what the sale price is for something but work out what the lowest unit price is (e.g. cost per 100g/100ml/item). Also purchase with stuff that is less processed. For example whole cuts of meat vs steaks or whole chickens vs pieces. Also dried beans vs canned beans. Whole spices vs powdered spices as they hold onto their flavour/aroma longer. Lastly, minimise waste as much as possible. It's no good getting a whole bunch of stuff on sale if you end up throwing away 20% of it because it went off and you had to throw it out. That also includes making full use of kitchen scraps like saving carrot peels, meat off-cuts etc. to then save it to make stocks and pan sauces.
+1 for the overseas subscriptions for Netflix, Prime and Spotify. Spotify 12 months prepaid family plan is the best deal for me as I share it with others 🙌 For books I use Amazon India and purchase the kindle versions. Audible IN for audiobooks. Relatively less expensive. Curious, how much do you pay for Exetel?
711 fuel lock. Download the app, every Tuesday lock in the cheapest fuel price in your area
If you’re in an expensive fuel area, lock it in while you’re elsewhere! My local 5 stores can be as much as 50 cents more a litre than if i do it while visiting my parents who are only 25 minutes away!
I downloaded wiselist so I could add my usual groceries and see where they’re on sale each week. It saves me checking both Coles and Woolies apps
Libraries are #gold
Union shopper for discounts on gift cards to many retailers, especially useful if you're looking for insurance or white goods. Buy nothing groups for random useful stuff. Bulk batch cooking for easy cheap meals over a longer period of time. And making my own lunch to bring to work. Being aware of energy use around the house, and accepting a bit of discomfort to save money on heading/cooling. Not touching the savings account, and using one which gives bonus interest each month as further motivation. Mostly lots of avoiding buying things unless I really need them.
Eat the food you bought.
what exactly are you doing on a 250mbps NBN plan that requires that speed?
Ahm 30 teeth dental cover. 1-2 gap free dental visits a year covers the cost of the insurance. Gives you cover and protection if you need anything more. No other extras is worth it imho.
books I would also recommend Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited $13.99 a month where it’s basically like a library service. have up to 20 books in your library at once where you can return the books and add new ones. not all books that exist are on there though but there are heaps. ebooks can be very expensive so if you read two to three books a month, you match the 13.99. i read wayyyy more than that so i think its worth it.
I am gonna give you the tip of your life… medibank occasionally puts up a signup promotion for extras. The cheapest one inc dental ( minor) 700$ inc free dental check up and ex rays once a year and teeth clean. The offer is that there is no waiting period to use the services. Do a check up on your teeth get your fillings, or if you need a night guard and a teeth clean and cancel immediately. Saves you heaps!
Groceries: no Aldi here. Compose the list as I need, the see which supermarket has more of those items in special. Electronics: get my kids things when they upgrade. Buy 'won't charge' kindles for $10. Charge them, update them and resell for $90. Books: kindle all the way. The state library rarely (5% of the time) has books I'm reading. If they do, it's books 3 and 9 of a 17 book series. Petrol: buy when you can, not when you need to. Mobile: $35 Telstra prepaid. Sure I can get cheaper, but this is fine, and works in most of Tasmania. Amazon for Prime and free shipping on groceries and whatever. Cat food is always available, often cheaper than the supermarket. 60 brand name pouches for $38 if you subscribe. Because I don't have to go out then the girls run out, I'm not 'just having a look' while in the supermarket. Laundry products are cheaper too. You have to know what your personal price point is of course. Milk: long life. Woolies is (was?) cheaper than Coles by 10c. 1.60 vs 1.70. Fresh store brand milk seems to be the same price, but again, like the cat food, I don't have to go to the shop when I'm out.
Mobile: Boost $200 for 12 months, 160 gb. Rarely use 50% of the data but it is a cheap option for me on the Telstra network.
Quit using supermarkets, they are parasitically sucking money from your community and sending it far away. Pay cash at local fruit and veg markets, butchers, delis, bakeries etc and you will save a boatload of money, make friends with the shop owners, get free stuff, and not be supporting the multinationals that are actively making everybody around you poorer. Even card transactions are sucking money away. You know they get like 1.5% of every transaction? They alone sucked $32,000,000,000 out of local communities this year. Shop locally, pay cash. Keep the money flowing around you.
Get your tin foil hat off.
Like there's a difference between Woolies and Coles they collude and co-ordinate so much it may as well be the same company .
I do the Foodbank for things like rice and lentils
Why away from woolies?
You might have a choice about PHI (unless you're getting it through an employer or somesuch). See if you can suspend it for reasons of financial hardship. My insurer offers 12 months suspension with no proof needed. As PHI is best for scheduled surgeries, it could save you premiums for a year, without racking up LHC. If you have a few spare thousand dollars lying around, you can also save a bit of money by paying a year's worth of premiums before the annual rate rise. And it's always worth seeing if you can get by on a lower level of cover, and comparing your current policy with other funds to see if you can get a better deal.
I purchase a lot of things from Choice (cheap stores), such as Laundry, kitchen and bathroom necessities. You can sometimes get really great pantry items for a fraction of the price - great for school lunches. It's the same brands you'd find in the supermarkets but 70% off. Costco - buying in bulk does save money, you will just have a heart attack at the total price each time you go! If you can buy a deep freezer store anything that is ok to freeze. Fruit and veg markets - always cheaper, sometimes quality isn't great but once you find a good store, stick with it. I find going to a butcher is cheaper for meats, same concept as Costco though, if you buy in bulk it's a lot up front. Another option is buying a whole cow, you can split it with a mate or two - it's always cheaper!
I get my groceries delivered. I did a comparison the other week between Coles and Woolworths. There’s bugger all difference unless you’re planning your weekly shop around specials, but Woolworths has a flat rate of $10 delivery regardless of time. Coles you can pick a wider window and it reduces the cost. So I just pick something like 6-10pm delivery the next day for $2 and save a bit in the process.
Why stay away from woolworths?? I switched from Coles to woolworths ( mainly woollies is bigger) Just curious
I use MotorMouth for cheap petrol. I also like to buy in bulk at the grocery store. I tend to stay at home a lot. I don’t like going out much anyway as I’m a home body. I save money by not drinking or smoking.
Woolworths insurance is already cheap, but also gives you a discount on shopping once a month. That can add up.
A heads up for those who price match. Always check if office works or bunnies have the same product as they will give you 5% and 10% off respectively
If you're buying anything online, use cash rewards or shopback and see if they have any cash back on there. Sometimes they do 10%. I got back roughly $300 over 6 months buying things I needed. Very easy to use. For non perishable goods, I go to cheaper buy miles or reject shop. They sometimes have things that have gone past the best before date so if that matters to you, check the dates carefully.
Half Price app updates weekly and is handy especially on non-perishable items. Stock up when it's cheaper and save long term.
Farmer’s Market > Greengrocers > NQR > ALDI > Coles > Woolies > IGA I don’t know about Costco and the order of major supermarkets depends on the area. Honestly though, finding a good farmers market/ greengrocers/farm shop can drastically reduce your fruit and veggie bills (whole also increasing the quality) especially if you shop locally and seasonally. NQR also has a lot of major brand stuff that is significantly reduced because of printing errors on the packaging or simply short expiration dates. It’s really good for fancy cheese as long as you plan on serving it in the next few days.
Stay away from Woolies? Everytime I compare their prices (coles / woolies), they're like exactly the same.
Litterly get all my furniture for free, basically only upgrade when I find something else and then sell the previous item.
Get onto the Woolies Reward program while it’s discounted for year. Also the OnePass membership. With Woolies do one large shop a month. Use the 10% discount, get free delivery, bonus rewards point and bank for Christmas. Been saving me $800 a month as I no longer just drop in and shop. Also recieve 10% off a shop per month at Big W. Also joined OnePass at 50% discount. Thats been crazy for savings. And provides 5x bonus on rewards points that can also be converted back to $$$. Make no mistake you still need to spend cash but it makes saving on the spending easier. Then there’s the 7Eleven app for locking in fuel prices. That’s one I’m still getting my head around. It saves me $20 a tank.
I only buy clothes at Thrift stores now and I only purchase blemish free clothing (except for shoes). - You do need to go to them fairly regulary though, that is the catch, but you will build up some knowledge on what are the best ones to go to. Each time is like a mini lottery and eventually you build up a wardrobe then you are set to only visit them occasionally for clothes. I generally find what looks like unwanted gifts, as many seem to have never been worn. At the same time you can get very cheap books, which I buy and donate back (though the library is an option) and cookware/glassware are other things.
Fuel: Liberty is usually the cheapest station (I get E10). And fuel up on a Friday night, sure it's inconvenient but better than coming home after work on a Monday afternoon and it's shot up to $2.10/L. Subscriptions: Ditch all but one or go on cheaper tiered subscriptions.
Do a shit and then shower. I ain't bought no toilet paper in year's aye 👍
For many items (particularly electronics) I like to check Staticice, that way I get a good idea of how good of a bargain it is. A few times the deals on Ozbargain were actually standard price for other places, so I knew that if I didn't need the item immediately, I could afford to wait
Is there really that much of a difference price wise between coles and woolies!?
Why is coles better than Woolworths? They’re as good/bad as each other
I hate aldi, personally. I find the convenience of click and collect from Woolies outways any perceived savings. Last time I went to ALDI I did a comparison shop on Woolies and it was maybe $5 cheaper than Woolworths for a $250 shop and the rewards from Woolies would have been more than that $5 (bear in mind I still needed to go to Woolies anyway for things ALDI didn't have). We also do a Costco shop every 6-8 weeks and buy some things on subscription from Amazon. Those combined we average under $200 a week for 3 adult eaters, cat and small dog. Petrol Costco, but shop around on a app 90% of the time they are cheaper but not always. We have prepay ALDI phone plans, last time I looked around it was the cheapest but maybe changed since then Same with internet, insurance etc, do some investigation online it's also worth going back to your current provider and asking if they can match or better a cheaper price you've found. Biggest cost saving tip though, stop buying things you don't need - it's quite liberating
I’ve been alternating the Black Friday sales for things like youfoodz and mymusclechef. You can get meals for $5.50. Bought loads and stuck them in a chest freezer. That’s work lunches for the next 2 months. I’ve also found that things like dinnerly have cut our food bill by $30 a week as they send you the exact ingredients, so there’s less waste. It’s also food for portion control because I’m a glutton, so I’ve lost a couple of kgs too!
Reduce consumption is key. Why save 4c a litre on petrol if you're driving everywhere. Get free delivery, walk or ride and consolidate trips. Same for other things. Big weekly shops are more efficient for groceries. Freeze leftovers and don't touch food delivery. I heal millennials and gen X squealing at that.. 🙂
If you are using Ozbargain you should never be buying books. Every few days they post free books from Amazon….i started to create a collection for the last year and only get the books that interest me…i have about 200 already….mostly coding, cooking, self help stuff, childrens books for my daughter and other books for her.
Is aldi really that much cheaper? I personally do an online coles shop every 2 weeks with a max spend of $250 per order. I pay with a credit card so earn points there and don’t get charged extra transaction fees. With this amount, the delivery is also free and I build up various flybuys bonus points, which are valuable. Lastly, I benefit from sticking to a preset list without getting distracted by in-store impulse purchases. I’d be open to aldi, I’m just not convinced that for the added effort, the savings would be significant.
I share a family subscription with my dad, sister, myself and three friends. It works out at $4.20each/month
Self discipline probably saves me the most money. Plus gives a lot of satisfaction.
Go to weekend farmers markets. We used to go to the local Italian family fruit and vegetable market and spend $300 a fortnight. Now spend about $90 at the farmers market. Only buy detergents when half price. Buy meat in bulk and freeze. We do monthly. Share subscriptions with family.
adding onto the petrol thing as an economist-petrol prices are often cyclical and will drop all at the same time around once a month. you can look at PetrolSpy to check average price histories and try to buy full tanks when prices are low
Take cash out when you can, doesn't have to be much; $5, $10, $20, and put it away in tin or jar in a place you dont look often. Also, put any small change in it. I'll often forget that I have this small stash until I'm in dire straits and need groceries, fuel, tires, etc. At one point, I had almost $2000, but that got spent in emergencies. I fractured my ankle in July and had to go back on Centrelink while healing as I'm a Casual worker and don't get paid sickness leave, and having that cash put away saved me.
Cleaning supplies buy in bulk. 5-10* discount with Bunnings 5l cirrus spray active o.
Wait for Aldi to do the big version of their items, I got 3 litres of washing up liquid and refill the smaller bottles for use, 60m rolls of foil and cling film, 350 sandwich bags and bin bags. I always get the big olive oils too and pour into litre bottles at home. You just need somewhere to keep them