Tips for cheap living!

[rickbitch]

With many of us unemployed, and doing it a bit tough, I thought the community could help everyone out by posting their little discovery's. Most of these will probably be food/grocery related, but others are welcome.

We want to try to put in regular prices of stuff, so that we can all continue to enjoy the benifits, but occasional specials that are to good to pass up can be posted.

I will be posting this as a sticky, so that anyone can access this thread at any time in the future. To make it easy for everyone to read the info, please keep chat to an absolute minimum. If you have a better price on a product range, by all means let us know.

Whilst most of the posts will probably relate to the Sydney area, many of them will refer to nationwide chains, so the prices have a good chance of benifiting as many people as possible. With people outside of AUS, you can also feel free to post info, but it might be a good idea to post your location as well. Once again, your posts will probably refer to nationwide chains as well (eg: in the US, kmart), so it will benifit everyone in your country.

Note: General suggestions are good, but please add specific bargains if you have them. EG: The tool shed has butt plugs for $3 cheaper than butt-plugs-R-us, and this is a regular price, not on sale.

Please continue!

[rickbitch]

OK, now for my tips.

First up, Kmart are selling 32 rolls of toilet paper for a regular price of $7. This appears to be at all stores, and is much cheaper than anything else I've seen.

Next, Coles are selling 4 litres of extra light Olive Oil under the Farmland brand for a regular price of $19.95.

As a general tip, I have discovered that ALDI is a good place to shop for basics, with the occaisonal special. DO NOT do all of your shopping at ALDI, as most of their meat is MORE expensive, and some of their products are not very good value for money. Stuff to look for is frozen vegies, frozen chooks (half the price of coles), cordial, bacon, cheese, and their own cheap knock-offs of brand-name biscuits.

I've found that purchasing a range of basic products from aldi will be HALF the total cost than that from coles.

[Spingo]

As a general rule of thumb, don't buy meat, fruit or vegetables from the supermarket. Fruit stores and butchers almost always have better prices and quality.

[jmello]

are blank cd-r's a grocery?
i get mine for free from best buy, they usually have them in the front row, on saturdays, but you have to get there early, you pay full price, then get rebates worth the same (or more) as what you paid (the rebates are usually the store rebate, plus one from the internet that was printed off and taped to the package)

[Farbs]

In no particular order: Packaged food (tins etc) which contains only one ingredient tastes just the same when it's no frills
Fruit & veg are always far cheaper at markets than woolies
Some fruit & veg markets offer fantastic discounts the afternoon before their fresh shipment is due
If you're living with a group of people, do all shopping & cooking communally
Don't ever pay for pr0n
Don't eat anything that isn't cooked at home
The less enthusiastic the landlord, the cheaper the rent
By living with an anal economics student, you'll find that you save money on all shared expenses without having to put any effort
It's hard to spend money if you never leave the house
Theft is easiest when you're doing it where nobody would dare look, so you need never buy your own toilet paper

[Bostonmess]

Grow your own vedgetables?
Keep chickens?
Learn to busk?
Brew you own beer/alchohol.
Grow your own pot, sell some.
Walk/cycle places.

[Mattryx]

If you're like me, and have to have a decent meat meal every day, but are always searching for extra things to chuck on the side, the 'ol continental pasta and rice packs are great.

Not to mention at the moment, you can get a 3 pack of them from Coles for about $3.47.

A single pack costs $2.90! :eek:

[flounder]

Home Brand 2 minute noodles, very cheap & versatile. Brown rice.
If you have a supermarket that closes Sunday, hang around Saturday arvos coz they virtually give away perishables close to the use by date. Long weekends with a holiday Monday are even better.You can buy a lot then freeze it quick.

[berserk]

Originally posted by Farbs
By living with an anal economics student, you'll find that you save money on all shared expenses without having to put any effort

Economists are anal? pffft!
You've got the wrong descipline. Live with an accounting student & you'll find that you save money on all shared expenses without having to put any effort.

apart from what has already been mntioned above, there are some more tips for cheap *ahem* economic living.

1. Buy your pre-packed fresh meat the supermarket atfer 8 pm as they are sold at 50% discount to clear the shelves before closing time (I definitely remember the Woolies at Mac Centre Nth Ryde having this deal). This may also work for bread & other perishables.

2. Make friends with a McDonald's slave & score a McD card to get free fries with the purchase of any burger. A cheese burger & fries just about makes an adequate filler for a few hours. Very useful for those times when you are hungry, broke & in a hurry.

[hazza]

learn to sell pirate vcds :)


yarrrrrrrrrrr

[SamBo]

i know the woolies i used to work at sold all their meats at a reduced price on sunday nights (like 2 bucks for a packet of meat that would normally be like 6 bucks). its good for getting sausages and mince meat, which is generally the same no matter where you buy it

[Mattryx]

If you come across a butcher or supermarket who has a decent selection of meat that day. Buy it all. Tis the best way to have good meat in your freezer all the time.

[LisaJ]

I find that if you buy the "no name" brand stuff then thats cheaper..

Eg: I ususally buy the Bi-lo brand for stuff if Im shopping at Bi-lo because its the same as the name brands..but cheaper


Also for fruit and veg..I go to the markets...Parklea are cheap...or Flemmington...Paddy's...cheaper and the quality is also good...

[utopian]

Quit smoking.
When buying coffee, always get the brand that's the next pricier up from International Roast.
Stop driving the car and start riding/walking or taking the bus/train.
Do not succumb to the temptation to impulse buy.
Buy Milk as much at a time as possible (i.e. a 3L container costs less per litre than a 1 or 2L).

[Cassa]

Learn to live off bread. Our local Coles usually has bread rolls and other assorted bread products going cheap at night. Buy heaps, freeze them (lasts for quite a while). Has the added bonus of rapid weight loss if you eat nothing else but bread (not very healthy though, you may want to use some of those market vegies for salad sandwiches instead)

[robotoverflow]

In the same vein as living off bread, try to live off water as well. If you can't do without softdrink there are ALWAYS name brand 1.25L bottles of the stuff for 99c or less at your local coles, woolies, etc. Taken to work, uni, tafe, or wherever they're much better alternatives to buying 600ml bottles for more than 2 bucks, and waaay better than energy drinks pricewise.

[Aphrodite]

Don't have kids !!!!!!!!


The Noodle Star restaurant at Surry Hills has main meals for $7.50 - they are huge servings, enough to feed The Little Princess and I.

Maybe we should start a cheap restaurant thread

[scathing]

Originally posted by Cassa
Learn to live off bread. Our local Coles usually has bread rolls and other assorted bread products going cheap at night.

In the same way, Woolworths usually does a "clearance" of their roast chickens (if there are any left) and other products near closing.

I remember nights of buying $1 six-packs of cheese and bacon buns with a $5 roast chicken, which kept me going for a couple of days, or getting a kilogram of chicken wings for $1.50.

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by rickbishop
OK, now for my tips.

First up, Kmart are selling 32 rolls of toilet paper for a regular price of $7. This appears to be at all stores, and is much cheaper than anything else I've seen.

Next, Coles are selling 4 litres of extra light Olive Oil under the Farmland brand for a regular price of $19.95.

As a general tip, I have discovered that ALDI is a good place to shop for basics, with the occaisonal special. DO NOT do all of your shopping at ALDI, as most of their meat is MORE expensive, and some of their products are not very good value for money. Stuff to look for is frozen vegies, frozen chooks (half the price of coles), cordial, bacon, cheese, and their own cheap knock-offs of brand-name biscuits.

I've found that purchasing a range of basic products from aldi will be HALF the total cost than that from coles.

I do most of my shopping at Aldi. There is very little that I have to buy from elsewhere. The Aldi bread is made by Tip Top, the coffee is Nescafe, so there is no loss of quality there.

You can make basic spaghetti bolognaise for 5(plus leftovers) for about $6.50.

Shopping at Aldi/butchers/farmers markets costs me about $100 to $150 less than coles/franklins/woolies etc over a month. About the only things I buy from coles or woolies is coke, my shampoo and tea tree soap.

[Scumbag]

Checkout at the back of supermarkets about an hour after closing time. Youll find HEAPS of perishables neatly stacked in the big bins that are untouched and ready to eat!

Another thing is: Milk, Ass paper, Sugar, Tea, Coffee, sometimes bread & biscuits can usually be found in the Kitchen & toilets at your workplace. Grab them! Free groceries dont come any easier!

Also, If your hungry, go to McDonalds and tell the clerk that your hungry and havnt eaten in 3 days. Believe me, theyll ALWAYS give you food.

If you have any friends that go to Uni, offer them say... a case of beer for allowing you to borrow their uni paper work, then head to their uni, and tell the reception that youve lost your concession card. theyll take your photo, and for the next year youll have 1/2 price public transport, cheap movies etc.


When your buying beer. Always calculate how many litres of beer you are getting for your money, then look for the most economic case (thats still full strength)

I will add more as I think of em.

[CMYK]

Wear your underpants inside out on the second day.
Same goes for socks.

Wash your undies in teh shower.

Make a big stew with cheap meat and cheap veges.

[utopian]

Tips for cheap living != Tips for being a smelly hippy.

[Drakin]

Nearly every pub in the innerwest seems to be doing a cheap eat night, EG The Newington does $6 steaks (think its thursdays??)

Anyway if you look out it is possible to eat out everynight for $6's and to eat steak, chips and salad.

[hazza]

if ur really bad in debt...


snap ur credit cards and bankcards...

also goto kfc / maccas e.t.c near closing times, at kfc we try to get rid of all the stock near the end so theres less wastage.

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by Drakin
Nearly every pub in the innerwest seems to be doing a cheap eat night, EG The Newington does $6 steaks (think its thursdays??)

Anyway if you look out it is possible to eat out everynight for $6's and to eat steak, chips and salad.

Alot of the clubs also do a roast lunch or dinner for anywhere between $2.50 & $5.00 including tea or coffee.

[edeity]

High speed internet connection may at first appear to be a luxury, but this is a great deception.

When you calculate how much you will save in your monthly pornography by instead using free downloads and websites, broadband internet saves you (or at least in my case) a LOT of money.

If you then also calculate in the dinners and drinks you would have to buy for both yourself and someone of the opposite sex, and substitute this with some good hand action in front of the screen, your sitting in front of an ever flowing goldmine. ;)

I think i calculated I was saving over $600 a month when i got adsl. Sure my social skills sucked ass, and the neighbours thought i was a pervert and kept threatening to call the cops, but you cant argue with the economics of it.

Broadband internet will save you the most money out of any other recommendation.

[oracle]

If your broadband has a data cap and you work on a (internet connected) PC, get yourself a portable external USB hard drive. Download all you warez/pr0n at work, and then bring it home on the HDD.

Helps me stay below my cap.

[Deimos]

Originally posted by phoneyhuh

When your buying beer. Always calculate how many litres of beer you are getting for your money, then look for the most economic case (thats still full strength)


There is a unit of measurement that some friends of mine called the Che (named after one of them) and it is a measure of the number of standard drinks per dollar. Therefore, a bottle of vodka that costs $25 and contains 22 standard drinks has a Che of 0.88. This way when you want to get drunk you can work out the cheapest drink. Unfortunately it inevetably ends up being sherry by the flagon... Yeuch!

Also - the flavour of cheap crappy port and cask plonk can be greatly improved by blending in a port barrel and leaving it there for a while - then you have port on tap!

[ThreeChordMe]

I get *eight* meals out of a $.70 package of rice noodles. They take a few minutes to prepare (be sure to soak them in water first), taste great, are filling, and are healthy.

Also, sign up for a supermarket bonus card. I always get good deals with mine. Usually, a bag of rice here goes for $.65, but if you hold out they go on sale. I got three bags for $1 the other day, and that is about 30-35 servings for me. I've saved as much as $12 on an order that I thought was going to cost me $24 this way. The same goes for toiletry shops. This week, I got free conditioner with my shampoo because I had a CVS card.

I take the train into New York City a lot, and even though it's a 25 minute ride, it costs me $12 roundtrip. I've found that driving 10 minutes south to the nearest subway station is a great solution to this. It cost $2 each way (rather than $6), runs at all hours (instead of stopping at 1:30am), and there's free parking (instead of $4.25 for 12 hours). It also takes as long as a regular local train takes to get downtown (1 hour).

I highly recommend Reebok classic sneakers, too. First off, I think they look cool. Secondly, mine cost me $25 a pop and last about two years. A tip for women: If they fit you, buy boy's sneakers, as they cost less.

If you drive, and it's an option, get a 4-cylinder manual. First off, let's talk transmissions. With a manual, the worst that can happen is you replace your clutch after 7 years for $400, rather than the $1200 for a new auto tranny. Your car will also be peppier, and you'll get better gas mileage. Speaking of gas mileage, 4-cylinder is the way to go--by far. Diesel and hybrid cars are also very fuel efficient, but finding affordable maintinence is nearly impossible.

Along with driving comes insurance. One can lower their insurance by 10% by taking a 5-hour defensive driving course. This is for experienced drivers only (21+ in the US). For new drivers, you can take a 3-week course that will have the same benefits. I did this, and it really sucked. It was 8 hours a week, but considering it took $400 off of my annual insurance rate, I'm not complaining.

I'll be sure to post more here when they occur to me.

IMPORTANT: All prices in US Dollars.

[Deimos]

I have noticed that among my friends, their parents tend not to help them out a lot with money, even though the parents earn a fair bit themselves. This causes problems because they are studying so they can't work much, but their parents earn to much for them to qualify for Youth Allowance (or whatever Centrelink call it these days).

The big problem is that in order to qualify for Youth Allowance you need to be declared independant, and the way to be declared independant is to earn $14,000 in one financial year. So how do you go about earning that much money in 12 months when you are a student and you don't have time to work lots? Well, here's what you do.

Make friends with someone who is connected to a charity or a political party (or some other organisation that you can make tax deductible donations to) and organise with them so that you do some "Contract Work" for them. They pay you $14,000 for this contract work and you donate it straight back to the organisation.

When it comes to the end of the financial year, you have a tax bill for $4,000 or so from the income you "earned" from this "contract work" but since you donated $14,000 to this organisation you can tax deduct it and you come out even and so does the charity. The only difference is that you have qualified for youth allowance and you can start getting money off the Government for nothing!

[ShadowNemesis]

Pubmart??????(think that's the name) has some very good specials on alcohol. My daughters friend got 4 pre mixed southern comfort and cranberry, and 4 pre mixed southern comfort and cola for around $10.

[ThreeChordMe]

I almost forgot something very useful in my life:
If you can, work in the food industry. I get free food from my job all the time (I work at a pie shop, but they've got soup, sandwiches, etc.). My boss is constantly sending me home with more than I can eat so as not to waste food. I used to work at bagel shop/deli, and that was ideal for this type of savings.

If you're in a major city, dining out and entertainment can be surprisingly inexpensive. Every city has a Chinatown, so go there for authentic, cheap eats in large quantities (can you say "leftovers?"). Here, you can feed 4 people for under $20 at places like these.

YOUR STUDENT ID CARD SERVES MANY PURPOSES.

If you're a student or live near a university, try lunch at nearby eateries. Restaurant owners know students have limited funds, and are competing with the massive competition.

If you're flying, check out deals on student airfair. You'll find international rates which are surprisingly low.

As for entertainment, lots of cinemas are loyal to specific universities or offer general student discounts. This applies to museums as well. Another aspect of this I discovered when SOC and Stocking were here are student ticket prices for the theatre. We were able to get the best seats in the house for $30 rather than $80.
</student discount stuff>

Clothes are really expensive. There's a European chain that opened stores here last year that I adore called H&M. They have the *best* clearance rack. Their clothes are pretty expensive intially, but once they go on clearance it means $7.50 for a pair of $30 pants. They've also got a rather large range of...everything. Accessories, casual, dressy-casual, plus-sized, men's, children's, etc. It all goes on sale after two months.

I save money by buying my towels and my, "I'm not trying to be sexy," pajamas at places like Target or TJMaxx. To think of it, Target is great for lots of things.

[pliskin]

on sunday afternoons goto paddies markets, in haymarket, sydney. for very cheap vegies. im talking a dollar a kilo for nearly all vegies . the reason for this is that paddies is only open from thursday-sunday. the stall holders have to be out on sunday night. so all th produce has to be sold. thay also have seafood here as well which is very cheap.
vege stir fries using 2 minute noodles are a great, money saving meals!
buying a breadmaker ( start at $150 ) is also a money saving thing, when u consider that loaves of bread are $2-3. the initial outlay will have payed for it self in 2 months.

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by pliskin
on sunday afternoons goto paddies markets, in haymarket, sydney. for very cheap vegies. im talking a dollar a kilo for nearly all vegies . the reason for this is that paddies is only open from thursday-sunday. the stall holders have to be out on sunday night. so all th produce has to be sold. thay also have seafood here as well which is very cheap.
vege stir fries using 2 minute noodles are a great, money saving meals!
buying a breadmaker ( start at $150 ) is also a money saving thing, when u consider that loaves of bread are $2-3. the initial outlay will have payed for it self in 2 months.

Breadmakers are excellent for when you have kids, on a saturday or sunday, these kids will just eat a loaf of fresh pumpkin or fruit bread.

We go to the farmers markets at warwick farm on a saturday morning for fruit and veges and occasionally meat. I also buy a couple of bunches of fresh roses, 2 bunches for $10.

[Zan]

If you are in brisbane, and looking for cheap vegies, 'The Green Flea' (At the south leagues club, West End) on Sat's and Sun's have probably the cheapest (and the best) vegies in brisbane.

When I worked @ coles, I found that I had a lot of crazy old ladies coming through my checkout would do weird things to the vegetables so they would have to pay less. If you don't eat the stalk (tough bit) of brocolli, then snap it off and u don't have to pay for it. I never saw peeled carrots, or washed potatoes (that weren't supposed to be), but I ded see half carrots, and half a zucchini.

Usually, if they are busy, they will just take your word for it if you tell them that something is a cheaper price than it usually is. The people at the checkout are supposed to ring up and get someone to come down and check, etc, etc but if it's an express lane, you can probably get away with it 80% of the time.

A bit of charm never goes astray, either. Buying bread/fruit from a tired, cute girl at the end of the day is a good idea, if you have a hint of social skills...

If I think of some, then I'll add them.

[scathing]

Originally posted by oracle
If your broadband has a data cap and you work on a (internet connected) PC, get yourself a portable external USB hard drive. Download all you warez/pr0n at work, and then bring it home on the HDD.

Unless you've got a way to fudge the proxy's logs, I can't think of a faster way to get fired. Mind you, that'll save money on transportation costs. Too bad you won't have an income either.

Given how much traffic costs (as well as the usual drop in productivity) more and more companies are monitoring your Internet usage. They may not use it straight away, but if they need to get rid of you they'll "suddenly" audit the logs and fire your ass.

If your broadband has a data cap, get a new broadband provider. Either that or get one that offers an unlimited off-peak download, and use a download manager so it only downloads at those times. If you're using P2P, install an applet that shuts down your computer at the end of that period so you don't eat into your regular hours.

I also browse with multimedia (images, sounds, and animation) off for the most part. Banners, flash ads, and stupid MIDI music can't bother me when my browser doesn't download them.

I'll load particular images I want to see (or refresh if I can't navigate without them) but I find that my downloads drop markedly when I turn that crap off.

[oracle]

Ok, I should have mentioned that if your company is pretty strict, might not be the best idea... Luckily for me, my boss also downloads at work, and our network admin doesn't mind us downloading as long as we don't use up all the bandwitdh (ie. cap out download speed)

[katana]

Join your local sporting club or R.S.L and go to the meat raffle nights $10 bucks of tickets and do it regularly,we have hardly had to buy meat in the last year and a half. They also have cheap meals and beers!!!

Buy major electrical stuff from Harvey Norman and pay the repayments more that the stated repayments gets you great goodies and a good credit refrence.

If you use public transport buy monthly tickets you will save heaps.

Get soap and toilet paper from public service bathrooms they have good loo paper and nice soap.

Buy petrol on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Buy a brevil maker and learn new and wonderful ways to make toasted sandwiches...No single mans house or share house should be without one.

If you have kids buy a chest freezer and buy your meat in bulk half a lamb/calf cut up by the butcher and frozen is cheaper than buying meat on a weekly basis.

Go to the farmers markets they are so much cheaper and the quality is so much better.(in Canberra go to the Hall markets or bus shed markets)

Enter competitions..you would be suprised what you can win( we have a new microwave, DVD, football tickets and supporters packs and tickets to the car races from them )

If you buy papers and magazines get them by subscription they are cheaper. Work related ones are tax deductable.

DON'T do your own taxes find a good accountant. The price you pay them is tax deductable and they will find you deductions you can't and you can put your tax return in late.(I just put in 5 years with no fines and large returns) and there is little chance you will be audited.

Where ever possible but clothes from second hand stores you can find some really good clothes at bargin prices. Especially for kids.

If you have to buy large things buy quality not cheap it will cost you a bit more in the first place but you will have it longer.

Read "your money,Starting out and Starting over" by Anita Bell and "Richest Man In Babylon" by George.S. Classon.

[Holster]

If you have kids buy a chest freezer and buy your meat in bulk half a lamb/calf cut up by the butcher and frozen is cheaper than buying meat on a weekly basis.


You can even save more money by buying a cow / lamb at the stock market and getting it butchered yourself (especially now cattle prices are low). Make sure if you do this you have a newer model freezer as the old ones tend to use a lot of power.

Also to make food and other household items cheaper, try to get a few households together and buy in bulk.

You can get bakers delight bread (6 or 7 various loafs) for free from various charity groups.

If you know anyone that lives in the country change your rego details to their address, saves heaps on rego every year.



Pay cash for everything!

[alcor]

Collect usernames/passwords for unlimited dial-up accounts(Use your social engineering skills to obtain these), and piggyback them when they are not being used - ie: business accounts are generally not used on weekends.
No one seems to care or notice.

Yes - I would love to have broadband but fuck paying for it.

Dodge debts to corporations.
Anyway you can.

If you smoke, you can buy cheap illegal tobacco at alot of small tobbacconists, just ask discretely.

Fumble for change when you get on the bus, alot of the time the driver will roll his eyes and let you on free.

Cask wine can be quite good quality these days, decant it into an old wine bottle & trick your friends - they will never know.

Grow green vegies, like rocket & spinach. They keep much better in the garden than at the bottom of the fridge.

Don't buy a car.

Scam the multinationals anyway you can.
Make friends on the inside.

Build your own PC.

If all else fails - rob the rich (in the nicest way possible).

[LisaJ]

Originally posted by Drakin
Nearly every pub in the innerwest seems to be doing a cheap eat night, EG The Newington does $6 steaks (think its thursdays??)

Anyway if you look out it is possible to eat out everynight for $6's and to eat steak, chips and salad.

The specials at the Newington is Mon to Wed, Lunch and Dinner for $6

The Forbes in Surry Hills also does the same...I think its the Forbes...

And some places have like Pasta nights...that are cheap too...

[matty]

Fumble for change when you get on the bus, alot of the time the driver will roll his eyes and let you on free.

use big notes when getting on a bus, as the bus driver usually cant be fucked getting change (ie. 20$note for a 1.30$ fare)

[scathing]

Going to factory outlets, and purchasing factory seconds, can also a good way to save on clothing and whitegoods.

Factory seconds whitegoods come with a full manufacturer's warranty, so its not as if you're buying shoddy stock.

[Sodapop]

All i can say is chinatown.

If you are sick of eating fucking no names pasta with Black and gold sauce, then rock down to chinatown in Sydney. you can get a mad meal for about $5 - $6. Break the boredom cycle!

The supermarkets there also sell dirt chat stuff like rice and vegies. Check out Paddy's markets for vegies. Bargains! Especially if you look like a dirty punk scumbag, the old guy will give you extra :)...im talking about ME, NOT YOU, pliskin and shaddowNemisis!

Another good tip is to get a home brew kit. It may take 5 weeks or so, and cost $50, but god DAMN you save MASSIVE $$$$ in the end on beer. And it tastes better than store shite! Or you could hit up bar ace on george st for a $2.50 pisser before blaging you way into The Spanish club to abuse indie bands. Dont try to save 50c by going to The PAvillion, you will spend your savings on hospital bills from getting your ass kicked by fuck nuts.

Other 'cheap nights' are the classic Foresters in Slurry Hills, $5 steak with mash OR $5 chicken breast with salad. Killer. The stawberry hills hotel in surry also does $5 steak i think.

But...the winner is the Hari Krisna's food in Newtown every night between 6pm and 7pm. Its FREE if you are really broke, but allways give 'em a buck or two. The portions are huge, the food is vego lush-ness.

[Deimos]

Originally posted by alcor
[B]
Cask wine can be quite good quality these days, decant it into an old wine bottle & trick your friends - they will never know.


In fact, if you can stock up on cask wine (particularly South Australian wine from the riverland) right now you will find that the quality is surprisingly high. The last wine season had peculiar weather which meant that a lot of the crops in the riverland (the bulk wine producing area) turned out really well. Consequently cheap cask plonk is actually pretty good quality at the moment, so stock up and drink up!

[Nandragon]

Southern I'm broke tips

1. Quit smoking and drinking if you wanna eat
2. Neckbones and ox tail cooked in ur fresh veggies will substitue for the meat. AND 1lb of neck bones is about $1
3. Instead of chicken breast, buy the whole chicken. or wings. You get more for the money
4. Homemade soup. Just add canned veggies to the pot until all the meat and liquids are gone.
5. Instead of cooking for 2 cook for 4 and freeze the leftovers.
6. Peanut butter will go a long, long way.
7. Dry clothes on the line not the dryer.
8. Cover up you windows in the summer with dark shower curtains, your house will; cool off 10 degrees and save ur power bill.
9. Take showers together!
10. Take showers at work/gym.

[Scumbag]

Originally posted by alcor
Dodge debts to corporations.
Anyway you can. Ive got a 4 grand AMEX debt. Im thinking....If I move and change my mobile number...will they track me down?


Also, buy cans of beer instead of bottles! BWS is currently doing 30 cans of Tooheys for 31 bucks!

[ShadowNemesis]

The easiest way to handle a credit card debt, is to work out a realistic amount of what you can afford to pay them weekly/fortnightly/monthly, and send it to them in writing. Then stick to the amount, never miss a payment(or if there is a good reason why you do, put it in writing) and they are generally pretty happy. You may lose your amex card for awhile, but it's better than running.

[scathing]

Originally posted by phoneyhuh
Ive got a 4 grand AMEX debt. Im thinking....If I move and change my mobile number...will they track me down?


Nobody chases down bad debts like AmEx (aside from loan sharks). If you've used your real name and details, they'll find you eventually.

Your credit record will drop like a stone, so the next time you need to borrow money (car / home loan perhaps?) you'll get knocked back. Then, since you supplied your info, chances are AmEx will be informed and they'll be back for their $4,000 plus the exorbitant interest.

[Nandragon]

:rolleyes:

werd

<<has NO damn credit card debt!

[ShadowNemesis]

Places like AGC chase down bad debts, the westpac bank has been known to do it.

If you are unemployed, go to The Salvos or Smith Family and ask for help. Normally it comes in the form of a food voucher at Coles or Woolworths, which allows you to buy the necessities like bread...milk...some meat...fruit etc. A little can go an extremely long way when you are desperate.

What used to amaze me were people who said they had to live on a tin of catfood because they couldn't afford anything else. When you add up the cost of the catfood a week, you could have bought some frozen veges...potatoes...sausages & bread for the same amount.

[CMYK]

Cat food is nice. If you read the label it has all manner of tasty ingredients, plus added vitamins and taurine (for a shiny coat).

Just cook it up in a pie and you'll never know the difference.

Legions of pensioners can't be wrong.

Coles even sell a catfood bowl with "Grandma" written on it.

[oracle]

Mmmm... Pilchards in Aspic :D

[Chocoholic]

I drink a lot of soft drink. Not only is it really bad for me but at $1.50 a can it can really add up. To save a bit of money I buy it by the case which workes out to be atleast 1/2 price if not cheaper. I bring what I need to work. Things don’t often go missing from our office fridge so its pretty safe as long as I don’t stock pile it there.

[beowulf437]

If you drink a lot of soft drinks buy 2litres at the grocery store, they sometimes have buy 3 deals for even better prices. If you drink a lot of coffee Aldi's brand is about half the price of name brands and tastes just as good. Quick Oats make an excelent breakfast and a box of them can last a couple of months. Here in the U.S. municipalities often have their own sales/excise taxes and that by just crossing the city limits you can save on gas, cigarettes, liquor. Bakery outlet stores have great deals on snack cakes close to their expiration. My local one has 10 for 2 dollars (I take them home and freeze em), plus they have discount cards a dollar off after 10 visits. Join a dart team, you get to go to a new place each week, each member of the team buys a round and you get a free round at the end of the night.

[scathing]

Originally posted by Chocoholic
I drink a lot of soft drink. Not only is it really bad for me but at $1.50 a can it can really add up.

Hungry Jacks / Burger King unlimited self serve soft drinks + water bottles in bag = savings!

Obviously you use their cups at the dispensers, but just pour it into the bottle(s) when you get to the table.

[pliskin]

my great-grandmother had one of the best ideas i can remember, instead of using bread to make stuffing when roasting chicken, she would use mince and veges to make a large meatball. she would the stuff this into the chicken body cavity and the roast as normal. all the flavour from the chicken would go into the meat, which would then be used on sandwhiches life a mini meatloaf!
toasted sandwich makers are always a great way to use up leftovers, leftover stews/ casseroles/ mince/ baked veges all taste great the next day inside a toasted sandwhich!

[oracle]

Re: Softdrinks.

What my brother does is wait until Coke goes on special for 99c for a 1.25L bottle, and then buys in bulk. Last time it happened he bought 12 boxes! That's 144 bottles, people!! That's 180L of Coke!!!

[Cassa]

It is cheaper of course to just not drink soft drink at all, thus also saving money on dentist bills :p

And werd to what pliskin said, a jaffle iron is a must-have for any household trying to save money on food bills. Stick absolutely anything between two slices of bread and shove it in there.

[Scumbag]

Originally posted by Cassa
Stick absolutely anything between two slices of bread and shove it in there. Please Note: I warn everybody that you should NEVER stick your penis in the jaffle iron!

[Cassa]

The sad thing is, when I was typing that I was thinking 'with the exception of your wang of course'.

Another tip I had in mind the other day was to really shop around for specials on different brands of the same product when you're doing the grocery shopping. 20 or 30c off each item can really add up if you're observant.

By the same token though be wary of just buying something because it has the 'special' sticker on it, because that's not always going to be the cheapest one (esp. if there is a no-name version of the same product).

I know these sound like really simple no brainers but you'd be amazed how many people just don't consider these two points when they shop.

[CMYK]

Become a Breatharian (http://www.breatharian.com/).

A Breatharian is a person who can, under the correct conditions, live with or without eating food.

They survive on bullshit. There is an abundance of this substance in the modern world.

[berserk]

Originally posted by oracle
Re: Softdrinks.
That's 180L of Coke!!!
:eek:
Drinking all that coke can't be doing his gastroenterological system much good

[imp]

Potatoes
Cheap, easy to cook and can be done in many ways and added to many meals as a side.

Plus they really fill you up. I live off Potatoes for about 2 months when I was unemployed. :D

[oracle]

Originally posted by berserk
:eek:
Drinking all that coke can't be doing his gastroenterological system much good Haha, no... He doesn't drink it all at once! He hoards it, putting a couple of bottles in the fridge at a time, and drinks it at a normal pace.

[royale]

Originally posted by Farbs
......
Some fruit & veg markets offer fantastic discounts the afternoon before their fresh shipment is due
[/list]

This is a geat one, dont know about sydney but if your in melbourne, try the south melbourne market between 3-5 sunday afternoons, the bargains are great.

The suggestions about keeping chooks is good too (house permitting). They cost very little to buy, feeding them is about 50/50 waste and cheap pellets and you get an average of .75 eggs per chook per day.

Get your neighbours to share an unlimited ADSL connection (use wireless if your in a block of flats).

Oh, and if your a smoker, try chop-chop, saves you a fortune. (Just go to your nearest asian-dominated area- not trying to be racist, just realistic-, go to a milkbar (or deli if your in SA) and ask for it, you may get lucky, if not try another).

[Farbs]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
What used to amaze me were people who said they had to live on a tin of catfood because they couldn't afford anything else. When you add up the cost of the catfood a week, you could have bought some frozen veges...potatoes...sausages & bread for the same amount. After our last shopping trip we realized that in terms of $ spent on food per mouth, the cat had by far the most expensive tastes:D

[minorproblem]

just eat rice purchase a good 50 Kg bag of rice and live off it for a month

either that or if you wait tilll your neighbours cat gets fed then steal its food when there not looking :P

[Tintin]

Use the free internet access in your local library or museum. This is particularly good when travelling.

Live with your parents.

Don't scrimp on dental hygiene, this is false economy.

Buy 36 exp camera film instead of 24. 400 speed film is often better economy than 100 in terms of picture quality. Also, the savings on multi-packs of film are significant. Buy film at supermarkets rather than smaller stores. I found film at large US pharmacies was much cheaper (not the case in Aus).

Avoid taking taxis, owning a car, smoking, drinking, illegal drugs etc. Avoid expensive vitamins. Few people with decent diets require vitamins. Avoid convenience stores such as 7-11.

Don't use 'full flush' when 'half flush' will do. :D

Put on warm clothes/blanket as a first-line measure against cold, before turning on heating. With central heating, close vents in rooms not being used. Turn heating off when room is hot enough. Turn off lights in rooms not being used.

Reduce food wastage by consuming food closest to its expiry date first. This is particularly pertinent for milk.

Ask your pharmacist about generic brands of drugs. They are often cheaper, and often made in the same factory by the same machines that make the expensive brand versions. Generic versions are not generally inferior.

Learn car maintainance.

Move to the country, even buy a house there (1st homeowners grant is $14,000 now I think, the greater proportion of many houses' deposit. Then get a tenant in to help pay the loan off. Rental returns in country towns can be quite good).

Qantas is worth the money, in my opinion.

Don't pay for sex. :D

Avoid the casino/pokies.

Avoid lawyers.

[Colonel Kurtz]

Originally posted by Tintin
Don't use 'full flush' when 'half flush' will do. :D

If it's yellow, let it mellow
If it's brown, flush it down

Originally posted by Tintin
Don't pay for sex. :D


Too late if your married. marriage is just prostitution on a hire/purchase agreement

Originally posted by Tintin
Avoid lawyers.

Sounds like commonsense. they'll be at the front of the queue in hell on judgement day along with the paedophiles and virus programmers.

[gooey]

Originally posted by Tintin

Move to the country, even buy a house there (1st homeowners grant is $14,000 now I think, the greater proportion of many houses' deposit. Then get a tenant in to help pay the loan off. Rental returns in country towns can be quite good).




this is a good idea - however they dont offer 1st homeowners grant for investment purposes.

you will need to live(or at least appear to be) in the house for at least 12 months.

[DJos]

When Im down to my last few bucks b4 pay day (eg this week) I Find a pack of bbq snags + a Bag or 2 of frozen vegies will feed me for a week for less than $10. buy some bread as well and you can have snag sandwhiches for lunch as well.

It's a little repetitive but I love BBq style snags and it's only for a few days (Wooot! I get paid tomorrow) :D

[maccabean]

dump your girlfriend!

better yet,

get her to pay for everything...wait till she gets sick of it - then dump her!

[pliskin]

almost along the same lines as DJos, im having sausages and mash potato with gravy. as i too dont get paid till tomorrow.
2 minute noodles and veges make cheap arse stir frys as well.
i have just been given a bread maker, as well. will have to wait till tomorrow to get flour and yeast to make bread. then its like 20c for a loaf of bread from now on.

[Lujan]

http://freshmeat.net/projects/shexpenses/

If you live in a shared house. use this. It rocks. Allows you to keep track of who pays for what and how much it cost.

ok tips.

Coles Farmland Brand Freeze Dried Coffee. Its Moccona, at half the price. its price is similar to international roast, and its taste is that of Moccona :)

Use blankets and jumpers not heaters.

Keep your eye out for bulk Deli's and outlets. There is one near me that sells 20kg bags of white sugar for about $12

Finally for all you smokers. ask every tobbaconist you know if they sell bulk leaf tobacco. Its about $120 a kilo and a kilo makes between 900 and 1300 cigarettes. Get a tube filler (between $20 and $50) and empty tubes for $2 per hundred.) Poisonivy and I usually spend $35 a week between us on smokes now. Compared to $100 - 140 a week when we smoke tailormade smokes

[PullMyFinger]

Originally posted by Lujan
Finally for all you smokers. ask every tobbaconist you know if they sell bulk leaf tobacco. Its about $120 a kilo and a kilo makes between 900 and 1300 cigarettes. Get a tube filler (between $20 and $50) and empty tubes for $2 per hundred.) Poisonivy and I usually spend $35 a week between us on smokes now. Compared to $100 - 140 a week when we smoke tailormade smokes

But of course, since the baby, you've both given up; saving the additional $35 as well???

[Lujan]

ok, one more tip.

for those of you getting laid,

www.condomcountry.com.au

100 Condoms for $20 :)

[Studdza]

One word - mince. Is there anything it can't do?

[argonis]

You are all forgetting the cardinal rule of 'grow your own'. If you have a child, and can raise it until it's six or seven, you can slave labour it, or if you get desperate, sautee. Before 5 is best when the meat is still tender. Nothing is more filling and says 'home-cooked meal' like the hip of a 4 year-old. Babies...the other white meat. Organ farming from toddlers can also yield high dividends. Food for though anyway...

[Buffy]

heh heh heh
new recruits :p
ooh cheap living... I say buy fruit n veg, and other fresh foods, from markets! If you have access to markets what a difference it makes. You eat mushrooms? Grab a muchroom growing kit for around 20-30 bucks, it keeps growing them forever!! You want snacks, get HOT NUTS, lollies, asian snacks (all mmmmm), they are all so cheap.
Really if you have the energy to shop for this stuff at the markets aswell you do see the difference in your wallet.. but if you're me you just go and spend that difference on *clothes* from the markets :D

[orangehead]

Your local library is an excellent source of free entertainment.

[kleph]

great tips folks. there's little i can add but general observations.

number one is learn to cook. pick up the cheap veggies, buy whole chickens and cuts of beef when they are on sale and make a big ass soup. feeds several and freezes for days. add rice and make it last even longer. and you'll be surprised how much better it is when you make it yourself.

use everything you buy. take that whole chicken and fry up the legs and wings. grill the breasts and thighs then take the carcass - freeze it - and when you have two or three make a stock for the aforementioned soup. my gumbo is the result of just this dilemma. i cooked it all the time because it was cheap and i could throw anything i had on hand in it.

don't be a bean snob. beans can make some great meals and are a cheap source of protein. it doesn't take much to make an ordinary bean dish into something kick ass. it's the monotony of them when you eat them every day that is the real problem.

if beer is a necessity you gotta find a bar that sells pitchers on the cheap. sure the eye candy tends to be reduced in such places but getting a good looking girlfriend is only going to cost you a lot of money you don't have.

i'm kind of on the fence with the smoking debate. i'm an ex-smoker and wouldn't wish it on anyone but you have to look at the vice slightly differently when you are on the cheap. sure smokes cost a lot (and a hell of alot more when i was at two-packs a day) but they also help suppress your appetite. it's easier to get buy on one starch-heavy meal a day when you have coffee and cigarettes to keep your stomach fooled.

as for entertainment, hit movies in the early afternoon. most theatres offer matinee prices that can be up to half the cost of an evening show AND there are fewer people there so you don't have to endure that loud asshole two rows down who is giving the way the plot to his not-so-bright companion.

[SOC]

A tip for those who live in countries where you can buy beer at the supermarket (ie, everywhere in the world but Australia :p )

Keep your eyes peeled for fantastic specials, usually hidden at the back of the store, on a bottom shelf. I recently bought an 8-pack of Murphy's Stout draught cans at Safeway for just £3.99 - that's about 50p a can. And considering a pint of Guinnes in the pub is about £2.50, that's a massive saving.

Oh, and kleph's tip about the movies is spot on. During the weekday here the movies cost £6.50 to get into, but after 6pm and on weekends, it's about £12.

[Lujan]

Do all your beer shopping @ University Bars, significantly cheaper. For instance St Patricks day, UWS had cans of Murphy's Irish Stout for 50c each, thats about 25p :D

And jugs of Beer are always cheap.

And you get uni chicks to view whilst you drink.

[SOC]

Originally posted by Lujan
Do all your beer shopping @ University Bars, significantly cheaper. For instance St Patricks day, UWS had cans of Murphy's Irish Stout for 50c each, thats about 25p :D

Actually, it's closer to 20p:p

[Unleaded]

Live with ya folks :P

[Glompbot]

Sara lee = franklins no frills
and I'm pretty damned sure its the same for other 'no brand' products.

There ya go, for those people who don't like buying noname brands.

[pliskin]

sapia is correct. most no-name, no-frills brands are made by the same companies that make the name brand products. they just have different packaging. pretty much most of thge things i the i buy are no-name brands where possible, except toilet paper.

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by pliskin
sapia is correct. most no-name, no-frills brands are made by the same companies that make the name brand products. they just have different packaging. pretty much most of thge things i the i buy are no-name brands where possible, except toilet paper.

When you have alot of kids, no-name toilet paper is good(especially when your 4yr old throws a roll in the washing machine with your dark clothes). I would never buy the no-name spaghetti though. At aldi, golden circle=aldi cordial, maggi=aldi noodles, salada=aldi crispbread.

[locust]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
When you have alot of kids, no-name toilet paper is good

There's a difference between good for your wallet, and good for their ass.

(especially when your 4yr old throws a roll in the washing machine with your dark clothes).

But fuck it, they don't deserve good toilet paper!

[excalibur]

Originally posted by phoneyhuh


When your buying beer. Always calculate how many litres of beer you are getting for your money, then look for the most economic case (thats still full strength)




The cheapest beer that is still full strength will always be tooheys red, If you can get it (thank christ a lot of places are stopping stocking it) it's a full strength that is usually the same price or a couple of bucks cheaper than a carton of light beer. There is a reason for the cheapness - it's a reward for the few men who posess the cast iron stomach to drink a ase of it and survive..:borg:

[grover]

Another good one for food is to buy cheap pizzas. Plenty of places advertise $5 up to $7 large pizzas for pickup.

Many are shit and you get more taste eating the box, but just try a few in your local area and you'll find a place that does good ones for a cheap price. I get mine from Johnny Boys Pizza's in Bayswater North. (not much help if you are in North Ryde, I'll admit, but they ARE yummy.

One of these gives me a meal that night and then lunch the next day.

[That Bloke]

Originally posted by grover
Another good one for food is to buy cheap pizzas. Plenty of places advertise $5 up to $7 large pizzas for pickup.



That's still a little expensive, Living on take away is actually one of the worst things you can do if you have little money, $7 would buy you 3 or maybe 4 frozen pizzas at a supermarket.

[and3w]

Originally posted by phoneyhuh
Checkout at the back of supermarkets about an hour after closing time. Youll find HEAPS of perishables neatly stacked in the big bins that are untouched and ready to eat!

I will add more as I think of em.

Yeah, have lived like that for a good while and got some great stuff.
BUT - be careful, some of the bastard supermarkets (Tesco & Sainsburys at least in UK) throw a gallon of bleach or other noxious substances over the food. Skip diving is no fun when bleach splashes into your eyes when you jump in!

[Glompbot]

Prompted by the I confess thread

mi goreng noodles (http://www.veryasia.com/infriednood.html).
Super cheap. Super quick to cook.

Buy them and a few bags of frozen vegetables and you've got yourself a great meal.

Probably bad for you... but good for a temporary food solution.

[Megabyte]

Originally posted by Sapia
Buy them and a few bags of frozen vegetables and you've got yourself a great meal.

I agree. Mum and I often have noodles and frozen vegies. They're great with a bit of soy sauce.

[Glompbot]

Originally posted by Moebs
I agree. Mum and I often have noodles and frozen vegies. They're great with a bit of soy sauce.
Oh... these come with soy sauce, chilli sauce, oil, seasoning, and fried onions.

For abour $3 for 6 packets of them.

[Zan]

mi goreng was our godsend at schoolies last year. I picked up two boxes of 30 for about 9 dollars each (check your local asian supermarket - even if they don't have the boxes right there with price tags on, they will almost definitely sell you them when you ask.

As Sapia said - they aren't terribly good for a long term food solution, but man, were they good after a night of heavy drinking (read: every morning @ schoolies :p).

Grab a box of those ($9) and a bag of frozen peas (~$2) and you can live off it for about 5-6 days before you die of MSG overdose, or it will last for about 2-3 weeks if you are just snacking on it.

Oh, and never, ever, _ever_ buy packet noodles from Coles or Woolies. The 54 cents you pay there will buy you at least 1 1/2 packets down the road at Yuen's or whatever your local equivalent is :)

[Glompbot]

Originally posted by h3@ven53nt
Oh, and never, ever, _ever_ buy packet noodles from Coles or Woolies. The 54 cents you pay there will buy you at least 1 1/2 packets down the road at Yuen's or whatever your local equivalent is :)

I disagree.
The local woolies has them for the same price as the local asian groceries do.
There is a major price difference in other things... but not in the mi goreng noodles.

[ShadowNemesis]

Just try & find an ALDI store and buy a 5pk of noodles for 95cents.

[tikdoph]

I was buying at least two 500ml bottles of Lipton Peach Iced Tea every day at about $2.50+ each. In a five day working week, that'd be at least $25.00 just for drinks through the day. I slashed that cost down to just 20% of what I was paying, when I found packets of the Lipton Peach Iced Tea sachets in a little Asian store in Chatswood. A $2.50 packet contains ten 20gm sachets, two of which will make up 500ml of Iced Tea. Just use two sachets in one of the empty 500 ml Lipton Iced Tea plastic bottles you've saved, add cold water, and you've got your Peach Iced Tea for 1/5 of what you'd normally pay.

Great for people like me who don't like plain water, plain iced tea, or who get sick of cordial. :)

[ShadowNemesis]

Originally posted by tikdoph
I was buying at least two 500ml bottles of Lipton Peach Iced Tea every day at about $2.50+ each. In a five day working week, that'd be at least $25.00 just for drinks through the day. I slashed that cost down to just 20% of what I was paying, when I found packets of the Lipton Peach Iced Tea sachets in a little Asian store in Chatswood. A $2.50 packet contains ten 20gm sachets, two of which will make up 500ml of Iced Tea. Just use two sachets in one of the empty 500 ml Lipton Iced Tea plastic bottles you've saved, add cold water, and you've got your Peach Iced Tea for 1/5 of what you'd normally pay.

Great for people like me who don't like plain water, plain iced tea, or who get sick of cordial. :)

You can buy them from coles and woolworths as well. They also have blackcurrant flavour iced tea, for around the same price.

[excalibur]

I found a good one at my old house, we made friends with someone that worked at brumbys. We used to get 2 bags of free bread (including pastrys and stuff) a week.

[pinchy]

Originally posted by SOC
A tip for those who live in countries where you can buy beer at the supermarket (ie, everywhere in the world but Australia :p )


You can in ACT, NT.....

[pinchy]

Originally posted by ShadowNemesis
You can buy them from coles and woolworths as well. They also have blackcurrant flavour iced tea, for around the same price.

you could also make your own... sugar, cold tea and peach extract.... I got hooked on the lipton stuff (it was $2.90 at the shop near work!!) and one of those a day was starting to rack up.... so i experimented a bit and started making my own... not many ppl can tell teh difference!

[tikdoph]

Originally posted by pinchy
you could also make your own... sugar, cold tea and peach extract.... I got hooked on the lipton stuff (it was $2.90 at the shop near work!!) and one of those a day was starting to rack up.... so i experimented a bit and started making my own... not many ppl can tell teh difference! Where the hell do you get peach extract from?

[pinchy]

Originally posted by tikdoph
Where the hell do you get peach extract from?

I found 'peach nectar' juice at the local supermarket fresh juice section, at $3 a litre (you don't need much per litre of iced tea...) i'm going to experiment with peach essence soon...

[dogwomble]

OK, if you're looking at getting some cheap computer bits, try the computer fairs.

I picked up a Canon LBP8 Mark 4 printer from auction for $5.70. All it needs is a new toner cartridge and to have it's rollers cleaned. It came untested, but it seems that with a bit of tweaking it will work quite nicely. And it's a 14yo printer that's done only 9,000 pages.

[timace]

I don't buy loo paper that's home brand, but I'll buy SAFE toilet tissue, unbleached.

Two ply, nice. Does me well.

Dammit, where the heck is an Aldi on the North Shore?

edit: spoke too soon. Brookvale :\

[banga]

woolies have kirks cans softdrinks for $2.90 a 10 pack

[minorproblem]

I find eating the corpses of my victims saves me hugh amounts of money on food costs and dont get me started on my savings in clothing costs!

[badpauly]

For a fun, interesting and mostly cheap night, read the Cheap Thrills comic and pick out a recipe. Then you can make that evenings entertainment the cooking and sampling of the food. - http://www.unitedmedia.com/wash/cheapthrills/archive/

To make it an even funner night, get everyone to dress up, get some goon (on special of course) and have a wanky dinner party.

[ajca]

he he
live with your parents who'll but everything
I'm still in Highschool

[ajca]

and how about growing your own food :)
thats pretty cheap, isnt it

[Lujan]

Buy 'no name' beer. For instance, Amsterdam Lager is $30 a case from BWS. Its made by Grolsch, which costs $15 a sixpack. Its the same beer.

Liquorland has a brand called Hollandia, same thing, top quality imported beer, for $30 a case.

[FuncowK]

Mix your mince with saw dust to make that afternoon meal even more filling!

[Thyraeus]

Collect all your old toe-nail clippings.....when you have enough put them in an old stocking - use in the shower, they make a cheap and and effective loofah.

Don't buy expensive fertilzers...save you shit and sprinkle on your vege garden.

Pet mince is much cheaper and healther than human mince.....just make sure you are up-to-date with your shots.

Need more pockets? can't afford new snazy pants? just tie old socks to you belt...they hold heaps and you can always add more....try changing the colours for some 'down-time fun'

[Thyraeus]

The first and last are actual suggestions I recall from an old womans weekly.

[thingy]

If you shop at coles, buy the coles brand stuff. So far every single coles-brand item I have tried I have enjoyed just as much as the name-brand, and a lot of items that are name brand, competitors taste like shit. Always cheaper than anything else on the shelf.

[haiironezumi]

Since it's summer and damn hot, make your own ice-blocks. get a mould(sp?) from a homewares store, throw some cordial and water in it and freeze! You can also mix it up a bit for variety, one of my friends makes V ice blocks. to top that I made pure coffee ice blocks from espresso + sugar :D Yummy~~~~

[TheMightyPhill]

Get a slab of milk (yeah the long life shit, it's cheap right) in the bottom of the trolley stack all your shopping on top.... unload the shopping on the counter with one milk carton... push the trolley through and stack the shopping back on the milk. Didn’t pay for milk once through uni, small expense but add it up over a few years, in fact one year... If you get questioned just apologise and explain there was no way you where picking up the slab and that you thought it was visible....

[rbranson]

High speed internet connection may at first appear to be a luxury, but this is a great deception.

When you calculate how much you will save in your monthly pornography by instead using free downloads and websites, broadband internet saves you (or at least in my case) a LOT of money.

If you then also calculate in the dinners and drinks you would have to buy for both yourself and someone of the opposite sex, and substitute this with some good hand action in front of the screen, your sitting in front of an ever flowing goldmine. ;)

I think i calculated I was saving over $600 a month when i got adsl. Sure my social skills sucked ass, and the neighbours thought i was a pervert and kept threatening to call the cops, but you cant argue with the economics of it.

Broadband internet will save you the most money out of any other recommendation.


Too good. I split a gut. lol

[xdoctor]

If you pick up a grain grinder and a 20lb bag of grain, you can make your own bread for about 7 cents a loaf.

[iaidoka]

Stay the fuck away from Nando's. Tastes awesome, but sooo expensive.. I cant afford their chickeny goodness and yet still I am haunted by its bewitching flavour..

oh! the chips..

mmmm.. perinaise sause..

*hungry*

[ms edeity]

If you then also calculate in the dinners and drinks you would have to buy for both yourself and someone of the opposite sex, and substitute this with some good hand action in front of the screen, your sitting in front of an ever flowing goldmine. ;)

I think i calculated I was saving over $600 a month when i got adsl.

Sure thing honey....that $600p/mnth thing has now fallen due with interest and you will have to bring this up to date or further legal action may be taken.....

Meanwhile the physio bills for that carpel tunnel you mysteriously aquired are also due....... ;)

[johny_roberts]

Stay away from massage parlors ya get sex but the money part sucks.

[ms edeity]

Stay away from massage parlors ya get sex but the money part sucks.
yeah it's not the herpes, std thing.....just the money that sucks

[johny_roberts]

yeah it's not the herpes, std thing.....just the money that sucks

thats why god made rubbers... Mine is on the left...

[ms edeity]

thats why god made rubbers... Mine is on the left...
her left??!!

[johny_roberts]

her left??!!

ahhhh you know which left so wipe that drool off your mouth. If you are a good girl Santa just might leave you a present.*

*note when posted did not think of left or right on the girl
**note the one on my left while looking at the screen might be to snug have to find a better picture

[Sanura]

Okie dokey... here are some tips from me..

The rice and either frozen or veggies you have chopped and frozen yourself trick is gold... I've had to live off of that one for a while here and there. Just remember to pick up some soy sauce and a couple of different stocks (eg, chicken, beef, veggie). It puts a bit of variety in there, and it doesn't cost that much more.

Imitation mince, aka tvp is great. Has a very similar texture to meat, you infuse it with flavour with stock etc, and it isn't that expensive, if you can find it at a decent place (eg, not coles or woolies health food section). Even better, when you buy it by the kilo you get a hell of a lot for your money.

Sign up for freebies. This is the best list of them that I have seen out there, and it is great if you need a little extra cat food or something. http://www.alphalink.com.au/~cebro/mainfree.html

Check out frugal living webpages such as www.simplesavings.com.au and www.cheapskates.com.au and sign up for their mailing lists. They send out tips and tricks on how to save money, and it is free.

Don't buy window cleaner, use a 2 parts water 1 part white vinegar and paper towel/sponge to clean instead. Much cheaper, and does just as well.

If you have a huge 4wd or something, it might be a chance to downgrade to a more cheaper car to maintain, if you need to have a car.

If you are going to travel all over the place over different zones in one day on public transport, buy a daily pass rather than an individual ticket/return ticket for each journey.

Buy a crock pot. It can make any meat taste good and tender, even if it is the toughest bit of cow out there. It can seriously make pretty much any mix of vegie/broth/meat etc taste good. Try out this website for some good meals, if you don't even know where to start. http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm

And speaking of meat, try out a few different bulk butchers. They are not all at the same quality, but you can get some brilliant deals.

If you can be bothered to make your own bread, it is good exercise, for a start. And not that difficult to make. However, it is time consuming.

Get some good friends, and mooch. Just be charming enough about it that they don't hate you for bumming a few bucks or a good meal here and there. Try to bum their old furniture/crockery etc off of them when they buy replacements.

With cooking, yet again, invest in some cheap herbs and spices, because it can make the taste of any food better for little money, and adds variety even though you might be eating crap.

Talk to your bank about your cards. If you simply have to have a credit card for internet transactions or something, you might be able to organise to get a debit account which works as credit also. This way, you have to have the money in there to spend it, but you can use it as a credit card, thus being able to use it on the internet etc.

besa blocks and planks of wood make good book cases, coffee tables, etc. Use your imagination.

If you are shopping in a store, even in discount stores, keep your eye out for what you are looking for, then go through and try to find one that is damaged, even in a small way. When you get to the counter, ask for a discount, because it is damaged.

Find a way to exchage goods for your services (like fixing up someone's computer). This is a great way to get a little extra food.

Umm.. there are so many, but I need some sleep soon.. so here's just a couple more.

Use up all the food you buy, and only buy what you eat. There is no point in buying 5 kilos of apples if you are only going to eat one kilo before they spoil.

Suck it up, and go vegetarian. Seasonal fruit and vege, if bought at a decent green grocer can be as low as 50c a kilo. Most of the fruit and vege I buy is never more than $2 a kilo. It does mean having to spend more time preparing meals, but it can work out much cheaper.

If you want cheap furniture, go to lifeline/guide dogs/st vinnies stores etc. Dress poor, try to sound as if you have three kids, and you've just been laid off and have run out of money and have no-where else to go.. perhaps you can have a few more dollars off of that couch?

If you are a uni student, go to your equity department. There should be a guidence councillor or something, and talk about how you are doing as much as you can to find a job, investing yourself in your studies etc. They might be able to offer you solutions to your problems, such as paying a portion of your telephone bill. Each year, telstra has to do a certain amount of public service or something, and this often goes on through universitys and such, by helping out the pleebs. The university isn't out, telstra is.

I think the biggest hint, if you are really in the poor house and can handle it is to swallow your pride. But hey, if you can still afford internet access in one form or another (and are not posting from a library or something), hopefully you are not too bad off :)

Ok, bed now.. Hope this helps, check out the links, they really do give some great hints.

[pavilion]

butter and sugar IS a meal
$20 vouchers from the sallies
rice
dont pay $200 for a hooker, instead tune impressional school girls

[Sanura]

By the way, forgot to add.. Do not pay for porn. If you want paysites, because you can't find enough free stuff on the net, check out www.ultrapasswords.com :)

[MADCAT]

Goto to coles and get the Coles brand noodles, ONLY 25 CENTS A PACKET, how good is that. Well i guess it's not that good if you don't like noodles, anyway they're always good for a quick snack, cooked or uncooked.

[that_guy]

Blah blah blah food in bulk, blah blah blah, buy meat at night, blah blah, soup kitchens.
For all of you Sydney-siders (and Melbournians as well), I used to work in the city and rarely did I need breakfast coz' of all the freebies and promotions that kinda stuff that were handed out (Wynyard, Town Hall and Museum stations are best).
When I was dirt broke (and I mean dirt broke pay - rent- bills = $5/week), I had to improvise.
A packet of shitty pens will cost a couple of dollars; go up to random people and give them a speil something like "I'm dirt broke, I NEED some money, so rather than begging for some, I'm selling these pens for 50c each". People prefer you to do stuff like this, rather than beg for money. I actually got a job offer by doing this.
Also, food courts are great for a free lunch. Get over your stupid sence of pride, and look at how much food is wasted there on a daily basis. The foodcourt at Chinatown in Shitney is great for this. Suits come in, eat a couple of mouthfulls then bugger off. Grab that bowl/plate and mung hard!!

[Pagey]

Also, food courts are great for a free lunch. Get over your stupid sence of pride, and look at how much food is wasted there on a daily basis. The foodcourt at Chinatown in Shitney is great for this. Suits come in, eat a couple of mouthfulls then bugger off. Grab that bowl/plate and mung hard!!

I always make sure I throw out my food in bins so bums like you don't get it easy...

[The Cunt]

Blah blah blah Blah blah blah Blah blah blah A packet of shitty pens will cost a couple of dollars; go up to random people and give them a speil something like "I'm dirt broke, I NEED some money, so rather than begging for some, I'm selling these pens for 50c each". People prefer you to do stuff like this, rather than beg for money. I actually got a job offer by doing this.
Also, food courts are great for a free lunch. Get over your stupid sence of pride, and look at how much food is wasted there on a daily basis. The foodcourt at Chinatown in Shitney is great for this. Suits come in, eat a couple of mouthfulls then bugger off. Grab that bowl/plate and mung hard!!
There's a difference between living frugally and living like an impoverished bum.

I may save a few hundred bucks a week if I lived in a tent or a cardboard box, but living with some style pulls a metric fuckload of chicks as opposed to sticking your dick in some toothless old homeless guy's mouth to get yourself off in exchange for him getting warm meal in his stomach.

[Hired Goon]

There's a difference between living frugally and living like an impoverished bum.

I may save a few hundred bucks a week if I lived in a tent or a cardboard box, but living with some style pulls a metric fuckload of chicks as opposed to sticking your dick in some toothless old homeless guy's mouth to get yourself off in exchange for him getting warm meal in his stomach.

Well, at least you get a warm meal :D

[Lesser]

Everyone knows Ramen Noodle is cheap, but few people know these two little secrets. One week out of every month its 1/2 price at most Supermarkets ($.10 ea) and you can buy it wholesale even cheaper than that.

I've also found that picking up crappy computers on the curb, fixing them, and selling them on ebay with lots of pre-loaded warez and pr0n is a good way to make cash.

[Directed]

Everyone knows Ramen Noodles are cheap, but few people know these two little secrets: One week out of every month its 1/2 price at most Supermarkets ($.10 ea) and you can buy it wholesale even cheaper than that.

I've also found that picking up crappy computers on the curb, fixing them, and selling them on ebay with lots of pre-loaded warez and pr0n is a good way to make cash.

http://forums.zgeek.com/showpost.php?p=605365&postcount=168

[hammo]

if you drink at the pub, take a hip flask and order cokes

got to supermarkets just b4 closing on saturday. if its closed on sunday like most they flog off a lot of their stuff cheaply. I used to hit the deli counters, as they have a lot of fresh stuff in one place. we had kilos of chicken wings for a dollar once as theyd order way too much, I bought like 10 kilos and froze them. barbies for months sorted

electricity bills were always an issue for me, but I lived with chicks who used hairdryers. just watch your useage, turn stuff off when you dont need it and use gas for cooking if possible.

rice - eating can be cheap and rice is a great filler (as are potatoes and pasta) - id usually bulk up my meal with one of those carb fillers and then a few veggies and some ok meet is alright

chuck steak - cheaper nastier part of the cow, but cooked on low over many hours is very nice and tender (and fraction of the cost of other cuts of meat)

dont get a credit card

dont get agc accounts

Drink beer not spirits. collect your cans. a mate made a beer 'wall' in his lounge room, after ages he filled up his trailer and got a few hundred bucks on it.. for more beer of course.

if you head out on weekends to pubs/clubs drink at home first. get half cut at home then go out and top up with the odd drink throughout the night.

if you insist on smoking ciggis, smoke rollies, if you dont like them get used to them, a few weeks into it youll start liking them, and theyre a lot cheaper than tailor mades.

get a job

eat at mums place :P

dont take a girl out on a date to the most fancy restaurants you can find thinking it will win them over (and turn you broke in the process) - go somewhere nice, good food and relaxed atmosphere - theyll probably feel more comfortable there anyway

laundry - dont put clothes in the washing machine, wash them, leave them there for days so theyre damp and smelly and then turn it on again. it uses loads of water and electricity. do one wash and hang it out you lazy fark. and dont use a dryer, you can dry clothes inside if you have to. be organised with your washing, dont leave it till the last minute when you need something dried.

hmm ill think of more... quite funny going thru all this, brought back some funny memories of my younger years :)

[Turgid Dahlia]

Also - the flavour of cheap crappy port and cask plonk can be greatly improved by blending in a port barrel and leaving it there for a while - then you have port on tap!

That is a fucking sweet idea and I'm off to do it right now!

For me, the best ways to save dollars are:

1) Ditch the manufactured fags and smoke roll-your-owns. If you've got any buddies who can get you some "chop chop", which is dodgy non-market tobacco, then go for it. I can usually get a kilo of the stuff for about fiddy bucks. Keep it in the fridge and it stays nice and fresh.

2) Invest in Tabasco sauce futures. If Tabasco sauce is ever on special at the supermarket, buy loads of it. Tabasco sauce is useful as it makes everything you put it on taste like Tabasco sauce. That way, if all you've got left is some dusty rice and a few onions, well, cook all that shit up and pour Tabasco over it. Scrum! This same principle can be applied to garlic. Put garlic on everything.

3) Keep your eye out at Safeway Liquor and stuff. Fairly regularly they'll have 20% off six bottles or more of wine. Go straight for the cleanskin stuff (you can get a decent merlot for about six bucks) and buy as much of it as you can carry. I'll walk away stocked up with enough booze to last me a month, having only spent a hundred bucks or so.

4) Use powdered coffee creamer if you regularly drink coffee. Milk goes off, but coffee creamer lasts forever, and is relatively inexpensive. Also, delicious!

5) Minced beef is your friend.

6) Secondhand bookstores are your friend. NEVER buy books new.

7) Potatoes. If you're going shopping, the first thing you should do is pick up a massive bag of potatoes. CARRY it, don't use a trolley. You'll be so desperate to get the fuck out of there with that heavy-ass bag of spuds that you won't wander stupidly through the aisles, buying Tim Tams and strawberry douche, you povo cunt.

8) Budget for YOURSELF before you budget for anything else. Let's say it costs you twenty bucks a day to keep yourself showered, shaved, fed, transported, and entertained. Then divide your fortnightly or weekly or monthly paycheque into twenty dollar units. Anything leftover can go towards bills, rent, and it doesn't matter if you don't pay it all, because it's a piece of piss to pick up the phone and say "Sorry, I'm a bit short this month, but I'll sort it all out next month", but it's significantly harder to be sitting there three days before payday with nothing to drink, smoke, eat, or masturbate over.

9) For cuts, bruises, stings, scratches, itchy-bites, lacerations, skin diseases, tinnea, etc., medicinal peroxide is cheap and effective.

10) Get your Foxtel or your Austar disconnected, because there is FUCKING NOTHING ON. Read a book instead, philistine.

11) Think hard about this one - do you really need a car? I submit that 70% of people could answer that with a "no".

12) Stop buying iPods every time a new model is released, you cunt.

13) Only people in wheelchairs have any excuse for paying exorbitant monthly fees to play 'World of Warcraft' or similar. Ditch it.

14) If you live in a block of flats, you'd be surprised at how much stuff people leave behind when they move, especially if you're in an area with a lot of foreign students. We've comfortably furnished a good few square meters of our apartment using only shit that people have left behind.

15) Don't EVER sell your old CDs, DVDs, or books to a secondhand store. They rip you off. Advertise yourself using any one of the billion-trillion websites that you can use to do that sort of thing for free. If it's a rare or interesting item, use eBay.

16) Always introduce yourself thusly: "Hey, I'm [name]. Can I borrow twenty bucks?"

[twistoffate]

Get a job at Coles/Woolworths, or, preferably, a little supermarket like IGA (like our friend DILLIGAF). That way you can steal groceries. The only thing cheaper than cheap groceries is stolen groceries, right?

[oggy]

Brew you own beer/alchohol.

23cents a stubbie, gotta be happy with that!:w00t:

[haiironezumi]

Get a job at Coles/Woolworths, or, preferably, a little supermarket like IGA (like our friend DILLIGAF). That way you can steal groceries. The only thing cheaper than cheap groceries is stolen groceries, right?


Do I Look Like IGA, Fucker?

[carsinogenic]

- use public toilets instead of the ones at home, to save on water bill.
- as, above but change toilet with shower. and public for work
- use tiolets at work, so that you save on toilet paper at home.
- always have a maccas straw with you at public phones, so you can get a refund and still make your call ;) (cannot explain how to do this one here)

to be honest the easies way is to become a busker....... i have seen just about everything from booze to weed dropped in a buskers hat. Not just money.....
there is the go.

[Pagey]

always have a maccas phone with you at public phones, so you can get a refund and still make your call ;) (cannot explain how to do this one here)

did you mean a maccas straw?

[carsinogenic]

yer

[oggy]

There's a difference between living frugally and living like an impoverished bum.

I may save a few hundred bucks a week if I lived in a tent or a cardboard box, but living with some style pulls a metric fuckload of chicks as opposed to sticking your dick in some toothless old homeless guy's mouth to get yourself off in exchange for him getting warm meal in his stomach.

i love this place!

the geek that is!

[rbranson]

23cents a stubbie, gotta be happy with that!:w00t:

Oggy, Oggy, Oggy!!!

OI! OI! OI!

Official no. 1 Oggy Fan.

http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/7/7/5/7/bush_warad.jpg

[Cas]

A Q-Tip makes a good toothbrush in a pinch.

[dozer]

A Q-Tip makes a good toothbrush in a pinch.

add bleach and you dont need that fancy whitening toothpase.

lemon scented will also compliment your breath.

[dropbear75]

I've lived in shared accomodation for 3 years with a couple of mates, and none of us earn huge salaries, but we've never had any problems with eating and drinking well. We used to shop together, that got a bit expensive though as one guy consistently threw his personal items (razor blades, shampoo, hair wax etc) in the communal trolley, so we switched back to shopping seperately, but this hasn't really affected the budget in an big way. We buy our meat from the local butcher, it's much better quality, and surprisingly cheaper, than the supermarket ($22/kg for fillet steak, as opposed to $37/kg at coles) Not that we eat fillet often, but that's an example of the difference between the two. We take turns cooking a meal, I cook one night, other flatmate cooks the next (the 3rd guy goes round his parents place every night for dinner, so I guess he's figured the most economical way to live.) We eat healthy meals, plenty of meat and veggies, pastas, curries, etc. Flatmate works in a micro-brewery so we never pay for beer, but we buy plenty of other stuff, spirits and wines etc. It's really not that expensive to live well, if you're smart about it.

[Zanadou]

Please continue!
My advice: move to Korea.

Us 외국인 here in Korea only pay about 2% tax here... and we don't have to pay back our HECS debt.

[hymartin]

I'm not good at bargaining, so everytime I buy electronic products or products with high prices whateva, I would first check them out on the net, normally its much much cheaper in online shops, and then I will go to this regular stores and start bargain and if they say "No", I would walk away, but they usually went "hey come back blah blah blah.."

[King_Rat]

go to asian food shops, they will usually sell packets of noodles eg. mi goreng for about 30 cents

[picklesam]

fuckin hell u people sound like u're living in a 4th world country!

[Tintin]

Hookers are more economical both in terms of time and money if you're just after roots. Balance this against risks of STD's and the perceived disadvantages of being single.

[eVision]

When I get in a pinch a find a nice dirty puddle and drink about 1 liter. 60% of the time I get dysentery every time. I don't eat for days. Saves alot of money when I need to buy accessories for my iPhone.

[purplepong]

Don't pay for internets, steal your neighbour's/local highschool's wifi.

[Disco]

Remember, you can wear underwear 4 times before washing: Fowards, Backwards, Inside-out Fowards, Inside-out Backwards. THIS DOES NOT APPLY FOR TAMPONS!

[DKSon]

After doing all this shopping around... wouldn't you have already spent more in petrol? Eg, Aldi, to Kmart, to Coles to Woollies.

You're in heaven if you live in an area where all these shops are orgied into one.