JamesMu Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Hi, We arrived in Melbourne about 6 weeks ago and have moved into our new rental. We now need to buy a car and furnish the house, but don't want to spend all our savings. I have managed to get a job on a 5 month contract, which the company is already talking about extending but obviously still won't be a permanent job. Can anyone recommend a way to get store credit or a bank loan so we can keep some money in our bank account for emergencies? I rang Money1, who will apparently loan to anyone but they said I would need to be in work for 3 months before they can provide us with a loan. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks, James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 You are unlikely to get credit without proof of income, not from the high street anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Be very very careful with store lenders as the interest rates are so high. Also once they get hold of you they pester for years. I would look at op shops and gumtree and the trading post and buy second hand. Op shops no longer take junk and a lot of the stuff is good stuff these days. Trading post is great as well as people cannot get rid of second hand furniture and a lot of it is very good. Also join freecycle and see what you can find for free. People just have to give it away these days. I gave a perfectly good lounge suite to the Sallies the other week and I had to have it steam cleaned first, unbelievable, the guy who cleaned it said it was find before it was done. So just be inventive and give the new stuff the flick. Only thing I would buy new is mattresses. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Garage sales, we picked up bits from those, they are advertised in the paper, and you can haggle! We got a lovely bamboo glass top coffee table for 20 dollars! Super A Mart does good room packages, which are not too expensive, so may not wipe out your savings. They have a deal going at the moment, buy certain beds, get mattress free. Edited July 21, 2013 by Tickled Pink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 We got a load of stuff off freecycle when we first got here. Then replaced it as we could afford it, and put those things back on freecycle again. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacaranda Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Do you really want to start living your new lives with debt round your necks?What happens when the 5 mth contract expires?You're still going to have to pay the loans whether you're working or not.Other people have suggested Freecycle,garage sales or whatever.I'd take their advice if I were you.There is also Ebay and Gumtree.Its a mindset anyway.You may have had a lot of home comforts in the UK.Starting with nothing can be quite liberating actually.Its surprising how much less you can get by one.Most people don't really need half the crap they have in their houses anyway.You'll have a lot more peace of mind without the debts.Be sensible and most of all...........be patient! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Our motto was if it canbe cleaned, we'll clean it, if it can be bleached, we'll bleach it etc.... after all, it was good enough for our grandparents to do it in years past when money wasn't necessarily so abundant, and the war meant 'make do and mend', so we decided it was good enough for us! I drew the line at underpants though... I don't care how much bleach.... (only joking!!) Seriously though, Melza is so right. We made do initially, saved up, and replaced. 18 months on we have everything we want, have replaced almost everything (but not all as some of the bits we picked up were pretty good!), and no debt to pay off. In fact I say 18 months, but it took a lot less than that... prob half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 You'd be mad to start getting things on credit especially with a short contract . Buy second hand that's what we did just bought new beds the rest will come in time.... Patience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesMu Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Thanks everyone. I agree with you all on the store credit so will probably go either cheap/second hand for now for the household goods we need. However the cars are so expensive over here we are struggling to get a halfway decent one (safety for our two girls is most important) without blowing the majority of our savings. Crazily enough spending $1k a month on a rental seems to be the most sensible option. On that note, does anyone know of anywhere that does cheap car rentals (ie $20 per day/$500 per month)? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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