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Australia - Share your money saving tips!


rattatoile

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Prices are high in Australia because people put up with it and don't speak out enough. There was a bit of press cvoverage when they were up at $17/kilo but since then every tiny thing rockets the prices and nothing gets mentioned. Us sheep just happily keep buying them whatever the price. I shop every week - sometimes more - and this week bananas in the supermarket were almost $5/kg, last week they were down around $3, the week before up around $4... I understand supply and demand but when some places can sell them for $1/$1.50 a kilo at the same time (small greengrocers etc) then someone somewhere is making a lot of money out of us!

 

I don't think Australian shopkeepers here try any harder than they have to either: yesterday I was calling around to get a new controller for our ceiling fan. I called two large shops and asked them if they could get me one, both said it wasn't in stock and they couldn't get one through their suppliers. So I went online, ordered one myself. Now I'd have been happy to pay a little more to support local businesses, so why couldn't the retailers have said "yes we can order one in for you", gone online themselves and done that! Either lazy or no imagination.

 

I have found that too - less of a sense that government/business should be held to account and more willing to take what's dished out.

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Prices are high in Australia because people put up with it and don't speak out enough. There was a bit of press cvoverage when they were up at $17/kilo but since then every tiny thing rockets the prices and nothing gets mentioned. Us sheep just happily keep buying them whatever the price. I shop every week - sometimes more - and this week bananas in the supermarket were almost $5/kg, last week they were down around $3, the week before up around $4... I understand supply and demand but when some places can sell them for $1/$1.50 a kilo at the same time (small greengrocers etc) then someone somewhere is making a lot of money out of us!

 

I don't think Australian shopkeepers here try any harder than they have to either: yesterday I was calling around to get a new controller for our ceiling fan. I called two large shops and asked them if they could get me one, both said it wasn't in stock and they couldn't get one through their suppliers. So I went online, ordered one myself. Now I'd have been happy to pay a little more to support local businesses, so why couldn't the retailers have said "yes we can order one in for you", gone online themselves and done that! Either lazy or no imagination.

 

Well if you buy them at $5 a kg with this knowledge then you are the problem.

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Nothing raises the hackles of the Oz defenders more than saying Australia is expensive!

 

Yeah how can they defend the crippling prices here. My weekend:

 

Swim at the 50m pool $5.

Filled up the car at $1.35.

Spent the afternoon at the beach - Free

 

Really struggling here with the prices. Even ate out 3 times as well.

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Yeah how can they defend the crippling prices here. My weekend:

 

 

Really struggling here with the prices. Even ate out 3 times as well.

 

Did you get a wedge of lemon with your fish..............leave it out next time it might save you a dollar or two, and whatever you do, don't have banana fritter for desert ;-)

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Nothing raises the hackles of the Oz defenders more than saying Australia is expensive!

 

I refuse to see this issue as being on one side of the fence or another. Australia has given me and my family more than Britain ever did, and I am proud to be Australian. Some things in Australia are significantly better value than in Britain and we have a better standard of living here. This doesn't change the fact, and it is an undebatable fact, that Australia has the most expensive goods and services in the G20. That is a fact of life in Australia. Being in denial about that in pointless, and really is an immigrant thing because Australians are perfectly aware of how expensive it is.

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hand washing dishes takes 5 times the effort.....uses 6 times more water and uses more energy than using the dishwasher...

Is it really that hard to wash dishes by hand?:eek:HmmI guess it depends how many times per day you wash up right?We only wash dishes twice a day,sometimes only once.More energy by hand?Hows that work?I actually enjoy doing dishes.Its actually quite relaxing!

I'm wondering though,ok most sinks these days are stainless steel,and I'm guessing so are dishwashers,but dw's also contain components,wires and so on.

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I refuse to see this issue as being on one side of the fence or another. Australia has given me and my family more than Britain ever did, and I am proud to be Australian. Some things in Australia are significantly better value than in Britain and we have a better standard of living here. This doesn't change the fact, and it is an undebatable fact, that Australia has the most expensive goods and services in the G20. That is a fact of life in Australia. Being in denial about that in pointless, and really is an immigrant thing because Australians are perfectly aware of how expensive it is.

 

Report also said:

Australia’s annual minimum wage is the highest in the developed world, OECD data shows. The $US29,982 ($32,039) real minimum annual wage in 2013 compares with $US23,127 in New Zealand, $US20,285 in Canada, $US19,674 in the United Kingdom and $US14,978 in the United States.
Just saying.
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Melza, I believe efficient dishwashers these days use a lot less water than handwashing dishes.

 

But you don't run the dishwasher until it is full which means every 3 or 4 days for me.

With mine there is pre wash only setting which you use for a quick squirt on the dirty dishes then they stay in there.

 

I used to hand wash but bought a new smeg dishwasher and it is fabulous.

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Report also said:Just saying.

 

Absolutely, but this complicates things further because now we have to go into mandatory/discretionary expenditure, etc. As I have said, we have a higher standard of living in Australia than in the UK, and part of this is because of strong wages. Let's also consider the impact of such an expensive country on PT workers, low earners, unemployed people - Australia now has higher unemployment than the UK, marginally, but trending to a wider disparity. Aussie retail prices are not jokes to many people, but my point here is that more competition would bring those prices down.

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Nothing raises the hackles of the Oz defenders more than saying Australia is expensive!

 

Umm Oz doesn't need 'defending' when half the planet is trying to get here and of course the prices keep the pommy riffraff out! All good

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Also stock up on shoes before you come as well. The range here is more restricted, and also they are very expensive. I bought some boots in the UK that cost $60, but the same ones are $180 in "cheap" shops here and $400 in RM Williams. Kids' shoes here also require a small mortgage, so bear that in mind.

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Melza, I believe efficient dishwashers these days use a lot less water than handwashing dishes.

 

But you don't run the dishwasher until it is full which means every 3 or 4 days for me.

With mine there is pre wash only setting which you use for a quick squirt on the dirty dishes then they stay in there.

 

I used to hand wash but bought a new smeg dishwasher and it is fabulous.

 

Correct, and common knowledge to most.

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Trying to get back on to the OP.

My suggestions for saving money take a little bit of "surfing". Try finding a lower rate for your gas/electricity/car insurance/home and contents insurance, then approach your current supplier with the info and you will be surprised at how willing they are to compromise. Even banks (I deal with CBA), will increase your term deposit and savings accounts interest rates if you tell them you've got a better offer elsewhere.

Ps. I am getting fed up with the snide remarks some posters always seem to make about POMS, no matter what the thread is about.

Mike

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I've been giving this some more thought and I can't think of any more saving tips specific to Australia besides buy more online from overseas and forget supermarkets for fresh produce. As we have said, the wages are strong in Australia so they go further in the Aussie marketplace. This obviously depends on where in Aus but don't get too excited about internet speed here either. Average speeds in Australia are way below European and even British speeds, and it can be frustrating. The fuel prices go up and down like a yo-yo here so try and wait until they drop right down before filling up. You're not going to like Australian stamp duty either, sorry, but the house-buying system is vastly superior to the English one, which is a worthy compensation in terms of stress not suffered.

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Trying to get back on to the OP.

My suggestions for saving money take a little bit of "surfing". Try finding a lower rate for your gas/electricity/car insurance/home and contents insurance, then approach your current supplier with the info and you will be surprised at how willing they are to compromise. Even banks (I deal with CBA), will increase your term deposit and savings accounts interest rates if you tell them you've got a better offer elsewhere.

Ps. I am getting fed up with the snide remarks some posters always seem to make about POMS, no matter what the thread is about.

Mike

 

Agree on the snide remarks there Mike:yes::notworthy:, no need for them at all, but I like to think, and it probably is true, that these know-all's, really don't know what they are talking about, so, like their remarks, anything they write is to be suspect and readily ignored.

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I'm still not convinced re the dishwashers v handwashing.I have asked on a different forum for some more information.I know when I stayed with my twin,who has a dw,that the tablets you use are expensive compared to dishwashing liquid.My kitchen sink is quite small,and I don't fill it to the top!If I wash up in the morning and I'm home all day,I can re use the water during the day to either wash out coffee cups,or soak something until I do the tea dishes.If you use an eco friendly dw liquid (which I do)you can also water your plants with it if you wanted to.Dishwashers use electricity,and don't last a life time either,whereas most if not all sinks would!

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