Guest guest17301 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Hi all, What with all the threads about cost of living and in particular, supermarket prices I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread about supermarket prices I thought it would be useful if those already in Oz saved your till receipts and posted details of prices for recent purchases for us still in the UK. It would give us an idea of price differences between supermarkets and areas I have been getting worried about the price of fruit and veg in the supermarkets especially! nearly $1 for a single banana??? Hope to get some replies xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *KAY TEE* Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Hi all,What with all the threads about cost of living and in particular, supermarket prices I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread about supermarket prices I thought it would be useful if those already in Oz saved your till receipts and posted details of prices for recent purchases for us still in the UK. It would give us an idea of price differences between supermarkets and areas I have been getting worried about the price of fruit and veg in the supermarkets especially! nearly $1 for a single banana??? Hope to get some replies xxx Good Idea chick, There must be someone out there who can give us waiting to move poms some insight. It will bump your thread up aswell xx :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 We got back from our rekkie in Sydney on Tuesday. We self-catered so the supermarkets etc were well used. We are a family of four and to be honest the supermarket shopping worked out to be about the same as in the UK. Take away the fact that we had to buy baby food (I make my own in the UK but there was no blender etc in the holiday home) and nappies (we use washables at home), it would probably work out slightly less. We went with the intention of just buying our normal things, plus we went out and about to the zoo, wildlife parks, treats for the kids etc all paid for out of our normal monthly budget and we came back with more left in the account than we would usually have had at that point in the month. I brought back some of the receipts for this reason so here are a few things: Peanut butter $4.98 2litres Orange Juice $4.69 4 Pack AA batteries $7.49 250g Cherry Tomatos $2.98 1 Red pepper $1.28 and it was a VERY big pepper Cucumber $2.48 1.5litres Sprite/Coca Cola $2.55 9pack Toilet Roll $4.60 Dettol Anti-bacterial hand wash $2.99 750ml Water $2.35 Sure deodorant (called Rexona over there) $3.69 Colgate toothpaste $4.97 3pack pan scourers $0.99 1kg Flora $4.29 150g jar of Nescafe $6.50 BIG box of Cheerios $5.99 2kg baby potatoes $2.48 Pantene conditioner $6.99 500ml Olive oil $4.99 250g Strawberries $2.48 Bread $2.19 12 Free-range large eggs $5.85 I do have tons of other items on the receipts but I have no idea what they are for! No prices for bananas either I'm afraid - they are the devils fruit! To us, meat and fish seemed cheaper. Some fruit and veg was more, some less but it all seemed much better quality than in the UK. You could buy half a butternut squash or 1/4 of a watermelon aswell which seemed like a very sensible idea to me! We reckoned that without the nappies and baby food and without the 'because we are in Australia so we have to have this because it is Australian' stuff our shopping bills would work out slightly cheaper than in the UK. Another couple of things to bear in mind. At first you will buy branded goods (Heinz, Nescafe etc) because that is what you are used to seeing on the supermarket shelves at home. When you have been in Oz for a while this will change. I buy tesco value baked beans becasue they are cheaper and because they taste good, I guess this will happen in Australia. Also, once you get used to shopping in Australia you will know where to go to get what at the best price. For example which stores have buy one get one free, which store is cheaper and you'll also find other little local places to go to get things (eg on our rekkie there was a little fruit and veg shack near where we were staying. Lovely fruit, veg and bread and cheaper than the supermarkets). I hope that this has been of some help. I have more receipts but they are still in the (unpacked) suitcases! I really shoud get a move on with unpacking - we've been back almost a week! In my defence the children have been awful with jet-lag plus we've all got stinking colds that we caught from a woman on the plane who was coughing and spluttering the whole way from Sydney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jucee555 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Hi All, This sounds really sad, but I have been thoroughly researching the cost of living in oz and went to the woolworths website and did a mock up grocery shop, basically I put everything I usually buy in a month in the basket and this added up to 750 dollars a month, although there were things like suncream, and insect repellent, those extra things we would need in oz. I have a family of four, 2 adults and 2 children. Saying that I did not use all of the best brands, so it would obviously cost more if for example you bought Nescafe or Heinz. Converted in English pounds this is still quite good value for money. I am not sure how much prices vary from state to state though. I hope this was a help, but thought I'd let you know. Even if it is silly and I need to get a life. Take Care All, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *KAY TEE* Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 We got back from our rekkie in Sydney on Tuesday. We self-catered so the supermarkets etc were well used. We are a family of four and to be honest the supermarket shopping worked out to be about the same as in the UK. Take away the fact that we had to buy baby food (I make my own in the UK but there was no blender etc in the holiday home) and nappies (we use washables at home), it would probably work out slightly less. We went with the intention of just buying our normal things, plus we went out and about to the zoo, wildlife parks, treats for the kids etc all paid for out of our normal monthly budget and we came back with more left in the account than we would usually have had at that point in the month. I brought back some of the receipts for this reason so here are a few things: Peanut butter $4.98 2litres Orange Juice $4.69 4 Pack AA batteries $7.49 250g Cherry Tomatos $2.98 1 Red pepper $1.28 and it was a VERY big pepper Cucumber $2.48 1.5litres Sprite/Coca Cola $2.55 9pack Toilet Roll $4.60 Dettol Anti-bacterial hand wash $2.99 750ml Water $2.35 Sure deodorant (called Rexona over there) $3.69 Colgate toothpaste $4.97 3pack pan scourers $0.99 1kg Flora $4.29 150g jar of Nescafe $6.50 BIG box of Cheerios $5.99 2kg baby potatoes $2.48 Pantene conditioner $6.99 500ml Olive oil $4.99 250g Strawberries $2.48 Bread $2.19 12 Free-range large eggs $5.85 I do have tons of other items on the receipts but I have no idea what they are for! No prices for bananas either I'm afraid - they are the devils fruit! To us, meat and fish seemed cheaper. Some fruit and veg was more, some less but it all seemed much better quality than in the UK. You could buy half a butternut squash or 1/4 of a watermelon aswell which seemed like a very sensible idea to me! We reckoned that without the nappies and baby food and without the 'because we are in Australia so we have to have this because it is Australian' stuff our shopping bills would work out slightly cheaper than in the UK. Another couple of things to bear in mind. At first you will buy branded goods (Heinz, Nescafe etc) because that is what you are used to seeing on the supermarket shelves at home. When you have been in Oz for a while this will change. I buy tesco value baked beans becasue they are cheaper and because they taste good, I guess this will happen in Australia. Also, once you get used to shopping in Australia you will know where to go to get what at the best price. For example which stores have buy one get one free, which store is cheaper and you'll also find other little local places to go to get things (eg on our rekkie there was a little fruit and veg shack near where we were staying. Lovely fruit, veg and bread and cheaper than the supermarkets). I hope that this has been of some help. I have more receipts but they are still in the (unpacked) suitcases! I really shoud get a move on with unpacking - we've been back almost a week! In my defence the children have been awful with jet-lag plus we've all got stinking colds that we caught from a woman on the plane who was coughing and spluttering the whole way from Sydney. That is fantastic LKC, but I cant believe the prices on some items OMG peanut butter thats about £2.00, was it a large jar, I think i pay only pay about £1.30, but like you say meat and fish are cheaper so it will probs balance the bill out. What are the cheapest supermarkets, and which one did you use. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Thanks for that LKC, very informative post!! Glad you enjoyed your reccie. I think it's as you said, as you settle in you start to explore a bit more and find out about places to bag a bargain. I imagine the first few shops, where you fill your cupboards are going to be expensive. I think the convienience of going to Asda/Tesco in the UK for everything is great. It will take a bit of getting used to having to go to different markets, supermarkets, butchers etc in Oz. All the same it will be different and challenging and thats what we're going out there for so it's all good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Hi All,This sounds really sad, but I have been thoroughly researching the cost of living in oz and went to the woolworths website and did a mock up grocery shop, basically I put everything I usually buy in a month in the basket and this added up to 750 dollars a month, although there were things like suncream, and insect repellent, those extra things we would need in oz. I have a family of four, 2 adults and 2 children. Saying that I did not use all of the best brands, so it would obviously cost more if for example you bought Nescafe or Heinz. Converted in English pounds this is still quite good value for money. I am not sure how much prices vary from state to state though. I hope this was a help, but thought I'd let you know. Even if it is silly and I need to get a life. Take Care All, Sam Not sad at all Sam, thanks for sharing that with us, bet it was time consuming though? Would appreciate a PM with the list and prices if you still have it (cheeky me, lol,) x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jucee555 Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 O.k, no problem, yes it really was time consuming, I actually got really bored but curosity kept me going. I will look it up and pm you in a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 We shopped at both Woolworths and Coles' and found them to be pretty much the same price wise. We find in the UK that there is much more of a difference in price between, say, Tescos and Sainsburys. We would go to Tesco for some things and Sainsburys for others depending on what the offers are. My hubby preferred Woolworths to shop in, but I didn't mind either. I think that my only complaint about both stores was that they didn't seem to have trolleys with two child seats on which will make it very difficult to shop with a baby and a toddler who needs controlling! I definitely thought that the fruit and veg were much better quality. We also got a full leg of lamb for about $12.00 (around £6.00) which is an absolute bargain in my opinion! Unleaded petrol was much cheaper too. It cost about $90 for a full tank of petrol (about £45) but a tank did about 680km (something like 425 miles) so they must have much bigger tanks. I think it was about $1.45 a litre about. If I can think of anything else I'll post again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Just a word of caution about prices - there is no value in comparing them with English prices unless you are going to be earning English pounds (and the dollar is plummeting again which makes the prices look even better from a UK pov). Think about them in relation to the Australian $$ you will have coming in. With f & v it is going to be seasonal, just like in UK and, yes, it was a bad year for bananas because they had a cyclone going through the banana plantations - I never eat them but I wouldnt be surprised if they were expensive at the moment. Most places have f & v markets - we have a couple of big ones and if you are on a budget, the trick is to go on the last afternoon that they are open (ours are weekend markets) because they want to get rid of stuff before the end of the market and so you can get huge quantities for very little - obviously 3 day old stuff but good value nevertheless. We dont get the bogof deals that seemed to be all over the place in UK - I think they are a great idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 I agree with Quoll about not comparing prices. When you are actually in Australia, you soon forget about pounds because everything has a price that is relative to another price. For example you are comparing coffee from two brands in dollars, rather than comparing it to what youi would get for your money in the UK. We found that we were soon thinking in dollars. I think it helped that we had decided that we would not view our visit as a holiday (although on some days we did do holiday things - the kids would have revolted had we not!), but instead that we thought of it as a trial run to see how things worked. We had set ourselves a budget in dollars and stuck to it, to simulate how it would be when we move. We were very surprised when we got back to the UK that we had more money left than we would usually at that point in the month despite LOTS of days outs and treats for the children. In the UK my hubby has his own business and earns an okay salary. I don't have to work and am fortunate enough to be able to stay at home and look after the children. We have to budget and we are careful with money, but we are fine. We have a nice house in a nice area and a lifestyle that we enjoy. If, by moving to Australia, this was to be jepordised, we would not go. However, on a salary of $60K, we have worked out that we can afford living costs plus a small mortgage (we own our home in the UK but will need to supplement it in Sydney) without me going to work. Once the children are at school, I will probably return to work, but not because the cost of living dictates it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 bumping up my thread, any other thoughts peeps?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scardycat Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I think what LKC say's makes sense, you have to start thinking in dollars, however having a comparison list now does help to give you a rough idea of what to expect. It can be quite scary when you keep hearing the cost of living is high etc; etc; you imagine all sorts of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jucee555 Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I agree with what you are all saying, when I did my mock up shopping list I was writing all of our propsed bills in $ and our proposed income in $ based on the average income for my oh trade, to make sure we could survive. Not so much a comparison although I found it quite fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest earlswood Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 The goverment are at least concerned about rising food prices in Oz which is a good thing. Australia probes soaring food prices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 The goverment are at least concerned about rising food prices in Oz which is a good thing. Australia probes soaring food prices LOL yes, they are watching them, along with the petrol prices!:biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest heieup Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 I did a comparison a few weeks back of my shop between UK and Safeway in Aus. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/general-dilemmas/42275-grocery-costs.html It is definetly worth looking at it in terms of how much you will have coming in though rather than simply cost, consdier it as a % rather than an absolute and see where it ends up. The exchange rate is currently such that Aus prices will all seem expensive as the dollar is pretty strong versus where it was last year anyway. In general though don't forget things are seasonal so summer fruits etc will seem expensive there at the moment and cheaper here. My research has shown it to average out at about the same overall, but some things are cheaper, some more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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