Fighting the rising cost of groceries

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Originally Posted by dobbo

If funds are that tight what are you doing wasting valuable money and you monthly DL excess here?

The truth is, if you can afford a Land Rover, whether it be a S1 or an RRS, you are not doing it too tough. If you have the internet you are not doing it too tough.

F*** from the size of the queue outside Starbucks in Sydney CBD today, the average Aussie is not doing it as tough as they like to make out.

And for the record I don't have diff locks and like to eat either red or white meat, fish and vege's nightly.

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Dobbo, dont ruin a perfectly good thread with this crap, your post had no relevance, you implied that i wasnt cleaning my toilet so that i could have diff locks, its just petty attacks towards me, give it a rest hey. the thread was about how to save money on groceries by shopping smart, i thought it might have been a good idea to see what things other people do to save a few bucks, cause as Tango pointed out saving resources and money isnt a bad thing, not about going without life luxuries so that you can have what ever you like. If that were the case why do you need two land rovers? You are fortunate enough not to have to pay for travel to and from work so save a fortune.

and as for monthly download limits its not hard to get plans these days with unlimited downloads.

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Originally Posted by Tango51 View Post

The point is on how to conserve funds, how to live well cheaply, how to recognize wasted resources.
(If you wish to brag about your ability to spend, start a thread.)

If funds are that tight what are you doing wasting valuable money and you monthly DL excess here?

The truth is, if you can afford a Land Rover, whether it be a S1 or an RRS, you are not doing it too tough. If you have the internet you are not doing it too tough.

F*** from the size of the queue outside Starbucks in Sydney CBD today, the average Aussie is not doing it as tough as they like to make out.

And for the record I don't have diff locks and like to eat either red or white meat, fish and vege's nightly.

That is amazing. I am impressed.
Despite quoting the point of the thread in bold type you have actually missed the point entirely with this post!
And you earn the big bucks?

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Originally Posted by dobbo

Having done it I advise against it, it's totally different going for a ride because you can and going for a ride to make a train (in your case school bell).

In other words ride because you want to not because you have to.

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well i dont have to cause i can drive, so it would be doing it because i want to.

Problem is stacey is starting work not long after i finish these days so on days when she is working if she starts to close to when i finish i wouldnt have time to get home before she needed to leave so i can look after marcos.

I run a tight ship far as grocerys is concerned, we were being killed by the amount of milk the boys drink and a 5 bux a 3 litre now cant have that, Aldi is your friend for what I was paying for 3 litres of milk I can get 5 litre of Aldi long life and I cant tell the diff, aldi bread is a buck a loaf and freezes well, you pay 3 bux for that squishy stuff made by the big bakeries, can get 6 loaves of Aldi bread for what you pay for two loaves of the squishy stuff, boys go through heaps of cordial in summer, very expensive, Aldi is your friend here too, I have not and do not patronise woolies inany way, we go to the markets once a fortnight for veges and fruit and only buy what will get used, we buy meat from the big wholesalers rathers than supermarkets, huge savings there too, we have the usual consumables that we go through on a daily basis if yo buy in bulk where you can it pays, I buy my snags from a local maker in bulk can get 10 kilos for 30bux on the right day, bag em up and freezem, 10 ks of snorkers is a lot, I dont buy brand names at all, when I did shop Woolies prior to our Aldi opening buying all known brand and then buy the same in homebrand was automatic 50 buck difference at the counter, you can grow your veges if you like, hit the market on the right day and you will win. Try the home brand thing first, look in your cupboard and see what is there before you dash out, shopping fromthe hip is a bad move, make a list first. If you have other Supermarkets besides Woolies go and have a look, if there is an Aldi within driving distance go for it, Aldi do not sell crap and nothing I have had wasnt first class.

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Originally Posted by graceysdad

I run a tight ship far as grocerys is concerned, we were being killed by the amount of milk the boys drink and a 5 bux a 3 litre now cant have that, Aldi is your friend for what I was paying for 3 litres of milk I can get 5 litre of Aldi long life and I cant tell the diff, aldi bread is a buck a loaf and freezes well, you pay 3 bux for that squishy stuff made by the big bakeries, can get 6 loaves of Aldi bread for what you pay for two loaves of the squishy stuff, boys go through heaps of cordial in summer, very expensive, Aldi is your friend here too, I have not and do not patronise woolies inany way, we go to the markets once a fortnight for veges and fruit and only buy what will get used, we buy meat from the big wholesalers rathers than supermarkets, huge savings there too, we have the usual consumables that we go through on a daily basis if yo buy in bulk where you can it pays, I buy my snags from a local maker in bulk can get 10 kilos for 30bux on the right day, bag em up and freezem, 10 ks of snorkers is a lot, I dont buy brand names at all, when I did shop Woolies prior to our Aldi opening buying all known brand and then buy the same in homebrand was automatic 50 buck difference at the counter, you can grow your veges if you like, hit the market on the right day and you will win. Try the home brand thing first, look in your cupboard and see what is there before you dash out, shopping fromthe hip is a bad move, make a list first. If you have other Supermarkets besides Woolies go and have a look, if there is an Aldi within driving distance go for it, Aldi do not sell crap and nothing I have had wasnt first class.

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We tried the aldi thing here for a few shops and found that it did little difference. The store is quite small and doesnt have much in the way of range. they were good for stuff like shampoo and some of the groceries, but alot of it was poor quality. We did the no-name brand thing at woolies etc and found that worked better. i suppose it depends on where you live and what is nearby.

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Originally Posted by Numpty's Missus

Ace... what about when you turn up at work in a lather of sweat after the pushie ride? Personally, I'd keep driving and ride the pushie on the weekend if you think you need the exercise :D

I reckon the best bit of advise given is
1. stick to budgets
2. Plan meals so you are not buying unnecessary food
3. Buy cheaper brands
4. Bulk buy where possible/applicable
5. Cook snacks for the children/family rather than buy
6. Cut back on the cleaners
7. Cheaper cuts of meat...
8. Have some non-meat meals

It all adds up
What do they say "look after the cents and the dollars will look after themselves"

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I didnt think of that, but hey, some of the kids dont know what deodorant is so i might aswell fight fire with fire :D

I think its time to sit down and plan some meals, and buy a chest freezer, our biggest problem to date is the tiny freezer we have.

Part two, cleaning products, when I buy dishwashing liquid I keep the old bottle and fill it half way and top up with water, you get two for one!, going to a chemical place ie someone who supplies commercial cleaners is a good move, buy in bulk, last you for a long time, we go through so much washing powder, Go Lo sell the big 3 kilo bag of OMO etc very cheap compared to Woolies, Aldi chemicals can be a bit weak at times, Bog rolls that thick stuff is all well and good but the Aldi skid a mile lasts longer, you can also buy in bulk from the cleaning supply places, kids do not eat less as teenagers, they eat more, twice as much and more often, you can save a buck you just got to be nousey.

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Originally Posted by Tango51

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tango51 View Post

The point is on how to conserve funds, how to live well cheaply, how to recognize wasted resources.
(If you wish to brag about your ability to spend, start a thread.)

If funds are that tight what are you doing wasting valuable money and you monthly DL excess here?

The truth is, if you can afford a Land Rover, whether it be a S1 or an RRS, you are not doing it too tough. If you have the internet you are not doing it too tough.

F*** from the size of the queue outside Starbucks in Sydney CBD today, the average Aussie is not doing it as tough as they like to make out.

And for the record I don't have diff locks and like to eat either red or white meat, fish and vege's nightly.

That is amazing. I am impressed.
Despite quoting the point of the thread in bold type you have actually missed the point entirely with this post!
And you earn the big bucks?

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Not the case at all, those that know me know I do without the finer things in life, to subsidize my families needs and wants. My family deserves steak for dinner therefore they shall get steak for dinner. No I don't need 2 land rovers, I need 3 of them actually. One for her, two for me. Not knowing my financial position does not excuse yourself for being rude. Put it this way, I am above the average wage, yet we're below the average wage. Our home is not flash, yet we feel that living a "Suburban Lifestyle" is not us and would prefer a crap house and luxuries to having a nice house and living a life of slavery and poverty which seems to be the norm these days.

In short the only way I can see You, Ace of whoever having there cake and eating it too (which is essentially what this thread is about) is if you all go on a supermodel type diet and have a laser cutter in the kitchen.

There is a big variation in the size of Aldi stores, ours are quiet big here and stock a full range of most things,
I can fill a trolley at Aldi for 70 bux , got to Woolies and you can fill a trolley for 200 bux and still have room for more, my wife wont use Aldi detergent for washing or there cleaning stuff ie bleach and disinfectant, Me I think its all the same, the Aldi shamoo is fine, the soap is good, the dunny rolls are a joke though,
We were being killed with the cost of milk and snack stuff for the boys, we were doing 12 liters of milk in 3 days, now I dont buy Milo or hot choc they wont touch coffee, I only buy weetbix coz they can use hot water and then just a splash of milk rather then a liter of milk drowning the rice bubbles, they hate the Aldi milk so thats a plus, equiping them with the necessary school junk like roll ups and little bags of chips and shapes and stuff, costs a mint, they get home made cakes and bickys now and fruit, getting them to switch to multi grain bread was hard too, my middle boy who is skinny as a rake and plays rugby he will do half a loaf of bread just in toast as a snack, luckily he has moved out, we saved a lotin bread, if i could just get rid of the 18 year old I would be laughing, he is a one man eating machine, you can do it, you might not think you are saving alot it adds up believe me, take that 10 or 20 bux or whatever you might save and put in a tin, at the end of the year see what you have, be surprised!

after a bit more thought, if the budget aint stretching, consdier getting rid of any/all of the following:
1, smokes
2, anything more than 6 alcohol drinks a week
3, pay tv
4, holidays more than 250km from home
5, all fast food - starbucks (thanks Dobbo!), mcdonalds, pies etc
6, all processed snack foods/drinks (chips, softdrink)
7, turn off the heater in winter - wear more clothes, in summer turn off the aircon and wear less :)
8, downgrade your mobile plan to fixed minutes a month
9, cut up the credit card if you have had to pay interest at any stage because you couldn't make a repayment due to funds shortages
10, collect all gold coins - last time i did this during Uni days it was enough over a year to buy all birthday and Christmas presents for my extended family, and pay for a week's diving holiday for me
11, don't pay bank fees - easy to avoid if you bank smartly!!


simple stuff really...

lastly, if you smoke at all or drink more than 6 beers/wines a week, sorry no sympathy if you find yourself a bit short on the mortgage.