I too am one for Op shops and bargains found in the most unlikely of shops! We end up with ‘Brand name’ Clothes and pay one tenth of the price! It is nice to wear good quality clothes and have lovely household items that are bought on a budget and to have your friends comment how lovely things are in your house or how great your “new” clothes look is just a bonus!

I have been always good at budgeting because of necessity. It is important as parents we teach our children the importance of money and it’s value. Sometimes I think how hard I had to work to get that money and ask myself do I really want to spend it on that particular item. I also never pay full price for anything if possible. I buy Christmas and birthday present throuhgout the year when I see specials. I only buy quality items and quality food as it is wasteful when toys etc break or food tastes bad because of inferior quality. The main aim is to find good quality products on special.

Thanks for the tips on saving these days it’s so hard to put any money away with the amount of bills coming in and money going out but thanks for sharing.

I always buy a meat pack ( some butchers let you change items to your desired taste and requirement) then go grocery shopping and decide on my meals around what meat ive brought. I find I save heaps of money to put towards bills and power

Great advice thank you, I’m finding ends hard to meet so this is a great start

Op shops are great for finding bargains and saving money, and the money you pay goes to a charity that can pass on the benefits to people who need it. “Brand snobs” are only fooling themselves, and I believe they truly have more money than sense.

Could not agree with you more on your brand snob comment……..
Kids love to play….. they also love to ruin clothes, no point spending big on something that’s going to have holes in it!

I think a lot of people will find inspiration in reading this, so many of us find it hard to make ends meet

Dont be embarassed to shop at Salvos,Vinnies,Ebay,Gumtree.I have found some amazing and great priced items from the op shop,

Great tips D.. So hard in this day and age to survive! We must do what we can.. Thanks for the advice!

i check out the supermarket catalgoues online every Tuesday and mark down specials on my list. So therefore, I shop between coles, woolies and Aldi (crazy I know) but it does save me money. I try and put money aside each week so when Target/Best and Less etc are having their clearance sales at the end of a season I can stock up for next year (which equals huge savings in the hundreds of dollars)

Some great tips here, thanks for sharing.

When I was a stay at home mum, I had to budget for the first time in my life! It has now become a habit (thankfully). Another little tip I’d give towards budgeting is to use the “milk bottle” method. Basically, work out what your bills are worth broken down to weekly (or whatever your pay cycle is) and put the money into separate jars. This way when the bills hit, they won’t be as bad as you should have most of the money saved. You will still need the willpower to not touch the jars though!

all great ideas thanks

Agree the cost of living is out of control. I love a bargain and never pay more than I have to. I split my grocery shopping between Woolworths, Aldi and Sams (Warehouse), they stock a lot of well known brands for so much less and I know my prices, the same with clothes shopping.
Love the bargain racks and picked up three gorgeous night dresses for our daughter and an onsie at Target the other day, total price $17.00 – added up the original prices on the tags and they came to $115.00. I’ve never paid much for shoes, usually wait until the BigW, Target sales and pay $5.00 or less.

When a grocery item I usually buy is on special I stock up, especially if it has a long use by date. I also believe in sticking to a list if possible. As for the clothes dryer, I only use it if I absolutely have to (many days of rain) and wait until my off peak times when it’s cheaper to run.

totally agree with this,it feels like the old saying rich get richer poor get poorer.in summer we do a lot of outdoors stuff winters a lot harder,things are expensive that are indoors,i always say if cinemas etc put their prices down get more people still make more money

Things are getting to expensive. I go down to the supermarket and buy dinner and when I walk out it always is $80-$100 later. I am not very good with budgeting I love buying things too much. I also use the dryer all the time and cannot stand being cold so always have the heater going. I do need to start changing my ways though.

All great ideas most of which I already follow.I try hard to save. I knew using the dryer was expensive, but $10 per load, wow didn’t know that! I think I’ll rethink the need to use that much at all!

Said it before, will say it again – I highly recommend My Budget – they look after all the bills etc and are brilliant!
Another tip is shop around – I do meat shopping at Coles, other shopping at Aldi’s, and I often use saveonbrands.com.au

You are so right! Money is now ruling the world and everything is so expensive. We find there are more money making scams now days and everyone is just trying to do everything they can to make money.