Hello!

Money is tight, I’m already shopping at Aldi, buying second hand where possible, using cloth nappies and cloth sanitary pads, making kids and my clothes, growing veg, keeping chooks for eggs, cutting my hair once a year when visiting family (much cheaper than where we live), making gifts for family and friends, entering competitions for everything, making use of free kids activities in holidays, cooking everything from scratch. What else can I do to save money? What am I missing?


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  • Theres a lot of free sites on facebook. People give away all sorts of things.
    Charity agencies will also help you out.


  • Try online groups too for free swaps and bargains.


  • I’m not sure how old your kids are, but have you considered using a toy library to borrow, rather than buy toys? Something else I do to help is shop at Coles (for products comparable in price to Aldi) and collect Flybuys points. I then use the points accumulated throughout the year to buy Christmas gifts. RACQ membership offers a number of discounts on petrol, dining out and other family entertainment.


  • sounds like you are doing all the right things. Don’t know how old your children are/what stage of life you are at, but when the kids are young I think for most people its a hard slog & having to do the ‘hard yards’ for quite a few years is necessary to eventually get ahead. If you are consistent with being frugal then in years to come (& I stress years) you will most likely reap the benefits of your hard work.


  • Have you reviewed all of your utility bills and ensuring you are getting the best offers? I updated my electricity supplier and am now saving about $100 on my power bill (monthly)


  • Sounds like you’re doing a pretty good job at stretching! Sounds like that you just need more income if that is a possibility?


  • Do a weekly meal plan so your not splurging on take out or buying extra ingredients food you don’t need, shop and eat from your exisiting pantry/freezer and use up those things first, base your meals around what’s on special and in season that week. Sell off items in the home you don’t need for extra cash.


  • Budget Budget Budget… Ensure money for bills (Rego, insurance, utilities, etc) is put away in a separate account weekly or fortnightly depending how you are paid. With what is left, this is where you need to make sacrifices. Is Foxtel really needed? Do you need to have a mobile phone with $50 credit each month? Can you reduce it to $30 or $40 per month. Look at what is a necessity – food, shelter, clothing. Can you walk more and drive less? Can you reduce your power bill by not using a dryer or changing all bulbs to LED with lower wattage or only using the washing machine when you have a full load?


  • Have you tried waiting for the half price meat at woolies and coles? they mark it down at the end of the day if it hasn’t sold and you can pick up loads for super cheap. I then freeze it all and meal plan around it for the next week.


  • There is a show that was shown on A Current Affair called the Australia’s tightest Family and the woman even makes her own laundry detergent . She dilutes shampoo/conditioners , recycles water , so much more that you will pickup from this show . A really dedicated family who saves $$$ especially when the husband works once a week and she is a casual cleaner I think. Really worth watching .


  • I wish i was doing what your doing. I feel that you have pretty much covered it. Got some ideas from you but doubt my dog and cat would enjoy a new chook friend either would by husband.


  • Am definitely going to have a go at some of these. Another thing to do is make sure everything is payed on time so there’s no late fees and I find I usually buy a few things I don’t really need up to $5 when I stopped that I saved a fair bit.


  • You are saving money in every way possible but have you thought about signing up to do market research to earn a little extra.


  • It may not be a huge tip but the way I make many meals go further when I use the slow cooker is to add barley or lentils which I find creates and extra meal. It’s also filling and good for you too. I suppose it’s the little things that add up. I also shop at the local fruit and veg rather than a supermarket I find the quality better and it cheaper.


  • Put money aside in a different account,no matter how much and it will build for when you need it.


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