Adelaide, SA

Brisbane, QLD

Melbourne, VIC

Perth, WA

Sydney, NSW

Sheffield, UK

Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Fishpond Books Australia - Amazon Books - Bookdepository UK

Welcome to Diamond Aussie Forums. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest.

This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls.

Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Be aware that we dislike Spam postings, and the IP of any Spam sender is sent on to various Spam databases.

Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Is it worth it ?
Topic Started: Aug 9 2011, 03:48:07 PM (675 Views)
ohippy
Member Avatar
Original Opulent Optimist

We're on a bit of a tight budget and don't have a lot for all food and household needs. This week was hard as we seemed to be out of all the basics such as toilet roll, kitchen roll, sanitary stuff, cat litter etc so we had hardly any money for actual food. I did the usual checking through the junk mail to see who had what priced the cheapest and ended up driving to:

1. IGA - cheap bread and soup
2. Farmer Jacks - milk and cheese
3. Coles - rest of stuff
4. Back to Farmer Jacks as when I was there I noticed that their veg was cheaper and better quality than Coles
5. IGA - they seemed to be the only shop with clumping cat litter at less than $10 :omg:

Then I got to thinking .. is it worth it ? :confused: Admittedly the shops are probably all within a few km of each other but forking out for the petrol to drive to 5 different places could cost more than any savings I've made. Does anyone else do this ?

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moneypen20
Member Avatar
Bond's Beaut Bombshell

ohippy
Aug 9 2011, 03:48:07 PM
We're on a bit of a tight budget and don't have a lot for all food and household needs. This week was hard as we seemed to be out of all the basics such as toilet roll, kitchen roll, sanitary stuff, cat litter etc so we had hardly any money for actual food. I did the usual checking through the junk mail to see who had what priced the cheapest and ended up driving to:

1. IGA - cheap bread and soup
2. Farmer Jacks - milk and cheese
3. Coles - rest of stuff
4. Back to Farmer Jacks as when I was there I noticed that their veg was cheaper and better quality than Coles
5. IGA - they seemed to be the only shop with clumping cat litter at less than $10 :omg:

Then I got to thinking .. is it worth it ? :confused: Admittedly the shops are probably all within a few km of each other but forking out for the petrol to drive to 5 different places could cost more than any savings I've made. Does anyone else do this ?

It probably wouldn't have been so bad if you hadn't had to go back to Farmer Jacks :whistle: Have you tried your local $2 shop? Ours has kitty litter really cheap. Are any of the shops in the vicinity of your girls schools? Could you do the trips then and save a journey - if you do the pick up of course.

It's not so much of an issue here, because Heather works at Woolies I can get 5% off everything and it's my nearest supermarket anyway. Veg and stuff does mean a bit further but it's not bad. I had to go into Coles this afternoon for something as I was down at that shopping centre anyway and the prices in there are horrendous. The shop was nearly empty mind, don't know if it was the time of day or people not being able to afford it.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tiredwithtwins
Member Avatar
Admin

I do - I do a 12 mile round trip to a supermarket outlet to get half price meat once a fortnight, and regularly drive to different supermarkets depending on whos got what on offer.
I think i do save some money ... the outlet saves me £50 a fortnight alone so the £1ish petrol is worth the outlay; i think you will find that you do save money - may only be a couple of quid but its worth it, and its the principle too - why should overpriced supermarkets get your money just because they presume you wont shop around.

what kind of car do you drive? mines a mazda 323 and does about 10miles/L on 30/40mph zones which is what the trip to the outlet is.
might be worth looking into your cars gas consumption and working it out from that ... still think you will be saving money doing what your are doing though.
unleaded here is £1.35/L at the moment.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tiredwithtwins
Member Avatar
Admin

just a thought, but do you need cat litter? we used to use newspapers, junk mail and a bit of earth from the veg patch ... sprinkle a bit of bicarb round the edges and it stops it smelling without freaking out the cats :lol:

ive also started using my breadmaker a heck of a lot more - saves a fortune! (hevs and co put me to shame saying they home made bread regularly ... so i tried it out now its on every day)

to save money ive also started buying joints of meat instead of mince/chops etc as its often cheaper to buy whole cuts of meat then cut em up/mince beef, and use the slow cooker to cook cheaper joints of meat.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ABCDiamond
Member Avatar


Our shops are all so close to each other, I could walk between them from one of the car parks.

5 km round trip to ALDI, and one of the Fruit shops, or 5.4km doing the two shopping centres, ALDI followed by Woolworths, Butchers and 2nd Fruit Shop. This covers all I need.

What makes it easy for me is that I go past them all twice a day doing the school trip.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

I normally shop at Aldi, and the fruit and veg market. Last weekend I was lazy and went to Coles and was horrified at the prices. I spent $375 on the same stuff I would usually buy in Aldi for about $250. I only grocery shop every 2 to 3 weeks, so its not too bad, but the price difference between Coles and Aldi was incredible. I stocked up on the usual pasta, rice, flour, tins of tomatoes, beans etc, nothing extragavant, although I did buy a big bag of coffee beans and a large tin of olive oil, but they were on special :no:

I would not normally notice, as would normally just pop into Woolies or IGA for other bits and pieces I cant get in Aldi or when I run out of something.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
rjs
Member Avatar
Richly Joyful Sylph

Did Coles & spud shed last week to try & save money & still ended up spending the same,and we still ran out of bits by the end of the week :confused:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ohippy
Member Avatar
Original Opulent Optimist

I stopped shopping at the spud shed as their prices went up and the quality down, now I can get bread and milk for the same price at the supermarkets it's not worth the distance. Unfortunately do need cat litter as all paper is used for the fire and we have 3 cats who spend their lives indoors. I don't do any school runs so no opportunity to go to other shops and I have to say I've never seen litter in a $2 shop here. Wish we had an Aldi. Coles was empty as usual but IGA & Farmer Jacks were heaving which is weird as for most things they're actually more expensive ! Did I mention I wish we had Aldi ???????????
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bridiej
Member Avatar
Chattermonster Extraordinaire!

Do you have RAC recovery? If so you can go to the Cash and Carry and buy in bulk - can save a fortune, although you do need to be careful as some stuff isn't such a bargain.

We go every six or seven months and stock up.

I think it is worth driving between places but be more organised so you're only going once to places and you do it in order so you're not double back on yourself, if that makes sense?

We used to do this in the UK - main shop at Aldi, "gourmet" bits from Sainburys and a weekly trip to the farm shop for fresh fruit and veggies.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ohippy
Member Avatar
Original Opulent Optimist

I do have RAC recovery .. I wasn't expecting to but when we got back to Perth airport at 1am the car wouldn't start !! I've never heard of a Cash and Carry - where is it ? Mind you it wouldn't help much, I know buying in bulk (and when on special) saves money in the long run but you have to have money in the first place to buy it !

Luckily for me both FJs and IGA are on the way to Coles so I just called in on the way back - it would help though if Coles could actually have stock of stuff I need !!


Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · ** PIFFLE AND PISH ** · Next Topic »
Add Reply


Phone Card Choice Work From Home
Quicklens Australia Contact Lenses Travel Insurance - Columbus Direct

atc atc