How do you cut the cost of living?

Posted by: Caféstudy

7th May 2014 02:58pm

With the budget looming and the high chance that we will have less money than before, how will you cut your everyday spending?

We asked you what you thought, and received an interesting response. Instead of making outright cuts, you will look for cheaper ways of buying the same things. Modifying instead of changing your shopping habits and finding creative ways to keep the same lifestyle. In other words, smart shopping. In the words of Hartmut; “you do not have to cut out anything, only modify your actions to save.”

Examples of smart shopping and creative cutbacks given by you include obvious changes such as taking advantage of specials and buying in bulk, but also saving through less obvious ways, for example, Janine, who works out the best day and time to shop at supermarkets in order to take advantage of reduced prices at certain times. “Be aware of the cycle and you can really save,” she advises.

Other ideas include choosing to shop at Aldi, or shopping around at local shops or markets, and buying cheaper brands where possible. More specific advice from SStC - “meeting friends out for a coffee, have it at each other’s homes instead.” Shop around for things like car and home insurance. Continue to eat out once a week, but choose cheaper deals or weeknight offers instead. It is clear that you would prefer to spend more time and effort in achieving the same lifestyle and buying the same things, than make actual cuts.

Some of you clearly see a silver lining in the budget cloud and say you would turn a drop in income into an opportunity to reap health benefits, for example by stopping smoking or cutting down on alcohol. Margie declares “I intend to cut my intake of wine to save money. Also my health will probably benefit as well.” A few of you with adult children still at home talked about charging them rent and insisting they start contributing to household expenses.

In summary, according to you, being faced with the prospect of cutting your spending does not mean cutting anything out. It just means adapting to the circumstances and shopping smarter.

benny74

14th May 2014 04:37am

you shouldn't need to give up or cut back on anything because politicians aren't doing their job properly. i'm all for cutting down on smokes and alcohol, for the sake of your health but if it affects your enjoyment of life in general, then finding cheaper ways to do things is the go. if you spill something on the carpet, get a jug of tap water and a towel straight away, while its wet, drown the stain with water, as much as it takes, work it in to dilute the offending liquid as much as possible and sponge it up with the towel. sometimes it takes multiple trips to the tap (usually i'll start with a glass of water) and towels but it beats paying for a drycleaner. red wine, green and red cordial and fruit juices on light carpets can be difficult sometimes but if it dries out even the $120 drycleaner wont get that out. you can buy some types of lettuce at the supermarket with the roots still on. stick it in the garden and it'll keep growing, you'll get 10-20 times the amount out of it. we love good food in australia and tend to spend way too much on sauces. if you want flavour GARLIC, SALT, PEPPER, CHILLI, and you can pick up herb plants basil,coriander,parsley,rosemary etc for about $3 each and they grow like no-ones business. even if you live in a flat, put them in a window box, and as long as you water them and they get some sun, they'll grow faster than you can eat them.