About to move out of home into my own place (FHB) in Melbourne. What are some ways I can save money now that I have to pay all of my expenses on my own + mortgage?

How are we Melbournians saving money in today’s climate with rising interest rates and costs of living ? I would love to know what you guys do to save on money and tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!

Does anyone buy green coffee beans to roast themselves at home? Interested to know how much you pay for green beans and how you roast them.

My 12 month discount period ended on my current provider, so I swapped to another one offering a discount for first 6 months, I have done this several times over the years, but never done the maths. Its an easy online process, a few button clicks and credit card details and the new provider takes over, service uninterrupted.

You pay a full month up front to the new provider every time and the churn happens almost immediately.

My old provider sent an email saying their service has been cancelled:
"As per the terms of your agreement, your account will continue to be charged for the minimum 30-day cancellation notice period from the date of your request for cancellation below"

I feel like I am potentially paying 2 months extra to the previous provider(1 month in advance at the start and then 30 days from cancellation) which undermines any discounts offered by the new provider.

Is there a process I should be doing where I don't have these potential double ups?

Update: Looks I will be paying for an extra month and the old providers policy is to not refund unused periods. The process is to tell you current provider you want to cancel, start the 30 day period, then near the end of the 30 days activate with your new provider, so the double up period is only a few days, not a month or 2 like me.

Update 2: I sent an email to [complaints@home.superloop.com](mailto:complaints@home.superloop.com) complaining that the extra 30 days fee and the fact that I am technically ahead by a month was against ACCC policy, got a pretty quick reponse back, saying out of good will they will wave the 30 day fee and also my most recent invoice, so we are calling it even and I saved myself $218!

I’ll go first on the general stuff: cutting open the toothpaste tube to get the last bit, watering down the dish soap, and scraping every last spoonful out of the jar like it owes you money. None of it saves a fortune, but it feels great.

The sillier it is, the better. We’ve all got one.

What’s yours?

I tell myself I'll cook at home to save money, but after uni or a long day when I'm tired and still have assignments to do, ordering something feels so much easier. Then I look at my bank balance and regret spending $15 on one meal when I'm supposed to be saving. I've tried buying food for the week, but if I don't have the energy to cook, it just sits in the fridge. What do you guys actually eat on those days when you can't face cooking but don't want to waste money on takeaway again?

Hi all,

My daughter has moved to the Gold Coast for work and I’m planning to visit her every month or so (from Sydney). What should I sign up for to get deals/discounts?

Is shopback worthwhile for this? Or credit cards with frequent flyer points? Any other options?

Belong mobile is increasing the price their lowest data & it’s getting ridiculous. I am not willing to pay $30 a month for 10GB. already have over 400GB of spare data.

What mobile data plans do you recommend?

I am sure many people already know this, but I have seen a lot of people who don't too so thought I would post.

Always look for the tiny number down the bottom that has price per kilo, or price per unit, etc.

Even things that look like they're on sale can frequently be more expensive than others once you check for the real price.

We have been trying to reduce our family cost over a year now. A few things that we learnt and have tried to apply as much as possible

* Always compare unit prices rather than just the advertised price.

* Instead of buying processed foods, buy fresh vegetables or meat and cook at home. Homemade meals may taste better and cost less.

* Always search for Coles or Woolworths promo codes. You might be surprised by how much you can save.

* Consider regular switching/churning health insurance providers to take advantage of promotions, cashback offers, and rewards points.

* Don’t pay the loyalty tax unless there is a good reason to stay with your current provider.

* Food delivery services such as Uber Eats can charge 10–20% more per item, sometimes even higher, on top of other fees. Consider picking up the food yourself. Better yet, plan a family day out and enjoy a meal together. Make it a memory rather than just another takeaway order.

* Understand your electricity tariff, particularly peak and off-peak hours. Where practical, shift electricity usage to off-peak periods to reduce costs.

* Look for free or cheaper parking options when commuting to work.

* Avoid unnecessary expenses, such as parking fines and other preventable charges. Small mistakes can be costly.

* The same medication can cost significantly different amounts at different pharmacies. Compare prices at stores such as Chemist Warehouse and other local pharmacies.

* Download your bank and credit card transactions for the past 12 months. Review them carefully to identify recurring subscriptions and unnecessary expenses. Cancel what you no longer need and look for cheaper alternatives where appropriate.

* Minimise food and grocery waste. Don’t buy more than your family can reasonably consume, only to throw it away later. Plan your meals at least a few days ahead to make better use of what you already have.

* You don’t need the latest phone, car, or pair of shoes. Most people aren’t paying attention to whether your shoes are brand new or two years old. Instead of spending money on those items, consider saving it or using it to buy something meaningful for your children, spouse, or parents.

Take full advantage of legitimate promotional offers, discount codes, cashback opportunities, and rewards programs. These savings can add up significantly over time.

Can people share any experiences ordering multi focal glasses off online websites?

I’ve seen posts discussing glasses, but I wear multi focals and my optometrists have always physically checked where my pupils look etc and factored this in. How do online places deal with this? Or they don’t and it’s hit and miss if the multi focals work?

Would appreciate any insights from people coz online is hundreds of dollars cheaper than some of the in store quotes….

​

Hey all, is it worth putting my hot water system on a smart relay?

It's a 135L electric hot water tank 3600w

Im thinking about getting a smart relay to limit it to trun on maybe 3x times a day.

Why 3 x times, you may ask? Well, my wife and I are both shift workers and have two kids. So showers are literally all the time 11pm(wife home) 5-530am(wife up) 1030am(me home) 5pm(post walk or gym for wife or myself) 630pm(kids bath) 8pm (me again somtimes)

Normally, there is left over hot water, so just heating a few times a day should cover it.

Plus, add i assume it runs every time we use the hot tap in the kitchen?

As for the power bill, it's a fixed rate, so it doesn't matter what times it's on.. I'm just trying to cut the usage a bit currently averaging 24kw/per day

I used to buy groceries with the intention of using everything that week and inevitably ended up throwing stuff out. Now I freeze bread, meat, leftovers, grated cheese, herbs and pretty much anything that freezes well. It’s nothing exciting but I waste a lot less food now.

I have tried kmart coffee cups, absolute worse ofc! Didn’t expect them to do much anyways

Are there good coffee cups which can be fully washed?? Like the lid, the sipping port(?)? That’s the main concern for me as I have also tried good brands like thermos and it does work for me but the cup that I do like is now discontinued!

Any help is greatly appreciated 🙌🏼! Thank you!

Thank you for replying!!!! I have made a list of what people are recommending the most-

Fressko
Yeti
Keepcup

Does anyone have any good tips for this? Almost everything is approx 500-700 incl fitting. I was wondering if it is ok to go with second hand, where it is can be done for sub-200 incl fitting. How do you all save on this? Costco had some good offers earlier but not seeing it anymore.

Between kids toys, remotes, smoke alarms and all the other appliances I'm buying batteries constantly, and I know I can get a better price than the supermarkets. Where is everyone getting their batteries from without ordering online?

We‘re about to have our second child so I’m looking for the best “bang for buck” saving tips In Queensland.

We’re got Solar and are running our appliances during the day where possible, like the pool pump and dryer our usage is 400-500KWh per month except in Summer when it’s 600-700 with AC. including electric hot water.

I’m just about to Churn our NBN for 6 months, I’m self hosting some services to cut down on subscriptions.

We’re Meal prepping hard at the moment for when baby comes too and only get takeout 1-2 times per week.

So I've put together a small off grid system, just enough to run our main air conditioner in the hot days ahead. Rather than leave it sitting idle rn I've started running various things off it like the dishwasher and was shocked at how much energy that uses according to the inverter. Initially it's less than 100W but once it starts heating the water it jumps up to nearly 2,000W🫩

In some countries they're connected to the HW system instead and don't have a heating element but Australia follows the European design where dishwashers heat the water themselves (because we also have 240V mains?). Since we enjoy FREE hot water courtesy of our Solahart I'm wondering why our dishwater can't be connected to that instead.

Our plumber said it's "not good practice" because (untempered) HW might be hot enough damage the DW but by law household HWS have to be limited to 50° and the manual says up-to 60° is ok. So I'm stumped why we all pay this penalty every time we run the DW 🤔 Anyone tried connecting to the HWS instead?

Edit corrected typo' in tempering valve setting

Admittedly I've been pretty neglectful when it comes to comparing pricing, and switching providers felt like a pain. But much like everyone else, we are feeling the pinch (3 adults, 1 child)

We have been paying in advance $400 a month to cover our electricity bill, and its been such a set and forget payment.

I was looking at the compare energy victoria website, and I have sorted the recommended providers not including discount rates, and it seems I am paying way too much?

I would love some feedback if you have the time. Thank you :)

Hi all,

Since all the groceries and everything else went up, we started being careful and really taking advantage of the 3h free electricity.

We have a full electric house and a 60kWh car (Atto3).

• Battery: 30kWh
• Solar 10kWh
• People : 4
• Location: Melbourne eastern suburbs

Our electricity bill came at $7 and change(excluding admin fee), usage 521kWh

It can be done!

For reference, August was $41 and 1011 kWh.

It's my first month renting so I have 0 to compare it to.

We have a duct air heating system - I think it uses gas but I'm not sure. I haven't got that bill yet.