rozellem Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Daffy, my top tip for eating breakfast cheaply is to start ( if not all ready) eating oats porridge in the mornings. It is dirt cheap in the supermarket (in a red and yellow plastic bag). Dress it up with honey, cinnamon, sultanas... if you want. It is also very good for your cholesterol and low GI. Get into in while still in RSA and perfect making it in the microwave, so easy. Also, for some or other reason, men make it waaayyy better than women 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffyDuck Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Great, thanks for those tips Bronwyn & Rozellem, will definitely do that! Was also thinking $100-120 a day MAX until we have an income. Also how about roasted veg? Do those go on special in Aus like here in Checkers or Pick 'n Pay closer to the end of their shelf life? I have worked out 1 butternut, a small bag of potatoes/sweet potatoes, a few baby marrows, cherry tomatoes and carrots (maybe some olives if it's not too expensive) can comfortably give us 3-4 meals of yummy roasted vegetables per week. We will have to go meat free as far as we can in the beginning to save money. Mornings oats and fruit, afternoon sarmies and evenings veg and pasta meals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I wouldn't worry too much about going meat free Daffy, sometimes meat can be cheaper than veg! The meat is often marked down, but mince is a wonderful meal that can stretch, spag bol being the mainstay.You have to try and buy fruit and veg seasonally or head for the frozen veg, baked beans are also great value, if you want to skip porridge and go for beans on toast.I have a lot of Scottish blood and tend to go to the supermarket and buy based on what is on special or marked down and make a meal out of that, luckily I'm vegetarian so hubby gets loads of meat.Each week some things will be half price, that's when you should stock enough for two or three weeks.If you have an Aldi near you, you can get all your staples fairly cheaply and don't forget that sometimes takeaway is cheaper too as in the case of Dominoes cheap Tuesdays where they will have a pizza for about $6, add a hearty salad and you're away.I love the Chef's best Veg and camembert with a yummy salad................but learn to scan the veg section for marked down pre-prepared veg, the meat section and the deli and dairy too. I love the cheeses we get here too and you can buy your olives loose at the deli counter or the jars are often on special.For example, this week at Coles, spaghetti, pasta sauce and tuna are all half price............fancy a tuna/pasta bake for about $7 if you add a smattering of olives and some Danish feta...............here is the catalogue http://www.coles.com.au/catalogues-and-specials/this-week-catalogue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I have recently found Woolworths to have a big selection of marked down meats on Sunday mornings. Example last Sun: packet of 10 juicy chicken kebabs/sosaties marinaded in a teriyaki sauce for $9. Even the cheapest cut of free range chicken in Woolies (brand name Macro) called "Lovely Legs", were in the $3-$4 for 6 skinless legs. Another top tip, turkey is a absolute steal, and the turkey mince is delish. Two massive turkey drumsticks are about $6 and I poach it in the pressure cooker and get two meals from it. Sorry, I'm a foodie and get carried away. Aldi, if you are lucky enough to have one near, rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonza Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Go register online at Coles... then fill your basket with whatever you buy here in a normal month... have a look at your bill, we did it for all our groceries including food, cleaning stuff and toiletries and even added stuff we would not normally buy here (I love chocolate and my wife reckons I'm a human vacuum cleaner). Was a relatively pleasant surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Daffy, my top tip for eating breakfast cheaply is to start ( if not all ready) eating oats porridge in the mornings. It is dirt cheap in the supermarket (in a red and yellow plastic bag). Dress it up with honey, cinnamon, sultanas... if you want. It is also very good for your cholesterol and low GI. Get into in while still in RSA and perfect making it in the microwave, so easy. Also, for some or other reason, men make it waaayyy better than women And to add to this, Oats is considered as one of the super foods of the world and very little people consider it as such. It is super healthy....if you make it on the stove sorry....I am ante microwave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I was curious about the Coles website and gave it a go....Quickly popped into the supermarket last night and bought R250 of goodies.....I did the same chopping online with Coles in the area we would be living in and it came to a total of $29 !!!!!The only thing that was a little expensive was the two tubs of hummus....If I would have skipped that the bills would have been exactly the same R216 and $21crazy good news!!!And they had so many specials going on that is way cheaper than what we are paying here 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonza Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 What I've found is our normal groceries worked out about 5% cheaper at the current exchange rate (ignoring the whole percentage of salary thing for now as I was assuming we don't yet have jobs so will be drawing on our SA Rands).If you buy a lot of pre-prepared meals expect to pay quite a bit more.Basically anything that involves labour in the supermarket is going to cost you.I also ignored all the specials on purpose. If I had taken those into account it would have been even cheaper.Once you take percentage of salary into account once you are earning dollars, then in our case the reduction in cost was dramatic. Again take what I'm saying with a pinch of salt as this will depend on what field you work in. Some people here can actually earn more than their counterparts in Australia (some accounting fields), on the other hand teachers should earn several times more in Australia. It's such a personal thing.I used to try and work things out based on a direct comparison, now I stick to what would something cost as a percentage of my projected monthly income. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaandPaul Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Well done on the resignation Daffy! A huge step in the right direction and I hope some of those leads pay off! There have turned out to be quite a few of us all going in April! We can help each other out! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffyDuck Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 These are GREAT tips. Thank you! I am making notes of it all. I had a look at Aldi's website and prices and I'm SO surprised. MOST of the food like Renny said are priced the same or even cheaper. It's crazy what we pay for food in SA in ratio to the salaries we earn and Aussies pay the same but earn 3 or 4 times more (well in my field at least anyway). This is such good news!For anyone else trying to budget, have a look at this neat online shopping list tool from Aldi that gives you a good idea of what a trip to the grocery store will cost: https://www.smartershopping.com.au/browse.aspxI initially thought we won't be able to eat full meals on $20 a day, but we would EASILY be able to have 3 perfectly fine meals for the two of us (though simple, but filling) for that with a bit of planning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanniewagnie Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 When we were in Perth, Hungry Jacks had a great special, which worked out dirt cheap. We had Hungry Jacks with their bottomless soda every 2nd day!I still miss that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 KanniewagnieWhen we arrived in December 2005, Hungry Jacks had the stunner meal which is a burger, chips, drink and icecream sundae for $4.95........................8 years later it is $5.50.Pizza Hut do the Pizza Mia, where you get 3 pizzas for $15, Dominoes have cheap Monday and Tuesday and many hotels do what are called 'counter' meals, ranging from about $5 -$15............................Our local workers club has meal specials each night and most Chinese/Indian takeaways do lunchtime specials which are about $12...............in one way I know why Australians are overweight, but if I was a single person, I could most likely buy takeaway each night for cheaper than I could prepare food...................and those of you who live here, have you noticed how big the frozen desert section is in the supermarkets and how cheap junk is................chocolate, biscuits etc....................they keep talking about putting taxes on sin foods, but why not do this to subsidise fruit and vegetables and make them cheaper? It's ridiculous when you can buy a mud cake for $3 and a pair of oranges might cost the same!.............................whinge, whinge, moan, moan....................first world problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 True Andrea! I bought about 4 big oranges the other day & when I looked at the slip they were $7.50!? We got pizza hut 2 large margaritas for $10 in the week. They were nice, too, and I'm fussy about pizza. We usually make our own from scratch. I also wanted to suggest to Daffy that if they bring a laptop on the plane they should be able to use free wifi in the libraries. I don't know if it's the same in all states, but in Brisbane I sometimes spend 15+ hours a week in our library studying. Free internet and cold aircon, nice lounges and coffee shops nearby. I love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Yep, free internet at many libraries and Maccas too, whenever we travel we make use of Maccas for that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeInOz Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 Do those go on special in Aus like here in Checkers or Pick 'n Pay closer to the end of their shelf life?Hi Daffy Coles an Woolworths have roast chicken on a display.With good timing 8:30 pm when they are about to close or at times of the day when they have been there a while ( only a few hours) They sell them 1/2 price or less.problem is they are so good even at full price $10 or you need to refine shopping timeThat a coleslaw salad in a bag and some lebanese bread, we still do this almost 10 years on I was with my wife a while ago and she said get a chicken they are 1/2 price now. So I went and picked up 2 and strolled back to her.Had late night guests. By the time I got there they had 1/2 that price again so i went back and was told they would be marked down to the lower price! Woolworths do this as well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 You'll make it on 14 Grand for the first 13 weeks (for a couple)The main thing is you start working and pulling in Australian $$$$$$. Don't be fussy about what you do, just do it.Then when you bank balance stops going downhill and starts to go uphill instead, then you can look for a better job and a better place to live. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeInOz Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 You'll make it on 14 Grand for the first 13 weeks (for a couple)The main thing is you start working and pulling in Australian $$$$$$. Don't be fussy about what you do, just do it.Then when you bank balance stops going downhill and starts to go uphill instead, then you can look for a better job and a better place to live.Bob, you always say it like it is. Agree 100 % Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) Hmmm - wonder what the bill would look like for someone who can't eat gluten...only meat, veg, fruit and 90% dark chocolate Edited March 12, 2014 by qwerty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Hmmm - wonder what the bill would look like for someone who can't eat gluten...only meat, veg, fruit and 90% dark chocolate In Aus, Gluten-free products are common everywhere, you will be spoilt for choice. In regular supermarkets, at bakeries, coffee shops.... Prepare for a weight gain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Haha, sounds good, but can't eat most gluten-free products either - can't even eat rice (which doesn't contain gluten) as my body sees it as gluten. I don't eat maize/corn based products by choice. So I'm one of those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcie Posted April 4, 2014 Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 Some really helpful pointers here. I really fee like I'm in your shoes Duffyduck. Was and really am still stressing at the thought of not having a job and coming over. At least for me, it will only be me to worry about and I will have accommodation with my sister until I found work.....hopefully they will still be in Queensland as I'm bound there.Will start stressing about the work issue after my studies are finished in October. Well done for resigning though. Takes guts, especially in SA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffyDuck Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 So this might be a long post, but I thought I'd update interested people in this topic here rather than starting a new thread. So we've landed in Sydney last week Monday (14 April) with almost exactly $7000 each in our Aus bank accounts which we opened up online and forex exchanged our savings to while still in SA. Our flights were booked on Etihad for R7140 each via Abu Dhabi.... Phew so 24 ours almost exactly after we took off in JHB we touched down on Sydney soil. Dead tired and ready for bed. DAY1, Mon: Our first expense was prepaid sim cards for both our phones and a prepaid sim with data for our ipad. Optus seemed the way to go for us and it ended up $30 for each sim with a nice bundle plan for the month which included unlimited calls and smses to other Optus phones, 250 minutes airtime to other phones and unlimited social media site data along with a decent amount of normal data to last us a month. So all in all $90 spent. The bus fare from the airport to our airbnb spot in Randwick worked out $4,50 each. As soon as I put my sim card in and were able to check mail I saw that a recruiter I contacted here sent a mail and wanted me to contact her as soon as I can. We were so tired but I replied and we agreed to chat the following day.- Spending First day, $99.DAY2, Tue: The following day breakfast was supplied by our host and the day kicked off with us buying our MyMulti2 weekly transport tickets for $54 per person and heading of to the bank to get our cards in the CBD. Lunch was a Coles sandwich for about $4,50 each and a shared bottle of water. Dinner was some toasted sandwiches with peanut butter and jam and a few other spreads our host had. Plain and simple. I also had a discussion with the recruiter and it seemed a big cosmetics company was looking for a freelance designer to help out next week and they liked my portfolio. Jay! Holding thumbs.- Spending Day 2, $117DAY3, Wed: The first 2 days were our biggest expenses. Once we had the transport tickets to go anywhere we want and sim cards to get mail and make calls we managed to spend very little money the following days. Day 3 we sorted out our Medicare and discovered an Aldi near the Bondi Junction station and bought our first few groceries to make some basic meals with. Here is a breakdown of what it costed:1x Frozen Hawaiian pizza - $31x Frozen Meaty pizza - $31x Can of baked beans - $0.756x Frozen meat pies - $3.692x Tins shredded chicken in pesto & pinenuts - $1.461x 180g bottle of basil pesto - $1.991x 500g Bag of Penne pasta - $0.798x Large bannanas - $2.611x White bread - $0.991x 2l Milk - $1.99TOTAL = $20,27Things like butter, spreads, juice, tea/coffee, cereal, croissants etc was made available for us to use by our host.- Spending Day3, $20,27DAY4, Thur: The jet lag caught up to us an we basically just crashed and slept the most of the day. Early evening we had some pasta with chicken and pesto and watched some local tv before going to bed again. The recruiter confirmed that I got the freelance job and am starting next week Tuesday!- Spending Day4, $0DAY5, Fri: Easter Friday and everyone seemed out and about on the public holiday. It was a beautiful sunny day and we headed to Bondi beach with our beach towels, sunscreen, cozzies and little back packs with homemade sandwiches, some bananas and water. We did the Bondi to Tamarama walk and generally had a lovely beach day. Early evening we returned home and had the pizzas and watched a movie on tv.- Spending Day5, $0DAY6, Sat: Still feeling tired from jetlag, we just stayed home, doing some admin, hubby sent out some job applications, we skyped with family on the ipad which worked really well and just relaxed at the flat. Late afternoon we bought some groceries from the Aldi again. The evening we met up with friends of a friend who invited us over for a true Aussie braai in Bondi beach again. It was lovely. We had beer, boerewors, lamb chops, braaibroodjies, salads and ice-cream for desert and made some great new friends.Our Aldi grocery breakdown again:1x White bread - $0.991x Aldi bottle Instant coffee - $3.992x Big chocolate slabs - $3.494x Packs of Sandwich ham (about 5 pieces per pack) - $5.001x 1kg Bag of potatoes - $2.491x 250g Butter - $1.391x 1/2 Butternut - $1.499x Large bananas - $2.981x 500g bottle of cut tomato pasta sauce - $2.591x Small tray cherry tomatoes (aussies call them grape tomatoes) - $1.993x Tins shredded chicken in pesto & pinenuts - $4.381x 100g Grated parmesan cheese - $1.691x 2l Milk - $1.991x 2l Orange juice - $2.99TOTAL - $37,45- Spending Day6, $37,45DAY7 Sun: We decided to visit a local church the morning and met a few new people too. The rest of the day we spent at the flat doing some washing and admin again. I had to fill in forms to commence my freelance contract on Tuesday and we had some Hungry Jacks in town for lunch that amounted to $6 per burger meal (a special that included a cheeseburger, chips, cooldrink & ice-cream). - Spending Day7, $12So in a nutshell that was our first week. The following day on Monday we would take the busses and trains to scout out how to get to my new job on Tuesday. Hubby had a response and his first interview lined up for Wed. The following day on Thursday (yesterday) he got the job offer!! He is starting on Monday and I have also been asked to come back next week for more freelance work at the cosmetics company. So far so good and we're feeling really thankful and positive. Sydney is a great place, we love it here so far and it's really refreshing the sense of safety and freedom you get exploring the city. Public transport works like a well oiled machine and in general everyone has been really friendly and helpful. I guess I can babble a whole lot more, but have to go now. So just to sum things up in context of this topic; we are spending between $40-$50 a day for a room on airbnb.com. Our spending so far for the week have amounted to $285.72 So on average that's about $41/day. Add the accommodation and you're looking at about $80-$100 a day for 2 people sharing. Not too shabby! With a little planning and if you are prepared to live frugally until you've secured an income, it's really not that bad. We feel super blessed having found jobs within the first few days though! Really, only God's grace and provision. Hope the post helps anyone else in a similar position to ours. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Daffy that must be one of the most awesome posts I've read on here! I am really impressed that you guys both have bites at jobs so quickly! Amazing! Also, Aldi chocolate is pretty good, huh?? ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffyDuck Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks Bronwyn and yep, Aldi chocs aren't bad at all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Daffy that is just AWESOME! I'm also in design so very glad to hear that this can also happen for designers as well - have only ever otherwise heard of people being snapped up with far more "specialized" skills, IYKWIM?So happy for you guys and hope this is just the start of all the good things to come! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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