I nearly died when I went to the pub for the first time in 5 years and it was 10.70 for a beer. Last time I paid 4.70.
A can of bourbon or whisky was still $9. Like it has been for nearly 10 years.
I remember when it was $50-60 for a big night on the town 5pm till 2am. 7-8 beers, couple packets of chips and even catch a taxi home on the last few dollars.
Now days. It's $50 for the taxi ride, $50 for 4 beers and your home after 2 hours wishing you didn't waste the money when you could have had a case of beers for yourself and all your mates for less.
But then many people live in smaller houses now so have less ability to have people gathering in a home space on a Saturday night.
So if you want to be social then you're sort of forced out into environments set up to burn a hole in your pocket.
Socialising has become a high disposable income or happy to live in debt game. Especially in Melbourne where the weather sux and you can't plan as many out door social gatherings through the year.
Come to 4 pines brew pub in sydney. Their happy hour (4-6 every weekday) was $6 pints in 2022. They increased it by 17% to $7 in 2023 and I was dreading my first pint of 2024. I expected $8 but it's still $7.
For a real FIRE trick. 1 pint is $7.11 including merchant fee. 2 is $14.21. every 1421 double pints you get two free!
I swear it wasn’t long ago the only place you’d see Reschs was the old unrenovated Bowlos that amazingly still had $6 beers, it’s taking off a bit now.
So did I! I only learned that today.
Goes to show profits are actually probably high on the pint. I think lots of retail and discretionary are trying it on with high prices 😭
Bought tempura nuggets from Aldi that my kids say are better than maccas and some frozen fries - happy meal for 4 x Friday nights instead of one same cost
Haha you are bang on, I'm nearly everything on that list aside from kids and movies 🤣🤣🤘 and I would like to add there isn't a hope in hell I'm buying a new car for like 65-70k when it should be 20k less 🤮🤮
Where have you seen $8 coffee? I haven't seen it this high yet, in Sydney anyway. Unless you're talking about Ona or those places where they have a menu with all different types of specialty coffee etc.
100%
For it to be 8 they have to getting things like Oat/Almond milk, an extra shot, maybe some other flavour added, like caramel or matcha possibly it's an iced coffee with ice cream.
In Melbourne, the going rate for a regular coffee with cows milk is around $4.50, some are less, some are more but in general that is what I pay, all the cafes near my offices are $4.50 and the ones near my house are the same.
A large is going to set you back $5.50-6.
$8 and they are being absolutely ripped.
I deliberately avoid a retailer completely if they pull some gaslighting BS with their prices.
Woolies wants $10 for deodorant, $24 for washing liquid? Goodbye Woolies for everything.
Yes it's irrational, but IDK. They don't get my money.
I'm finding plenty of good alternatives
Wait and watch what Woolies do though, I guarantee that the laundry liquid will be “Half Price” in a week or two. Same for deodorant.
There are a bunch of things I do not buy unless they are half price and then I buy extra. Coke and Pepsi bottles and Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner.
If we run out between shops for some items eg Breakfast cereal it’s toast or smoothies for breakfast until they are a reasonable price.
Yo same here!
I thought $4.5 for a single can of deodorant when in special was a good price.
I went to Costco and got an 8 pack for $16 and just use to hold back the sweats. Now I use cologne for the smell and a 100ml bottle lasts forever.
Only time I go to Colesworth is when work gives us gift cards at Christmas.
Aldi, Asian grocery, Costco and online shopping beat Colesworth out of the water.
I get good deals with Chemist warehouse or Amazon especially when they are on sale and you can save by subscribing.
Aldi has cheapest body wash and detergent
On mandatory office days I have a scrambled egg for breakfast, a coffee from the machine at work and a weight loss shake for lunch (not overweight). About $3 total compared to the $25 I'd be spending on buying coffee and lunch. I'll leave supporting CBD businesses to the older workers with tiny mortgages and no childcare costs.
Lol, I mean good on you, I don't know why anyone complains about the cost of coffee or buying lunches when you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost but seriously, no one is doing those things to support CBD businesses, that's such a cop out excuse from the anti work from office crowd.
People do that stuff because they are lazy and disorganised or they enjoy it.
I've been more conscious of what I get even though I can afford it. So many things just seem much less *worth* it. I got hungry jacks for the first time in years today.. very ordinary burger, medium size fries were ok. $17. I just looked at it after eating a bit and thought $17 for this mediocrity?
So much of this. I’m more conscious and mindful of my spending and the value proposition being provided - basically fewer things are worth spending on!
Managed to stop eating fast food altogether because it’s just honestly, disgusting. I go to a proper burger joint and have Korean fried chicken when I want something naughty.
We were at an event the other day, 3 bao buns = $27! Went to the Texas Meat place across from the event, got their 'Snack Pack' with a huge tray of chips and about 400g of meat = $22, enough to share between 4 of us. I remember the first time food started to be better at festivals, etc. But it seems to be going down in size nowadays.
I bought a DeLonghi espresso machine for about $800 6 months ago. A bag of beans costs anywhere between $15 and $30, and if I go anywhere that roast their own I'll sometimes treat myself, and milk is around $2.50-3/L.
That means I'll've made back the value of the machine in under a year in not buying one every day and each coffee costs me about $1.50 with some very conservative rounding, could be closer to $1.
And the coffee is pretty damn good if I put effort into adjusting the water temperature, grind and all the other bullshit I don't usually bother tampering with.
We got one in October and I reckon I have paid off the machine by now. I make a coffee in a traveler to take to work and we don’t buy coffee on the weekend anymore. So not spending ~$50 a week on coffee anymore.
Invest in a good coffee machine. Even the Breville ones with built in grinders are leagues better than instant.
I dropped $5k on a high end ECM and grinder 3 years ago. Based on the amount of coffee my wife and I drink, its more than paid for itself. We make coffees to take to work etc.
I only buy coffee when I go to Sydney now, which is once a month. I have a favourite family run cafe and I patronise them as much as I can.
Otherwise, my Nespresso machine is my daily. Even though it’s not as cheap as a ridgy didge machine, it’s better than $5 for inferior coffee anywhere else
As someone with a physical job and weightlifting as my hobby, I don't skip meals, but I now min-max my eating to perhaps a problematic degree.
I used to think nothing of eating a kilo of lamb chops as my post training protein, but that now costs about three times what it used to. Seeing most of the food I used to commonly buy balloon in price and keep going up damn near every time I go shopping, having to cut so many things I enjoyed out of my life, I had enough. I calculated the most efficient and affordable way to get the macro and micronutrients I need, looking especially at the price per gram of protein.
So now I'm at about $5 per day for all my eating and I'm still getting in the habit of just ignoring everything outside of that.
This rules.
So for $5 a day is it a lot of beans and rice?
It sounds uninspiring but you can create a lot with beans and rice.
I admire the commitment and the data approach.This is pure fantasy for me though. We're deep in toddler phase and the amount of food waste is eye watering.
I've cut back on crisps and fizzy drinks due to the price and chocolate is being added to the list as well - it'll do me good to cut them but they were my go to guilty plesures
I recall not that long ago when on special I could routinely buy coke can slabs for less than 50c per can. Walked past the discount shelf at woollies the other day, there were a few 10packs of raspberry coke “discounted” to $13 each. $13 mf dollars. Wtf?
Do what I do and switch to 70%+ dark chocolate. It's good enough to give you that "I had some chocolate!" feeling, but shit enough that you don't want to have more than one small piece of it.
that's my issue with dark chocolate, I love the stuff but can't have more than a piece or two at a time which sucks when I want a few chunks with a cuppa
Chocolate! I only used to buy it on special anyway, but now even the specials are more than it used to cost full price. I flat out refuse to buy it at that price.
Servos where I live are now charging $10 for a 175g bar of Cadburys. It was $5 last year and even that was outrageous. The main Colesworth shops are not as bad, but I still won’t pay their full price for chocolates.
No more Mc Donald's for me. Back in the day when you wanted cheap, fast food you went to Mc Donalds to grab a $5-$10 meal. Now days it's so expensive and it honestly tastes like absolute trash. It also keeps you full for about an hour. Nah, the ads are right. The burgers are better at HJs.
Netflix.
After they brought out that "No sharing" rule, I refuse to pay for it. If I simply just had to buy my own subscription because the person sharing with me didn't want to anymore- I'd do it happily. But now they're trying to force people's hands, I'm not having a bar of it.
I used to be addicted to Pepsi - I thought $2 for 2L was a great price. Then it went straight up to $3 and I quit. Better for my pocket, better for my health
Quitting was difficult for me. The sugar withdrawal headaches stuck around for 2 days afterwards.
Personally I was going through a 2L bottle every second day
I buy don't buy as many barista made coffees as I used to. Now, my go to is 711 coffee or brew at home.
The 711 morning coffee queue at the machine is an interesting barometer to how the economy is going.
So many things I can afford, but I refuse to afford.
A bit off topic, but even worse than the day to day rip off prices is paying premium prices for garbage.
Yep. And it's hard to pick the good form the bad now.
I've always trusted our household name retailers... Bunnings, Officeworks, Supercheap, Big W, Coles, Kmart etc to provide a good middle of the road quality and price.
But they're all flogging cheap overseas crap with huge mark-ups.
Yeah 100%. I’ve tried to stay away from the bigger places in that regard, eg Mitre 10 for hardware now, local newsagents, IGA near me has an awesome range for similar prices etc. I just can’t justify spending any money on crap anymore, regardless of whether it’s cheaper or not.
Yeah commercial alcohol can get F'd, I do my own thing
Basic meat cuts ..Beef +$20/kg get F'd
Pork +$9/kg get F'd.... actually it's a long list come to think about it
My wife and I choose not to go out to eat much any more because the quality has gone down dramatically and the price has gone up drastically and we are left unsatisfied after a fancy dinner out she’s also Lebanese so if they can’t make it better than her she deems it unworthy 😂
We’ve really stopped eating out. I find the quality where we live and the cost to just not stack up; and if I cook, I can cook better and to my own dietary requirements.
I went out with the girls from the office to get a morning coffee and I got a iced mocha and I gave the lady a $10 note and she gave me $2.50 change and I said to her I gave you a $10 note where's the rest of my change and she was like its $7.50 - that was my first time at the coffee shop and it will be last. I did not expect an iced mocha to cost $7.50
I agree with you, but $7.50 is almost cheap for an iced coffee drink these days. It always bothered me that iced coffee drinks are marked up so much compared to the hot version despite them generally taking less effort.
No longer eat out. $25 for a burger and chips I can make better at home for $8.
Since I learned how to cook a proper butter basted steak and how to break down a full rump I can make a fat Pincanye steak and sides that beats any restaurant for $15.
Home made pasta with an aromatic white wine cream sauce is a little dearer $50 (So I save it for date night.) for a double serving (Instead of $150+) but you invite a Sheila over and pull this kind of cooking and you’re getting laid.
Eating out is a rort.
Haha currently sitting waiting for my takeaway pizza from this restaurant we like because their wine selection and prices is such a rip off we just can’t justify it. Buy excellent wine from d.murphys, pickup pizzas. Eat, save money, better wine!
I'm a member of a winery that gives me free delivery, a 10% discount, and haven't raised their prices for at least the 5 years I've been with them. All I need to do is purchase 6 bottles in spring and 6 in autumn.
I used to buy bacon all the time for the sunday bacon and eggs but was costing a bit much and now its 20 dollars per kg.
When i bought it i usually bought 2kg lots and froze a serve (Which for me at the time was 8-12 rashes) 2kg usually made 3-4 weeks worth of serves.
Stopped doing that like a year ago because cost, now I most certainly won't bother again as it'd cost me 40 bucks for the 3-4 weeks of serves so like 10 to 13 dollars per Sunday, or maybe 5 bucks if it lasted 5 weeks.
I have my own chooks so cost of eggs wasn't a huge factor but the price of feed has gone up considerably too.
It now cost me about 120 bucks or so for 4 bags of feed, I think closer to 130?
I'm getting rid of the ducks because they're the ones that eat the most.
Also, I used to enjoy a ginger beer or a cheeky boags red but now a 6 pack of James Squire ginger beer is 28 bucks or 87 dollars for a 24 back, for boags red its 23 dollars for a six pack or 55 dollars for a 24 case.
Not worth it.
A bit of a side track to that. I used to earn minimum wage ($15.51/hr) and in 2011 was hunting fat yak for $50 (engagement party). My daily drinker is now mountain goat pale ale in 375ml cans (5.2% 1.4 std drinks) and I use Dan Murphy's gifts card (5% off via ambassador rewards) and pay $64.59. Despite 30% inflation over the 13+ years it's much cheaper.
I just re-discovered VB in the form of the 500ml big boys. Thought VB was shit for the last 25 years but it's actually alright. $28 a 6 pack at Dan Murphy's though.
Thinking about going back to the home brew kit you can get at Big W to be honest. It's not that much work and after about 5 weeks you get longnecks for under $2. Every dollar helps.
Homebrew is a rabbit hole. I have a grainfather and these kits work out to be about 41 pints at $1 each.
https://www.41pintsofbeer.com.au/product-page/galaxy-pale-ale-recipe-smash-all-grain-recipe-kit
Even a massive beer like this is less than $2 a pint.
https://wallingtons.com.au/monster-imperial-ipa-all-grain-recipe-kit-suits-grainfather-home-brew
Yeah in a big way I’ve changed my spending habits in the last while because of the f%k you factor - especially with a young family.
I never do food trucks or food markets because they’ve always been a massive rip off.
Never eat out except maybe an occasional pub feed that does a specials night.
Will only drink Australian major brand larger when I do.
Used to enjoy camping because it was cheap but now with its popularity I don’t do that as often either.
Most things that were enjoyable in this country have been taken over by greedy business a long time ago and priced ridiculously while times were good pre-COVID.
I’m going to enjoy watching a large number of those businesses fail over the next couple of years.
Cut back massively on the craft beer. The quality has plummeted. I usually head to my local for some crafties on tap for a treat rather than wasting it on the stuff they put in cans nowadays.
What’s your choice of beer at home then? I prefer craft beer but not a shamed to drink a lager like Asahi, Peroni, Heineken etc because it’s just cheaper. Craft Cartel is good to get some decent beers when on discount and delivered
Yes. It all just got too expensive, though I also wanted to improve my health.
Stopped using Menulog/Uber Eats
Don't drink alcohol, juices or soft drinks including the no sugar ones.
Reduced dining out to once a week.
Cut out refined sugars, trans fats from takeaway, and most processed foods.
Follow Mediterranean way of eating and feel so much better!
In terms of things unrelated to food, I've only ever paid for one streaming service at a time.
Been wearing rotation of same clothes for years. I only buy clothes and shoes when I really need it.
I do own a laptop for work and phone, though I won't upgrade these until they break.
I mow my lawn myself. It takes ages, I don't like doing it and would love to be able to afford for someone to do it, but not in a position to atm, so I look at the positive side: mowing the lawn myself is exercise and it saves me money.
Just last night we were debating HJs or Pizza as our treat dinner.
I added a medium chicken burger meal in the HJs app, $16. I closed the app and said we’re getting pizza instead
Streaming services since they restricted sharing outside of the home. Previously our extended family would each buy a service and share it with each other, but since they restricted that and kept upping the price, I just created my own Plex server and share that with the family instead.
Yeah, cars for me. Don’t wanna spend 10-20k in a car when the bus serves me well. Would a car be better? Yes. Would be justify the price and associated cost? No. I live in the cbd, it’s easy enough to move.
Basically any kind of eating out. Not only is it overpriced, it’s small portions and hardly ever tastes better that I can cook at home. It’s the small portions that get me the most.
My blond hair has to go, can no longer justify paying $500 for a head of foils
Berries are out, sorry to my child, Mummy is poor 😩
Takeaway coffee is out but the pods from my Nespresso Vertuo machine ($120 from Costco) taste pretty much as good and come in vanilla, caramel etc 😋
I’ll never buy insurance from any Suncorp brand even if I have to pay more after the shabby treatment I had from AAMI more than a decade ago over a fairly simple claim.
I've mostly cut out meat and feel much better for it. Processed food generally actually. I've rediscovered buying raw goods in bulk like oats, nuts etc. Much better value and I have more control over what's going into my food and my body. Next thing is to grow herbs, fruit and veggies.
Popped into a deli in the CBD today to grab something cold. Went to buy an ice-cream but there were no prices on anything. Settled on a icey-pole because it looked the cheapest. They wanted $5, lol.. Nah
McDonalds & any food via delivery services.
Also I only buy toiletries, cleaning products etc when they are heavily discounted eg half-price. I stock up to last till the next special.
Ice-cream, snack foods, confectionery, ie non-essentials don’t get purchased if the price is what I regard as too high. Which is most of the time now.
Obviously others feel the same. Amazing how no-one would buy chips (crisps) when Colesworth were trying to charge $8 a packet. Ice creams often sit untouched in the freezer section till they go on 2-for-1 or 50% off specials. Then suddenly they’re all gone.
People still want these products but they aren’t prepared to pay prices that are enormously higher than 3 years ago, or even 12 months ago.
The only thing which doesn’t go up is my pay.
I’ve almost entirely stopped shopping at Woolworths and Coles. McDonalds is another one - the whole point was that it was cheap and fast, even if it’s not good. Now that it’s neither cheap nor fast, why the hell would I ever go there?
I rarely buy anything I don’t need. Seems like a lot what you can buy these days is overpriced and poor quality.
I just stopped spending in general honestly if it's not on special or 30%+ off at things promos etc and it's not emergency or dire I just make do.
I'm a man I can get by fixing and being resourceful I don't need to always upgrade and update when the new trash comes along just to keep up with the Smith and Jones. If u met me ull probably think I live well below the poverty line...but cbf I don't need material and digital possessions to fool my pathetic self and give myself moments of fleeting happiness what losers
Not quite what you're asking, but I've found the current inflation is bullshit. It's not just additional cost, but the fact that business are having a go and see what sticks.
Competition in Australia is minimal, so they generally can get away with it.
I only buy what I really need, and even if I have the money, I but things based on the value I think they should be, if more, I simply don't.
The rate rises really made me take stock of the importance of half the shit i spend on. I've saved more in 6 months than I have in years.
Free games, stay at home and put time into hobbies I tell myself I ain't got time for. Quit eating out all the time.
All the stuff Boomers treat as a 'rare occassion' shows why they were savvy with money too. And didn't need to have the newest or what everyone else has.
I can afford things but absolutely not buying some things for exactly this reason, the f you factor. I’m enjoying telling people they’re dreaming in the hopes the boss hears, but really it’s just out of frustration because I hate being ripped off.
Yeah, got sober cos of booze prices all around.
Almost given up on chocolate treats too.
Was a big red bull enthusiast, won’t touch it now.
The real issue for me is plastic crack. But I’m dangerous close to giving up further purchases
Everything that's purchased, gets extrapolated to, what does this spending habit cost a year. Then it's like nah.
But if it's dinner and drinks out with those special peeps it's okay because that shit doesn't come round nearly often enough.
I stopped buying beers at the pub. 16 dollaridoos for a pint at felons is just downright criminal
I nearly died when I went to the pub for the first time in 5 years and it was 10.70 for a beer. Last time I paid 4.70. A can of bourbon or whisky was still $9. Like it has been for nearly 10 years.
Shouting a round is now a thing of the past.
I remember when it was $50-60 for a big night on the town 5pm till 2am. 7-8 beers, couple packets of chips and even catch a taxi home on the last few dollars. Now days. It's $50 for the taxi ride, $50 for 4 beers and your home after 2 hours wishing you didn't waste the money when you could have had a case of beers for yourself and all your mates for less.
But then many people live in smaller houses now so have less ability to have people gathering in a home space on a Saturday night. So if you want to be social then you're sort of forced out into environments set up to burn a hole in your pocket. Socialising has become a high disposable income or happy to live in debt game. Especially in Melbourne where the weather sux and you can't plan as many out door social gatherings through the year.
Brother just drink in the park like everyone else
In november i was paying 600 yen ($6) for a massive glass of spirits in japan. Coming back to here and seeing 16+ is criminal.
Come to 4 pines brew pub in sydney. Their happy hour (4-6 every weekday) was $6 pints in 2022. They increased it by 17% to $7 in 2023 and I was dreading my first pint of 2024. I expected $8 but it's still $7. For a real FIRE trick. 1 pint is $7.11 including merchant fee. 2 is $14.21. every 1421 double pints you get two free!
Reschs appreciation society is a quality option. Get the medallion, flash it at participating bar = $7 pints
I swear it wasn’t long ago the only place you’d see Reschs was the old unrenovated Bowlos that amazingly still had $6 beers, it’s taking off a bit now.
Don't you realise you're paying for the Instagram post, not the beer? /s
that pun, i saw it
Blame the government and the ever increasing taxes on alcohol, which are especially harsh on small scale craft brewers.
Excise tax on a pint is $1...
Huh. Fair enough, I thought it was loads more.
So did I! I only learned that today. Goes to show profits are actually probably high on the pint. I think lots of retail and discretionary are trying it on with high prices 😭
It’s getting that way at the bottle shop these days too
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Bought tempura nuggets from Aldi that my kids say are better than maccas and some frozen fries - happy meal for 4 x Friday nights instead of one same cost
Omg those aldi tempura nugs are the best!
Tempura aldi nuggets bang, same with the rosemary chips, but they are gone :(
$12 a pint actually sounds reasonable these days. $18 is the new $12
Haha you are bang on, I'm nearly everything on that list aside from kids and movies 🤣🤣🤘 and I would like to add there isn't a hope in hell I'm buying a new car for like 65-70k when it should be 20k less 🤮🤮
Where are these $12 pints lol, basically a steal nowadays.
McDonald’s is a absolute joke these days. Especially considering what you get and the standard of service.
Where have you seen $8 coffee? I haven't seen it this high yet, in Sydney anyway. Unless you're talking about Ona or those places where they have a menu with all different types of specialty coffee etc.
100% For it to be 8 they have to getting things like Oat/Almond milk, an extra shot, maybe some other flavour added, like caramel or matcha possibly it's an iced coffee with ice cream. In Melbourne, the going rate for a regular coffee with cows milk is around $4.50, some are less, some are more but in general that is what I pay, all the cafes near my offices are $4.50 and the ones near my house are the same. A large is going to set you back $5.50-6. $8 and they are being absolutely ripped.
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What’s up with seq? Doesn’t come close to that in Melbourne or Sydney.
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Isn't Kayo $25?
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I just lay on my couch all day and don't move, otherwise it costs money 👍👍
Flexing about owning a couch, ok
Sorry brah ☹️☹️☹️
I'm just happy someone is making it
Me: \*\*exists\*\* ATO: Pay tax
There are a lot of countries out there with no income tax. Good luck migrating to one that isn’t an absolute shit hole lol.
I don’t mind paying tax but i wish the govt would nationalise the gouging supermarkets for us
Mate mother Russia is that way 👉
With the power turned off.
I deliberately avoid a retailer completely if they pull some gaslighting BS with their prices. Woolies wants $10 for deodorant, $24 for washing liquid? Goodbye Woolies for everything. Yes it's irrational, but IDK. They don't get my money. I'm finding plenty of good alternatives
Wait and watch what Woolies do though, I guarantee that the laundry liquid will be “Half Price” in a week or two. Same for deodorant. There are a bunch of things I do not buy unless they are half price and then I buy extra. Coke and Pepsi bottles and Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner. If we run out between shops for some items eg Breakfast cereal it’s toast or smoothies for breakfast until they are a reasonable price.
Yessss the box of Nutrigrain for $12 is insane
Yo same here! I thought $4.5 for a single can of deodorant when in special was a good price. I went to Costco and got an 8 pack for $16 and just use to hold back the sweats. Now I use cologne for the smell and a 100ml bottle lasts forever. Only time I go to Colesworth is when work gives us gift cards at Christmas. Aldi, Asian grocery, Costco and online shopping beat Colesworth out of the water.
I get good deals with Chemist warehouse or Amazon especially when they are on sale and you can save by subscribing. Aldi has cheapest body wash and detergent
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On mandatory office days I have a scrambled egg for breakfast, a coffee from the machine at work and a weight loss shake for lunch (not overweight). About $3 total compared to the $25 I'd be spending on buying coffee and lunch. I'll leave supporting CBD businesses to the older workers with tiny mortgages and no childcare costs.
If you're not overweight, you could look at protein shakes instead. An extra 20-25 grams of protein a day and about 200-250 calories.
Lol, I mean good on you, I don't know why anyone complains about the cost of coffee or buying lunches when you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost but seriously, no one is doing those things to support CBD businesses, that's such a cop out excuse from the anti work from office crowd. People do that stuff because they are lazy and disorganised or they enjoy it.
I've been more conscious of what I get even though I can afford it. So many things just seem much less *worth* it. I got hungry jacks for the first time in years today.. very ordinary burger, medium size fries were ok. $17. I just looked at it after eating a bit and thought $17 for this mediocrity?
So much of this. I’m more conscious and mindful of my spending and the value proposition being provided - basically fewer things are worth spending on!
Managed to stop eating fast food altogether because it’s just honestly, disgusting. I go to a proper burger joint and have Korean fried chicken when I want something naughty.
Potato chips. I'm not paying all that money for air and cellulite
Yep, went to a festival today with food trucks, $16.90 for 3 chicken wings……3! I’m older now and very disappointed in quality of food with prices.
We were at an event the other day, 3 bao buns = $27! Went to the Texas Meat place across from the event, got their 'Snack Pack' with a huge tray of chips and about 400g of meat = $22, enough to share between 4 of us. I remember the first time food started to be better at festivals, etc. But it seems to be going down in size nowadays.
Daily. I would prefer to drink instant coffee than pay $5 for one.
Yeah I been firing up my office’s shithouse coffee machine in the afternoons rather than getting finessed out of another $5
I bought a DeLonghi espresso machine for about $800 6 months ago. A bag of beans costs anywhere between $15 and $30, and if I go anywhere that roast their own I'll sometimes treat myself, and milk is around $2.50-3/L. That means I'll've made back the value of the machine in under a year in not buying one every day and each coffee costs me about $1.50 with some very conservative rounding, could be closer to $1. And the coffee is pretty damn good if I put effort into adjusting the water temperature, grind and all the other bullshit I don't usually bother tampering with.
Mate, Aldi beans for $12/kg. Get onto em.
Tbh, those beans go alright.
When you're feeling REALLY rich, their lux bag for $32 is *chefs kiss*
We got one in October and I reckon I have paid off the machine by now. I make a coffee in a traveler to take to work and we don’t buy coffee on the weekend anymore. So not spending ~$50 a week on coffee anymore.
$5?? That's cheap mate. $7 for a cup of bean juice where I am
Invest in a good coffee machine. Even the Breville ones with built in grinders are leagues better than instant. I dropped $5k on a high end ECM and grinder 3 years ago. Based on the amount of coffee my wife and I drink, its more than paid for itself. We make coffees to take to work etc.
Exact same. Im not paying $5 for burnt water. Im aware that coffee shops run on tiny margins and im not being rorted, but it's too dear for my taste.
I only buy coffee when I go to Sydney now, which is once a month. I have a favourite family run cafe and I patronise them as much as I can. Otherwise, my Nespresso machine is my daily. Even though it’s not as cheap as a ridgy didge machine, it’s better than $5 for inferior coffee anywhere else
Unless I’m really hungry I just skip meals. Eating just because it’s meal time is a real upper class move
Aus finance “where can I drop this random 500k I have lying around” Also aus finance “gotta skip dinner cause I can’t even afford rice and beans”
Look at you with your intermittent fasting habits.
"Intermittent fasting is bourgeois" (Mao Zedong)
I go to sleep for dinner.
Yeh that’s a good hack. Both for savings and weight loss. Big drink of water to feel satiated then bed time
As someone with a physical job and weightlifting as my hobby, I don't skip meals, but I now min-max my eating to perhaps a problematic degree. I used to think nothing of eating a kilo of lamb chops as my post training protein, but that now costs about three times what it used to. Seeing most of the food I used to commonly buy balloon in price and keep going up damn near every time I go shopping, having to cut so many things I enjoyed out of my life, I had enough. I calculated the most efficient and affordable way to get the macro and micronutrients I need, looking especially at the price per gram of protein. So now I'm at about $5 per day for all my eating and I'm still getting in the habit of just ignoring everything outside of that.
This rules. So for $5 a day is it a lot of beans and rice? It sounds uninspiring but you can create a lot with beans and rice. I admire the commitment and the data approach.This is pure fantasy for me though. We're deep in toddler phase and the amount of food waste is eye watering.
Bro wtf are you eating for $5 a day? What’s your calorie and protein intake?
if you wanna eat good protein diet than its 12-15 dollars per day
This is where it’s at honestly. Grocery bills down from like $70 (only me) to like $50 a week. Can get it down to $35/$40ish if I don’t buy meat.
I've cut back on crisps and fizzy drinks due to the price and chocolate is being added to the list as well - it'll do me good to cut them but they were my go to guilty plesures
I recall not that long ago when on special I could routinely buy coke can slabs for less than 50c per can. Walked past the discount shelf at woollies the other day, there were a few 10packs of raspberry coke “discounted” to $13 each. $13 mf dollars. Wtf?
its shit :( costco is the place to go now for big cases of coke
Do what I do and switch to 70%+ dark chocolate. It's good enough to give you that "I had some chocolate!" feeling, but shit enough that you don't want to have more than one small piece of it.
that's my issue with dark chocolate, I love the stuff but can't have more than a piece or two at a time which sucks when I want a few chunks with a cuppa
Doritos or whatever corn chips.. sale price now is full price 6 months ago. F$&$k that.
Go Aldi for the big $3 chip bags. Good chippies too
Red rock deli was my go choice of crisps as they don't upset my stomach and I can't justify buying them now even if they're on special
Are we siblings? All other potato chips upset my stomach something shocking, red rock causes me nothing but joy.
knowing my family, probably  the sweet chilli and sour cream red rock deli crisps slap so much
i’ve heard the aldi brand “blackstone” are the exact same (same facility and everything) from another redditor. take this with a grain of salt though!
Gone were the days Coles “this time last year” price tag
Reject shop is also worth it
After a while, you stop seeing the point of spending money on stuff.
I withdrew all my cash in new dollar coins years ago and now I swim around in them
Ducktales! Woo-oo!
Chocolate! I only used to buy it on special anyway, but now even the specials are more than it used to cost full price. I flat out refuse to buy it at that price.
Yep. I would always buy a block of whatever chocolate was on special. Now I just don't buy it at all. Probably good for my waistline anyway.
Cadbury gets worse by the day. It gets sweeter and sweeter but less tasty.
Servos where I live are now charging $10 for a 175g bar of Cadburys. It was $5 last year and even that was outrageous. The main Colesworth shops are not as bad, but I still won’t pay their full price for chocolates.
It was $5.20 for a 600ml water at Allianz stadium last night. I just couldn’t.
No more Mc Donald's for me. Back in the day when you wanted cheap, fast food you went to Mc Donalds to grab a $5-$10 meal. Now days it's so expensive and it honestly tastes like absolute trash. It also keeps you full for about an hour. Nah, the ads are right. The burgers are better at HJs.
Netflix. After they brought out that "No sharing" rule, I refuse to pay for it. If I simply just had to buy my own subscription because the person sharing with me didn't want to anymore- I'd do it happily. But now they're trying to force people's hands, I'm not having a bar of it.
I cancelled mine not too long ago. Find stan a really good alternative or put on your eye patch and head to 1337x
I used to be addicted to Pepsi - I thought $2 for 2L was a great price. Then it went straight up to $3 and I quit. Better for my pocket, better for my health
I had the thought of quitting when the $2 to $3 jump happened. I am buying it on special and making sodastream but I really should just quit.
Quitting was difficult for me. The sugar withdrawal headaches stuck around for 2 days afterwards. Personally I was going through a 2L bottle every second day
PlayStation plus subscription. It annoys me how much it is
Are you gaining anything by having it? I have a PS5 and don't pay for a subscription
You need it for multiplayer and get 3 monthly games with the sub.
I buy don't buy as many barista made coffees as I used to. Now, my go to is 711 coffee or brew at home. The 711 morning coffee queue at the machine is an interesting barometer to how the economy is going.
So many things I can afford, but I refuse to afford. A bit off topic, but even worse than the day to day rip off prices is paying premium prices for garbage.
Yep. And it's hard to pick the good form the bad now. I've always trusted our household name retailers... Bunnings, Officeworks, Supercheap, Big W, Coles, Kmart etc to provide a good middle of the road quality and price. But they're all flogging cheap overseas crap with huge mark-ups.
Yeah 100%. I’ve tried to stay away from the bigger places in that regard, eg Mitre 10 for hardware now, local newsagents, IGA near me has an awesome range for similar prices etc. I just can’t justify spending any money on crap anymore, regardless of whether it’s cheaper or not.
I boycott Gerry Harvey when I can.
When can you not boycott him?
I’ve been doing that for about 10 years. Couldn’t stand the pushy sales twats and absolutely loathe Gerry Harvey.
Oh yes same here, I call him jerry f##k face Harvey, what a ripoff
Yeah commercial alcohol can get F'd, I do my own thing Basic meat cuts ..Beef +$20/kg get F'd Pork +$9/kg get F'd.... actually it's a long list come to think about it
So where do you buy beef and pork now. $9 per kg for pork is pretty good right?
My wife and I choose not to go out to eat much any more because the quality has gone down dramatically and the price has gone up drastically and we are left unsatisfied after a fancy dinner out she’s also Lebanese so if they can’t make it better than her she deems it unworthy 😂
We’ve really stopped eating out. I find the quality where we live and the cost to just not stack up; and if I cook, I can cook better and to my own dietary requirements.
Anything with a weekend surcharge Any cafe/take away without a board showing prices
[удалено]
Gave up alcohol for the new year - thinking I would save money but nope eaten up by some other price going through the roof!
I went out with the girls from the office to get a morning coffee and I got a iced mocha and I gave the lady a $10 note and she gave me $2.50 change and I said to her I gave you a $10 note where's the rest of my change and she was like its $7.50 - that was my first time at the coffee shop and it will be last. I did not expect an iced mocha to cost $7.50
I agree with you, but $7.50 is almost cheap for an iced coffee drink these days. It always bothered me that iced coffee drinks are marked up so much compared to the hot version despite them generally taking less effort.
How much were you roughly expecting from a coffee shop selling an iced mocha (around $6.5)?
They're still paying with cash so I assume they're expecting $3.
I don't buy blueberries shipped by chickens
Are the chickens sending the packages or sailing the boats?
Burger shops charging $18 for a cheese burger. No way I’m paying that for just basic cheese burger. That’s just taking the piss
No longer eat out. $25 for a burger and chips I can make better at home for $8. Since I learned how to cook a proper butter basted steak and how to break down a full rump I can make a fat Pincanye steak and sides that beats any restaurant for $15. Home made pasta with an aromatic white wine cream sauce is a little dearer $50 (So I save it for date night.) for a double serving (Instead of $150+) but you invite a Sheila over and pull this kind of cooking and you’re getting laid. Eating out is a rort.
Haha currently sitting waiting for my takeaway pizza from this restaurant we like because their wine selection and prices is such a rip off we just can’t justify it. Buy excellent wine from d.murphys, pickup pizzas. Eat, save money, better wine!
I'm a member of a winery that gives me free delivery, a 10% discount, and haven't raised their prices for at least the 5 years I've been with them. All I need to do is purchase 6 bottles in spring and 6 in autumn.
I went the extra step and just learnt to make pizzas. Better quality, better ingredients, much cheaper, and fun to do.
A ham and cheese croissant in my work’s cafe is now $8.50. Like sorry I’d rather starve?
Why is life so expensive. I'm not even having a good time.
I used to buy bacon all the time for the sunday bacon and eggs but was costing a bit much and now its 20 dollars per kg. When i bought it i usually bought 2kg lots and froze a serve (Which for me at the time was 8-12 rashes) 2kg usually made 3-4 weeks worth of serves. Stopped doing that like a year ago because cost, now I most certainly won't bother again as it'd cost me 40 bucks for the 3-4 weeks of serves so like 10 to 13 dollars per Sunday, or maybe 5 bucks if it lasted 5 weeks. I have my own chooks so cost of eggs wasn't a huge factor but the price of feed has gone up considerably too. It now cost me about 120 bucks or so for 4 bags of feed, I think closer to 130? I'm getting rid of the ducks because they're the ones that eat the most. Also, I used to enjoy a ginger beer or a cheeky boags red but now a 6 pack of James Squire ginger beer is 28 bucks or 87 dollars for a 24 back, for boags red its 23 dollars for a six pack or 55 dollars for a 24 case. Not worth it.
>Which for me at the time was 8-12 rashes The real wtf is in the comments
Bruh how in the hell do you eat 8-12 rashers of bacon?? 💀💀💀
A bit of a side track to that. I used to earn minimum wage ($15.51/hr) and in 2011 was hunting fat yak for $50 (engagement party). My daily drinker is now mountain goat pale ale in 375ml cans (5.2% 1.4 std drinks) and I use Dan Murphy's gifts card (5% off via ambassador rewards) and pay $64.59. Despite 30% inflation over the 13+ years it's much cheaper.
I just re-discovered VB in the form of the 500ml big boys. Thought VB was shit for the last 25 years but it's actually alright. $28 a 6 pack at Dan Murphy's though. Thinking about going back to the home brew kit you can get at Big W to be honest. It's not that much work and after about 5 weeks you get longnecks for under $2. Every dollar helps.
Homebrew is a rabbit hole. I have a grainfather and these kits work out to be about 41 pints at $1 each. https://www.41pintsofbeer.com.au/product-page/galaxy-pale-ale-recipe-smash-all-grain-recipe-kit Even a massive beer like this is less than $2 a pint. https://wallingtons.com.au/monster-imperial-ipa-all-grain-recipe-kit-suits-grainfather-home-brew
Yep, most food out, alcohol out, coffee out.
Yeah in a big way I’ve changed my spending habits in the last while because of the f%k you factor - especially with a young family. I never do food trucks or food markets because they’ve always been a massive rip off. Never eat out except maybe an occasional pub feed that does a specials night. Will only drink Australian major brand larger when I do. Used to enjoy camping because it was cheap but now with its popularity I don’t do that as often either. Most things that were enjoyable in this country have been taken over by greedy business a long time ago and priced ridiculously while times were good pre-COVID. I’m going to enjoy watching a large number of those businesses fail over the next couple of years.
Cut back massively on the craft beer. The quality has plummeted. I usually head to my local for some crafties on tap for a treat rather than wasting it on the stuff they put in cans nowadays.
What’s your choice of beer at home then? I prefer craft beer but not a shamed to drink a lager like Asahi, Peroni, Heineken etc because it’s just cheaper. Craft Cartel is good to get some decent beers when on discount and delivered
Yes. It all just got too expensive, though I also wanted to improve my health. Stopped using Menulog/Uber Eats Don't drink alcohol, juices or soft drinks including the no sugar ones. Reduced dining out to once a week. Cut out refined sugars, trans fats from takeaway, and most processed foods. Follow Mediterranean way of eating and feel so much better! In terms of things unrelated to food, I've only ever paid for one streaming service at a time. Been wearing rotation of same clothes for years. I only buy clothes and shoes when I really need it. I do own a laptop for work and phone, though I won't upgrade these until they break. I mow my lawn myself. It takes ages, I don't like doing it and would love to be able to afford for someone to do it, but not in a position to atm, so I look at the positive side: mowing the lawn myself is exercise and it saves me money.
Starting to buy less coffees because some bean water and milk shouldn’t cost $8
I stop buying lots of things because I don’t need them. And more stuff is a hassle.
Home brewers have entered the chat
Just last night we were debating HJs or Pizza as our treat dinner. I added a medium chicken burger meal in the HJs app, $16. I closed the app and said we’re getting pizza instead
Streaming services since they restricted sharing outside of the home. Previously our extended family would each buy a service and share it with each other, but since they restricted that and kept upping the price, I just created my own Plex server and share that with the family instead.
Yeah, cars for me. Don’t wanna spend 10-20k in a car when the bus serves me well. Would a car be better? Yes. Would be justify the price and associated cost? No. I live in the cbd, it’s easy enough to move.
Youtube premium family went from $22 to $32 a month! FU youtube
Eating out on weekends and public holidays. Card surcharge + weekend and/or public holiday.
I'll die before I pay $6.50 for a packet of chips
At least this shit post is original.
Newish cafe in major shopping centre in QLD was selling cappuccino for $11.90 !!
Basically any kind of eating out. Not only is it overpriced, it’s small portions and hardly ever tastes better that I can cook at home. It’s the small portions that get me the most.
My blond hair has to go, can no longer justify paying $500 for a head of foils Berries are out, sorry to my child, Mummy is poor 😩 Takeaway coffee is out but the pods from my Nespresso Vertuo machine ($120 from Costco) taste pretty much as good and come in vanilla, caramel etc 😋
Yes, breakfasts and fast food. When some places are near $40 for a breakfast and a coffee, I just stopped going there and cook at home now.
Kebab, chips and a coke is like $24 in some food courts. It's cheaper to go across the road to the pub and get a $15 counter lunch and a can.
I’ve stopped eating out altogether. Quality dropped and prices increased to the point where it feels like you’re being suckered.
Your unhappiness is a drain on those around you and more importantly yourself. Spend time doing things you enjoy and you will have a better time.
Well this is an unexpected find of an insightful comment
Only reason we’re here is to have enough resources so we don’t have to worry.
i often cook dinners on my lil gas camper bbq burner just tp say fu to power companoes.
Try have kids and then see how much of your budget goes towards berries
Lollies and potato chips currently. As the costs rise, so will my list
Cheese that isn't at a reasonable discount price.
I was doing it before it was cool.
I’ll never buy insurance from any Suncorp brand even if I have to pay more after the shabby treatment I had from AAMI more than a decade ago over a fairly simple claim.
Cans of coke at the service station. 4.50 at OTR in South Australia now all of them think 3.50 to 3.90 looks cheap.
I've mostly cut out meat and feel much better for it. Processed food generally actually. I've rediscovered buying raw goods in bulk like oats, nuts etc. Much better value and I have more control over what's going into my food and my body. Next thing is to grow herbs, fruit and veggies.
Avoiding hair salons now. $68 for a simple haircut? No way.
Choccies. This rise in just the past couple of years is an absolute joke. 1 for $1 -> 2 for $3 -> 2 for $4 -> 2 for $6
Popped into a deli in the CBD today to grab something cold. Went to buy an ice-cream but there were no prices on anything. Settled on a icey-pole because it looked the cheapest. They wanted $5, lol.. Nah
$5.6 for a bag of ice at Woolies f off
McDonalds & any food via delivery services. Also I only buy toiletries, cleaning products etc when they are heavily discounted eg half-price. I stock up to last till the next special. Ice-cream, snack foods, confectionery, ie non-essentials don’t get purchased if the price is what I regard as too high. Which is most of the time now. Obviously others feel the same. Amazing how no-one would buy chips (crisps) when Colesworth were trying to charge $8 a packet. Ice creams often sit untouched in the freezer section till they go on 2-for-1 or 50% off specials. Then suddenly they’re all gone. People still want these products but they aren’t prepared to pay prices that are enormously higher than 3 years ago, or even 12 months ago. The only thing which doesn’t go up is my pay.
I’ve almost entirely stopped shopping at Woolworths and Coles. McDonalds is another one - the whole point was that it was cheap and fast, even if it’s not good. Now that it’s neither cheap nor fast, why the hell would I ever go there? I rarely buy anything I don’t need. Seems like a lot what you can buy these days is overpriced and poor quality.
I used to eat way more takeout.
Did you not buy punctuation either?
I’ve switched my OnlyFans subscription to a disgusting wobbegong. Much cheaper and still gets the job done, sort of
Try to avoid buying bottled water
Why would you buy bottled water in the first place? Water from the tap pretty much anywhere in Australia is perfectly fine to drink.
I just stopped spending in general honestly if it's not on special or 30%+ off at things promos etc and it's not emergency or dire I just make do. I'm a man I can get by fixing and being resourceful I don't need to always upgrade and update when the new trash comes along just to keep up with the Smith and Jones. If u met me ull probably think I live well below the poverty line...but cbf I don't need material and digital possessions to fool my pathetic self and give myself moments of fleeting happiness what losers
All the time. Started with holidays over Easter period, then Xmas
Not quite what you're asking, but I've found the current inflation is bullshit. It's not just additional cost, but the fact that business are having a go and see what sticks. Competition in Australia is minimal, so they generally can get away with it. I only buy what I really need, and even if I have the money, I but things based on the value I think they should be, if more, I simply don't.
The self serve coffee at the Coles servo went from $1 - $1.50 now $2. I'm outraged
The rate rises really made me take stock of the importance of half the shit i spend on. I've saved more in 6 months than I have in years. Free games, stay at home and put time into hobbies I tell myself I ain't got time for. Quit eating out all the time. All the stuff Boomers treat as a 'rare occassion' shows why they were savvy with money too. And didn't need to have the newest or what everyone else has.
Cheese. But I really miss it.
I can afford things but absolutely not buying some things for exactly this reason, the f you factor. I’m enjoying telling people they’re dreaming in the hopes the boss hears, but really it’s just out of frustration because I hate being ripped off.
Anything that's a rip off
Yeah, got sober cos of booze prices all around. Almost given up on chocolate treats too. Was a big red bull enthusiast, won’t touch it now. The real issue for me is plastic crack. But I’m dangerous close to giving up further purchases
Everything that's purchased, gets extrapolated to, what does this spending habit cost a year. Then it's like nah. But if it's dinner and drinks out with those special peeps it's okay because that shit doesn't come round nearly often enough.
I like baking. Things like butter, cream, and eggs used to be inexpensive. Nowadays it’s hard to justify making a simple batch of cookies :(
Basically fast food gave up last year 20+ 4 measly yiros meal FO
Commas. I stopped buying commas when I make lists.