i installed solar hot water system on the roof of the main residence, with a monitored 3 speed transfer pump system, swapped all my low voltage downlights out with LED downlights, currently installing a 10KW solar array on my roof, on the Hot water systems in other building on my property i just knocked the thermostat back a few degrees, makes a huge difference, on all my irrigation pumps i put time clocks so the pumps aren't heading up all night, i have motion sensors in the rooms that people tend to leave burning all the time like the laundry and kitchen, i grow most of our veggies and slaughter my own chickens, pigs, cattle...i grow my own crops to help keep the livestock feed costs down, i don't buy manure i make it from my pigs, by firstly buying very cheap large round bales of meadow hay (usually spoilt) cost say $20, then i use it for pig bedding and to prevent mud and to manage their toilet area in the pig yards, then i collect with the tractor and mulch it for the garden, when the veggie garden is spent the pigs tractor it up and we start the cycle again...we sell vast amounts of surplus veggies, eggs and free range meat, and quite frankly if we didn't we would not have got through the GFC..... my wife makes jams, chutney's pickles and preserves a huge % of the crops we grow.....like i grew 400 corn cobs last year and we snap froze them, just going through the last few bags this month....same with pickled, artichoke,beans, chillis, cucumber ETC.....
the wife get the cheap shit from aldi and we refuse to shop at coles or woolworths only if we REALLY HAVE to......all the vehicles are turbo diesel.....including our fleet for the electrical/communications business, we have combustion stoves for winter and we have evap cooling for summer, both are very efficient.......

Back in the day I got a sub woofer and amp for cheap . Got it down so much that jb lost money on the install :lol:
The wife and I buy in bulk . Meats from tasman meats or werribee market . Lucky we live near the fruit farms so cheap fruit.

Walk down to Menya's. Good shit.

When buying pretty much anything of value... Negotiate.

Never cease to be amazed by how many people will buy a tv, refrigerator, etc., for the ticket price. Most electrical places will knock 5-10% off the price on the initial request for 'a better deal', if you go in hard you can get them down by scary amounts.

Also, seeing as this is still 442... Save money on football attendance by making friends with players/club officials - invariably free tickets will follow. I've only paid to see one A-League game in 10 years. ;)

Edited by Benjamin: 30/10/2014 12:14:21 PM

Packed lunch for work is the big one. Buying lunch in the CBD is insanely expensive for anything other than fast food.

Sushi, salad, sandwiches, noodles etc are so expensive.

Shop around for the best deal on things like electricity, gas, insurance etc.

I'm a university student so as you might imagine, save plenty of money by making own lunches, cheap asian foods, using free wifi, etc etc.

At home, wash clothes in cold water, shorter shower times, close blinds and doors when heating the home, and things of this sort.

:lol:
Sorry Bagz! You guys are just slowly becoming one in my mind :lol:

So huge that I didn't even make it.

Notor's point about the power bill is a huge one.

Yeah that was another big one that me and the missus need to do more of which is buy meat in bulk etc.

-PB

We buy our meat in bulk, buy fruit and veg at our local market, costco for other things (Moccona Coffee discount is worth the trip to Costco alone).

Last year someone told us to inflate the car tyres 15% above the recommended PSI to increase fuel economy, but I haven't really tracked it to see if it works.

I also like to raise more money rather than cut down on things that I'm comfortable with when things get tough. I'm about to start driving for Uber on Friday/Saturday nights to increase my investment fund without having to cut down on other life comforts.

Bring lunch to work.
Buy meat and deli products at the Queen Vic Market (I'd do this anyway, but it would help with cost of living too).
Reduced the amount of drinking out, and increasing the range of restaurants to include quite a few cheaper places too.

Guess some of the little things...

-Buy pretty much everything online bar fresh foods

-Cut down on electricity usage as well as by turning off standby devices (has made a huge difference to the overall bill)

I'm sure there were others I just can't think at the moment haha.

-PB

Obviously access to factory outlets probably isn't at a premium where you guys are, but buy clothes and accessories/luxuries from outlets can save you a bomb. I know that for the company I work for, at certain times of the year, stock gets reduced by 50-65%

Team

I'm after some insights into how yall have reduced your cost of living over time.

For eg last year the Mrs and I worked out that if we do half our shopping at Aldi, as opposed to a full Woolies shop, we save a heap in groceries for a normal shop for us.

What life choices and alterations to living have you all made that have reduced your cost of living, either by a small amount or significantly?