Credit to Scrimshaw for "AskOzb". This is the reversed question of the recently popular one here and on Reddit.
And/Or
Heard that before but I'm not so sure. Why do cheap milks taste so watery?
you're probably picking up the skim milk? (aka…water with a hint of milk)
Cheap milks have a lower fat content (3.5% compared to 3.8%). That is one reason why cheaper brands taste watery and less creamy.
Not really convinced that's actually the case.
My experiences say otherwise.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/240860#comment-3581881
Although, if our household did have a high consumption rate (like grang), it would be irrelevant. I'd just stick to generic Woolies/Coles milk.
Premium brands (e.g. Pauls) will typically have a higher fat content than WW/coles milks. They have a much creamier taste because of this.
Read the other day that Aldi's full cream milk won the prize for best milk in that category. Will try to find the link.
You have no taste buds. Tested this hundreds of times ( I drink whole bottles - love milk) The cheap Coles, aldi cheap brand milk (eg. PlAstic under cap pull seal )always have a funky soury aftertaste that's disgusting if theyre not sligtly sour to begin with you can't miss it. Pauls,pura ,great ocean road is simply sweeter richer milk. You simply have no taste buds or don't care.
Did you do a blind taste test?
Because you have to do it 'Pepsi challenge' style and remove your own biases and preconceptions from the equation.
I've done a Pepsi Challenge for different types of cola. You've inspired me to a milk based pepsi challenge as I'm a big lover of milk. I'd be very shocked if the expensive milks will pass a CBA over the supermarket brand (which I enjoy) even if I end up preferring them but I'm really keen to find out!
New tech. Just hold on to my existing phone and computer longer.
Yep, they last a lot longer, the incremental improvements aren't enough for me to upgrade every new release.
Toilet paper - used to always buy Kleenex, now quilton or whatever is on sale
Can't compare Kleenex with Quilton. Quilton is so much better. Quilton is soft yet stronger. Mitigate possible problems arising from tares and holes while wiping.
Agree that Kleenex is dangerous.
Ah, the feeling when your finger pushes through the thin toilet paper and you end up deflowering thyself
Nay, words alone cannot describe the shame.
@scrimshaw:
I've coined the term "rub through".
Rub-through: a break or tear through a material caused by excessive shear force, resulting in digital (finger) contact directly on the shearing surface.
You may also find the following helpful.
Crust-off: when a person allows sufficient time after he/she pipes off the final squeeze such that the retained faecal material hardens, or "crust", around the rectum before wiping. This may have increased effectiveness of the wipe as it decreases the potential for smearing.
Let's start using a universal terminology on these important matters.
The Kleenex does taste better though
Before or after wiping?
Woolworths/Aldi/ Coles Bulk $3.99 12 pack where the bargins at…
I just dont understand the logic in spending money to flush down the toilet
I remember years ago a house mate came home with 2x 50packs from reject shop for like $7 ea.
Yes! The Aldi 12pk is where it's at. Not stupidly soft (Kleenex) and not like sandpaper (Quilton). Highly recommend Aldi dunny roll.
I use to stock up on sorbent toilet tissues whenever they were discounted at coles.
But have since switched to Aldi's toilet tissues which are much improved, thicker and soft. No more fingers going through the paper when wiping.
Big W 32 Pack is amazing. Tried all the others, now $12 everyday price.
Woolies have a few recycled paper brands for tp. Cheap, strong, comfortable enough, and as a bonus slightly more environmentally friendly
Glass screen protector
I usually buy ones from Aliexpress now, though I think they are all from same factory.
Phone cases
I usually buy those silicon case from Aliexpress now, while expensive ones were slightly better, I figured changing one every once in awhile is better, especially given they are like $2 AUD.
Kettle
I rarely use one anyways, a cheapo from K-Mart is good enough for me. Though technically speaking, I've never bought any kettle that's over $10~$20 (I've used something that looked expensive few times at someone else's house, thought it was nifty and thought I will never buy something like that).
Books
I usually buy Penguin Classic version, paperback one over hard cover one if I can find one. I like ones with hard cover, but I don't think they are worth spending more money on.
Funny you mentioned K Mart Kettle. I got one of those glass ones from K-Mart for $30(?) and its been absolute tops.
I had a Sunbeam $140 "Pro" stuff a few years ago. It shorted my entire house. They did admit fault and replace it but I prefer the cheapo kettle that hasn't tried to burn my house down.
You could save yourself even more money if you didn't buy a screen protector at all. The current generation of Gorilla Glass is pretty bloody robust. Had my Nexus 5 for two years without a screen protector and it didn't have a scratch on it - even with a couple of drops.
I do agree that current gen Gorilla Glass is pretty decent that said, even saphire glasses on expensive watches get scratched, so I've heard. Besides, the scratches that annoys me are those fine scratches that ususally is harder to see, which all the devices I used without protector actually ended up getting. They were older generation ones, so it might have changed, but I'd rather be on the safe side (since those scratches annoy me a great deal).
Plus, I did hear that glass screen protectors tend to protect the screen from getting smashed as well.
Can vouch for the quality of the sapphire crystal on my watch. Been wearing it for nearly 8 years, nearly every day, and have bonked it a few times pretty good (enough to leave marks in the stainless case) but the glass looks like new. Don't know about protectors improving smash resistance - so I can't comment. Whatever works for you is the way to go, I'd say :)
@johnno07: I've heard that when the protectors break, they take a lot of the shock that could've gone onto the screen (which sounds reasonable enough). Though the main reason behind me getting the screen protectors is the scratches, both of my old devices with annoying scratches had Gorilla Glass on them (I do admit that they were old, one had 1st gen and the other one had 2nd gen).
Even if it is unlikely, if the device I own ends with scratches, I will be annoyed to an extent where I'd be more likely to send the device in to change the display or get a new device over small things (which would go north of $300 easily). So yeah, it's more of a measure I take to reduce possible annoyance.
@Oversimplified: yeah I would believe this, I was pretty rough with my last phone, Xperia Z2 and would break a glass screen protector every couple months. Once on a bike tour I flew over the handlebars while holding it and used it to break my fall with my right hand on concrete, screen underneath screen protector was fine.
It was getting pretty old so decided to stop using them, first drop without a glass screen protector broke the screen. Could have just been unlucky but was probably the 100th drop.
I thought Gorilla Glass was up for the task. So with my Note 3, I didn't get a screen protector, 1 year and 3 months later, there's only 3 faint scratches on the screen that are barely visible. I have dropped the phone, put it constantly in bags with keys in there etc.
I do have a case that protects the sides and front screen (raised edges), but a screen protector isn't all that necessary anymore.
As an owner of the S6, I can confirm that gorilla class does indeed scratch. I use a slim case. Scratches are primarily through other stuff in the pocket like keys, coins, money clip, other phone etc. I've scratched both the iphone 6 and s6; so no, apple doesn't have special gorilla glass with hyper unicorns.
I highly doubt this, even if the device was looked after extremely well, every type of glass acquires even small scratches over time.
are most good new phones gorilla glass?
Most of them uses either Gorilla Glass 4 or 3 depending on what company chooses. Flagships usually use the latest ones (barring few cases).
Yep haven't brought a screen protector for years and phone screen looks as good as new, as long as you keep your phone in a different pocket from your car keys it is not required
Cling wrap. In the 1990s when generics first started, the cling wrap was unbelievably thin, and tore so much to be unusable. 15 years later they fixed it, and generic cling wrap is great.
Except that shit from Aldi. That doesn't cling to anything, not even itself.
"…keeping plastic wrap in the fridge or freezer makes it easier to pull off, and less likely to stick to itself when you rip it off the roll."
http://lifehacker.com/5994360/put-your-plastic-wrap-in-the-f…
I can see how using the other stuff could become expensive…
You are already beautiful to us, mskeggs.
:)
I fear that you may have that page bookmarked…
Anthing electronic named Panasonic. Panasonic went from top of the pile to near the bottom in just a very few years. All ousourced nowadays, and the move has seen a dramatic lowering of quality whilst only retaining minor price reductions. These days do not buy Panasonic items without extended warranties or avoid them altogether.
Is that what happened. We used to get very high quality from them. I still have a couple of radios from the 70's and cordless phones from the 80s/90s that just last and last.
But recent years audio purchases (docks and what not) haven't done very well.
I've the same issue, Panasonic is down the dumps these days… my audio purchases started failing past the 12 months warranty…
Really?
I've had too luck with Panasonic.
Still have 3 Plasma's working fine today. I prefer my 5 year old 65 inch Plasma over the vast majority of LED TVs today.
Was that a Panasonic ??
I have an old panasonic plasma and its great….
Yeah 3 Panasonic plasmas.
Plasma's are the exception I'd say. In fact their Plasma's were industry leading right up until they stopped manufacturing them.
It's a pity, but I don't think it was profitable for Panasonic as LCD/LEDs are much cheaper to produce and therefore sell.
Watching sports on some LCD/LEDs is just downright torture compared to Plasma's.
Panasonic was handed the Plasma baton when Pioneer stopped making Plasma's.
Yeap! As soon as news broke they were shutting down the factory, I went out and purchased the last model they made (ST60).
Whilst I can't comment on their other products (TV's, hi-fi gear etc), I have to say Panasonic cameras are excellent. They're one of the very few companies that still manufacture their cameras and lenses in Japan. I work at a camera store and the amount of repairs or DOA items reported from people who buy Pana gear are very good compared to other manufacturers.
have to agree . Panasonic cameras are released with few problems, and dont have the rabid upgrade cycle of say Sony.
The trick with Panasonic is to only by the stuff Made in Japan. Most first release or mid-top range products are still Japanese, but to keep up with competition they're also selling lower quality Made in China stuff. Sad, but at least they're keeping some production in Japan…
Yes, some stuff like camera gear and other mentioned above, but for most other stuff (including some Japanese-made, it would seem), seeds of rot sown years earlier with price-pressure from cheaper competition, and before bulk of products began being made in China.
e.g. Panasonic halved the MTTF spec for electrolytic capacitors going into its products, with that confirmed in a conversation with an authorised Panasonic repairer at the time. Manufacturing (and, seemingly, design) of various and increasing larger products and componentry also downgraded or outsourced. Similar for many other brands.
Various mainstream brands (don't know specifically about Panasonic) have even had great difficulty keeping counterfeited, main-branded, electrolytic capacitors out of their production chains, let alone general and cheap sourcing of others. (Dell had a hugely expensive scandal some years ago, with a stolen, but stuffed-up electrolyte formula seeing ALL electrolytic capacitors on some Dell circuit boards fail and leak under warranty, or just beyond.)
Anyway, Panasonic is just another brand at the ordinary end of the spectrum in most areas, now, although company fate has not been quite as dire in consumer electronics, as it has been for JVC, Hitachi, etc. People in number still seem to buy on the basis of earlier experience and brand-reputation, though.
Personal experience with Panasonic has been mixed. A reasonably cheap radio was great and still works. Older TV's had best picture quality at the time, but lasted only a modest number of years before playing up. Very unlucky with thousand buck VCR, back in the day - just outside of warranty, one problem after another. JVC then restored some faith in Matsushita Corp - under same umbrella, at the time, for a while anyway, after that.
How long ago would you say the quality decreased? I have had my TV from Panasonic for 3 years now and it has been awesome, might not buy future TVs from them if it's going down the gutter.
Their Aircons are still quite good
lol, even with extended warranty, they make up all sorts of excuses not to repair or replace it. Avoid Panasonic like the plague.
Paracetamol (Panadol) and Ibuprofen (Nurofen).
Skip the brand name ones, homebrand are all the same active ingredient. Brand name versions are up to 25c/pill, homebrand are 5c/each or less. Don't by the "handbag" or "car" (aka small) packs just pop a few into an old mints tin.
Probably goes without saying but please don't do this if you've small kids around :/
Oh yeah, no. If you've got small kids probably best to go with the "childproof" bottles, or keep them right out of reach. Gum and sweets also come in blister packs :/
I bought the small bottle with the childproof cap to keep in my handbag…about 5 years ago. It looks pretty well weathered now, but I just keep filling it up with generic ibuprofen. (I don't have kids but my handbag is inclined to mash blister packs).
Often you can get panamax from Chemist warehouse or one of the chains for $1 for 100 pills. Violates posting guidelines though…
Ditto on this and generally all pharmacy medicines.
Just look for the active ingredient in the drug that you take and you should be able to find a generic brand as well.
Paracetamol is like $2 for 200 tablets.
Ibuprofen is more dearer but still cheaper than nurofen.
Yep I wait til Chemist warehouse restock there supply of panamax they always put on sale for 99c for 100 tablests
I buy 2 or 3 what ever the maximim is and so does the wife :)
beets paying there full price of $1.99 for 100 ;)
and yes woolies or coles Ibuprofen is cheapest I can find.. couple of them with my 1c panamax and have a nurofen…
Cant agree more with these comments.
I was at chemist warehouse and asked the pharmicist what the difference is with osteo/back/period etc and they said nothing.
They are basically all the same but they just do it purely for marketing
Panadol osteo has a higher dose of paracetamol (665mg per tablet) that has a modified release vs the standard 500mg panadol/panamax/herron etc. The higher dose per capsule and extended release means that patients take it 3 times daily, rather than 4 times daily, which some patients prefer.
Often patients will have an easier time remembering to take 2 tablets with each meal, compared to taking them every X hours 4 times a day.
to the best of my knowledge..
Didn't the ACCC catch them out for doing that type of marketing and had legal action taken against them?
@aureuslithia:
Thats for the neurofen branding but the panadol osteo is actually an extended release larger dosed version
I wouldn't be taking them as often as you say here, might not be as cheap, but krill oil/turmeric will be less expensive on your body in the long run with similar results.
Aldi Hedafen is the Red Pill. They look so cool.
I would buy the larger packs, but definitely would not pop them into a mints tin, tablets will degrade over time when taken out of the blister. Even when they're popped out and repackaged for dose administration aids, recommendation is generally 6 weeks. My two cents as a pharmacist.
Then why do they sell them in bottles?
Bottles are not generally the manufacturer's form choice, even though they're cheaper to produce. Medication sold in bottles will be sealed, with desiccant packs. It depends on the medication, but paracetamol's stability over time has been examined by studies because of how often they're used/repackaged.
I stick to nurofen over generic or any other non-generic for its sugar coating. I don't like the taste of paracetamol :/
clothes
You really have to find which brands are best to buy. I have thrown out a lot of nasty cheap clothes. Some good examples of good clothes are Target, Kmart and Connor t-shirts, bad examples of clothing are Target jeans and Threadless branded t-shirts.
Cleaning products.
Now I just buy 1L bottles of white vinegar from Aldi ($1) and refill a spray bottle. I use it to clean my benches, windows, bathroom…everything. I also buy the bulk packs of microfibre cloths from Masters. Bicarb is also an excellent cleaner. Got my oven good as new by coating it in a bicarb + water paste and leaving overnight. It wiped clean with very little effort (and without using a toxic oven cleaner).
Does the vinegar make the bench smell like vinegar? I have done it to clean mold from the bathroom but the smell stayed for a few days.
I'm interested in your recipe for your oven cleaning. Can you provide more information?
Got my oven good as new by coating it in a bicarb + water paste and leaving overnight. It wiped clean with very little effort
Seems like there's not much more information to provide haha
I like this vinegar idea, but on a recent holiday we walked in to the hotel room and it stunk like vinegar. Smell didn't go away for days which has discouraged me from trying it at home :/
Bicarb is great, or hot water with a dab of detergent works just fine for me!
Use lower solution of vinegar and make sure its used in areas where it can dry. I use it as a tile cleaner for my ground floor, it smells like vinegar till it dries then nothing at all
I use 50/50 split of water and vinegar for floor cleaner
just dont use it on natural stone tiles/benches etc. acid eats away at those.
I use some dish washing liquid, dettol and water for those.
Medications - go for generic brands.
With only a few exceptions: Ventolin/Asmol - some generics taste bad. Paracetamol syrup for the kids - same, taste matters more than price!. My antihypertensive medication - I take half a tablet and the Sandoz brand crumbles when halved, wheres the branded equivalent costs a dollar more and doesn't crumble, so it ends up being cheaper.
Another exception that may be erlevant to other people: some brands use starch as an excipient, so people with coeliac / gluten intolerance should avoid these brands (eg. Panadol includes starch, Panamax doesn't).
Skin cleanser (protip: it's no more effective give than soap)
Some people have to use soap free cleanser for their skin though.
Not even going into pH level stuff, soap does wash away too much oil. I had problems with skin drying up really badly. Both dermatologist (not an Australian one though) and GP suggested to use soap free skin cleanser for that reason (along with other things, but it was one of the recommendation that they gave me).
Remember to always moisturize after using soap based cleansers. or… any type of cleanser, really, since all cleaning products will always strip your face of skin oils. Moisturizing will help prevent skin from drying out.
Read up the SCA routine on reddit's SkinCareAddiction page
https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/wiki/sca_routine
Yeah, but soap tend to be worse for your skin. High pH level can damages/irritates your skin which all in the end causes issues.
Not a dermatologist or anything like that so I pretty much am talking from what I've read and what I've experienced (therefore can be biased), I found soap to be more irritating than soap free cleansers I've used so far and soap tend to leave me with very dry feelings.
Though, yeah, what you said is correct. I think another thing that the dermatologist told me to do is reduce the amount of shower I take (which used to be twice or three times a day, because of shift work). Excess shower is bad for your skin because of pretty much what you said.
Soap is way too harsh for your face. You're gonna look 10years older than you really are. Hello wrinkles!
i know a 80 year old that looks 50 and she swears its because of using soap. wrinkles will come with age
It's probably not the soap that's doing it for her. It's down to genetics, diet, health, exercise and sun exposure.
Especially the sun. You will age a lot quicker with sun exposure.
What soap though?
I know a few people like that and when they say 'soap' they are talking about Dove or something similar which is much better for your skin compared to normal soap.
@dbun1: she said just basic plain soap the cheap one you get. she said people even used to used to use dishwashing liquid in their hair, its just what you did in those days. she said she was raised poor and it worked so why change it.
All the different chemicals in all these products worries me, and the more i used the worse my skin used to be. vinegar and bicarb works great now though and my hair is so much less oily
There's a chance that soap and dishwashing liquid compositions back in those days were different to now days. Cost efficient probably wasn't #1 priority back then. Also maybe she didn't tell you her whole routine after cleansing with soap.
If anyone insist on using soap (or even worse dishwashing liquid), be sure to cake on moisturiser.
You don't think the composition has changed in over 50 years? Perhaps using cheaper chemicals now, using different
Hydrophobic or hydrophilic components?
Maybe what you think is what the companies want you to think, "Quality is still the same!"
@maverickjohn: ha ha
I hear you…3 boys and my reliable 6910 machine is close to cracking 4000 cups…. we may as well have a milk tap on the fridge door (someone will make one soon)
6910…. I bought it as an early fathers day gift when my wife was expecting the first one. Think that was an OzBargain special too!