My girlfriend and I are saving for a house so we’ve agreed to not spend over $100 this year on each other’s birthday.
My initial plan was to take her camping and cook her a meal over the weekend but the spot I’ve booked has been closed indefinitely due to bushfires.
Any ideas on the best bang for your buck birthday experiences for $100?
she might not come back
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She might not come back?
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Besides, it is a legitimate way to spend $100.
Might be able to get about 20 minutes of indoor go karting.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/list_of_birthday_deals
Try above and plan entire day including cruze, lunch , free shopping,zoo etc
Go to Gold Class and order drinks and food with your movie. There must be some vouchers for the tickets to make that a bit cheaper.
At Crown in Melbourne, there are dessert specials for shows that start after 7pm. This could be an option?
also, try buy the ticket from another ozb, who might be able to give an extra discount too
look at groupon for deals
100 mcd frozen coke
Don't forget the 36 frozen Fanta combinations - you can try them all! Maybe if you ask nicely, you could even mix half Fanta and half Coke.
best bang for a $100 would be the day time special in kings cross on a tuesday
one night with Venus, a lifetime of mercury
My thinking at the moment is hire a kayak and kayak to Shark Island for a picnic. 2 hr hire - $60, $40 on wine and lunch
Or get an inflatable boat. They look to be about $60ish on ebay, probably available at kmart. Did this once with the gf in a local river, it was a great time. The boat was a bit crap and the bottom part slowly deflated (maybe my fault), but the panic when you're out in the water only adds to the experience of being together. As does a loss of structural integrity that makes the boat seem to shrink.
I can't really imagine paddling out Sydney harbour in a $60 inflatable from Kmart lol
I can!
Wooooooooo. I'm on a boat!
That's a top 10 trending YouTube video if I ever saw one.
so random
Used to love Kirk as a kid on Growing Pains and then he had his short lived show Kirk.
Pity you are in Sydney. Philippes in Melbourne does a fantastic 2 course $40/3 course $50 lunch which includes a 250ml carafe of wine. (Special menu). The chef is Philippe Mouchel; who worked for Paul Bocuse. Great French food, lovely rooms and terrific waitstaff. Personally I think that, bang for buck, this is one of the best value meals in Melbourne.
Given you are trying to be frugal I would be getting some serious hints from her as to what she wants, so you don't waste the money. Maybe give her several suggestions and then gauge her "hotness" about them. If you are into camping you could look at some new piece of camping equipment and, in the card, include an IOU for you to cook dinner next time you go somewhere.
My girlfriend and I are saving for a house so we’ve agreed to not spend over $100 this year on each other’s birthday.
living out of wedlock…
Seriously now, what about a nice dinner at a restaurant by the beach then a stroll along the beach, finishing up with Netflix at home with a bottle from Dan's.
You'd be absolutely appalled at me; we have 38 years of living in sin. Although describing it as that at my Grandmother's religious group gathering may not have been my best move.
12 here, thought that was a lot, you put me to shame!
Hehe, Good on you, don't let anyone make you feel bad about yourself :).
Me I had quite a conservative Christan upbringing… .. ..Now I'd describe myself as an atheist or agnostic.
I decided on Agnostic because I realise I don't know everything about the Universe but I haven't seen any real proof up to now.
Well under budget and job done!
Cost of breakup afterwards - priceless (but very expensive).
That you Scab?
take flowers out of my garden and I'll chop your hand off with a rusty shovel
More like you'll stand there and yell at a cloud.
Gopals -Hare Krishna restaurant in Swanston St - for an all you can eat set dinner @ $7.95 each.
leaves you $84.10 for other stuff.
Picnic with champagne and strawberries at your local park overlooking a lake
We make full use of the birthday deals.
Surewins include Boost Juice, Lord of the Fries, Sumo Salad, San Churros, T2, Hungry Jacks, Subway which are really easy to obtain. My partner and I started making this an annual tradition, twice a year where we visit malls with most (if not all) of the above stores.
At the end of the day,
Total spend: $0
Full tummy: 2
Good luck and HBD!
PS: This is well in line with the OzB spirit. No judge pls.
Remind me never to get a seat on a flight next to you :)
Once a year
I do this too. Quite a few meals sorted for the two weeks around my birthday!
just do some tequila shots and have sex
Need rubbers (or alike) otherwise a huge lifetime expense might pop up in 9 months time! :p
in the butt obviously
So classy
I know it sounds corny, but it really is the company you're with and the thought that counts. Effort and time can be put into these things rather than cash, as long as you know how to appreciate it.
I spend a lot on partners, but I never expect it back. Most things I want, I simply go and buy it. I look at what someone does and how significant it is to them. For eg. someone who's gone way out of their way to do something for me.
For example, if a multimillionaire spent $200 on a gift for me and someone else who has $200 in their whole bank account bought me a $100 gift, I would know that I mean something to the person who just spent half their worth on me. That's what I've learnt to appreciate. $200 means jackall to the multimillionaire.
Well said, sir.
2+ don't know why this comment isn't getting more upvotes.
Time is way more important and valuable than money. I suggested to my family last year that we just buy Christmas presents for the kids (now that there are some in the family) and we give each other simple handmade gifts (why spend hundreds of dollars on stuff people don't want and receive a bunch of crap you don't want, what a waste of time for everyone). The sister that works full time and has a very time consuming hobby so that we only see her two or three times a year despite the rest of us getting together every second weekend, and we never bother inviting her to anything cause we get sick of her saying no, of course objected to the idea since she would rather spend her time with her friends at her hobby and not on anything to do with the family. She would find it better value to buy everyone $50-100 presents (which she can do in 3 clicks on Amazon taking 5 seconds per person) than spend $5 and 1-2 hours per person making something. If someone spends time with you it really means that they actually care. Buying stuff is meaningless.
What hobby is this? Equestrian???
Sorry, but cash is important. If you ain't spending cash, then the partner will feel that you don't value them.
Ozbargainers shouldn't be with someone who feels that way
Who are you, Geoffrey Edelston?
If you ain't spending cash, then the partner will feel that you don't value them.
I really feel sorry for you. Who have you dated that's made you think this is a thing from reasonable people?
It's just natural, not evil or shallow. Do you really need me to show you the evidence?
@kahn: oh yes please, because I know this is absolute BS. I've lived with my man for 38 years and we don't bother with presents for each other. We value what we do for each other every day and offer courtesies like "please" and "thank-you". We both earned good money so, provided we can live comfortably, money is not that big an issue for either of us. Mainly we don't spend money on each other because we just see everything we own as a shared asset. You want something you buy it for yourself; keeping in mind you don't overspend out of the shared pool.
There is a great Seinfeld quote - "Just when I think you have got as shallow as you can, you empty a little bit more out of the pool".
@kahn: It literally cannot be natural, because "money" is an artificial concept. Heck - we use money itself to represent other things, like time, work, skills, experience, risk. There's no reason why you cannot spend these things directly on your partner - cooking them a meal, taking time out to go with some place, planning activities or holidays, in order to show that you value them.
@HighAndDry: Ozbargainers really don't like being told money is important in relationships :-P I'll find some evidence for my earlier comment in a few hours.
@kahn: Not saying money isn't important - just that it's not necessarily important. Plenty of gold diggers around who'll put money over anything else, so it's certainly important to some.
@try2bhelpful: Haha he's not completely wrong - plenty of places like that around =P… I just can't afford them lol.
@HighAndDry: It is a term used by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld series, he uses it to describe the euphemistically named "Seamstresses". If you haven't read his books then I would highly recommend you do so. I think you have the sort of humour that would appreciate his take on life. Beware though, once you are hooked there are about 40 books in the series. Fortunately you can usually get them from the library or seek them out in Op Shops.
@try2bhelpful: Oh Pratchett! I'm ashamed I didn't pick up the reference, I was a pretty ardent reader of his books back in high school / uni. But this does remind me, I've been meaning to meander my way through his bibliography eventually. Thanks =D
@HighAndDry: They reward the re-read - there is always something new you see or a reminder of a line you particularly liked. I am an avid reader but I came to Pratchett in my 40s. It was like gorging on a rich delicious feast. Such a shame we lost him so early is such tragic circumstances.
@try2bhelpful: There are 41 books all up and I bought em all and have read them many times
P.S cant wait for the good omens mini series this year based on the book by terry and neil
Kahn….Perhaps,but i have to say that THE most memorable thing i did for my husband on our 2nd anniversary (we too had saved for our first home,and were moving in the weekend after,so we were skint)was call the builders earlier that week,and get them to leave the key for us with the sales centre for me to collect on the Friday night.We bought a %2.50 Red Rooster meal each (that's how far back this was),i got some paper cups and a bottle of the cheapest wine i could find,a candle and a ribbon for the key.I surprised hubby with the key.and we sat,in the dark (save for 1 candle)and ate our takeout (which was a MASSIVE treat for us)on the concrete floor (no carpet as yet).It was dirt cheap,and yes,some may think it was a "cheapskate" way out (hell,yes we were poor at that point)….but that is something we still remember 23 years later,so cash doesn't always equal valuing someone.
but that's a choice to be that cheap.. no one put a gun to your head and told you to buy a house and go into debt and use all of your savings on a house. it's a choice to be that cheap and put all of your money into something else. I see that as being cheap not poor.
I would be surprised if you aren't single.
That's mostly due to my very small penis. Ozbargainers have very large penis, whoa! But I cannot achieve much with such a small penis.
A nice picnic with some good munchies, an Aldi bottle of Rose (award winner 2013), and read her a book of poetry. Then laugh about how you both don't give a f about poetry but thought it would be fun anyway.
Its all about the Birthday S**
Huh, what would you do that costs more than $100.
Why don't you just make her a nice dinner, at least it'll show in effort. For $100 I could do a nice 2 course dinner with cake and have enough left over for a bottle of Moët & Chandon which should top it off.
If you're going with Champagne, buy a better bottle like a Taittinger or Perrier Jouet (or, at a pinch, Veuve). Moet is overpriced marketing in a bottle, and the other three I mentioned are typically around the same price, and much much better.
Hungry Jacks 2 bacon deluxe for $8.25. Before we knew about this deal, we used to get one big mac and one would eat half and pass it on to the other. Now we can each have our own burger. Such a luxury.
$25 rsl buffet then couple of hours at the arcades or a movie or an Internet cafe to relive nostalgic old times.
That or maybe some horse back riding? That's always fun and thrilling haha lol.
Maybe research some recipes for food items she likes. Prepare all the items in advance and cook together.
Or buy some nice cheese and have a picnic. Bring bug spray and sunscreen.
Home cooked breakfast $10
Massage voucher from Groupon $40
Candlelight meal at home $40
Coles/Woolies Cake $10
Select some photos of yours and hers and make a music video clip and play it on your TV after dinner.
Groupon/scoopon/cudo often have some good deals for dining/spa for 2 peoples. I'm sure you can find something that will suit your taste. Also, if you leave in sydney, opera house have often 2 for 1 tickets on wednesday.
Cash. And then get your freak on.
I'm not saving up for a house and have plenty of money.. still wouldn't spend $100 on a bday gift LOL. I'll take the Mrs out to dinner on a 'Fork' or 'Eatclub' 50% off deal.
if it wasnt for saving for house how much would you have spent?
Daytime road trip to Central/Southern Coast and eat in those medium priced restaurants on a wharf/marina that overlook the water? There should be heaps of those on regional towns near Sydney. I'm sure they sell pasta/steak/salmon fillet for around $30-40 per plate.
Do not buy a house with your girlfriend… god man
"My girlfriend and I are saving for a house" != "I'm buying a house with my girlfriend"
Oh, you mean you need to marry someone to buy a house with them? It's 2019 "god man"..
Oh, you mean you need to marry someone to buy a house with them?
Yes. Unless you have already spoken about the breakup - PRENUP!
You don't need to be married. You are automatically a de facto relationship after 2 years.
For any relationship that ended after March 2009, and which meets at least one of the four “gateway” requirements for de facto relationships, parties are able to commence proceedings in the Family Court or the Federal Circuit Court. The Courts will then deal with the matter in a very similar way they would with a legally married couple commencing proceedings. - source
But yes, Prenup IF you have vastly more assets than the significant other. If not, you're going to split the break up equal anyway.
@lostn: If it goes to court, quickly replace them with Panasonics, she'll never know the difference :D
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