Have you become more of a ozbargainer tightarse since the corona?

[Deactivated] on 01/04/2020 - 18:25
Last edited 01/04/2020 - 19:19

Have any of you become more hardline ozbargainer tightarses in the last few weeks?

Lets face it some unfortunately😢 have had to become more frugal out of necessity not choice but for those of us still lucky to have a job are you being more careful with your spending and use ?

When all this is over ….and you get your jobs back and your lifestyle, do u think you will be a change in how you used to live your old lifestyle ?

For me i think so, i dont think i will waste money anymore on buying coffees and sitting in cafes etc , im just thinking how much money i wasted over the last year or so sitting in a cafe with my laptop drinking coffees doing my crossword and readozbargain etc ,still i enjoyed it i guess

Im still lucky i have a job but even im scared that could go .

I think it will be less eating out etc, as for toIlet paper i will treat like gold , i will never see TP as just sheets of paper anymore 😀

Things / expenses will be cut out , health insurance i will put on hold ,( cant use extras at the moment anyway)
No more takeaways , no more protein powders, income protection insurance stopped, etc, only way now

"You must gain control over money or the lack of it will forever control you." — Rabbi

Financial

Comments

  • Hybroid on 01/04/2020 - 18:26
    +1

    Nope. Business as usual. Never gonna let rona me down.

  • cloudy on 01/04/2020 - 18:47
    +12

    I’m the opposite, I’m spending more to try to support the businesses around me

    I feel sorry for those feeling the pinch, even though I’ve lost plenty in the last two months. But I still have plenty of capacity to spend. I just need more ideas to spend that’s worthwhile for me

    • try2bhelpful on 01/04/2020 - 19:02
      +2

      +1 on that. I still get my croissant and hot chocolate to keep my favourite place afloat. It is the little things that are worthwhile. I would much prefer to spend my 1/2 an hour a day sitting in a nice place drinking my hot chocolate, eating my croissant, and playing my games, reading the paper, doing the crossword than all the stress of travelling for a couple of weeks. This is what I’m really looking forward to, when this mess is over; in the meantime it is all takeaway.

  • tsunamisurfer on 01/04/2020 - 18:51
    +1

    I have been forced to become less of a TA due to the virus because everything has gone up and there is no discounting.

    I would buy up when there is cheap, toilet paper, taco sets, all sorts of foods etc.

    Now there is no discounting at all.

    • cloudy on 01/04/2020 - 20:14

      That’s not all true, so supermarkets are so busy of course they won’t discount. They can barely keep up with demand.

      But there are plenty of businesses without demand and plenty of capacity and have discounted. Plenty of food places for instance, grilld comes to mind, but go local if you can. Also, lots of retail has lots of stock arriving from after CNY shut down, and won’t have stores open to sell, so lots of discounting our way.

  • fantoo on 01/04/2020 - 18:55
    +1

    My shopping habit has been same as before and will be same afterwards.

    Lots of lesson learned from OZB and stopped paying RRP for anything after I started to follow OZB

  • Gronk on 01/04/2020 - 19:23
    +1

    Nah not really, I like to cook so we've always had a good stock of 'from scratch' ingredients on hand.

    If anything, we've probably gone a little less OB because we've been paying more for our day to day items but sourcing them through local businesses.

  • DingoBilly on 01/04/2020 - 19:26
    +4

    Definitely spending more now.

    Have to buy gym equipment for house, a few office things to make WFH easier etc.

    Also started to eat out more just to try and support local business. Much easier being a tight-ass beforehand.

  • Baa on 01/04/2020 - 19:35

    More time at home = more time shopping online, the last few weeks themselves have resulted in EUFY cameras, Tenda mesh, and a new Logitech Master.

    We have also been eating more take out, which is probably offset by not ever buying lunch while working now. In the past week or two many of the smaller cafe's in the area are doing take away meals between 4 and 6 for pickup - we have been cycling through them trying to show our support.

  • Archi on 01/04/2020 - 19:40
    +6

    ozbargain should have taught you to hoard toilet paper, tissues and other things when they were on sale and now that a pandemic has hit everyone is scrambling and you sit there and watch it all unfold

    • ssquid on 01/04/2020 - 20:14
      +1

      If a true ozbargainer succumbs to the virus, their casket will be lined with 3 ply as a show of extravagance.

      • Archi on 02/04/2020 - 00:30

        At the c re mation would be heaps intense with all that TP

  • chumlee on 01/04/2020 - 19:53
    +6

    With the 1.5m rule my gigolo business has died. 12 inches is the furtherest distance I can manage

    • cloudy on 01/04/2020 - 20:16
      +1

      Here’s a tip, with so many bored people at home, online shows is booming business. Get on it.

      • chumlee on 01/04/2020 - 20:56
        +1

        I'm a real OzBargainer so I'm on dial up internet still

    • [Deactivated] on 01/04/2020 - 22:18
      +1

      … and he's back! :)

  • Munkeyalan on 01/04/2020 - 20:11
    +3

    I'm down to two squares per wipe, so there's that.

  • nubzy on 01/04/2020 - 20:12

    Nah, I am spending more of what little money I have. Ordering takeaway and essentials from amazon, jeans in the DJ's sale etc. Still have a little bit of work but basically living off savings for the moment. Still I feel good supporting the local businesses, not much motivation to cook at the moment especially with the cost of everything at Colesworths being so high and no specials on.

  • Ghost47 on 01/04/2020 - 20:19

    I spend about the same right now but can imagine my spending decreasing over the next few weeks and months as a result of WFH, not being able to eat out at restaurants (i.e. sit down service), not being able to go to the movies etc. I'd suspect I'll cut spending by approximately 25%-50%.

    I learnt a few years back to stop mindlessly spending money on useless stuff/impulse buys/stuff that will be worth $0 eventually, so after this entire thing blows over I'll still be doing the same saving and spending as I normally do.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/04/2020 - 22:01
    +1

    I'm more of a TA because goodness knows how long this is going to last and majority of my staff need their pay to keep going.

    I'm now running at break even, ie same financial outcome for me if I stay closed except I have to keep working half days.

    In a way, I'm working half days for free so perhaps not the most TA.

  • TEER3X on 01/04/2020 - 22:21

    Perfect question for a poll!

  • outlander on 01/04/2020 - 23:30

    No. My budget isn't really determined on the number in the bank, it's dependent on a series of calculations and the meeting of certain conditions.
    Lately, the unpredictability of the future has got me see-sawing all over the place. Half of me says buy buy buy, because things may not be this cheap in the future, while the other half says hold hold hold, because getting a Herman miller chair for a third of retail price doesn't mean shit when you're waiting in a line of a thousand from your allocation of gruel from a government worker.

  • SlavOz on 01/04/2020 - 23:59
    -1

    OP you're cancelling your health and income insurance and what happens when you get sick or can't work? You'll be in the same boat complaining about financial hardship.

    I don't believe in being a tight ass, but I do hope people will start to see the world differently. For the well off, no more hoarding properties. And more importantly for the middle class, no more living pay cheque to pay cheque in one of the world's most expensive cities (and one of the most expensive areas in that city). Live within your means.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 00:11
    +4

    Not exactly but we live a simpler life now. We get fresh eggs from the chooks , veggies and herbs from our veggie patch and fresh flowers from the garden. We greet the sunrise with sun salutations and we watch the sunset on the beach. We rarely see anyone. It is so quiet and peaceful that all we can hear are the birds in the trees and the kids' happy chatter. A sweet, simple life.

    And, then I go to woolies … I see everyone with their masks, their gloves, all the social distancing notices plastered everywhere and it hits me. The world is such a depressingly dreary place, where people are losing their jobs by the thousands and others are sick and dying :(

    • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 12:40

      They let you go to the beach?!

      • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 12:50

        The beach is my backyard. No swimming but we go for walks and take the dog along.

        • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 12:52

          Ah. Our area, the beach is backed by park land so I cant argue that it is my back yard :(

          • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 12:54

            @[Deactivated]: Just to clarify, we can't go for walks on the sand but we can along the path that follows the beach.

            • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 12:55

              @[Deactivated]: Ugh, that's not the beach. That's the park by the beach.

              • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 13:02

                @[Deactivated]: Path closest we're allowed to the beach :/

                Edit: pic is misleading in that there's a wide sandy expanse of beach which separate the water from the path. Must be the perspective from which the pic was taken.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/04/2020 - 07:52
    +1

    I am from Scottish heritage so have always been stingy.

    How was copper wire invented?

    2 Scotsmen fighting over a penny.

  • DarthAntz on 02/04/2020 - 13:02

    Monthly expenses are way down. So yes.

  • djk on 02/04/2020 - 19:49

    I imagine what I save from not going out will easily be matched by the increase in the electricity bill and thank goodness Amaysim loves me and gave me another three unlimited data recharges.

    Have always had redundancy built in for staples, mostly because I see half price tp, laundry detergent, tissues, quinoa and rice etc. and buy some, so I never run out. Quite shocked to see some of the price increases in fruit and veg. Don't know if it is from the bushfires, covid-19 or supply/demand issues.

    Spending more on items like ginger, lemons, turmeric, parsley, coriander, cider vinegar, spring water to help maintain immunity, but spending a lot more at the local shops where before I might have gone to a farmers market in the next suburb instead.

    It was quite a shock buying some staples at full price, but given the situation may go on for months I see it more as an investment.

    After this passes it will be back to half price for staples, buying in season and freezing, and scouting the markdowns the night before stuff is needed, which was combined with the evening walk. Though the supermarkets are still doing markdowns some of which are ideal for freezing, just nowhere near as much due to shortages.

    Happy to spend my stimulus payment locally because I want those small businesses in my community to survive and the online ones which provide specialty services too.

  • CMH on 03/04/2020 - 17:23

    I'm actually increasing my spending at shops I frequent, as I value their service.

    Then again, my job's secure so I'm actually quite thankful my income hasn't been affected so this is one way I can try to make sure these shops will still be there after things settle down.

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