Aussie Frugal Living

Another reminder for end of month

Posting this a day early while I remember.

Have you found a good bargain lately, made a repair, or figured out something that works for you?

This is also for any topic requests, suggestions, or tips that might not require their own thread.

Seems like a free version of Gumtree or the online equivalent of kerbside hard rubbish.

It’s up to you whether you feel comfortable picking stuff up or having stuff picked up, but it might save some money on acquiring or getting rid of it.

I've been playing around with DIY cleaning at home and thought I'd share my current setup. Love to hear suggestions or other tips

Equipment

• I bought a couple of glass spray bottles from amazon but you could reuse old ones (mine had all broke)
• box of rags - I like microfibre but also old tshirts and tea towels (tea towels are great for drying off surfaces)
• old toothbrush for fiddly bits in the bathroom

Basic cleaner - option 1 : Grease / shiny things / tough surfaces

• fill up bottle with 3:1 white vinegar to water
• add a good bloop of dishwashing soap
• I add in a few drops of eucalyptus oil (optional)

I use this for most things. People caution against using it for stone top benches. I haven't had an issue but if you want to be cautious use this

Basic cleaner - option 2: Gentle and deodorising

• fill up bottle with 100% water
• add a good bloop of dish washing soap
• add a couple of teaspoons of bicarb
• I add in a few drops of eucalyptus oil (optional)

Don't mix the vinegar + bicarb. They will neutralise each other and add nothing.

If you are sensitive to smells etc - use option 2 for everything

In the bathroom

Not quite basic glass and metal cleaner and disinfectant

You can use the vinegar mix for this but I have a fair bit of glass so I bought a litre of isopropyl alcohol from amazon and mixed this in a separate bottle that lives in the bathroom:

• 70% Isopropyl alchohol
• 30% water (you want a 70% mix for disinfecting)
• Bloop of dish washing soap
• optional drops of oil - again I do eucalyptus or clove oil but doesn't matter

toilets and drains

• a tablespoon or two of bicarb in the drain or in the bowl and flush with water is simple gentle cleaner
• For the shower I have one of those squidgy glass wipers and a refillable dish cleaner wand thing for the shower - filled with dishwash soap and some drops of clove oil). I wipe down the excess water after every shower and once a week give it a scrub with the dish cleaner wand and dish soap.

I do still use a name brand toilet cleaner once a week and maybe once a month use some oxygen cleaner or bleach on the shower tiles but I'd like an alternative.

Hard floors

I've got a spray mop and am still working through a bulk by of some eco floor cleaner but I'm thinking i'll just use mix #2 (bicarb) above when that runs out - suggestions welcome

You wouldn’t download a Blåhaj…

I won’t link as it would be a very specific and incomplete list but check out what your local library offers.

The waiting list may be very long but it says here that there is usually no cost in a public hospital as it’s covered by Medicare. If you had been wanting it but money was the barrier.

This program launched 6 months ago but better late than never. There is apparently a questionnaire and the items are mailed to you so it’s not anonymous, but the source (Family Planning) seems legit.

I don’t have to tell you what the impact of unplanned pregnancy is on your career/finances or even just short term medical bills and time off work. Grab em if they’re free, and also hand them out to your mates.

For people over 30 and/or not in NSW the local family planning centres are likely to have these free as well.

It isn’t easy for me to get to a tool library so I don’t use one, and I understand any hygiene concerns about shared toys (especially now).

But if you need something you’re not likely to use regularly or your kids like variety these are a cost effective option.

Some tool libraries have a low annual membership fee and some have criteria (such as being over 18 and signing a safety waiver). I’m not sure what a toy library involves.

Pair of Adidas sneakers for 30 bucks. The adidas stuff aint bad, especially on sale. Still rocking a pair of thsese 2 years on.

I should’ve posted this later in the month but won’t remember.

Here is the image as it’s not wanting to show up

Personal care products have gone up a lot and Cetaphil (multipurpose cleanser and makeup remover) has now been reformulated in a way that’s irritating to a lot of people, so here you go.

While it’s often considered as a moisturiser sorbolene was created as a gentle soap free cleanser and can remove makeup because of the oil in it - like dissolves like. I have even used it in the past to remove eye makeup.

Disclaimer: Despite being gentle and unscented some people (unfortunately including me) can still be sensitive to sorbolene and find it causes stinging and redness.

I have no idea whether this is due to the glycerin, the fact that it contains a small amount of detergent, or something else. ie. a damaged skin barrier, a reaction to a preservative, or just some kind of allergy.

You might want to do a patch test first (which is a good idea for any new product) and be aware it wasn’t originally made to be left on your skin.

However if your skin doesn’t have these sensitivities?

It’s a great multipurpose product that removes makeup, can be used as a gentle cleanser or baby wash, and may be used as a basic face/body lotion if it does not cause you issues to do so.

Try a small $2-3 bottle. If it works for you, spending $8 for a 1L multipurpose bottle may help you save heaps on all the specialised products.

I knew about sunscreen losing its effectiveness after expiration, but that apparently goes the same for toothpaste and mouthwash. It isn’t really a ‘best before’ situation for these things as much as a use by date.

It can still be used after expiry. ie. toothpaste will still be a mild abrasive cleaner and mouthwash may remain antiseptic.

However the fluoride will no longer be effective or protect against cavities. (And the sunscreen will let you burn.)

Anyway. I just had the thought that as belts tighten there might be more people resorting to bulk buying or other cost effective measures, and wanted to share for others that didn’t yet know.

Generally toothpaste is good for two years from the manufacture date so buy accordingly. Or if an older tube is given to you by a friend, food pantry or shelter you might want to throw it away and buy a fresh one.

I wasn’t a member but if you were make sure your passwords are unique

These are refurbished computers that may be bought by people who are eligible.

Just to let you know though that they are not running Windows, they are all on Linux.

I don’t remember if I’ve shared this before but I was reminded by seeing that Clip Studio Paint can work on Linux via Wine. (Though apparently there can be difficulties and CSP can be expensive to buy outright or involve a subscription?)

If you happen to have an iPhone (even secondhand and as old as iPhone 13… which is still pretty new tbh…) you can buy Procreate Pocket for a one off of $9.99 to draw on your phone with your finger or whatever cheap stylus. Procreate for iPad is $19.99.

For Android there are free or cheap options (Reddit link).

Ibis Paint seems to be a popular option (Reddit link) for Android phone (free with in app purchases) but isn’t the only one. Apologies that I can’t find a neat list of free Android apps that are specifically for phone - even with Boolean search the search engines seem to have enshittified and I am tired.

Ps. Some might say that having an iPhone or iPad isn’t frugal.

However it might have been a gift, bought before hard times came, secondhand, a work phone, part of a family plan, a loaner, a donation from a domestic violence service, or simply bought for the functionality to do everything without buying a separate computer.

Let’s not fuss about it. I think we can all work to get the most out of what we have regardless of what it is.

Have you found a good bargain lately, made a repair, or figured out something that works for you?

This is also for any topic requests, suggestions, or tips that might not require their own thread.

Dodo's Price Hike and Speed Cap Change - Worth Switching Plans?

Dodo’s plan used to be perfect for me. I’d always hit the 2GB cap, but the unlimited calls, texts, and 1Mbps unlimited data worked just fine. Now, they've raised the price from $10 to $15 and reduced the speed cap to 256Kbps, which has made it much less usable.

I'm thinking of switching to Amaysim’s $5 unlimited call/text-only SIM ($60 yearly) and using the extra savings to find a $5-$10 data-only SIM as second SIM card. But I'm struggling to find unlimited (capped) data at all now within that price point.

Has anyone made a similar switch, or do you have better suggestions for a budget-friendly setup?

I’m not big on SIM-slutting since I don’t want to risk losing my number, but I’m open to moving around from time to time.

Tags for federation: @frugal

Title. I’m still trying to get mine to work but in theory owning one of these will allow you to use a computer without a cd drive to play or rip cds, play dvds, and burn backup cds of your music.

Obviously it’s better to have a computer with a cd drive but this creates options if you don’t. Pairs nicely with secondhand cds and dvds from the op shop. Look for these usb drives on eBay and at Officeworks.

Dropping this here after noticing a couple similar posts.

This is a curated list of documentaries, to offer you only the ones worth watching. No religion, conspiracies, aliens or pseudo-science in here.

We watched Cosmos: A Personal Voyage a little while ago.

List of all documentaries.

Docos with 'Australia' in the title:

• Aerial Hunters (Wild Birds of Australia)
• Asia and Australia (Earthflight)
• Australia (First Peoples)
• Australia (Seven Worlds, One Planet)
• Australia and Oceania (The Magic of The Big Blue)
• Feathering the Nest (Wild Birds of Australia)
• Fraser Island (Australia) (The Living Beach)
• Human (Australia: Earth's Magical Kingdom)
• Land (Australia: Earth's Magical Kingdom)
• Lord Howe Island (Islands of Australia)
• Ocean (Australia: Earth's Magical Kingdom)
• Oceans & Australia (Animals with Cameras)
• The Emu (Wild Birds of Australia)
• The Little Penguin (Wild Birds of Australia)
• The Pettingill Clan: Australia's Heroin Dynasty (Drug Lords)

I’m not sure if anyone would be interested but Internet Archive is another free resource.

They’ve recently lost a legal battle over copyright infringement resulting in the removal of 500,000 books but there’s still plenty of public domain media left.

Playing *one of the audiobooks works so I assume downloading will too.

Not sure if this quite qualifies for this community (after all - the ultimate frugal move would be to cancel Spotify and either just listen to the radio, or use YouTube/YouTube Music Revanced or UBlock Origin), but you can save a couple bucks a month on Spotify by buying gift cards and using those

Spotify gift cards are sold at a set number of months for a specific price, both of which are printed on the gift card, so they haven't gotten around to reprinting or redesigning the cards with the up to date values yet, so they're still sold in packs of 3, 6, or 12 months for $36, $72, or $144 ($12 a month), versus online where it's sold as $14 a month ($13.99 if you want to be fussy). Which works out to 2 free months per year using gift cards

The gift cards last for 3 years (although I don't know if they last on your account forever once redeemed), so you could theoretically buy 3 X 12 month cards for $432, then redeem them all, which saves $72, or 6 months worth of premium.

But they seem to be putting the prices up every year, so by the time they expire, a month of premium will probably be going for $16 or $17. Or $20 if they do what everyone else seems to be doing and shooting prices up disproportionate to replacement

Not much, and it basically only benefits people with enough money to actually drop 400 bucks on Spotify at once, but even buying a 3 month voucher saves about $6

Things have been chaotic here.

I recently received an Outlook reminder I’d set… but it came after the applications closed. And I am straining my tired brain to remember if that was the closing date for the previous rebate or if I missed a new one. Or even missed the previous one!

However the reminder itself was very useful.

I’m planning to set another reminder for next year, this time for May or June.