David Jones Should Advertise Sales Better, Myer Could Price Match Differently, Frugal Bastard Needs To Be More Careful

As I mentioned in the previous post we planned to go shopping in the city. Myer was our preferred destination as this time of year, end of the financial year, they generally have pretty good sales. The Stocktake sale is apparently on on Wednesday so we wanted to see if there was anything we were interested in that could be bought later at a significant discount. As we are MYERone members we're entitled to attend a preview of the stocktake sale and still receive those discounts. Found a nice business shirt that I would put my birthday money towards.

Popped over to David Jones. Miky had had enough of us so we went to the toy section and she did her thing. I'm not too impressed with David Jones' selection of toys and we had a good look around. There was a Hot Wheels race track for $40 which looked ok. It was only several minutes later that I noticed DJ's had 20% off Hot Wheels products. They didn't advertise the fact very well. Just before Miky called to say she had finished I spotted Monopoly - The Here and Now Edition. It was marked as $36.95. Now Myer quite often do ok on pricing so we wandered over there to check. They had it on sale for $39.95 so I asked for a price match. Then I noticed that they had the Australian edition whereas DJ had the UK edition. As it wasn't the same version Myer wouldn't match the price. Pity, I had a Myer $20 voucher to use. Headed back over to DJ to purchase the cheaper board game. To my surprise it cost $25.86. DJs were having 30% the board games and not once did I see it advertised. Miky explained that people who shop at DJs don't necessarily care if it is on sale or not as they have a different mindset to Myer shoppers.

Moral of the story is thus: David Jones should advertise their sales a bit better, Myer could change their price match policy (they were essentially the same games except one was the Australian version and the other the UK version) and the Frugal Bastard had better be more careful price matching as it nearly cost him a saving of over $11.

Yu-Jin and I spent a bit of time playing it last night. I think that he is hooked already.

Frugal Bastard's Tips For Saving Money

I haven't done this for a while so perhaps it's time to compile a short list of money-saving ideas. For the frugal-minded among us.

1. Buy things on special. It makes me happy when I think about the fact I'm brushing my teeth with a 4-pack of electric toothbrush heads that I bought for $23.99 when they normally retail for $34.99.
2. Buy in bulk. Release your inner Chinese. Six packets of breakfast cereal or 18 packets of toilet packet won't go off. Hoard. See point 1.
3. Forget JIT (Just In Time) - you pay more for customisation and the fact that the company doesn't have stock to offload quickly.
4. Defrost your fridge when you go on holidays. Turn all the power off in your abode. Clocks are easily reset when you return.
5. Turn off electrical appliances rather than leaving them in standby mode which can still consume 40% of online power.
6. Read how other frugal people do it. E.g. Frugal For Life.
7. Mow the neighbour's lawn. Then borrow the lawnmower to do your own. Don't cut the neighbour's grass - this will lead to expensive divorce proceedings.
8. Keep your house clean. This will enable you to walk around in the dark without endangering yourself or your belongings. It also lets your lamps last longer through less use and you also consume less energy.

Which Bus To Take

Had to wait a while to catch the bus last night even though I finished work pretty much on time. Normally I get one almost straight away when that is the case. All the buses that I could catch, except some that go to Curtin Uni, are new. I saw a new bus which took a bit longer to get near my house and that I thought would take a few extra minutes of walking from the bus stop. It was followed by another new bus for which I couldn't read he number.

Which bus should I catch? If I let the first one go the second one might not be for me and I'd be waiting for another 10 or 15 minutes. I took the first bus and pretty soon realised that it was the right bus. Not because the bus following it was headed in a different direction but because the Multirider reader wasn't working so I received a free trip.

It's good to be frugal.

25 Ways I Save Money

Dawn over at Frugal For Life, formerly here, had a post relating to "25 Ways I Save Money". Now, there's something I can relate to. I've decided to put a quick list together.

- I have a rule whereby all cheques received go into my home loan account to pay it off more effectively.
- I pick up money on the street.
- I pay bills online to avoid cheque fees, postage and time/petrol.
- I compare prices on items before I buy.
- I use the FuelWatch Website and fuel discount vouchers.
- I use shopper dockets if they offer something that saves me money.
- I buy non-perishable goods in bulk.
- I walk instead of drive if possible. Riding the bike is also an option.
- I make good use of free calls on my pre-paid mobile.
- I buy Christmas cards in bulk and post after November the 1st when postage is cheaper domestically and significantly so internationally.
- I pay my insurance and registration premiums anually to avoid a greater overall charge over the year.
- If I have to I make long distance phone calls off peak.
- I like to buy quality goods that will last a long time and therefore have a lower TCO.
- I used to work as much overtime as possible so that the shops weren't open when I wasn't working and so that I couldn't spend any money. This was a very successful tactic.
- Leftovers are eaten and not thrown away.
- Lunch is taken to work.
- The lights are turned off when no-one is in the room. I don't live in a lighthouse.
- When it's cold I put on more clothes and only use heating when absolutely necessary. Doors to rooms that don't require heating are closed.
- My son plays free online games - Flashgames247.com - instead of buying expensive computer games. If he gets bored there are hundreds of other games to try.
- Make use of the library instead of buying new books or magazines.
- Buy childrens books secondhand. They are in great condition and unbeatable for value.
- Plan my shopping so that it doesn't coincide with meal times. If you're hungry you'll probably buy unhealthy, processed food for groceries and have some junk food to tide you over.
- I drive conservatively and utilise cruise control. No hooning.
- Clothes are dried on the clothes line and not in a dryer - I don't own one.
- My credit card is automatically paid on the due date so that I never pay interest. If the bank applies a charge incorrectly I fight them and have a very good record against them.
- I only buy things on credit card if I would be prepared to pay cash for them otherwise. If there is a credit card surchage I pay cash. I make sure that I collect my frequent flyer points and put them to good use.
- I use a free Web publisher - Blogger.