Not looking for big tickets like a nicer house, more creature comforts that would make you feel wealthy. For example expensive scotch, quintuple ply TP, guacamole with every take out.
For me it'd be:
Better quality and healthier daily food/ a weekly expensive hobby like skydiving/ a monthly top tier restaurant.
Token "I'm not with a survey company". I'm just curious what people think, maybe some attainable ideas might even pop up.
There was one time that I ate as much smoked salmon as I wanted because we bought 1kg of them and we didn't want to leave it in the fridge for too long.
I kinda want to redo that again.
Other than that, I do want a pet (not at the current place because it's small as is).
I guess a goldfish is considered as pet, you could get that now!
#petrockgang
Who knows, it may as well grow a pair of legs and becomes your brother for life. ;)
Reminds me of that time I forgot to pack food for a camping and live off smoked salmon and coconut water for a weekend (sponsored by work). Others forgot their tents or didn't realize it was byo so not the worst thing to forget.
Two chicks at the same time.
Surely the Woolies cooked chicken hasn't gotten that expensive?
(profanity) aye.
You don't need to triple your income to do this.
Office space reference! Nice!
Flying lessons
Investment properties
I can answer this with facts, as my spouse returned to full time work after a decade of looking after young children and university study that meant they only had occasional work.
So our household income has about doubled, and it probably works out a bit more than if just an individual pay packet doubled thanks to progressive income tax.
These are the things that have changed:
- much more in savings, a bit more in Super.
- nice bread, bagels and croisants pretty often. We haven’t made a loaf of bread in the last year, unless it was a special recipe.
- we’re paying for Netflix, Stan and Prime concurrently instead of rotating them. (And Paramount+ thanks to OzB $8 deal, but won’t renew)
- Better beer and wine. No home brew for a year either.
- Replaced clothes dryer and dish washer when they each had issues, in the past I had kept them going with youtube DIY fixes and spare parts.
- Upgraded a laptop and a new iphone
- get the nice orange juice pretty regularly, instead of none or the shelf stable one on special
- ordering what you want at take away/restaurant rather than scanning for deals
- less hassle about things like dentist bills/orthodontics that had to be timed and budgeted (i.e. don’t do the expensive thing in January when Xmas bills are due).
And:
- contemplating a new car
- planning some big renovations, but tradies are especially hard to source right now.
My life is substantially more relaxed around money, I don’t have anxieties about funding retirement or covering the bills. I have changed my mindset a bit to say ‘Will spending this money save me time/worry/hassle?’ Rather than defaulting to the cheapest solution.
I think it has been important not to get lost on a hedonic treadmill. If we go from 15yro cars with 200,000kms to new Mercedes there will be a nice bump, but then that cost is locked in because reverting to 15yro cars will feel bad.
Similarly, we aren’t looking to take on more mortgage debt or luxury holidays or things like that.
I also think it has been good for our kids to see how to do a bit of scrimping and saving, but also how to reward yourself reasonably sensibly.
We always took the approach that the whole family is in this together, so mum wouldn’t wear rags to get little jimmy a new PlayStation, everyone should have to make occasional sacrifices so everyone has all their needs.
So the kids still haven’t got new playstations, but each did get a main Xmas present last year that was around $250 instead of $100, and there is more scope for somebody to say, ‘hey, that pair of shoes costs $30 more, but it is something I would really like.’
Yeah, we can kind of answer in our household as well, hasn't doubled, but has gone up probably 50% in the last year. We actually throw the largest of our household salaries at the mortgage every month and try and live off the rest. Varies month to month whether that works or not. But, it has meant we don't worry about spending as much as we used to:
Hey mate. I often see you posting comments or replies. I value your comments as they are quite often very insightful and meaningful.
Glad to hear that things are going well!
'Better beer and wine. No home brew for a year either.'
yep - I'm looking at Beck's bier brewed in Germany as my current standard after giving away (Freecycle) my complete home brew kit I'd done over 100 batches with - after a friend said the yeast (I'd left) in home brew was bad for prostate cancer risk.
otherwise - I'm keeping my nearly 30yo car - because it's fun to drive - and a biggest problem is where to invest the spare cash
but it's nice to not have to avoid luxuries - last shirt I bought on a whim was $150 for a polo shirt - it's nice to wear tho'
won't be rushing back to overseas flights after yesterday hearing that our regular $1K trip is now offered from December for - oh - $3500 … each …
"the yeast (I'd left) in home brew was bad for prostate cancer risk"
Source? Sounds made up.
I suppose if I had 2x the income I could buy beer that is the same quality as I brew at home, though I think I'd rather switch to a 3 day work week, keep my income the same, spend one weekday doing family stuff, and the other weekday to brew beer.
Really appreciate the insight of someone who is further along in life than I am.
My life is substantially more relaxed around money
This is they key, IMO. When people say "I wish I had more money" I think what most people mean is "I wish I didn't have to worry about money", rather than "I wish I could swim laps of my $100-note filled pool".
My wife and I have made good career choices and have more or less doubled our income over the last five years and are in extremely secure, and very secure jobs respectively. And now we just don't worry about money. We own our place, buy more or less what we want (within reason*), have savings, nicely growing super balances, and a healthy share portfolio.
*i.e. we own a single car that cost us $20,000 new a few years ago, and I have refrained from buying a $1000+ lever-operated espresso machine.
I thought it was just me looking at the La Pavoni longingly!
FISH FISH FISH FISH FISH FISH FISH FISH FISH
Lobster, Crab, expensive prawns
Dental cleans every 3 months instead of 12.
Good quality cotton clothes from Europe and UK.
Love Rodd and Gunn and Nautica cotton.
Hire a cleaner.
'Lobster'
I was intrigued to see a TV program about some European fisherman maybe in W.A. or S.A. last century where crayfish were regarded like cockroaches and were simply thrown out as nobody wanted them
until enterprising businessman thought to rebrand them as a special thing - called them lobster
dunno how true that is - but here's another one
I read that in the Middle Ages the poor serfs were commonly fed salmon as the cheapest food in abundance in the Thames in England - such that poor people used to beg their feudal Lords - 'Please sir - can we have something OTHER than salmon … !?'
the Industrial Revolution polluted the Thames, salmon died off for a couple of hundred years, until they started to clean up the rivers, and some enterprising businessman decided to call salmon a luxury food
now we have aqua-farming nets in the sea off Tasmania where the salmon would come out white flesh so they add astaxanthin to make it turn that 'luxury' orange-red colour - otherwise nobody would pay twice the price for white flesh fish ! - https://tinyurl.com/b343xsaa
Biggest downside to aus in we have no access to legit salmon, even if we pay more
I’m soured on Salmon after hearing about how dodgy the whole industry is in Tas. And the colouring they put in it to make it the same as norther hemisphere wild caught.
Canned from NH is probably better as a food….
@saltypete: Where did you find the canned stuff? I remember researching it all and arriving at the same conclusion but never found a good one
@900dollaridoos: We have started buying it from the canned fish section in Coles/Woolies every now and then. Its not particularly cheap, but not dreadfully expensive either. Being canned we use it differently than the fresh cuts.
We tend to buy local fresh fish, or try to catch our own to get really fresh stuff.
@900dollaridoos: https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/220701/woo…
Canned salmon available at the supermarket
@saltypete: Is there a reason why colouring is singled out? Same can be said for most cuts of meat, with the shear amount of antibiotics and other artificial medication applied. Most of the red meat you buy has CO applied to it to remain really red
@AH: I’m sure it’s not ‘bad’ for us, it’s just that the wild colouring is from biochemistry of naturally occurring marine organisms and will be full of complex nutrients - that may be good for us.
The dye in the salmon food will be just that.
If supermarket Atlantic salmon was the same colour as anything else would you still buy it or consider alternative fish?
I am pretty sure canned salmon comes from wild caught fish caught seasonally. The capture, processing and canning of fish is pretty well done and retains a lot of the good stuff in the fish.
There is also the aside that the salmon aquaculture is trashing important chunks of Tassies marine ecosystem. You’ll notice it doesn’t get the same ticks on the label as lots of local stuff.
@saltypete: Ah, I guess it's similar to the organic vs factory farm debate. Nutrient levels could be higher and healthier but really you're paying for sustainability at the end of the day.
@AH: Not sure what you mean. Salmon aquaculture is a disaster for Tasmania’s marine ecosystem, and local sea lions are regularly shot and often die slowly. The salmon we get from there is about as good as the feed and will not be like wild fish.
Canned comes from one of the best run fishery in the world. It was wrestled back from the brink over the last 40 years and they are very protective of the whole ecosystem that supports their fishery.
I appreciate this back and forth. It made me get off my bum and nail the current info on this. Canned is on and ‘Atlantic’ is off the menu.
……And I’m going fishing!! 😁🎣😁
@saltypete: Oh, I was referring to factory farmed animals vs their wild counterparts. Wild hogs are said to be healthier with less fat than their domesticated counterparts. Hogs will have a natural diet while the domesticated pigs but sustainability wise, there aren't enough wild hogs nor wild salmon to sustainably fish them at current consumption levels - the number of wild caught salmon would have to quadruple.
@AH: With you now. Yes, the diet/food connection is my understanding as well. I guess in the context of living well it is paradoxical that getting fish from a can may be the better option than fresh for some fish.
I think this whole question is going to be writ large in the next few years. I just saw info about technological disruption cycles. Dairy milk is 97% water, fat, sugar and 3% material that makes it milk. The technology to substitute this is going to be cheaper than getting it from dairies within the next 3 years. So all dairy products will be cheaper to make not using cow milk. Whole milk products will become higher end purchases. Meat going the same way in about 5 years……
Tetsuya use to have their own brand of smoked Salmon,
Unfortunately for me the first time i tried smoked salmon
It got me hooked.
Immediately after that, I noticed the other brands didn't taste as good. Good but not Tetsuya's quality
In the last 10 years or so, all flavour has been lost.
Still eat smoked salmon, but I know its no where as good as it use to be
I also noticed in those years how most of salmon which was pale all became bright orange
As a fish family, we ate crayfish like poor people eat spam
Lobster every night….and then bulk buy Gout medication.
Lobster stuffed with tacos!
Good quality cotton clothes from Europe and UK.
Actually, any suggestions on those please?
Twillory, Wolf & Shepherd, Charles Tyrwhitt (affordable), TM Lewin (affordable), The Tie Bar, and Indochino
Ted Baker if you wanna fork out $$$$
Turkey:
L.C. Waikiki, DeFacto, Beymen, Vakko, Network, Kığılı, Polo Garage, LTB, Mavi Jeans, Collins Jeans, Derimod, Koton, Collezione, Ramsey, Damat and Tween
Thank you!
Where does your Mrs shop?
My clothes might be $$$ but they're still polyster sadly. Though I'm thinking mens clothing is much easier to buy online.
Do you have private health? A basic extras package will pretty much entirely foot the cost for two scale/cleans per year.
Work offered it but i said nah. I'm pretty healthy
U98 for my 2007 car.
I hope it's a camry!
77 C1 and more uber eats
Not 83C1 or 77G1?
I'm not greedy 😁
Plus even at double salary I doubt I'd drop that much cash on a TV 😂
A life coach.
Out of curiosity what would you be seeking from them? Seems the only ones I've ever seen just regurgitate self help slogans from the internet and usually aren't overly successful themselves.
That probably sounded a bit too negative, not trying to dump on your idea, just curious incase I'm missing something useful!
I think the idea is that you have someone who can help you think differently about your problems, talk with in an open way, and to help plan out goals that would genuinely benefit you. Honestly kind of like a psych but without the negative connotation.
life coaches are like financial advisors (and whilst you can educate yourself to be your own financial advisor you cannot provide the perspective to be your life coach）. there are too many snakeoil salesmen out there to rip you off but a good one is worth their weight in gold
How about an OT?
Shop without looking at the price tag.
Buy something without using after pay.
Have a night of take away or eat out on those nights I really don’t want to cook instead of never.
I would get a PT - 3-5 times a week
Get a massage/facial/lashes/nails fortnightly or as required
As others have said a cleaner once or twice a week would be nice
I love cooking at home so probably buy more organic produce, splurge on vegan cheeses and meats
Splurge on a jet pool/sauna for home, I try to use the one at the gym whenever I can (when we could go to the gym lol) so it'll nice to use it whenever I want
Get a dog! They are so god damn expensive these days
Robot vacuum
Dyson hairdryer/styler
Dyson vacuum
new iPhone, currently using iPhone x
New MacBook, mine is 7 years old
New car
Generally my life is p good, I have everything I want/need listed are things that would be a nice additions :)
This is a pretty good list. Nothing that breaks the bank, but lots of little things that add up to a substantial amount over time.
Friend's spouse gave up smoking for One Month, and they saved like $700 just from that. Apparently she says the $700 is money well spent based on his antics and unacceptable behaviour/irritability. I only dream about being that wasteful someday :\
haha yeah I could never pick up smoking! It makes no sense to me.
I guess my list is all things that would improve my quality of life, and to that, I would add tickets to musicals/concerts because I LOVE IT. For anyone out there reading this and thinking about getting Hamilton tickets: YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!! The performers are truly amazing. I was lucky I won the tickets in a raffle but I would pay to see that show 2-3 more times if I could!
Saving money and investing is important but we also need to enjoy our life (not on cigarettes lol). Smokers are addicts, I have a friend who was living paycheck to paycheck and with her last $30 chose to buy cigarettes over food. Baffles me. But that's life = stressed from having no money = buys cigarettes to take the edge off = more stressed from spending money.
I'm 8 weeks a non-smoker and I couldn't be happier. I would smoke rollies, 25g for $55 which would last a week. $220 a month. I know people who smoke a 40 pack a day. Over $1000 a month easily.
I've already made a couple of purchases for myself with the money I normally wouldn't have.
If anyone needs help quitting. I listened to Alan Carrs easy way to quit smoking. After the second listen through, something just clicked.
@Brumby92: The whole Easy Way series is great. I used it to quit smoking 10 years ago, and recently for Sugar.
Working my way through the "Smart Phone Dumb Phone" one now but clearly since I'm on OZB it hasn't worked yet :-)
lol ciggys keep the weight off, I studied modeling and every girl almost would choose a packet of ciggys and vogue over real food.
Well done on getting those $10 Hamilton tix ($10 is that right?? I was reading about that). So jealous. We've got Syd Hamilton tix - but our flights and all cancelled.
$700 a month of smokes? Do people actually spend that much normally or is this waaaay over the normal amount? I honestly have no idea as no one in my circle I know smokes. And wtf are people insane to be spending that much on something that ruins your health? So many people must do it, it boggles my mind.
Was in the queue at Coles a week ago and the lady in front of me had the checkout girl get her a packet of Benson & Hedges 20s. It rang up at $42.
When I was getting served, I mentioned to the girl how expensive the darts are now, and she said she sees one customer come in every day to buy two packs (of Kents, I think she said). He spends $85 a day.
Now, I have a weakness for the odd cigar, and when I go OS I make sure to pick up a few on the cheap. But I would never spend that amount on smoking.
@branners: $85 a day.
This man must be very well off, or he has a master plan of having an early retirement to the grave.
I've had a PT for the last 10 months or so. It's been good, keeps you accountable, keeps working out fresh, gives you another perspective on things but outside of my mortgage and food it's my single biggest regular expense.
I feel bad, but I'm considering stopping training with him/moving him on/firing him. He's a good guy, has gotten me good results and I'm completely happy with what he's done, but I just feel the $100 a week could go somewhere else now (for example, paying for a different gym membership- one that doesn't have so many kids going after school, nicer prepped meals for lunch, etc.).
I'm not really sure what to do. It's by no means make or break, and I can comfortably afford it, but I feel like I've gotten the pareto share (80%) of the value already and I can keep everything up myself pretty well from here on out
That's the recommended approach in the fitness community. Hire a PT to get you up to speed in areas you want to improve upon then continue doing so. Once you've reached your goal or have a new one, rehire PT to get you a new routine.
Thinking back to when my salary was a third what it is now, and honestly apart from inflation, not a whole lot is different, other than being comfortable spending much more on housing.
Oh and on nights out, no longer worry about $12 pints/spirits or look for the cheapest beer. And certainly more generous, shouting rounds, etc.
Edit: OK I forgot coffee! Honestly I would pay $10 for a flat white if that's what the going rate was.
Sex.
yes - I've read that prostitutes are paid - not to stay - but to go away afterwards
otherwise - after sex - a guy often finds the female tends to stay around, get attached
and then he pays - for the rest of his life
so there's the conundrum - if the sex is free, you're probably paying another way …
It would move my retirement date closer which is great because then I spend more of my life doing fun things instead of working. My day to day spend wouldn't change at all, simply not a priority compared to never having to work again.
My household income basically tripled since my wife runs an eBay store that has been doing well since the beginning of the pandemic.
All the extra income went straight to our mortgage so we now have a large amount to redraw. We also bought split systems for every room.
We are pretty careful with money and want to continue keeping that mindset if we make more money.
Without asking what your wife actually sells, is she buying stuff wholesale/importing or making her own product?
With asking for what your wife actually sells, what does she sell?
What does your wife sell?
Wife sells mostly 2nd hand items - games, consoles, media and electronics. Picked up cheap from garage sales, marketplace, gumtree and op shops.
How/does she test them on the spot to see if they work and all?
Honestly, I'd finally get a nice car.
Still using a 12 year old Mazda hatchback despite the wife and I having already upgraded every other thing in our life so far.
an old car - provided it is maintained so it doesn't break down - is peace of mind
a new car - apart from typically losing $'000's as soon as you drive it out of the dealers
is a financial drain - higher insurance, faster depreciation, higher cost of repair and maintenance
and as soon as your first ding - you've lost that loving feeling of perfection
it can happen in a shopping centre carpark when you're not there
in LA my brand new rental car had its central grill badge ripped out by a/hole when their truck (huge ute) towbar reversed into it before leaving the parallel parking spot in front of where I'd parked
I came back from 2 suburban shopping centre angle parking spots to find lazy idiot drivers had side-swiped the new paint and gone
I was so glad I had zero excess insurance - held my breath returning it to Alamo - the guy ran his hand over the three damaged areas - printed out a docket - tick ! - free to go, no charge - whew !
if that was my car I'd be spitting chips - my beautiful car ! (no more)
Are you from Australia?
I also had a car accident with a hire car in the US.
Not at fault and got the other guy's details but great that I didn't have to worry about fighting to get my excess (or deductible) back.
Of course I had to fill out an incident report but it was great to know that I just needed to hand back the keys back and that was it, no extra costs regardless if they could claim off the other party or not.
As my income grew my wine taste got a bit more expensive. I'd upgrade my beef to grass fed dry aged…but most other things stayed pretty similar.
Crypto & premium/organic versions of the same foods instead of standard foods.
Some premium foods are worth buying, some aren't imo. I'd try a few things and see what's actually worth it.
Tinned mutti tomatoes for $1.50 or whatever instead of $0.80, 100% worth it
$45/kg steak instead of $25 coles porterhouse, worth it
Good sourdough bread, worth it (though you can make this, and I recommend it if you have time!)
Chicken, pasta (unless you like a particular fancy fresh one), mince (unless you're making burgers), etc. is all much of a muchness
Whether organic makes any difference or not is a matter of personal preference (it doesn't- and from my experience growing up on an organic farm, the chemicals/pesticides/herbicides used are as bad or worse as a regular farm, they just occur naturally)
I don't think much would change at this point in my life - would probably just try to save it so I can afford a better deposit to move to a bigger place as our family grows, or at the very least, could possibly rent somewhere larger.
Hm.. probably..
lo I buy a box of 6 when on sale, how about you? Also have you tried the $3 asian one?
I usually buy 2-3 boxes of 6 when its on sale.
What $3 Asian ones? Are you talking about the ones that comes in translucent plastic cups in a pack of 4? And always frozen, with some coconut meat in them? I love those.
Car maintained, I know it's needed, I know it will end up costing me more because I can't afford to get it done so it's just a ticking time bomb for me.
Otherwise healthier food, I actually love salads/veggies etc but they aren't as cheap as people make out compared to other things sadly.
"If I had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we'd just eat more
And buy really expensive ketchups with it
That's right, all the fanciest Dijon ketchups"
Some examples: Nice and fresh seafood during grocery shopping, bread from local cafes/bakeries instead of woolies, more overseas holiday (when border is open)
Cleaner
Handyman
Painter
Pretty much pay people to clean and fix up issues at my house.
If my income doubled I could afford another divorce.
I'd buy a toyota camry.
Woah, slow down big there spenda.
Must get a good accountant and an investment planner because otherwise your tax bill is going to be huge.
Would cut back a little more for the next 5 years and then have a Very very comfortable Early retirement at 50. Already live very comfortably while saving lots so nothing much would change till reitrement then I would travel in luxury till I no longer can before buying somewhere by the ocean.
Each watch on special on ozbargain.
Just work half as much, or less… It's silly to work more for things we view as luxuries.
Use of creative energy, pursuit of personal development and raising (your) children are literally the only things that give people any ongoing sense of fulfillment, and work seldom provides an a proper outlet for that.
I can answer this in reverse since my income basically halved in pandemic and job change.
Things I used to spend money on that I've cut back
Food - life is too short to be stingy on food I crave.
In the last 3 years my income has more than doubled however my day to day choices are still pretty much unchanged. The big ticket spending has increased considerably though, mainly on property and also my car.
I am currently on 250/250 and it's fine, but I would still do it "just because I can" haha