Yahoo Finance How this mum-of-three saves $6,500 a year with online shopping
A Melbourne mother has revealed how she is saving $5,000 to $7,500 a year with online shopping, allowing her to take her three children on a Bali holiday every year.
Meagan Wuchatsch runs her own business while being a single mother of three children aged 3, 7 and 10 – and the prospect of going shopping with the entire clan fills her with dread.
"I rarely head to the shops now. I have no time and it can be so stressful, with children wanting everything," she told Yahoo Finance.
So convenience is what led to Wuchatsch shopping online, but she soon found she saved a considerable amount of money.
"I usually save roughly $100 to $150 a week, which I'm saving for a holiday with the children."
A $125 per week saving equates to a whopping $6,500 each year, and she intends to go on an overseas trip each spring with this lump sum.
There are two items that save the East Keilor family money for the holiday kitty on a regular basis – shoes and household consumables.
"Shoes are probably our biggest saving," she said.
"For my son especially, a couple of months ago we just bought shoes then he shot up [in height]. It doesn't sound like much but it adds up."
Consumables like washing detergents and soaps are another source of big savings for Wuchatsch, through bulk buying online when she has the spare cash.
How do you know they fit?
For those people reluctant to purchase items like shoes and clothes online because they don't know how they'll fit or look, Wuchatsch has some advice.
"Go to the shops, find out the size, then walk out," she said.
"Then you know in advance what their size is… But I do understand that for some families there would be stress about return policies and things like that."
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For this reason, Wuchatsch's preferred online shopping site is Australia's Catch.com.au. She told Yahoo Finance that returns and exchanges are so easy there that she's actually returning an incorrectly-delivered sofa lounge at the moment.
"We're renovating at the moment… They got back to me within the hour," she said.
"That's something that I find in online shopping, sometimes, can be really hard – returns and exchanges, but they made it really easy."
Kids costs a lot
Financial experts have estimated the first year of a child's life costs about $10,000 to fund, with nappies alone costing up to $800.
But Wuchatsch has taken her family on the first trip to Bali last September and will try to go away every year with the savings made online.
The range and turnover of featured products on Catch.com.au also keeps the Melbourne mum constantly coming back.
"I find it exciting if I haven't been on it for a few days," she said.
"There's always items that come up every so often that I need."
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