Yahoo Finance Ridiculous ways Aussies are saving cash: ‘Ludicrous’
Saving $0.02 on every grocery shop does add up, I guess.
Aussies are struggling through a cost-of-living crisis, with prices skyrocketing on everything, from groceries and energy bills, through to rents and mortgage payments.
But some might be going a touch too far when it comes to saving some dosh. A new thread on Reddit’s AusFinance page asked Aussies the most ridiculous ways to try to cut expenses. And the responses are hilarious.
One theme was to take advantage of being back in the office by using the goods and facilities on offer.
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“Convince work to provide milk for coffees, then take your own cereal into [sic] work to take advantage of the free milk,” one user said.
“Steal toilet paper from work to save approx $13/month,” another commented.
“Only charge your phone at work to save $2/year,” another user said.
Others were quick to jump on board and offer their own borderline-illegal suggestions.
“Build fake websites, then list items you want to buy at Bunnings or Officeworks for 5 per cent cheaper so they have to match/beat the price,” one user suggested.
“Woolies self serve checkout hack. Select split payment. Enter [the] total amount minus 2c. Pay with credit card or gift card. Save 2c because self checkout rounds down 2c. Is that ludicrous enough?” another said.
One person even suggested walking to work “even if you live 100km away” as well as sleeping instead of eating dinner and only using the toilet at the nearest shopping centre.
Cost-of-living crisis
While the answers to the question are meant to be funny, the reality is that a lot of Aussies are struggling to make ends meet.
In fact, Finder’s Cost Of Living report revealed 78 per cent of Australians had had to cut back on their spending to cope with surging inflation, and 51 per cent reported feeling financially pressured due to the increased costs.
While only around 20 per cent of households said groceries were a cause of financial stress a few years ago, that figure had risen steadily through the years.
By March 2023, it had increased to 43 per cent, nudging ahead of the 42 per cent of Australians who cited housing costs as their most stressful expense.
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