Rising prices at your place

bitterchoc

Recession Diet Just One Way to Tighten Belt
By MICHAEL BARBARO and ERIC DASH
Published: April 27, 2008

Stung by rising gasoline and food prices, Americans are finding creative ways to cut costs on routine items like groceries and clothing, forcing retailers, restaurants and manufacturers to decode the tastes of a suddenly thrifty public.

Spending data and interviews around the country show that middle- and working-class consumers are starting to switch from name brands to cheaper alternatives, to eat in instead of dining out and to fly at unusual hours to shave dollars off airfares...

Consumers are spurning small indulgences. Starbucks is warning of a drop-off in purchases, and sales have dipped at higher-end restaurant chains, including the steakhouses Ruth抯 Chris and Morton抯.

But chains that emphasize low prices, like TJ Maxx and Wal-Mart, are thriving. And cut-rate supermarkets, like Save-A-Lot, are swamped.

揚eople are not not spending, but they are changing how they spend,

bitterchoc

10 Reasons People Overspend

10. Keeping up an image
9. Avoidance
8. The money is on it's way
7. Credit doesn't feel the same
6. Immediate gratification
5. Lifestyle maintenance
4. Poor as a child
3. Sense of power
2. Prove self worth
1. Just can't say NO!

more at: http://www.debtsmart.com/pages/article_over_spend_01070616.html

nour2001

very good tips lyn...boleh praktikkan ni cuma haku ni tak rajin lah nak kumpul flyer tu ini..setakat ni tak terasa sgt sbb memang dah terbiasa bersederhana, macam baju2 me & anak2 beli kat Kmart,BigW,Target dan Best & Less (time sales saje)..myer & Dj memang tak jengah pun..sbb barangan kat sana mahal satu, quality hampir sama je dgn yg dijual kat Bigw atau mana2 dept store...yg buat mahal sbb label je.

bab makanan pun selalu beli yg home brand though tak semualah..daging2 tu no choice lah kena beli halal punya yg for sure mahal dari yg kat supermarket tu..

mallanhead

FTB 2 n Baby bonus dua2 dah tak dpt lagi. Mcm u ckp sepatut baby bonus tu di stopkan instead of mean tested. Kalau nak bagi baik bagi ke semua sbb Australia nak generate new generation dari semua lapis penduduk samada kaya atau tidak.

I ada baca dlm news blog, diaorg kata baby bonus ni patut hanya utk org berpendapatan tinggi sbb diaorg ni tak boleh claim banyak benefit tapi bayar tax yg paling tinggi. Betul jugak. Ada yg sarcastic lagi ckp, bogan (kelas bawahan) hanya akan produce kids like them yg bila dah besar cuma mengharapkan makan duit welfare je. So kalau dibagi ke org yg 'kaya' rajin bekerja, diaorg ni akan produce baby yg mcm diaorg jugak.

Kalau you baca  comment2 org2 Aussie ni kat news.com,  kkdg geli hati gak.

mallanhead

I ada beli baju kat Myer, sekali tu I nampak the same dress, tapi long sleeve kat Target for 1/2 the price. Tak haru ke tu.

I mcm toilet paper ke apa mmg suka pakai homebrand. Tapi kalau barang nak masak tgk resipi gak le or beli bila ada special. Kalau nak buat buttercake, mestilah pakai butter yg sedap atau kalau nak buat pasta I beli yg ada jenama sbb that is the main ingredient. Tapi kalau barang sampingan dlm masakan, homebrand pun tak pe.

I suka tunggu special suka beli olive oil dlm tin. Selalunye $40 plus. Kalau sale dpt $22 ke apa.

nour2001

ya..memang dah tak dpt banyak benefit dah yg income abv 150k ni..yg paling haku nyampah tu tag 'working families', krude & swaney can't even identify properly who they are..is it just for family of combined income of 80k is considered as working families..how about single family income earner? ..they penalised the rich because the poor is suffering kaedahnya..have you heard that the union is still asking for pay rise?..banyak benda aku tak puas hati kat labour govt ni..anyway saya biasa lepak kat forum yahoo7.com..

[ Last edited by  nour2001 at 15-5-2008 06:01 PM ]

mallanhead

Si krude n swan tu ingat sesapa yg earn $150K keatas tu tak kerja ke. goyang kaki semata je dpt duit. Dia kata millionaire. Tak sangka pulak dah jadi millionaire ni. Nak beli rumah pun tak mampu lagi. Terkial nak simpan duit. Tapi bulan2 gomen telan duit gaji. Bukannye sikit, banyak pulak tu.

Tapi org2 Aussie ni mmg dah manja dan ada budaya tall poppy syndrome. Sesapa yg gaji lebih sikit, or maju sikit, or berada sikit, kena cantas. Kalau macam ni tak payah lah nak kerja teruk2. Buat apa. Bila banyak duit sikit kena tanggung yg 'malas' nak maju kan diri. Ni bukan semua lah ni. Sesetengahnye saja. Tu ramai org cakap, why punish those who are hardworking and reward those who are lazy. Baik jadi malas, sbb boleh sentiasa tadah tangan dan minta ehsan kerajaan.

rohamica

I pun rajin guna coupon. Bila Saturday je, kumpul coupon dari Saturday newspaper. Dapat save sikit, tapi macam kiterorg tak banyak belanja sangat, sebab hidup berdua je kan. So kira okay la. Cuma harga gas naik yg tak tahan. Dahla pakai kereta 8 cylinder. Cepat betul pakai minyak. And also, setiap kali beli online I mesti google for promotion code/coupons sebab boleh dapat extra discounts. Satu lagi I berpegang pada prinsip "be a smart shopper", macam don't spend too much on t-shirt, sebab life cyle dia tak panjang tapi beli jeans premium takper sebab tahan lama.

Bacala article ni, best jugak. Pasal basic principle of personal finance.
http://blog.mint.com/blog/financ ... -financial-success/

eyzlyn

aha.. coupon. aku suka sgt kumpul coupon, taruk dlm envelope.jadik senang nak guna masa pi shopping. coupon ni blh request dgn company atau type jer kat google free coupon in your area. kekadang dpt gak request free sample.

satu lagi, beli secara bulk lagi jimat mcm gandum, kentang bawang semua tuh. benda tu mcm kat sini susah nak rosak la.

nanti karang sambung.

hirokuyumi

Ingatkan Hiro je suka kumpul coupon..hehe...Hiro siap simpan dalam ziplock kat dalam keta, seminggu sekali buang yang expired. Tapi macam store coupon kadang2 dah setahun boleh pakai lagi walaupun dah expire. So Hiro selalu bagi je kat counter, kalau machine tu terima, kira okay

Lagi satu kalau rent video Hiro selalu print free coupon online, so tak pernah bayar new release. Ramai suka guna netflix, tapi Hiro suka Hollywood Video (bayar fix price about $16.00 per month - MPV member). Boleh borrow 3 at a time free. Tengok wayang cuma sekali sekala. Baru2 nih kita orang tengok "Iron Man"...best sesangat movie tu, sape tak tengok lagi, pi tengok okay.

Lots of good coupons in this website:

http://printable-coupons.blogspo ... st-buy-coupons.html

redsinner

for the moment red mmg takde masalah nak beli brg groceries. selalu beli kat Coles sbb dekat dgn rumah...
pastu mcm mod ezlyn ckp, ada brg2 yg ikut standards so red survey2 gak. flyer2 yg sampai rumah tu mmg tak buang.

kalo kat geelong ni obviously takde choice so kalo groceries ada  gak options lain mcm Reject Shop & Warehouse for cheapo foods and other utilites. kalo nak standard, Coles lah beso. halal meat mmg mahal, no choice!

brg baju pun mcm mallanhead & nour2004, red usha2 dulu sblm beli. myers ada good brand but if i thnk the quality n fashion's better at target, mmg targetlah pilihanku.   student kenalah jadi cheapskate kan???? (w'pun earning mcm gaji part time same dgn degree holder kat mesia)  tapi red suke portmans for basic tees.

ooooh, thank God i am not married for the new budget ckp takde baby bonus. another good thing is also i dont have a car so takdelah risau sgt pasal harga minyak. next year nak beli kete taaapiiiii....minyak akan tetap naik naik dan naik.

belanga

Ha...kami di obersea Kedah ni ada yg rege turun..he he...cukai tanah turun merudum sejak pembangkang jadi pemerintah nih. Alhamdulillah. Kami orang kampung nih legaaa la sikit. :cool:

hirokuyumi

Kat US middle income paling teruk kena potong income tax, but the richer or richest terlepas sebab doesn't falls into certain brackets. Kiranya yang kaya tambah kaya, yang miskin dapat duit free, yang keje teruk middle income tolong bayarkan.

nour2001

ini lagi teruk..yg high income earner tu lepas sbb banyak loophole kot..sbb kat sini walaupun certain benefits for the so called 'new rich' ni bnyk diptg tapi masih ada jugak benefits / entitlements masih boleh di claim..takdelah terhapus terus..

[ Last edited by  nour2001 at 17-5-2008 09:08 AM ]

mallanhead

Kalau terhapus terus, banyak lah lagi Aussie ni jadi expat kat luar negara.

belanga

setuju benar! Adoi....cukai kediaman kamipun USD 20K setahun. Bila lah nak turun rege...hm...tunggu kucing bertanduk ler...

nour2001

mak oii..bnyknya kena byr cukai pintu ni.. ..

belanga

New York memang gilaaa....

belanga

Aku kat sini tak de banyak pilihan. Beli je lah apa yang perlu beli, apa yang nak makan. Kalau kat New York pun sama juga, kupon2 tak de la sebab kami shopping di natural food store, beli organic punya produce. Kami belanja untuk barang makanan memang tinggi.

I use extra virgin olive oil for almost everything except for deep frying baru pakai canola. Sini duk beli extra virgin olive oil ni kat Giant. Memang tak ada pilihan kedai lain dah kat bandar kami ni. Di Tesco ada tapi harga lebih kurang je. Baik beli yg dekat rumah.

Beras memang naik lah, tapi orang Malaysia mestilah nak makan nasi

bitterchoc

A'ah, my grocery bill pun tinggi sebab I try beli everything organic. Good, wholesome stuff. Can be costly, tapi insyaAllah dapat elakkan chemicals yg bahaya dlm makanan.