What can you buy at the local store ?

Alrighty :: I am bored at work today :: I wrote something yesterday re our show scene and the differences : that didnt get a response :: so I figured ok :: lets ask what can you buy at your local store :: Candy bars for instance :: the range here comprises of Kit Kats ; Mars bars ; Snickers and other cadbury products :: most popular choc biscuit is a Tim tam or a choc teddy bear : candy bars usually sell for around $1.00 each : biscuits for about $2.40 a pack. In the Spreads we have the usual things like spreadable cheese ; jams ; nutella; peanut butter and of course :: the Aussie Icon :: Vegemite. We can only buy liquor from a liquor store which does not open till 10 and cannot trade after 9 pm :: a 750 ml bottle of Jim Beam (Whisky) costs @ $35.00.

A typical Aussie meal in the Summer is a BBQ :: chops steak ; snags ; and even some seafood . With salad :: and we eat our salad with our meal NOT beforehand LOL OH and we dont have the choice of all thiose dressings like you do :: I was blown away with the Blue cheese dressing it was like OMG I think I have died and gone to heaven !!

LOL..what are you talking about?? LOL...I have been MIA for just a bit with kids, dogs and work..but this grabbed my attention

<<grins :: well we take it for granted that the local store (like a milk bar or maybe a 7/11 in your language ) not necessarily a supermarket (grocery store ) would be the same but I know it isnt so be interested to know what is the norm in your part of the world

Alot of that food just dont taste the same it did when i was a kid.. god now i do feel old lol

Here it all depends which store you go to for what you can pick up like if I want nostalgic novelty candy, I can find it at a small mom and pops gas station 20 minutes away but I would never buy any refreshments there as a small soda is 4.95, a half gallon of milk is almost 6.00 - I will go next door to buy a 12 pack of Corona for 24.95 and a lime for 3.00...We can only buy our alcohol in liquor stores as well...I often end up going into town and just doing a "round robin" stopping at several stores for the best deals and stocking up. I have it down where I can wait for a store sale (sales are every 3 months) and collect coupons for most things and paying very little like I just spent 64.00 at Walmart and picked up 4 bottles of scope, 8 jugs of tide laundry soap, 16 bottles of suave shampoo and conditioner, 4 large bottles of mens body wash, 8 sticks of mens deodorant, 12 sticks of womens deodorant, 60 12 pack razors, 4 tubes of toothpaste and a microwave - the microwave cost the most at 62.00

Last week was the best shopping though....I bought 14 starter kits of scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaner and 14 refills - I really don't need that much but they literally paid me to buy it. Here's how: The starter kit normally retails for 10.95 here well Walmart dropped it down to 4.49 and since they published it in their store ad I was able to take it to Target to price match it (it was on sale there for 9.89) I had a 4.00 off coupon for each starter kit.... Target advertised if you buy the starter kit and a refill (costs 3.95) they will give you a 5.00 gift card so I ran home and ordered 14 2.00 off coupons for the refills - once those came in 4 days later, I went back and paired up one starter kit with one refill per transaction - I paid a total of 2.55 per transaction and received a 5.00 gift card per transaction so everything said and done I spent, 35.70 and have a total of 70.00 in gift cards profiting 34.30 for my Christmas shopping and get to try out a product I would otherwise not buy as its usually too expensive. Then over at Walgreens, I bought 5 bottles of Nyquil for 3.95 each - 1.00 in store coupn - 2.00 manufacture coupon for each = 5.00 (got back 5.00 register rewards for each = 25.00), 12 bags of lozenges for 1.00 each - .50 cent coupon for each = 6.00 (got back 1.00 register reward for each = 5.00), 14 packs of 12 double rolls of toilet paper for 5.00 each - 1.00 in store coupon - 2.00 manufacture coupon = 28.00 (got back 3.00 register rewards for 7 of them = 21.00) and 20 bottles of dish soap for 1.99 each and under their buy one get one free store promotion - 1.00 off coupon for each including the free ones = completely free. So I spent a total of 39.00 and received 51.00 to spend back there for a profit of 12.00. Then I headed over to Hostess (our local bread store) and bought 10 loaves of 15 grain bread for 1.00 each - normally they are almost 6.00 a loaf. I called a farmer I get some good deals on meat from to let him know about the bread sale and later on he brought me over 15 whole chickens already plucked and 3 dozen eggs for thinking of his family. So I really scored that day

Because most things have to be shipped up here, it gets very expensive to just pop into any store to pick something up .....I will if I really need it, don't have a coupon or a store sale and cannot barter for it but because I have gotten into over supplying myself I don't have to and can make gift baskets for birthdays and buy Christmas presents without it hardly costing anything at all .... When the above sales cycle around again in January, I am going to be better planned and have more coupons so I can make a bunch of hygiene baskets for our church's family promise program and the women and children's shelter in Palmer. Next month I get to stock up on all my baking and pantry items as they are the lowest all year.....last year I made a 7 course Turkey and ham dinner for Thanksgiving for 25.00 after coupons and sales so this year I am going to do it again but 6 times so the majority of my supplies will last longer than a couple months.

Wasilla is growing very fast - I remember when "going to town" was taking a 30 minute ride to the local gas station to fill up for another 45 minute ride to go shopping in Anchorage which was an all day event as we only got to go to town every 3-4 months. Now we have Value Village, several private restaurants, Carrs (Safeway), Fred Meyer (Kroger), Block Buster, all the major fast food restaurants (mc donalds, burger king, carls jr etc), Sears, Target, Wal mart, Pay Less etc. The only reason to go to Anchorage anymore is for a dog show or a trip to the airport .....Its funny when you drive around anywhere in Wasilla and Palmer, you will literally see 2 churches for every one bar with a gas station thrown in here and there for good measure .....I am ready to move to Talkeetna where your nearest neighbor is 3 acres away - its only a 30 minute drive from here - something I have been considering saving up for to homestead a couple acres

At least I live in a populated area where we have actual stores - When I went to Nak Nek (a small fly in/out working fish processing village) a gallon of milk was 15.00, a small soda was 8.00, a loaf of bread was 10.00, a roll of toilet paper was 5.00 etc. Most of our villages are "dry" (illegal to bring in alcohol) so if someone did manage to smuggle a cheap 40.00 720 ml bottle in - usually vodka as its the hardest to detect on the breath - it will cost 10 - 20.00 a shot

We are so very spoiled in the USA!!!
Can get anything you want.....for a price.

Well almost anything, I couldn't get the dachshund
that I wanted

LOL...we are spoiled indeed..BUT, local gas stations and mini marts usually mark up prices pretty good...milk is usually $1-1.50 higher than at a local grocery store..country gas stations are quite a bit higher on gas, usually a good 15-20 cents higher around here per gallon..a loaf of bread can run as high as $3.00 at a country store as well...Walmart is the best and cheapest place to get about anything you need..Our Walmart has a grocery section, so that is where I do most all my shopping..
I think the most outrageous thing over here with a totally different diversity of price range would probably be vet care (in the dog breeding world) ..My vet charges about $130 for spay and teeth cleaning, he wil even do a c-section and include the spay/teeth cleaning for around $200...most of my friends pay upwards of $600 or more for a c-setion/spay. I have even heard $2000 for after hours emergency c-section...I usually don't get charged a after hours fee, but recently the new clerk has charged me $50 emergency fee ..

alaskanlowrider wrote:....and collect coupons for most things and paying very little like I just spent 64.00 at Walmart and picked up 4 bottles of scope, 8 jugs of tide laundry soap, 16 bottles of suave shampoo and conditioner, 4 large bottles of mens body wash, 8 sticks of mens deodorant, 12 sticks of womens deodorant, 60 12 pack razors, 4 tubes of toothpaste and a microwave - the microwave cost the most at 62.00

scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaner and 14 refills - Nyquil :

LOL I really enjoyed reading your post :: what a bargain hunter you are:: I have no idea on the coupon thing as we dont have a coupon system in place but it sounds like if you collect those things it adds up to a lot of savings !!!!! What is Scope ?? Never heard of Tide laundry soap or suave shampoo or Nyquil :: LOL boy you have funny names for things ! AND what the hell you gonna do with 720 razors LOL !!!!

Yep our Vet prices are ridiculous :: a ceasar is around $1000.00 normally :: more if after hours :: I do have a vet that comes to my place fo the jabs etc :: he is great :: to do a litter of 6 jabs it is just over $100.00 :: if I went to the local clinic it is nearly that per pup!

Loaves of bread are expensive here normally : I dont buy bread very often but when I do a nice loaf is around $4 to $6.00 :: you can get the cheap loaves of sandwich for about 2.50 though. Milk is normally $2.50 a litre unless you buy the UHD milk @ $1.10 a litre. Toilet paper varies from 22 cents a roll to about 50 cents depending on how soft you want it to be LOL

Average wage here is $1000.00 a week take home and median house price for a 3 bedroom home is $450,000.00. The most popular cars are Ford or Holden sedans : usually 6 cyl. or alot have opted for lpg gas now :: average tank full of petrol is over $100.00 with petrol being @ $1.50 a litre. My car is on gas : thats about 62 cents a litre . OH :: and we drive on the correct side of the road ::: there is no such thing as a drive through bank and there is only one Cosco (just opened ) in Melbourne (I have never been to it ) and NO walmarts LOL

What is Scope ?? Never heard of Tide laundry soap or suave shampoo or Nyquil

LOL..really? That is sooo funny! Tide is laundry detergent, the most popular over here in the U.S. I would imagine..Nyquil is cold medicine, again probably one of the most popular..that is so funny..

Average wage here is $1000.00 a week take home and median house price for a 3 bedroom home is $450,000.00. The most popular cars are Ford or Holden sedans

That is INSANE, lol...honest to God, the average weekly income is around $250-300, and that is a lot to most everyday working people. There are higher income's of families that hold a more professional job that pays higher, but most American's live week to week..and an average 3 bedroom home is around $100,000.00 ..and that is in a basic, average neighborhood with NO land or nice size yard...Most people can not even afford that, so they rent..Our housing market has plummit..at least in my neck of the woods..If I went to a $450,000.00 home around here (in Ky) it most likely would be on a farm of about 40+ acres and the house itself would most likely have about 5 bedrooms and threee flooors ...Ford is a popular vehicle over this way...along with Chevy and Toyota &
Nissan..

Tinsnips2 wrote:
LOL I really enjoyed reading your post :: what a bargain hunter you are:: I have no idea on the coupon thing as we dont have a coupon system in place but it sounds like if you collect those things it adds up to a lot of savings !!!!! What is Scope ?? Never heard of Tide laundry soap or suave shampoo or Nyquil :: LOL boy you have funny names for things ! AND what the hell you gonna do with 720 razors LOL !!!!

Yep our Vet prices are ridiculous :: a ceasar is around $1000.00 normally :: more if after hours :: I do have a vet that comes to my place fo the jabs etc :: he is great :: to do a litter of 6 jabs it is just over $100.00 :: if I went to the local clinic it is nearly that per pup!

Thanks - I do try so money can be used for more "useful" recreational things. Raising 3 kids, having a good breeding program and do sustenance hunting an fishing on 1300.00 a month is difficult at times but not impossible. A bit of planning and forethought has saved me thousands a year so instead of "having" to earn 24,000.00 a year for a family of 4 to be comfortable - I can do it for 15,600 a year without any state or federal assistance....it would be impossible without my coupons. Some places double or triple the coupon value on certain days unfortunately, none of our stores do. I do cheat a bit and let others price match for me every week at the national stores figuring in 40 - 80 cents per item more than in the lower 48 states then I compare with our local mom and pops stores for the best deals: http://www.couponmom.com/grocery-deals-by-state-4 and if I don't get a particular coupon or run out, I can always order them for very low cost - there is a 5.00 minimum order but standard mail is 1.14 and you can redeem 1.00 per 400 points you earn just for ordering them to save money: http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/Categories_s/22.htm So sometimes just ordering a bulk of certain coupons is cheaper than getting a bunch of newspapers every week as we don't have recycling bins and only a couple newspaper boxes in town. I get tips on free or low cost items and ideas for saving even more here: http://moneysavingmom.com/beginners-page

Scope is a brand of mouthwash...yes, some brand names are quite funny but that's how they get people to remember them I guess. As for the razors, my daughter and I use 2 each a week so we don't have to worry about it for the next 6.5 yrs - all for free It's a big deal because the same pack of razors usually retail for about 8-11.00 each so right there I just saved 720.00 for the next 6.5 yrs. or better yet, 120.00 a year. By the time we run out my son will be shaving too (he is 10 now) so it will be even more expensive unless I take advantage of the next big sale on them. Plus donating a bunch of the things I don't really need or really use but cost me nothing or very little gives me a big boost giving things most people take for granted but we all use at one point or another.

Yes, vet costs are a pet peeve of mine....a basic neuter is 70.00, a basic spay is 90 and heaven forbid if there are any complications or you want a days worth of pain meds for the girls (30 per pill) - a scheduled c-section starts at 1300.00, an emergency c-section within normal hours starts at 1800.00....after hours it starts at 2300.00 - a single puppy check up is a 40 office visit plus 20 to be seen and 15.00 a vaccination yet an exam for a health certificate is 20.00 plus 10.00 per vaccination (you do have to give them a shipping address for this) yet a litter check is 10.00 per pup, dew-claw removal for 2 feet is 7.00 per pup - an x-ray is 110.00, an ultrasound is 180.00 etc. These are the lowest prices of all 3 vets available here. A few years ago, there was a vet that charged a fair price (1/4 of these fees) just so pet ownership can be affordable and he made home visits just because he hadn't seen you in awhile and he was in the neighborhood - too bad he retired. Vets just don't do that anymore. I am just glad I have a really good relationship with my vets as they teach me anything I am willing to learn within reason and often "sneak" me supplies they are supposed to charge for and they are willing to work with me on their fee's. It does help with every litter, I put 1/2 in an account with them so if something does come up, it isn't as painful.

Our housing market is way down but building is way up...a typical 3 bedroom house is 130,000 yet an acre of property is 500 - 600.00 an acre sold in parcels of 5-50 so one could easily homestead a 5 acre parcel, build a 2500 sq ft frame and run utilities in a summer for ~107,000 or even start smaller with another person splitting the costs for ~50,000 and still have a little over 2 acres of property. This is something I have been looking into as I am not as "flighty" as I was in my younger years. To make myself feel a bit better, I write off my 765.00 a month 2 bedroom apartment as having the ability to easily relocate when I get bored and if any repairs need to be made, its not my problem lol but that reasoning isn't siting to well with me these days as I could have my dream home for ~150,000 and pay only 180.00 a year for property taxes instead of dishing out 9,180 a year and having nothing really to show for it but a roof over my head paying for someone else's dream home.

Most residents here own Ford or Chevy trucks as most places, you need a good truck to get around in. Although I have had some pretty good cars I treated like trucks able to go to the same places the bigger vehicles do but that was before I had kids being young and dumb lol....last year there were 108 moose collisions - that's a 1 in 7 odds every year for our small town of almost 8,000 residents.....its not until the summer we have to worry about brown, black and grizzly bears foraging. In the 24 yrs I have lived here off and on, I have only had 3 bear encounters - luckier than most who have frequent visits. Those that do drive sports cars mainly only do so in the summer - to do otherwise is like signing your own death certificate as the odds of surviving a wildlife collision with a 1,200 + lb animal in a smaller vehicle isn't very good.

This was a good idea to see the differences in living in different parts of the world

I hate shopping of any kind so do all mine online.

For my groceries I use a website which compares 4 supermarkets and order from the one that works out the cheapest and get them to deliver on a day/time suitable to me.

Our shops within walking distance mark up their prices so much I avoid them like the plague.

I'd be interested in gas prices. What's it like where you are?

Locally our petrol is £1.30 - £ 1.40 per litre[1.75 pints]

At the moment, our gas is 1.17 per liter.

When I drove by my local gas station this morning, it was $3.31 a gallon, so what, about 86 cents per liter?

$3.39 a gallon here in Berea, Ky...and it is on sale right now

Wow! Now I feel a bit ripped off although one time a month if I do my shopping right I can get .30 cents off per gallon through Fred Meyer (Kroger) just gotta drive 20 minutes to use it and .70 cents off per gallon through Carrs (Safeway) just gotta drive 45 minutes to use it............ 2 weeks ago it was 3.82 a gallon - I just paid 3.98 a gallon or 1.05 per litre - This is for Canada to US conversion and vice versa but works converting on the metric system http://www.frugal-rv-travel.com/gas-price.html I found it interesting a US gallon is smaller by 32 oz (2 pints)....... That's the extent of my math skills lol

seems to me the whole cost of living is cheaper in the States :: there is no way a family of 4 could survive on 24 G a year here : Average electricity for me over 3 months : $500.00 and luckily I have no other bills as I am on tank water and all electric. Service fee for water before the usage charge is about $160 per 1/4 and when I was on town water my bill was never below 250.00 for one person ! Clothing costs are higher than yours : even when iour money was only worth 64 cents in the dollar I had a ball last time I was in the States shopping and came home with runners and clothes (none of which fit me now dammit LOL ) : bought a pair of "new Balance " runners the other day : to get anything decent minimum price is $100.00 :: I paid $160 but was happy as they were originally worth $260.00. Nikes , Reebok etc average around $200,00 too.

I did see your house prices were ridiculously low : googled some at work the other day and was amazed at what you could get for under $1500000: pretty much couldnt get anything for that price here ! There is actually a push for Aussies to look at the American market for houses but I am always wary of investing overseas ! (or anywhere for that matter LOL )

I think it is really interesting to see how others live around the world :: we take our lifestyles for granted : and I think Australia would have to be one of the luckiest countries : we have reasonable weather here all year round : I have never experienced snow : we have freedom of speech and diversity of cultures etc. Our show scene is more casual than a lot of countries : it is more like a day out with the dogs : yes it gets political : but it is not impossible for someone who is not well known to do well. Dog showing is a very good leveller I find LOL