Top 5 Ways to Save Money in Australia

Hello Wonderful People!

 

 

Now, I don't want to state the obvious, but oh my gaawwwd Australia is an expensive place to live! Pretty much everyone I met in Asia had the same comment to make about Aus, and that was how expensive it was. When I told people I was going to Australia and asked what it was like to backpack there, the first thing everyone would say is 'I hope you've got a lotta dollar' or 'haha you are going to have a shocker, it's so expensive'. These cracking observations didn't actually answer my question (I just wanted to know what to do there, not the average price of everything, thanks no thanks), but they did prepare me for the money sapping month I was about to undertake. While my Aussie adventure was amazing, it was slightly hindered by my lack of funds. I couldn't do absolutely everything I wanted, as I just couldn't afford it. So here are a few tips that helped my save the pennies to enable me to afford to do at least some of the things I wanted to!

Drink Goon

What is goon I hear you cry? Well, if you've never visited Aus then this is a valid question, so keep on reading! However, if you have taken a trip down under, then I can guarantee you will have heard of this magical drink, so there really is no need for an explanation. Goon is a wonderful concoction of god knows what (rumour says it contains fish and eggs) that is passed off as cheap wine in a box. Goon has a legendary status on the backpacking scene in Aus as it's so cheap compared to other alcohol. We always paid around 12AUD for a 4L box of goon and shared it. This was just magic, as it worked out at around £3.50 each and it easily lasted for 2 nights. Not only do you save money while pre-drinking, it gets you extremely merry, so there is no need to pay 15AUD a pint. That would be just tragic. Beware though, the hangover from goon feels like your life is about to end. I wasted several days paralysed in my bunk after drinking goon. But if it saves money, it's totally worth it right? 

 

 

Cook in the Hostel

I think I only ate out three times while in Australia, it was just too expensive to even consider doing it more than that as my backpacking budget was swiftly diminishing) After eating out 3 times a day in Asia, having to actually cook my own meals came as a bit of a reality shock. Not only were the hostels in Australia about one billion times more expensive than Asia, they also hardly ever provided a free brekkie. How dare they. To be fair the hostels in Aus all had pretty big and well equipped kitchens which made cooking pretty easy. Cooking my own meals deffo helped to save money, especially as I cooked with a friend, so we split the price of our food bill and made some pretty tasty meals. We also made packed lunches if we knew we'd be out for the whole day in an attempt to stop impulse food buying! My one weakness in Aus was McDonalds, it is SO cheap over there and I became slightly addicted to their wedges. The fact that UK McDonalds don't sell these little potatoey pieces of heaven really upsets me. Cooking for yourself and taking food with you to avoid temptation is a great way to save money. However, we took it slightly too far and once shared a tin of cold peas for tea, as we couldn't afford anything else that week. Not cool.

 

 

Buy Coach Packages

Don't be a fancy Nancy and buy internal flights or get the train, just because it is quicker. Get a good old fashioned coach and you'll be rolling in the dollar. Greyhound are probably the most well known coach provider for backpackers and you can buy different passes depending on where you're going. We also travelled with Murrays, who worked out quite a lot cheaper than Greyhound, so I would deffo recommend checking them out or doing  a quick price compare! If you are going to travel most of the east coast, then you can either get a kilometre pass, or a hop-on-hop-off pass from one city to another. It's best to do some research before buying your coach package, as there are some great deals out there if you shop around. And it works out so much cheaper than flying! Plus you get the added bonus of seeing the nice Aussie scenery on your journey. Perfecto.

Book Things Yourself

You wont have to look far to find a 'Peter Pans' or similar kind of travel agent aimed at backpackers. They will lure you in with the temptation of free internet and before you know it you'll have spend 1000 AUD on a trip to the Whitsundays. It may seem like a cracking deal, but trust me, it usually isn't! In most cases you'll easily be able to book the whole thing yourself for a lot cheaper. I was almost tempted into buying a 900AUD trip to the Great Barrier Reef, inclusive of all transport and accommodation. However, when I went away and cost it up myself, I found out I could do it for nearly 150AUD cheaper. I'm not saying you need to avoid buying travel packages, as sometimes you can get a cracking deal. I'd would just advise to do some research, either before or after you get a quote, to see how much it would cost to do it yourself. A prime example of this was when I went to Great Ocean Road and we decided to hire a car to do the trip ourselves. It worked out way cheaper than going through a travel company and we had so much freedom. If you want to save money, then research is key. Always shop around for the best deal!

 

Wifi Love

I don't know how I would have survived 4 months of travelling without wifi! It really was essential to keep in contact with everyone back home and to have a good old Facebook stalk. Where ever I was I would always search on my phone for  wifi signal. Even in the middle of The Great Barrier Reef I tried in the vain hope of finding some. Unlike Asia the majority of hostels charged for wifi, the nasty sneak thieves. However, there were a number of hostels that didn't charge and we would always stay there as we didn't want to end up forking out loads for wifi. I clearly have no self control, if I knew wifi was there but I had to pay for, I'd make a stand for around an hour then cave in a buy some. Wifi is an essential part of backpacking life, if I could have chosen between using wifi and my actual backpack, I really don't know which would have won. So it was always worth going to a hostel with free wifi, as it saved me around 5AUD a day, which really adds up! However, if you can't find a hostel with any free wifi, never fear, as the wondrous McDonalds has free wifi! Which also provides an idea opportunity to by a portion (or 5) of wedges.

S'laters!