The Thrifty Mama's Guide to More Life for Less!

I support buying locally, especially for fresh food. I am also against buying rubbishy items on the Internet simply because hey look good and are cheap to purchase. They are nearly always a poor proposition as they don’t work or break and then end up in landfill wasting resources, time and money. Then you have to buy another one.
HOWEVER I am also a tightwad so if something is good quality and saves me a substantial amount of money or I can’t source it locally and it is something I need I will buy it online.
We all know about online department stores and I have to say that my forays into purchasing from them have been less than satisfying. Pilly easily torn sheets were one lesson learned so I tend to stay away from them BUT I have found a few online stores that have good quality and good prices and are worth a look (but don’t get sucked in by gorgeous things you don’t need!)

www.petersofkensington.com.au Oh boy. If you haven’t been to this website and you like homewares please be warned, there is some seriously gorgeous useless stuff here. RESIST! But if you are looking for quality knives, pans, cookware, cutlery etc this should be your first port of call. The savings can be huge. They also offer great savings through their Daily Deal Newsletter but if you are a slowly reforming shopaholic maybe it is best if you don’t sign up.
www.harrisscarfe.com.au Did you know that my favourite discount department store offers great online specials? I love Harris Scarfe, our is like stepping back 30 years in time which is fun (also unintentional- a perk of living in Tasmania, there are lots of “retro” style shops that have no idea they are retro- long may they prosper!)So I prefer to go in but there are lots of online only specials for homewares, clothes, footwear etc. Worth a look!

www.groceryrun.com.au This is an online grocery clearance shop(I know, you never would have guessed!) run by Catch of the Day. Gifty chocolates are something I see a lot as well as pantry items. Sometimes they have free items on Fridays you can grab whilst you put in an order. Very tempting to buy too many chocolates.

Also by the People who bought you Catch of the Day we have www.mumgo.com.au where you can get great specials on baby products and things for mum.
Whilst we are on the topic of baby and mum products www.dailybabybuys.com.au and www.dailymummybuys.com.au have daily deals you can sign up to have emailed to you. Remember to resist the unnecessary! I bought my boys Green Toys trucks considerably discounted from Daily Baby Buys. www.bambinobrands.com.au is similar and has great quality and brand name baby products on sale.

If you are in an isolated area buying nuts, beans and seeds can be expensive (even though they should be cheap foods) so buying in bulk online can make a lot of sense. I buy most of my nuts and seeds from www.salfood.com.au and get almonds for $10 a kilo! Another great bulk foods supplier is http://biodistributors.com.au where I buy organic panela/rapadura sugar amongst other things.

The most important thing to remember with online purchases ( I am assuming you have bought online before so won’t waste my time with utter basics) is that of course it is something you would otherwise have purchased and it isn’t a total impulse buy because it is cheap and/or cute and that after you add on shipping the numbers still come out in your favour. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have had a great order ready to go but the price of shipping to Tasmania would make you weep!
So go forth and save!

More of my particular brand of more life for less at the Dull Roar Philosophy and find me on Facebook!