Like many nations, Australia is currently facing a cost of living crisis. Millions of people across the country are feeling the squeeze as prices increase while wages stay the same. It is more important than ever before to try to make your dollars go further. It is during the weekly grocery shop that most people are really feeling the cost of living crisis hit them. It is one of those essential activities that can’t be cut out of our budget. But the good news is there are ways you can save a lot of money without having to cut down on your grocery essentials. We have compiled a list of tips and tricks that will help you save more money while grocery shopping each week.

Plan Meals

One of the main ways that people end up wasting money is actually through food waste. It is all too easy to buy more food than you need and it will go off before you end up using it. Which is why you should carefully plan your weekly meals ahead of time. Write out detailed ingredients lists and stick to them while shopping. We know how tempting it can be to grab something extra when you’re in the shop. But resist that urge. By planning your meals out you will find you are buying less ingredients and actually using all of them.

Buy Online Where Possible

The cost of living crisis doesn’t mean you have to cut out all the treats from your grocery shop. Instead you should look to online stores to find cheaper alternatives for some of the more luxury products. Baking, for example, is one area where it is often cheaper to shop for equipment and ingredients online. I am an avid baker and love using whipped cream and candy in my recipes. But both these products have risen sharply in price at most supermarkets. So I started using nangs to make my own whipped cream and bought my candy online. There are plenty of amazing sites to choose from but I recommend Joys Delight for candy while Kingwhip sell nang products. Sites like this will end up saving you a considerable amount of money across the board. You should also look at doing your regular grocery shopping online too. Most supermarkets do home delivery for free if your order is over a certain amount. Which can save you money on gas. And there are often better deals online too.

Vouchers Are King

Vouchers and coupons are the unsung hero of the grocery shopping game. People often ignore the deals printed at the bottom of their receipts or in magazines. But the savings you can make by using vouchers is astonishing. Especially if you use them year round. Commonly you will see vouchers being printed for newer products. Or by companies looking to reinvigorate interest in a product that hasn’t been selling so well. This might mean you end up switching brands a lot. But it is well worth it for the amount of money you will save over the year.

Buy In Bulk

Bulk buying is one of the best ways to save money. Provided you have the space to store all the items. There are numerous wholesalers around Australia that will allow you to join provided you either have a business or can prove you will be making enough purchases. And buying in bulk at wholesale price is a must if you want to save a lot of money. Items like toilet paper, canned goods, cleaning supplies, and bottled water are ideal for bulk buying. Supermarkets are putting the prices up on these items by a considerable amount. And they will undoubtedly go up more as the year progresses. If you don’t have the space to store all these items you should consider creating a shopping pool with your friends and family. You all chip in and buy these products in bulk then evenly distribute them amongst yourself. This is a great way to also save money on gas as you can all split the cost of the trips to the shop.

Use Supermarket Apps

A lot of the major supermarkets will offer you cashback rewards if you make use of their apps. Everytime you make a purchase you will earn points that can be redeemed for future discounts or money back. This is especially useful if you’re shopping for a bigger family. These apps also often contain exclusive deals and vouchers. And these deals are changed pretty regularly too. So you can save a fair amount of money by being smart about which shops you visit based on what app deals they are offering.

Over the past few years, you might have noticed that there have been a lot of influencers talking about the importance of organizing your space in an efficient and inspiring way. While this may seem obvious, especially if you work from home, there is more to creating an organized house than it might appear according to many homemakers. So, let’s delve a little deeper into what can make your space feel more organized and how to properly use your space in an efficient yet stylish manner when it comes to daily use. You will see that while many obvious solutions, others might be unconventional and new to you. So, pay attention and find some potential organizational solutions you could apply to your space.

Revaluate your space

One of the most common mistakes of many people who feel like they lack space is thinking that they have efficiently organized it. This is why reevaluating your space and getting a better understanding of what space you have in your home is very important. Sometimes by getting a better look at your environment, you might realize that you have been missing out on some rather interesting organizational additions that you could make to your home because it was too messy. Adding some shelves to a wardrobe for example can make a lot of difference when putting away some shoes or hats. This of course is merely an example to say that what you need is to look at your space how currently is and figure out if there aren’t ways to make it more efficient without completely changing it.

Adjusting your space to your needs

While many people think that adding a few shelves and cupboards will fix everything the reality is that you need to adapt your organizational tools to your organizational needs. When we talk about organizing a house there is a big difference between somebody who runs a Seattle-based wash and fold laundry service and somebody who works in tech from home. Concretely what this means is that you need to make the difference between organizing a living space and organizing a multi-functional space for example having an office separated from your bedroom etc. This just goes to show that organization is not only within your space, but it is also about organizing your space conceptually. Being able to properly separate and organize space is very important especially to keep a good work and life balance.

Do not fear change

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to organizing a space is being able to get out of your comfortable space and dismantle something that has been put in place for a long time. For example, changing the layout of your bedroom or your office will often allow you to organize space better, but the reality is that it can be quite difficult if you are used to your space being set up a certain way for a long time. This is why for example being able to reorganize the space in a way that allows you to find things much more easily will allow your new space to be much less disorienting. After all, at the end of the day what you want is a space that is both allowing for increased breathability as well as increased organization.

As you can see there are many ways to organize your space but most of all what you need to do is first and foremost understand your space before you can even start organizing it. Organizing your space is not only about cleanliness but it is mostly about creating a living space that gives you positive vibes. While this vibe-based analysis might seem a little out there the reality is that it does affect your mental health to live in a disorganized living space that does not serve your needs. Ever since the rise of work from home especially following the coronavirus pandemic you can find a lot of studies online that talk about this phenomenon and the importance of putting effort into making your living space feel both comfortable and truly yours. At the end of the day what you want is a living space that makes you feel good while also looking good.

Refurbishing, in this context, refers to renovating or redecorating your home. If you plan to renovate your home, you need to follow certain steps or guidelines to help you achieve your desired outcome.

Renovation comes with many responsibilities from the homeowner and everyone involved. There are different types of renovations and some of them include;

• A whole property renovation: As the name suggests, whole property renovation involves every part of your home. This is the most tasking type of renovation.
  Garden Landscaping: Garden landscaping can involve changing the pattern of the current garden design to something new and different, or creating a garden from scratch.
• Garage remodelling: Garage remodelling could involve changing specific parts of the garage, like the flooring, window, and garage door or renovating the whole garage. You can also convert your garage to an entirely different space.
• Bathroom remodelling: Remodeling your bathroom is a great way to increase the value of your home, especially if you intend to turn it into a smart space. Several smart bathroom gadgets can convert your bathroom into a more efficient space.
• Attic conversion: The attic or loft room is usually found in the upper part of a house and it is mostly used as a dumping space for unused items. Attic/loft conversion involves changing the space to a new room. The attic can be converted into an office, a bedroom, or an extra space.
• Basement conversion: The basement, unlike the attic, is found in the lower part of the house. In most homes, the basement is either used as a cellar or where clutters are kept. You can convert your basement into a more active room. However, converting a basement is a bit of a task.
• Kitchen remodelling: The kitchen is one of the most used spaces in a home, hence the need to ensure that you make it as comfortable as possible. Remodeling your kitchen involves changing the kitchen cabinets, installing smart gadgets, etc. Aside from the comfort and high efficiency that comes with remodelling your kitchen, you can also enjoy many more benefits.

There are other types of renovations but these are the common ones. The renovation you intend to carry out determines your budget and the steps you need to carry out. If you plan to renovate your whole property, you have to prepare a big budget and employ the help of a handyman company.

Professional Guide To Renovating Your New Home

Understand your renovation needs

This is an important step to carry out if you decide to renovate your new home. Firstly, You have to assess the condition of your home and identify the areas to renovate. Secondly, determine the materials needed for the renovation and the cost.

Set a budget

The best way to keep your home renovation under check is by working with a budget. People tend to overspend when they start renovating their space without setting a budget. The need for a budget cannot be underestimated. It is important to note that renovating a home requires significant funding. Ensure that you are financially capable of funding your new home renovation before you start work

Create a plan

Creating a plan will help you organise your renovation activities. Whether you decide to DIY or employ the assistance of a professional handyman, you need to first have a plan. If you are renovating your whole room, the plan should involve refurbishing the rooms one after another.

Prioritize essential tasks

Handle the most important tasks before the minor ones. Prioritizing the essential tasks is crucial when you are working with a low budget. Focus first on the activities that are highly functional before the lesser ones.

Choose value over appearance

Choosing appearance over value is one mistake some homeowners make. When renovating your home, it is important to choose quality over aesthetics. Choosing appearance over quality will likely lead to repairs or replacement shortly.

Employ the assistance of professionals

You can only decide to DIY when you have the skills and knowledge to handle the renovation. If the reverse is the case, you need the help of a professional handyman. Employing the help of a professional may be expensive but it is cost effective.

Have contingency funds

Earlier we mentioned that you need to set a budget before you begin renovating your home, so you must be wondering what contingency funds are for. Well, contingency funds are like a backup for unforeseen circumstances. The prices of items can increase at any time, or new renovation activities can pop up. With your contingency funds, you can handle unplanned activities.

Though summer may be a year away, we are all very excited to spend as much time as we can basking in the sun. It feels as though when it was sunny we were all waiting for fall to come, but now summer is over we all miss it.
 
If you are planning on having a lot of parties and spending a lot of time in your garden, something you may have considered is redecorating and changing the way it looks. You could go down the usual decor route or you can do something a bit more exciting.
 
There are a number of creative ways that you can change the appearance of your garden and all of these ways will completely transform the way that your garden looks. We all want to stand out from the crowd and so instead of going down the typical decor route that some people follow with their garden, it will definitely be beneficial to you to have a look at some of the most unique ways that you can improve your garden. If you do not know where to look, you have come to the right place, here are just some of the unique ways that you can improve your garden.
 

Water Feature

 
If you are looking for a great way to add something that has that wow factor to your garden, something that I would definitely suggest is that you get a water feature. There are a lot of options when it comes to water features and one of the most common options is a fountain. A fountain adds a lot of elegance to your garden and it is something that all of your guests will be incredibly impressed with.
 

Pond

 
As well as having your own water feature, why not consider creating a pond that the fountain can pour into. If you have grass space, then all you need to do is dig a pit, line it and then fill it in. A pond will bring a lot of life to your garden and it will be something that you will definitely enjoy looking at. You can get fish and plants to put in the pond and this will bring a lot of life to the pond. You may notice that animals are naturally attracted to the pond and so you may get frogs and other creatures in your pond.
 

Screens

 
If you are someone with a lot of empty wall space, then you may be looking for something to do with it. Nobody wants a boring and bland garden and a very simple way that you can add some life to it is by adding a screen to your walls. If you are looking to do that, make sure that you invest in decorative garden screens that are made to last, as some screens can become worn with the weather, which may make them appear to be unattractive.
 

Flower Bed

 
A great way to bring a lot of color to your garden is by making your very own flower bed. It is very easy to create a flower bed and you can have sunken flower beds or even raised flower beds. You can get companies that will build these flower beds for you and if you are someone that does not like waiting for the process of flowers to grow, then something that you can do is get flowers that are ready to plant. This will help you plan exactly how you want your flower bed to look and you can have control of the colors.
 

Topiary

 
Another very unique and impressive decoration that you can add to your garden is a topiary. A topiary is essentially a sculpture made out of a bush and it is a very impressive and creative art style. If you are someone that considers yourself to be creative, something that I would suggest is getting a professional to create the art. You can book them at a very affordable price and when the bush needs updating, most professionals will come back and trim it at a reduced rate, which means that it will look good throughout the year.
 

Insect House

 
If you want some creative decor that will make your garden look great, I would suggest that you invest in an insect house. Insect houses give insects a place to escape the harsh weathers and also mate, which can help with increasing the population of certain insects. You can get insect houses of different sizes and you can actually get some pretty big ones that will add a very naturalistic look to your garden. Make sure that when you get this insect house you fill it with sticks and plants, as this will make it much more attractive to insects.