The Bargain Queen has moved to thebargainqueen.com

Looking for The Bargain Queen?

2008-10-29T05:35:00.002+11:00

The official Bargain Queen web site is now at thebargainqueen.com.

New to The Bargain Queen? We're the busy shopper's best friend: we find the best bargains online, so you can get a great deal delivered right to your door. Come take a look! ;)

Looking for The Bargain Queen?

2008-10-29T05:35:00.001+11:00

Looking for The Bargain Queen?

2008-10-29T05:35:00.000+11:00

The new site is up!

2006-08-07T11:54:00.001+10:00

The Bargain Queen has moved and improved! The new URL is www.thebargainqueen.com, so please take a look (and update your bookmarks and/or blogroll links).

If you're reading this on an RSS feed, the new feed address is http://thebargainqueen.com/feed/

If you're reading this in the newsletter, no need to do anything - newsletters will continue as usual.

See you at the new site!

PS: If you have any problems viewing the site, please email me so I can fix it.

The grovel

2006-08-03T15:29:00.000+10:00

OK, I'm begging and grovelling a little today. Please don't give up on me!

It's been a few days since I posted because I'm having technical difficulties. Long story short, I'm switching to Wordpress and that means coding a whole new template. Ugh. I would love to be blogging rather than wrestling with the tech, and as soon as I get this sorted, I will.

I'll be back soon... and I hope you'll come back and see me then.

Giveaways!

2006-07-26T17:20:00.001+10:00

The Bargain Queen is posting a little less than usual this week because:

She's working on some technical stuff (new domain name, new hosting and a switch to Wordpress) to make this blog even better.
She's setting up a second blog because she's addicted to fashion coverage and wants to blog about it, and...
Her offline life is hectic. She's had to organise the mother of all fire inspections tomorrow, which meant consulting owners, tenants, the local Council, two fire engineers and too many other people to mention. Dull but necessary.

If she finds any great bargains online she'll post them immediately, but otherwise you'll have to console yourself with a great giveaway, courtesy of the lovely Julie Fredrickson from Almost Girl and Coutorture:

Contest closed.

Filed in:

beauty

What sells cheaply on eBay

2006-07-20T10:01:00.000+10:00

Want to pick up a great bargain on eBay? Sean Blanda from College V2 says these things sell for far less on eBay than they do retail:

Jewellery
Computer printers and monitors
Handmade items
Antiques
Records

You can read all about it here.

Just be aware that some of these categories offer riskier buys than others. When you buy jewellery or antiques from a reputable dealer, you get their guarantee that the item is what it's purported to be; on eBay there are no guarantees. Likewise, when you buy computer gear in a store, you pay someone to tell you if it'll work with your existing equipment. If you know a lot about jewellery, antiques or computers you can probably get some great bargains; if not then buying retail's a better idea.

As for handmade items and records, there's much less to beware of (and you're usually only risking $2-15) so take a look for some great bargains.

Filed in:

Real Prada handbags for under $50!

2006-07-19T12:07:00.000+10:00

If you'd like a Prada handbag for under $50, Amazon.com have this Prada Women's Rectangle Nylon Handbag for US$49.89:

...or this Prada Women's Small Rectangle Nylon Handbag, also for US$49.89...

These are likely to sell quickly, so if you're interested, grab them while you can!

Filed in:

Renovation adds 'delayed glamour' to life

2006-07-19T11:21:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen posted a few months ago about her impending renovation, but hasn't talked about it since. It takes a LOT to make her shut up, so let's find out what's going on.

As everyone knows, renovating is very little fun until it's finished. There's not a lot of glamour along the way. Since I'm all about living the most glamorous life my budget allows, living in the mess isn't delivering a great deal of satisfaction. I don't even want to have friends over because our apartment's such a mess, so there's no way I want to post pictures of it online! I knew this would be the case before I started (I lived through two of my mother's renovations) but it's the best option we've got at the moment so we decided to do it.

I've also had moments of sheer desperation about the mess here. I'm normally a neatfreak but we have no storage yet so I can't keep the place tidy. This makes me crazy because losing things brings out the worst in me. First I get angry, then I'm upset, then I have idle paranoid thoughts about neighbours stealing my stinky jeans from the laundry. Yes, I know that's insane. (I guess that's why the therapist I asked about it told me I didn't need her help - apparently having one or two neuroses is normal.) I've lost more things in the two months since we moved than I did in two years in my old place, so I wanted to stay quiet about going slowly insane and find happy things to post about instead.

I realised today that I'm looking at this the wrong way. Living in an untidy, unappealingly decorated place for a while is the price you pay for renovating... along with many thousands of dollars. The upside is that the place will look amazing when it's finished. So this isn't really slovenly living, it's a temporary state on the way to something better. I've decided to call it 'delayed glamour' so I think about it more positively.

Stay tuned to see more of our ~~dump~~ renovation in progress.

Filed in:

Jumping off the quack train

2006-07-18T09:28:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen wrote about the alternative healthcare options she's tried and wanted to share some new information. This is probably most relevant to people with chronic, incurable health issues, although everyone uses healthcare services some of the time.

A couple of months ago, The Bargain Queen stopped using all the alternative therapies she was taking. This wasn't by design; it was simply the result of moving house, being disorganised and having too many other things to deal with. The result? She feels better than she has for months. While her pain levels are the same and her skin has lost that hyper-nourished glow, she also has an enormous amount more energy. She's gone from resting for 18 hours a day, to a manageable 10 to 12 hours.

Now all of this could be coincidence, or it could be due to the peaceful environment in her new house. But she's also very aware that whatever benefits all those herbs and supplements were giving, she's not missing them now they're gone - which makes her wonder a little about what she was paying for.

With each new 'miracle' treatment she's told about, The Bargain Queen gets a clearer sense that what they actually offer is hope. It would be wonderful if there was a cure for her illness. She'd love to be pain free, full of energy and able to go back to work. Every time someone says they can make that possible, she wants to believe them because she'd desperately like it to be true.

But there are two downsides to trying these purported miracle cures:

The inevitable disappointment when yet another 'cure' doesn't work is psychologically harder than accepting the illness and making the most of the good things that are left.
When you pay hundreds of dollars for a 'cure' and you end up feeling worse, it's easy to feel like an idiot afterwards.

(Although compared to The Bargain Queen's last operation, which cost thousands, was terrifying, life threatening, very painful, took a long time to recover from and only gave a few months' good health, maybe it's not so stupid! ;)

This has made The Bargain Queen think very carefully about using any further alternative therapies. Her condition won't kill her, so her options are a lot broader than 'fight or die'. She's still happy in spite of the illness, because while the it's taken a lot (job, social life, super-athletic body) she's still got a wonderful husband, great friends and enjoyable hobbies. She's also fortunate enough that she and Mr Bargain Queen can survive financially, albeit on a tight budget, when she's not working - which makes her a lot better off than most people.

So for now, The Bargain Queen's giving up on herbs and supplements. That's not to say they're useless; maybe they do work for other people. But considering the improvement in her condition when she stopped taking them, The Bargain Queen's unconvinced that they were giving her value.

Filed in:

health

10 Fashion Tips for the Newbie Frugalista

2006-07-17T15:28:00.000+10:00

If you're new to looking fabulous on a budget, Frugal For Life has some great tips:

Buy quality
Shop sales
Buy classics
Buy secondhand
Buy look-alikes
Swap clothes with others
Budget your wardrobe
Choose versatile pieces
Less really is more
Accessorise

You can read all the details over here.

Filed in:

fashion

How to op (thrift) shop

2006-07-17T15:21:00.000+10:00

Style Space has some great tips on how to op shop (which is what Aussies call thrift shopping), including:

Don't be deterred by different sizes
Sometimes garments in op shops can be decades old, which means the sizing system of the garments is inconsistent with current sizing. Don't dismiss something just because it's not labelled in your size, or even because it doesn't have a size tag at all. Just try it on!

There are also some of The Bargain Queen's tips over here.

Filed in:

Best places to go for an online bargain

2006-07-14T08:30:00.000+10:00

She says from unblague writes:

Ladies and gents, if you are looking for a bargain, here is a list of sites where you can almost always find something interesting for a good price.
For shoes: Shoemall
For shoes, clothes, outdoor equipment and so much more: Sierra Trading Post and Burlington Coat Factory
For more clothes, click the "bargain" section of Old Navy
For all of the above and then some, try eBay or Goodwill or Overstock.com
For kids' gifts, bags and other stuff: Lillian Vernon
And here's a tip, whenever you buy something online -- especially for major retailers -- search first for a coupon. Fairly frequently, you can find an online coupon that will give you free shipping or some percentage off for purchases over a certain amount.

You can read the rest over here.

Filed in:

When in Rome, buy sandals

2006-07-13T16:36:00.000+10:00

Warning: Cultural stereotypes ahead.

Where can you find exotic and elusive enoki mushrooms for $3.99 a bunch? At an isolated Mediterranean greengrocer who does not specialise in Asian delicacies.

Where can you find the exact same variety of mushrooms, from the same grower, with the same use-by date, for just $2.20 a bunch? One suburb away, in a bustling Chinatown, at an Asian grocery store, surrounded by competition.

Interestingly, that same Asian grocery store was selling tinned tomatoes, an Italian staple, for $1.20 a can, whereas the Italian greengrocer had the same ones for 50 cents a can.

What's the message? Buying exotic goods from local suppliers can save you a small fortune. Because believe it or not, coconut milk isn't "exotic" to S.E. Asians, and bocconcini isn't "exotic" to Italians, and sushi seaweed isn't "exotic" to Japanese.

Finding a shop that's popular with locals of the same, ahem, ethnic background, means you know the produce is authentic, and with the high-turnover, it'll be fresher.

And it turns your weekly shopping expedition into a mini-holiday.

Here are some indicative savings buying the same brands of the same products, but one in a big generic supermarket, the other in a local specialty store:
----

ASIAN GOODS - Big supermarket vs. Asian grocer

100g dried shrimp: $5.40 vs. $3.20
10 sheets sushi seaweed: $2.99 vs. $2.00
Packet noodles: $1.20 vs. 70c
1/2 kilo fresh mangosteen: $10.99 vs. $7.00
Fish sauce: $1.80 vs. $1.20
Jar tamarind paste: $4.50 vs. $1.40
Lemongrass: $1.99 ea. vs. $1.00
Helping the little guy beat the big soulless supermarket chain: Priceless.
TOTAL:$28.87 - $16.50

With the $12.00 you saved, you can score a giant seafood laksa or a 10 minute neck message from those ubiquitous Chinese massage tables!

MEDITERRANEAN GOODS - Big supermarket vs. Con, the Fruiterer Barbarian.

Jar sliced Kalamata olives: $5.99 vs. $2.99
Big jar salted anchovies: $13.99 vs. $8.99
Goat's fetta cheese: $5.50 vs. $4.70
1kg Dried fava beans: $4.50 vs. $2.99
Premium-brand imported Italian pasta: $3.50 vs. $1.00
Wandering about in a fabulous-smelling continental deli with aromas of coffee, pancetta, pasta and cheese wafting about: Priceless

Total:$33.48 vs. $20.67

With the $12.50 you saved, treat yourself to a double espresso and canoli (or three).
----

It's worth getting to know your local stores, because they will surprise you with the range of treats they can offer. After a while, you'll find that the only things you'll buy from the big supermarkets are toilet paper and peanut butter, and anything that has a bit of personality will be cheaper and better quality from the little guys.

PS - Of course, Mr Bargain Queen is never tempted to blow all the money he saved on those delicious-looking red bean cakes from the Chinese bakery...

Top 10 cheap geek tips

2006-07-12T12:16:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has a confession to make: she's a closet geek. She lusts after the latest hot gadgets just as fervently than she does pretty shoes. She even occasionally convinces herself that buying something that allows her to, say, wirelessly stream mp3s to the speakers in the next room is way more practical than buying clothes, whose only functionality is keeping her warm and protecting her from public nudity.

Unfortunately, her tech budget is just as limited as her shoe budget so she can't always buy her latest dream toys. In 10+ years of geekery though, she's gotten pretty good at keeping up with technology while keeping to her budget.

Here's her top 10 tips for cheap geeks:

Try to stay off the bleeding edge. In The Bargain Queen's experience, brand new and untested ('bleeding edge') technologies are a bad idea. The first time a feature is implemented, it will have some pretty major bugs - and counter-intuitively, you'll pay extra to have it while it's unstable. Plus, when a new technology doesn't live up to its much-hyped promise, it can disappear pretty quickly (e.g. WAP) and your expensive gadget becomes a useless souvenir of an ever-changing technological landscape. The only sure sign that a technology is going to survive is when people who aren't hard-core geeks start buying it and raving about it, which is usually months or years after it's first released - and by then it's well off the 'bleeding edge'. While you don't have the same geek credibility if you wait a while, you'll also save yourself from some expensive mistakes.
Buy less hardware and more add-ons. While it can be tempting to buy one of every new 'must-have' device type, very few of them are really necessary. The Bargain Queen now survives with just a laptop, a mobile (cell) phone and a digital camera - no MP3 player, PDA, portable DVD player, wireless go-anywhere broadband or anything like that. She survives very comfortably and rarely feels like she spends too little time connected to machines.

This works well because in most cases, buying new software or peripherals to add functionality to something you already have will be much cheaper than buying a new stand-alone device. For example, if you wanted to make digital sound recordings, buying a microphone for your computer is much cheaper than buying a digital voice recorder. But to do this, you have to plan ahead. Some devices make it easy to install new software and have vibrant developer communities; these are the ones you want. On others, it's near-impossible to do anything more than the manufacturer intended unless you pay them fistfuls of extra money, or re-write the operating system in assembler. And you really don't want to learn assembler.
Don't buy multi-function devices. So if you want to buy fewer devices, what you need is a phone / palmtop computer / camera / MP3 player / voice recorder right? Wrong. The Bargain Queen's experience of these devices has never led to a glowing recommendation. The parts of the functionality that are new to the manufacturer or device type are invaribaly buggy and unreliable (see point one about bleeding edge technology), and the amount extra that you pay for them often exceeds the cost of buying a better stand-alone device to do the same thing.
Do your research. In almost every space within the technology industry, there's a vast range of products on offer. If you find it bewildering trying to choose between them all, you're not alone - The Bargain Queen sometimes finds it puzzling too, and she has a Masters in IT. many people handle this bewilderment by talking to someone who does know... say, that nice young fellow at the local computer store. If you're still approaching your technology purchases this way, please stop! The internet has a wealth of information to help you in your technology purchases, which you'll find on blogs, news sites, user forums and newsgroups. If you're completely new to this, start at epinions, then Google the product name or type and the word 'review'. And while you're there, don't forget to compare prices online! Noone will convince you their $20-off special is a great deal if you've seen the product $100 cheaper on a reputable website.
Buy the best quality you can afford. If you've done your homework, you'll know the best options at each price-point. So you buy the cheapest option that will do the job, right? Not always. In some cases, spending more will only get you a fancier brand name and packaging. In others, it means the difference between replacing it in a year or five years. In really extreme cases, the cheaper option won't actually do what you need because a crucial feature is missing. The extra money will probably be worth it if you get a more reliable, extensible product; customer support and a good warranty will also make a big difference if you have any problems with the product.
Always get a free trial. Whether you're buying hardware or software, getting a free trial before you buy is really important. You don't want to be stuck with a lemon, and you generally don't know whether a product is any good until you've tried it.

In the old days, software trials were easy: almost everyone offered a 30-day free trial. Many companies still do, although The Bargain Queen has found a few lately that don't. To get around this, she has an only-slightly-illegal solution: she gets a copy from a friend, or finds a password to turn a crippled trial version into a fully-featured one. In the majority of cases, she tries the software, finds that it doesn't do what she needs and deletes it promptly. In the rare case where she finds the software genuinely useful and usable, she pays the money and keeps it.

Trying hardware can be more difficult because so many display models have no batteries, so you can only inspect the outer casing. If the store can't arrange for you to try it with the batteries, you'll need to do one or more of three things:
1. wait until someone you know buys one and try theirs (easy if you have geeky friends)
2. rely on online reviews to get more information on the product
3. buy from a store with a generous returns policy, so you can return it if it doesn't fit your needs after all
If all this fails and you do end up stuck with something you don't use, you can still re-sell it on eBay and consider it a not-so-free trial!
Check the UI before you buy. So what do you look for when you're trying out a product you might buy? Apart from checking that it has the features you need and works reliably, you also need to check the user interface, or UI. The UI is the sum of all the controls and displays in the device, including buttons, screens, menus, prompts, error messages, touchpads, handwriting recognition panels, paper feeds and anything else you interact with. It's important because it determines how easy- or difficult-to-use your new purchase will be - and it doesn't matter how amazing the features are if you can't use them successfully.

The easiest way to evaluate the UI is to try the most common things you'd want to do with the device. On a camera, this would mean taking and reviewing some photos; on a phone, you might make a call or send a text message. If you can't figure out how to do these things within a few minutes of fiddling, the device is probably too difficult to use.

And if you think you can't use it because you're not very good with technology? You're wrong. People with advanced degrees in computing find it hard to use the same things that frustrate 'regular' people. A bad UI is impossible for anyone to use, no matter how smart or technologically savvy they are, so don't ever feel bad if you don't buy something because you couldn't figure out how to use it!
Know thyself. For many years, The Bargain Queen worked with geeky males who made fun of her fashion obsession, but are actually bigger fashion victims themselves. Not when it comes to shoes, obviously, but when it comes to gadgets. When one of the boys came into the office with a new phone that recorded video, it was only a matter of time before most of the other guys had one too. Did it matter that they hated home movies, or that the picture quality was too dreadful to watch? Hell no. It was cool, it was new and you weren't geek enough without one. On the bright side, they all had well-paid IT jobs so they could do this and still pay the bills. If you're not an expensive ubergeek, or your financial priorities lie elsewhere, it helps if you only buy things you'll actually use - and to do that, you have to know yourself really well. Will you start listening to music when you go jogging each day if you buy that iPod? If you're tone-deaf, love the quiet and hate to sweat, probably not.
Wait a while. A newly-released model is always harder to find for a good price than one that's been out for a while, and the the cheapest time to buy is when the next version is about to come out. Considering that prices may be reduced up to 50% within a year of initial release, it's well worth waiting a few months to get the must-have device. Even if the new price hasn't come down a lot, you might be able to buy from one of those serial updaters we talked about in tip 8. After a few months, some realise they're not going to use their latest toy (or just have to buy a newer, hotter one). They often sell barely-used devices for less than half price - and they're still under warranty.
Never buy on credit. Many stores offer financing so you can pay off your new technology over a year or two if you don't have the money upfront. These are NEVER a good deal. The Bargain Queen has done this only once, on the afforementioned multifunction phone. It looked like a good deal at the time because the price over the life of the contract was only $200-ish more than the phone and includes $40 of 'free' phone calls each month for two years. The phone now costs a third what it did back then, the cost of phone calls has also come down significantly and it's still not paid for yet - and as far as financing deals go, this was one of the better ones on offer.

If you want to avoid these traps, you need to save up to replace anything you depend on when it wears out - and factor in replacing all your software at the same time. As a rule-of-thumb, most devices last 2-3 years if you treat them roughly or 5-6 years+ if you treat them gently (more for TVs and stereos, less for DVD players). To factor it into your budget, total the costs of all your technology essentials and divide by 36 or 72 to come up with a monthly budget that will provide a generous amount if you can put it into savings each month.

And if you have any ideas of how to save even more money on technology, let The Bargain Queen know! ;)

Filed in:

technology

Livin' large is easier when your house is really small

2006-07-10T12:09:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen was given this superb bunch of flowers, and it got her thinking about the good side of living in a tiny apartment. The flowers look enormous in our compact dining room/study, which gives the whole place a giant lift. We feel like we're living pretty large with our home full of flowers and it's only taken a single magnificent bunch to do it!

In a 'luxury' house, it doesn't work like that. The Bargain Queen's own place is tiny, but she's been lucky enough to stay in a few big, expensive houses. Not quite movie-star mansions, but places with amazing views, expensive interiors, swimming pools, tennis courts, many bathrooms, rarely used formal wings and individual rooms that are bigger than our apartment. The first few times she was invited to lovely houses, she felt honoured and a little awkward. Then she slowly learnt how much is involved in running a huge house and developed a great deal of respect for those who can manage it (even if that's all they do).

Setting up a large house involves weeks of full-time shopping, which sounds like a lot of fun but rapidly turns into hard work. The Bargain Queen's seen a few big houses with empty rooms because the owners have neither the time nor inclination to furnish them, even if they know what to put in them. It makes perfect sense when you consider that having three separate dining rooms demands a mountain of crockery, dozens of glasses, at least three sets of flatware and accessories, three sideboards to store it all plus three tables and 18 or more chairs. Even if you have some of it already, it's still a big job to organise.

Then there's the matter of household maintenance, because the bigger your home is, the more there is to go wrong. At one friend's place, someone different comes every day to tend things: the cleaner, the pool guys, the security alarm people, the gardener and the builders who are always fixing something. Just coordinating the whole tribe is a part-time job, and there are still other unexpectedly large tasks that have to be done. For example, have you ever considered how much work is involved in keeping five bathrooms stocked with clean towels and toilet paper? The Bargain Queen hadn't either, until she walked around a friend's house for over ten minutes, going from bathroom to bathroom looking for loo paper!

On top of all that, renovating a small house is a breeze compared to a bigger house. We're stressing a little about replacing our kitchen and bathroom, polishing three rooms of floorboards and installing built-in closets in one bedroom... but imagine if we had eight bedrooms, four bathrooms and two kitchens to contend with!

When you understand how much work is involved in maintaining a big house, you realise why a 'luxury' house often doesn't feel very luxurious to its owners. No matter how much you love a place, working hard to keep it nice all the time becomes tiring - and if you neglect any of the basics, luxuries can't compensate the difficulties of living in an unkempt house. So in a roundabout way, living in a small place that requires little maintenance is a great luxury... especially if you have Mr Bargain Queen to do it all for you ;)

Best of all, little luxuries can be fully appreciated in a small house. Those flowers that feel so decadent in our house are scaled a little small for a grand foyer - and without $100+ of flowers, that foyer will probably look a bit empty, so they're more an obligation than a luxury. Plus, the more rooms you have, the more flowers you'd have to buy to get that divine lily fragrance in every room, while we get it in most of the house from one bunch of flowers!

So, sure, we'd love to live in an enormous luxury house one day. But in the meantime (or if it just never happens), a few small luxuries make our tiny apartment feel like a great place to be. Fresh flowers, nice sheets, good wine... heaven!

Filed in:

Bargain birthday banquet

2006-07-09T08:49:00.000+10:00

Where can you get a 4-course gourmet banquet, including seafood, for 6 people, for $50 (apart from Pizza Hut, I mean)?

Look no further than your own kitchen! It’s the best place to put together a high-class, low-cost gourmet meal. Parking is free, tipping is not required, and there’s no corkage.

This week, with some much-needed help from The Bargain Queen, I prepared a Thai birthday banquet for my step-sister and a few assorted family members. Those who declined the invitation (they know who they are), missed out on a very pleasant evening and a free gourmet meal!

Our menu included an appetiser of Tom Yum Goong (hot & sour shrimp soup) followed by red chicken curry and Pad Thai (shrimp noodles). For dessert, we served black sticky rice, which is a sweet and nutty rice pudding made with delicious dark-coloured rice grains from Thailand. The recipes we’ve linked to aren’t the exact ones we used, but they have some widely-available ingredients for you to try.

Everyone was too full to move at the end of the meal, so my step-sister scored the next day’s lunch and dessert from it all as well!

Total time required was one hour for shopping, 90 minutes of preparation and 90 minutes of cooking. Meanwhile, our guests relaxed around the table enjoying their wine, as guests should in all good restaurants.

Our shopping list included all the Thai staples, plus a few we added from our store cupboard: lemongrass, fish sauce, dried shrimp, fresh shrimp, Thai eggplant, coconut milk, galangal (ginza), black rice, palm sugar, tamarind, lime leaves, peanut oil, Thai basil, sprouts, rice sticks, and a generous helping of “sanuk” (that’s Thai for “fun). The next post will give you some tips for saving on these important exotic ingredients.

The total cost of all raw ingredients bought and used in the cooking was just A$50. That wouldn’t cover entrees for 6 in even a modest suburban restaurant.

OK, so we didn’t include wine in the bill – but when food for six people comes to $50, you can probably afford to splash out on a good bottle or three. Wine is not a traditional drink in Thailand – but the varieties that best complement its fieriness include a chilled sweet Riesling for whites, or a big flavoursome Shiraz (Syrah) for red.

So there you have it. When you have a skill or interest in something as basic as cooking, you can use to create a bit of glamour at home, with restaurant-quality meals for home-cooked price. Plus, there’s no hassle getting home at the end of the night when you’re feeling all “relaxed”!

Ten steps to fixing service problems

2006-07-04T09:01:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen recently made an amazing discovery: the world doesn't end if you complain about a bad haircut. In fact, she got a really good outcome by doing so. This follows hot on the heels of finding that when you eat out, if your meal's raw, overcooked, unacceptably wilted or in any way inedible, you can send it back. Not only does it stop you having to eat it, in places that care about their reputation you might get a free glass of wine as compensation.

Both of these discoveries have saved The Bargain Queen a lot of money. In the case of bad restaurant food, she used to meekly eat what she could, then buy a snack to fill her half-empty belly - and a bad haircut used to cost her much more. First, there was the money she'd paid the hairdresser to butcher her hair. Then she'd buy some new hairclips to try to make it look good, at a cost of around $20. Then she'd buy another heat-styling contraption (about $40) in the hope that would rectify it. By then, it's clear that nothing short of another haircut will turn it around, so The Bargain Queen would pay someone to fix it. She'd usually end up at the salon she stopped going to when they jacked their prices up to $90 for a haircut. That's a total cost of $150 to fix a poor haircut.

Now this might sound like uniquely female idiocy, because boys are rarely as upset about a bad haircut. But The Bargain Queen has seen grown men eat inedible meals and let dodgy tradespeople take advantage of them, so she knows that sometimes the male of the species needs some encouragement to stand up for himself too.

So what can you do if you've got bad service? Here's The Bargain Queen's ten steps to sorting it out.

Get your facts straight. So your meal is awful. What exactly is awful about it? Is it overcooked? Undercooked? Are the ingredients not fresh enough? Was it already cold when it arrived? Before you speak up, make sure you know and can articulate exactly what you're unhappy with. For food, this is relatively easy; most of us know what fresh, well-cooked food looks like. In other areas (say, fire alarm installation) you might need to get a second opinion or learn some of the lingo before you're ready to talk to the service provider.
Pick your moment. Some things are best handled quickly. For example, any complaint about food is more convincing if it's made before you've finished eating the meal. Likewise, if your haircut is going horribly wrong, it's best to stop them before all your hair is green. In other cases, taking the time to learn more about what's been done can provide a better outcome. Any highly skilled professional (e.g. accountants, tradespeople or medical professionals) should be happy to answer your questions about what they're doing and why. If you're not happy with their response, you're entitled to ask them to stop work and get a second opinion.
Talk to the right person. If the service you're unhappy with was provided by an organisation, there's more than one person you could talk to about it. If you find the person with the greatest ability to solve your problem, you're more likely to get a good resolution. In a restaurant, ask for the manager instead of complaining to the waitress; for construction work, you want to speak to the builder or site manager; in a medical situation, a doctor or specialist can offer more options than a nurse; and in a big company, the complaints department are more likely to help you than anyone else.
Be nice. Some people think that to be nice, you can't tell anyone you're unhappy with what they've done. Instead, they complain to everyone else for days/weeks/months afterwards. This isn't nice behaviour, it's passive-aggressive.

So how do you behave nicely in this situation? Be polite but firm. There's no need to yell, call the other person names or make threats, and none of these actions will get you a good resolution anyway. The Bargain Queen opens these conversations by saying: "Excuse me. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm really not happy with the service I got here because..." If you can think of something similar that works to you, you're off to a good start.
Stick to the facts. In step one we got our facts straight; now it's time to articulate them. So instead of saying your burger was revolting, tell the manager calmly that it was cold when it arrived, the bread is rock hard, the meat is a little green and there's a cockroach in the lettuce. This step is about establishing exactly what you're unhappy with, not about venting anger. If you sound like you've already passed judgement ("This place is crap! Your food is disgusting!"), you give the impression that you won't be happy even if they fix the problem, so they're less likely to try.

If you want to express your feelings about the situation, do it after you've gone through the facts. Make sure you criticise the product rather than the people and try to stay calm. For example, you might add that you find roach-ridden burgers unappetising, but don't say they must be dirty people if there's a roach in the lettuce; there are other explanations.
Ask what they can do about it. Once you've told them why you're not happy, ask politely what they can do to fix the situation. Negotiation experts say you should let the other side make the initial offer, but if there's relatively little at stake, this isn't always necessary. For example, in the scenario above, you might not feel like risking another burger, but if your friend's soup looked so nice you'd rather have that instead, ask them politely and you'll probably get it. If you don't know what you'd like, you can always say "I'm not sure what can be done to fix this, but I'd love to hear any suggestions you have", which will usually get them to make an offer.
Don't go away. In some cases, the person you speak to will become defensive or make excuses rather than working to fix the problem. If this happens, stay where you are. Repeat that you're not happy with the service and would like them to fix it. Once you've established that you won't leave until you get an outcome you're happy with, sane people will start negotiating. You might also offer your sympathy if they're having a tough day and you're the kind of person who does that naturally, as this can help establish that you're a nice customer who shouldn't cop bad service. Just make sure you steer the conversation back to what they'll do to help you when the time comes.
Accept their offer graciously. So the other person has offered to fix your problem by giving you something extra, be it another meal, a free fix-up haircut or some rectification work around your house. Tell them you'd really appreciate it and let them get on with it. Your work here is almost done.
Thank them profusely. When they've provided you with what you need, thank them profusely for doing it. Sure, you've gone through a lot of extra hassle to get what you should have been given to begin with; but they've gone through the painful process of fixing their mistake to give it to you. While you were initially the aggrieved party, they've worked much harder than usual to keep you happy, so they deserve a pat on the back.
Give them good word-of-mouth. If they did a brilliant job of fixing your problem, they deserve public praise. The best in any business make occasional errors and the ability to fix them is what separates fantastic service providers from those who are merely good. So if they did something great in the end, sing their praises!

Filed in:

Supermodel or sumo: you choose

2006-07-03T11:18:00.000+10:00

Will the things you've eaten today help you look supermodel-svelte or sumo wrestler-squishy? Are you really doing enough exercise to make up for an occasional pack of chocolate bickies? And most importantly, are you getting the nutrients you need to be really healthy?

There's a site called FitDay which can tell you all that and more, and it's free! The Bargain Queen put in her height and weight, then entered all the exercise she's done for the last few days (including shopping ;) and everything she's eaten lately. Here's what she found out:

She's right in the middle of the healthy weight range for her height, even though she's just outgrown a couple of pairs of jeans and feels like a hippo.
Her calorie intake each day is about right and the couple of glasses of wine she drinks 3-4 nights a week aren't as fattening as she thought.
On the days when she goes for a nice long walk, she burns 200+ more calories than she normally eats.
The bad news? She doesn't get enough of a whole lot of nutrients, including zinc, calcium, vitamin D, a couple of B vitamins and folate!

The Bargain Queen now feels justified to stop stressing about her weight. It's the middle of winter, so what's a couple of inches anyway? On the other hand, she has to up her nutrient intake by eating more of the following (in rough order of how much of the nutrient they contain):

Zinc: oysters, mussels, scallops, red meat, poultry
Calcium: dairy (except The Bargain Queen's lactose intolerant so that ain't going to happen), canned salmon w bones, Chinese cabbage, kale, broccoli
Vitamin D: sunshine! Or if it's really overcast, fish
Vitamin B2: mushrooms, liver (ew!), green vegies, egg
Vitamin B3: liver, peanuts, chicken, tuna, salmon, turkey
Folate: liver, lentils, green vegies

(This isn't an exhaustive list of the foods that contained each of these nutrients; if you want more info, Google know all ;)

Now The Bargain Queen doesn't recommend this level of analysis every day (unless you're medically classed as obese and your weight threatens your health). She's always maintained that the more you think about food as calories and nutrient rather than flavours and textures, the less fun it is to eat - although she also eats what makes her feel healthy because if she went solely by flavour she'd eat mostly chocolate and then she'd feel ill.

But despite her aversion to calorie counters and weight-loss diets, The Bargain Queen found this fun and will probably keep doing it as an occasional check-up. It's a bit like those web quizzes that are so popular with the young people these days, only with a more meaningful outcome than finding out which Happy Days character you're most like. If you're procrastinating online right now, give it a go!

(Found via a link on I Wish I Were Buffy.)

Filed in:

Carnival of the Vanities #197

2006-06-29T22:09:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's also in this week's Carnival of the Vanities, which rounds up the best posts from all over the web each week. If you're interested, go take a look!

Balancing the beauty budget

2006-06-29T11:43:00.000+10:00

If you've ever felt bewildered by beauty products, join the club. There's a product to fix every possible 'problem' with your looks (real or imaginary) and it can be difficult to tell what you actually need and whether spending more gets a better product. Rumour has it that when you buy from a cosmetics counter, you're just getting a supermarket product in prettier packaging, from a pushy sales assistant in prime retail space. Is it true? The Bargain Queen doesn't know; she's never worked in the beauty industry so she's not sure who to believe.

Then there's the 'you'll be ugly if you don't' factor. A lot of advertising suggests that you must buy products to stop the signs of aging before they appear, lest you end up a prune. The Bargain Queen hears that sunscreen's the only thing scientifically proven to stop your skin from aging, but there are a lot of doctors endorsing products that make other claims. And really, how can you tell? Short of using the products on only one side of your face, you'll never know if your skin would look worse if you hadn't used them.

The Bargain Queen's made some disastrous beauty purchases over the years, which she'll tell you about below. She now has a simple rule: she'll buy expensive if it spends all day, every day, sitting on her face. Or if it's perfume. Otherwise, cheap will do.

If you're interested in what's hiding in The Bargain Queen's makeup bag and bathroom cabinet, here's what you'd find:

The (relatively) expensive stuff
If The Bargain Queen could have only one beauty product, she'd pick Clinique Super City Block. She has pale skin and lives in Sydney, Australia so sun protection is the first priority. But if sun cream feels icky on her skin or makes her look like a ghost, she quickly stops wearing it and gets sunburnt instead. So, a good tinted sunscreen like this one is really important. Plus it even her skin out enough that she doesn't need to wear foundation every day... not that she'd bother, anyway.

The other items that The Bargain Queen thinks are worth the extra money are:

Lip balm: MAC tinted lip conditioner lasts forever (The Bargain Queen's half-finished tub is over a year old and has been used everyday) and is much nicer on the lips than anything else The Bargain Queen has tried. It keeps them really soft and gives enough colour for every day, so it's basically two-in-one.
Perfume: The Bargain Queen HATES cheap perfume. After using beautiful essential oils from France, everything synthetic smells a bit like cat piss. Clinique Simply is quite nice cat piss though, and saves the world from The Bargain Queen's disastrous experiments in wannabe-perfumery. This is a good thing.
Mac brow set: This is quite a new purchase, and like most things The Bargain Queen uses regularly, it's dual purpose. It evens out the colour of her bushy, unruly blonde brows and keeps them in place at the same time. Brilliant!
Concealer: The Bargain Queen hardly ever bothers with concealer, but when she does it's Clinique Quick Corrector. It goes on very smoothly, unlike any of the cheapies The Bargain Queen's tried and is pale enough to match her skin without looking sickly.
Bedroom Hair: This Kusco Murphy styling product is the only product The Bargain Queen normally wears in her hair and she loves it.

Everything except the concealer is used almost every day and on average each of these products lasts a year, so on a cost-per-use basis, they're super-cheap.

The Bargain Queen also bought MAC foundation a while back, because every beauty editor says you must buy good foundation. It looks really nice in photographs but it's way too much for everyday, so the jury's still out on whether it was a good buy. If she became a paparazzi-stalked celebrity tomorrow she'd probably swear by it, but in her real life it's not especially useful.

So how about the cheapies?
If a product's only used occasionally (say, gold eyeshadow), The Bargain Queen keeps it cheap. There is no point paying a stack of money for something that only comes out of the drawer three times a year. It also makes no sense to spend money on things you don't use much because you probably know a lot less about them, so you're more likely to buy the wrong thing. The Bargain Queen's biggest mistakes are Stila eyeshadow and Armani eyeliner pencil. While there's probably nothing wrong with the products, they've never looked good on her. In both cases, the sales girls said they were perfect for her colouring and really easy to use, but neither of these statements turned out to be true. She now prefers to buy four cheap eyeshadows to find one that looks great, than pay for expertise she might not get. (Plus gifting the leftovers to her sister or friends gives her the warm fuzzy glow of giving, which beats the heck out of muddy bronzers.)

The Bargain Queen is also very skeptical about expensive skincare products and mostly sticks to the cheapies. After a few allergic reactions to high-end products, she's not willing to risk much money on a moisturiser she might have to give away. Plus, if dermatologists say the fancy ingredients can't penetrate into the skin, how are they supposed to actually do all that fancy stuff in the ads?

But enough about things The Bargain Queen won't spend much money on. Here's her favourite low-end beauty products:

Mascara: The Bargain Queen loves Maybelline Great Lash (which all the beauty editors recommend), and an Australian brand called Face of Australia. These get thrown away as soon as they start clumping (about every three months) so it seems pointless to pay more.
Rimmel eyeshadows: The Bargain Queen's an amateur when it comes to eyeshadow application, so all the fancy stuff is lost on her. Her prefered technique is to find a pretty colour and smudge it over her eyelids with her fingers, which would probably make most makeup artists apoplectic. But it works great with these, and if she looks nice, who cares if she achieved it the 'wrong' way?
Dove soap: Everyone's favourite, it cleans and moisturises at the same time. This plus a loofah keeps The Bargain Queen's skin looking and feeling nice.
Johnsons skincare. The Johnson & Johnson 'gentle' products in the supermarket actually live up to their name, so they're The Bargain Queen's current favourite.
Klorane haircare. Gentle, herbal products available in Australian chemists (kind of like American drugstores), they smell lovely and do a great job on hair.

Filed in:

Expensive wedding madness

2006-06-28T16:15:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen gets really concerned when she hears how much a wedding is expected to cost these days. The average bill is now $28,700 in Australia, £17,740 in Britain and $22,360 in the U.S.A., which seems mad. As a cheapskate bride who's now happily married, she feels it's her duty to offer a dissenting view to the pervading 'your big day must be perfect' messages and hopefully start an anti-bridezilla movement.

To put those big dollar amounts into perspective, here's some of the other things $28,000 will buy you in Australia $28,000:

a 10% deposit on a one-bedroom apartment in the most desirable suburbs in Sydney
a pretty nice car
a year's backpacking alone, or a six-month honeymoon if you take your spouse
some pretty serious artwork

Or you can blow it in one day on a wedding... does this strike anyone else as a little bit strange?

The Bargain Queen understands exactly how this happens because from the day she got engaged, she started hearing what she ought to do. Considering she never wanted to get married before she met Mr Bargain Queen, she couldn't find the enthusiasm for $8-apiece invitation cards that she was supposed to feel. Every time she thought about planning a big white wedding she felt like handing the engagement ring back, even though she loved both it and the man. So she picked the sane solution: she opted out. She skipped the church, the bridesmaids, the flower girls, the reception and practically everything that defines a wedding today... and she's still happily married. It's not a choice that works for everyone, but if you haven't dreamed about your wedding gown since you were a little girl, is it really worth $5,000?

There are a lot of people who'll tell you that if you do what we did, you're cheap and nasty - and they're possibly right. The Bargain Queen shocked and offended a few people with her low-key wedding. Otherwise sane people have complex sets of rules about where the ceremony should be held, who must be invited, what you should provide for them and all the other details that go into a very big 'big day'. If you don't obey those rules - and they won't tell you until you've broken one - they get unhappy. But on the bright side, the few people who were really upset with The Bargain Queen's decision are very difficult to please. She'd much rather offend them for free than spend $100+ to them complain that they didn't like the food, the seating plan was wrong, the flowers gave them hayfever and her dress could've been prettier. (Yes, some of The Bargain Queen's relatives are really like this. Maybe some of yours are too.)

If you're planning a wedding, the best advice The Bargain Queen can give you is to skip the bridal magazines and ignore most of the advice you're given. The 'right' way to get married these days is expensive and stressful, so when you're told to do things that doesn't suit your personality or finances, remember that the world won't end if you don't. It takes guts to stand up to everyone's expectations and do what suits you instead, but it beats blowing your hard-earned savings on a wedding day that isn't 'you' - or worse, paying it off your credit card for the next few years.

To put it very bluntly, if you can't skip the trimmings, you shouldn't be getting married at all. It's not wrong to want them - if you do, good luck to you - but you really shouldn't need them. Your wedding day should be blissfully happy simply because you're marrying that person. If it could be spoiled by the wrong flowers, dress, catering or DJ, The Bargain Queen recommends you call it off now. Those are just the trimmings, not the reason for the day. Maybe having them makes the day even better (we don't know, we skipped them) but even a disaster like bad hair should be trivial compared to the joy of making a commitment to the right person.

When it comes to planning your wedding, if you're uncomfortable with a three-ring circus, consider something more basic. If you strip it down to bare essentials, all you need is to say your vows and sign some forms in front of a registered celebrant. If you do it in a registry office they'll insist you dress reasonably nicely; if not, you can get married in a bikini a la Pamela Anderson, or wear flip-flops (thongs for Aussies) like Sarah Michelle Gellar if it suits you. Legally, that's all there is to it; you can skip all the fanfare and your marriage is still 100% valid.

It's sad that some people are offended by a simple wedding, but look on the bright side: if you've ever been to a no-fun wedding, do you really want to inflict that on your friends (and pay $20,000+ to do it)? Spare your closest friends from your self-designed bridesmaid gowns. If you're not Vera Wang, they're probably hideous. Spare your guests the hours of standing around waiting; the champagne that runs out; the meal options only you like; the dreaded wedding DJ; and the awkward conversations with your deaf great-aunt or your husband's yokel mate from high school. But most importantly, save your fiance months of tears, tantrums and bridezilla-worthy conduct... at least until the wedding's over and you start renovating ;)

If you really break the rules, you could even turn what could be a mind-numbingly dull day into actual fun... we did!

Filed in:

weddings

This week's Festival of Frugality

2006-06-28T12:49:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has an article in this week's Festival of Frugality. If you're interested in some great money-saving tips, be sure to check it out!

We're in the Coffee and Tea Festival!

2006-06-27T17:50:00.000+10:00

Mr Bargain Queen's recent post on saving money on your coffee has made it into the latest Coffee and Tea Festival. Congratulations Mr Bargain Queen!

Filed in:

food

What's your favourite post?

2006-06-27T11:45:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen would like to ask you, her beloved readers, for some feedback. Namely, what's your favourite post on this site, and why?

If you need some help finding your favourite, all The Bargain Queen's posts are organised by topic on del.icio.us, or there are also monthly archives:

Thank you!

We've got a newsletter!

2006-06-27T11:39:00.000+10:00

Would you prefer to get an email when there's something new and interesting on The Bargain Queen blog?

If so, enter your email address where it says 'get our newsletter' on the right and follow the prompts to sign up.

(PS: This is a new thing for us, so if you have any problems, send us an email.)

Queen Kitty in Carnival of the Cats

2006-06-26T11:17:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's cat, Queen Kitty, is featured in Carnival of the Cats this week. If you like cats it's fantastic entertainment, with more cute cat piccies than you could possibly bear. Enjoy!

Filed in:

pets

Spotlight one-day sale

2006-06-26T11:09:00.000+10:00

For The Bargain Queen's Australian readers, Spotlight are having a one-day, 20% off everything sale TODAY. So if you need any craft supplies, fabric, homewares or linen, it might be a good day to take a look.

They're also having extended trading hours so more people can make it. Most stores are open 'til 9pm; you can check when your local store is open here.

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Plotting to beat the winter blues

2006-06-23T17:14:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's got a slight case of the winter blues. Here in Sydney, it's been cold and grey for weeks, so she's spent a lot of time indoors next to the heater - but she's usually a social butterfly, so too much solitude doesn't make her feel great.

The good news is, the winter blues is completely treatable because it's caused by an imbalance of two chemicals in the brain (melatonin and serotonin) that can be manipulated without resorting to medication. These chemicals effect your sleep, appetite, attention span, memory, learning and mood. When they're balanced just-so you feel fabulous but if they're not you don't feel great.

Here's some of the things that help even them out again:

Getting outdoors each morning. The higher amount of light outdoors compared to inside helps your brain recognise that it's time to be awake, so your serotonin levels go up and your melatonin levels go down, making you more alive and alert. Pity it's so cold in the morning!
Keep the house brightly lit. For the same reason, having some bright lights in the house can also help. It sort of tricks your brain into thinking it's summer, so you feel happy and relaxed instead of cold and cranky.
Doing some exercise. This causes your body to produce endorphins, another type of brain chemical that make you feel good. It also speeds up the metabolism a little, which helps because it normally slows down in winter so you feel sluggish and gain weight. And as an added bonus, getting off the couch would make The Bargain Queen feel like she was doing something positive about feeling fat and unfit, instead of just complaining about it.
Eating lots of complex carbs. Eating sugar also increases serotonin levels, which is part of why chocolate is so amazingly wonderful this time of year. The problem with sugar is that it's in and out of the bloodstream so quickly you need to munch all day to feel great. By contrast, complex carbs add a little sugar to the bloodstream regularly for a few hours while you digest them. Which means that when The Bargain Queen tucks into a big yummy baked potato this time of year, she's really just taking her medicine ;)
Having some fun. When you're feeling a bit blue staying at home on the couch often doesn't help much, but doing something you really enjoy outside the house can improve your mood a lot. Which means The Bargain Queen really ought to call her friends and arrange to catch up. Or take a long walk with Mr Bargain Queen. Or go see a fun movie. Or take a trip to the library to find some great books to read. Or do one of the million other things she considers enjoyable.

So what's the bad news? The Bargain Queen just can't be bothered doing most of this today. It's cold, the sky's mostly grey, she's got nothing to wear... She dug out a lamp to put on her desk for some extra light while she's writing at least, but that's about as motivated as she's feeling. She might manage a wander to the hardware store this afternoon to have a chat with the nice old guys about putting up some shelves, and even that will feel like an achievement!

But hey, winter solstice is just past, so things should sort themself out pretty soon. And in the meantime, there's always chocolate :)

PS: There's a more extreme form of the winter blues called Seasonal Affective Disorder, where you get clinically depressed each year instead of just blue. If you've got it, the stuff above won't do you any harm, but it's probably best to talk to someone who knows more about this stuff than The Bargain Queen. Since she's not a doctor and doesn't even play one on TV, she's not qualified to give you proper medical advice so listen to her at your own peril. ;)

Filed in:

health

Showing off: two pairs of Marc Jacobs shoes for $200!

2006-06-22T10:39:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has a couple of conflicting impulses. On the one hand, she LOVES beautiful, well designed things. On the other hand, she knows all about the environmental damage, psychological ill-health and financial ruin that are caused by excess consumption and wants no part of it. So when she falls in love with a fabulous designer something, which happens at least once a year, there's no way she'll buy it unless she can fit it into her budget AND will get many years of wear out of it. That doesn't happen very often, but when it does, what a thrill!

The other day The Bargain Queen outdid herself by finding two pairs of Marc Jacobs shoes for under $200 Australian (about US$150) in the winter sales! (OK, she'll admit right now that one pair are knock-offs, so it's not quite as amazing as it initially sounds, but she's still mighty pleased with herself.)

Here's what she bought:

Marc Jacobs rubber boots, $150

Before winter had even started, The Bargain Queen was already obsessing about these Marc Jacobs boots. At the original price of $240, they were only affordable if she trimmed her budget for other things dramatically, so she waited a while. Then they went down to $150 on sale... bingo! As she mentioned before, she only had one pair of waterproof shoes before and they're nearly worn out, so apart from being gorgeous, these also fill a genuine practical need.

Plus they look equally great with a skirt or peeking out under jeans, but not with jeans tucked into them even though that's really fashionable these days. (The Bargain Queen's a full-grown woman and doesn't need her hips to look any bigger than they actually are.)

Marc Jacobs (knock off) flats, $50!

While The Bargain Queen was buying the boots, she got talking to the sales assistant about her other current obsession - the adorable Marc Jacobs shoes with the studded bows. They still had the real thing in her size, but only in black with a 4" heel, and they were $500 Australian on sale. The bad news: they weren't going to be marked down any further, so The Bargain Queen was never going to be able to buy them :( Then came the good news: there were knock offs. In the same store. In fact, on the opposite side of that floor!

The Bargain Queen raced over and found them in the sale bin immediately and they were marked down to $50... BUT they were an 8.5, a whole size too small. And they were the only ones left. She tried them anyway, just in case, and they fit perfectly. Score!

Two weeks later, they've been worn practically every day even though it's freezing right now (well, freezing by Sydney standards, so nothing's actually frozen). She's wearing them partly because she's so in love with them, and partly because her inability to buy dull but practical things means she can't wear her boots until she goes shopping and buys some suitable socks. *Sigh*.

But if those boots are enough motivation that the next time she goes shopping for socks, she actually buys some instead of getting bored and going home, they're special boots indeed!

Filed in:

Online surveys: mostly (but not all) scams

2006-06-21T14:36:00.000+10:00

If you spend time online, you've probably seen ads that say something like "you can earn hundreds of dollars doing surveys at home". If you've got a skeptical bone in your body, you've probably concluded it's a scam, and rightly so. It's not possible to earn much money taking surveys - but you might get some free movie tickets like The Bargain Queen did!

A few months ago, The Bargain Queen heard about a site called pureprofile that promises modest rewards like movie tickets, CDs, DVDs and gift vouchers if you take their surveys. She was initially a little wary, but it all looked legitimate so she gave it a go... and five months later, got two movie tickets for her troubles. To earn them, she did about two surveys a month, which took between two and twenty minutes each. That doesn't work out to a fantastic hourly rate, but considering that it came out of time she spends checking email each day, The Bargain Queen's happy with it. (She also secretly likes taking surveys in the hope that companies make more things to her taste.)

So what's the down side? Their customer service is really poor, so try not to email them lest you be treated with as much suspicion as The Bargain Queen was!

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IKEA's sale is on

2006-06-21T13:53:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen was in IKEA the other day looking for shelves and noticed that their annual sale is on. There were some fantastic buys there, including great lamps, chairs and vases at steep discounts (pity our place is so small we can't buy any more stuff!). If you've never been to the IKEA sale, it's one of the few heavily advertised ones that The Bargain Queen recommends. It's on 'til the end of June and if you'd like to see what's on offer, there's some examples here.

Filed in:

Where The Bargain Queen's been...

2006-06-20T21:47:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen took a week off without warning and owes you, her beloved readers, a brief explanation.

The Bargain Queen has been away getting to know her father, stepmother and brothers for the last week, which is admittedly a strange thing for a 27 year old to be doing. She didn't know them growing up because her mother was the 'other woman' and her existence was a big secret. She recently got the chance to spend some time with them and she's making the most of it - especially since her father's 80 and her stepmother's 75!

So please excuse the absence and come back tomorrow when regular posting resumes!

The Bargain Queen's in Melbourne

2006-06-14T09:17:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's in Melbourne this week to visit her family. She'll post as much as she can, but since that involves kicking her 80 year old father off his computer and out of his study, it might be an uphill battle! So please excuse her if she's a bit quiet for a few days.

Guess what? Food grows on trees!

2006-06-09T12:48:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen walks a LOT and loves it, but there's one thing she often sees that makes her cranky. While she's wandering around the suburbs, she likes to take a peak at what other people have done with their gardens. Mostly this is really enjoyable since people have such beautiful plants, but sometimes it seems like people don't think about what it is they're growing, so they let delicious food go to waste through neglect.

For example, a nearby house has a hedge of fig trees. When the figs are in season, they fall off the tree and rot on the ground. At the same time the fruit shop up the road sells near-identical produce for $2 apiece. In another backyard near The Bargain Queen's old house, there was a lilly pilly tree which produced a fantastic crop of fruit each year. Again, the fruit would be left to rot and fall from the tree, which apart from being wasteful also stains the surrounding concrete paths really badly. These aren't isolated examples - we've seen everything from olives to lemon grass to mangoes go to waste.

Why do people do this? Maybe the lilly pillies were just too difficult; they're a native Australian fruit that's only really delicious made into chutney or jam (jelly for American readers) and possibly only foodies know this. Likewise olives need some processing to be yummy... but what about figs? They're pretty fantastic straight from the tree, as are mangoes.

The Bargain Queen's going to assume that people just don't know what they're doing with these plants and offer a few pointers.

Firstly, if you have something in your garden that might be edible but you're not sure, it's not hard to find out what it is. If you know any keen gardeners, ask them; if not, take a cutting to your local garden store and ask them help you identify it. Alternatively, your local library will usually have a plant identification guide and these also often turn up in discount bookstores if you want your own copy. As a last resort, the internet can sometimes be useful too, although our experience suggests you need to know roughly what sort of plant it is and what it might be called to narrow the search down. If anyone can recommend a good plant identification web site, please do!

Secondly, some basic care will make the food your garden produces a lot tastier. That means watering, fertilising and taking care of any pests before they eat everything. (OK, The Bargain Queen neglects some of these things when she's busy too... but any effort is better than none.) Some plants also need to be pruned annually. Once you know what the plant is called, it's usually easy to find lots of information online about growing them. For example, a three-minute Google search turned up great information on growing figs, mangoes, herbs and fruit trees.

Thirdly, what to do with all that food? Many fruit trees will provide a large enough crop that you'll be sick of eating the produce long before it runs out. Funnily enough, or ancestors had exactly that problem and devised many solutions for preserving food. Fruit can be dried, frozen or made into jam/jelly or chutney. Many vegetables can also be dried, as can fresh herbs. Again, the internet is great for finding out how to do this - there are many comprehensive guides to making jam, drying fruits and vegetables and drying herbs, seeds and nuts.

Or if all of that sounds like too much work, give the excess away! When you're completely sick of oranges and can't stand to eat another one, your friends, neighbours and co-workers who don't have a tree full of them in their backyard are likely to be happy to take some off your hands. You could even give some to a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen and earn yourself some good karma.

Just please don't let food rot on the ground, it makes The Bargain Queen cranky!

Filed in:

Your past is right there on the shelf

2006-06-07T12:31:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen and Mr Bargain Queen desperately have to cull some of their possessions. They recently moved into a smaller, unrenovated place and have room for about half the stuff they actually have. The apartment has one bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and a living room for a total of around 40 square metres (400 square feet). It's not exactly where we expected to be living at this point in our life, but we're making the renovation as much fun as we can.

But before we can move any further into the fun stuff - refinishing floors, selecting joinery, knocking out walls - we have to make the place livable enough that we don't go mad before it's all done. That means turning four small run-down rooms into space for us to sleep, eat, cook, coif, lounge, work, study... and store the wardrobes of two vain people as well. It's not as impossible a task as it seems, but it does mean questioning some of our priorities.

For a start, The Bargain Queen has inherited a lot of family memorabilia that has previously been deemed too precious to part with. What to do with it all when there's no space to store it and no free surfaces on which to display it? The Bargain Queen's mother has refused to take it back, which leaves two options: post it to her anyway, or cause great offence by getting rid of it. To be very blunt about it, none of these things are especially attractive; many of them belonged to people we never knew; and they're the least useful stuff in the place. As it nears a point where The Bargain Queen must choose whether she has room in this pokey apartment for her family's past, or for her own present and future, the decision looks clear. Goodbye charming old junk, hello space for today.

The Bargain Queen and Mr Bargain Queen also keep a helluva lot of books. Saying we have a metric tonne of them is only a small exaggeration; we have more than 20 boxes of them, weighing over 20 kilograms each and that gets us halfway there. So far, the strategy is to cull anything we're unlikely to read again (or won't admit to having ever owned). We'll then put some shelves up above the bedroom door to accomodate our paperbacks and see if our home looks less like a second-hand bookstore. We're aiming for only one freestanding bookshelf instead of three; we'll see what measures it takes to get there.

Next on the agenda is The Bargain Queen's office. She works from home when she's well enough to work, and that's been excuse enough to indulge her stationery fetish. A foot-high stack of paper for a printer that doesn't work? It's lust not logic at work there.

There's also a well-overdue wardrobe cull to do; some near-dead plants to put out of their misery; many boxes of our own memorabilia (as opposed to family stuff) that never get opened; and a CD collection long since superceded by iTunes. There's certainly a surfeit of things that could go to make more room. The question is, can The Bargain Queen put aside sentimentality for long enough to do it?

Filed in:

Why we love imaginary shopping

2006-06-06T13:01:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen loves beautiful things. Love love LOVES them. But that doesn't mean she can have all the gorgeous things she'd like. For example, she's currently in love with some stunning Marc Jacobs heels, and they're $500 Australian on sale. Eep! No way they're going to fit into this year's clothes budget!

The Bargain Queen's response to having a crush on unaffordable Marc Jacobs goodies is to check eBay, bluefly.com and a few other American sites. What counts as new season, $800+ merchandise in Australia is often already in the hands of eBay sellers and discounted to US$200 elsewhere. That's still expensive, but it's in 'occasional treat' territory rather than being completely off limits.

Unfortunately, noone has these particular shoes on eBay any more - they're from three seasons ago and they're still $500 here. The Bargain Queen is in the mood to name and shame, so it's David Jones she's talking about here. They sell lovely things, but some of them have been on the shop floor for years!

So The Bargain Queen consoled herself with some imaginary shopping. Instead of buying a single thing she can't afford, she finds a whole lot of gorgeous things online, puts them in her shopping cart, then looks at the total and gets really pleased that she's leaving that money in the bank instead!

This was The Bargain Queen's latest imaginary shopping expedition:

Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, $197

Tocca jacket, $249

...and since imaginary shopping has no limits in terms of extravagence...

Gucci watch, $600

So for three little items, if The Bargain Queen could pick anything she wanted, it'd be US$1,046. That's a pretty steep imaginery total! Add in international shipping, tax and insurance and it's US$1,390, which is almost $1,800 Australian... which is a cheap airfare to Europe or an all-expenses-paid holiday in New Caledonia.

Suddenly, The Bargain Queen's happy with her budget-conscious life again!

Filed in:

fashion

I'm not fat, these clothes are too small!

2006-06-05T14:44:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen is going to have a little rant today, and probably only the girls will relate to it - sorry boys! What she wants to know is why do some fashion labels make their sizing so tiny? Do they really not want money from anyone larger than the house model? One Australian designer is famous for saying he doesn't want 'fat chicks' wearing his clothes... but surely that strategy doesn't work for everyone?

Clothes sizing isn't something The Bargain Queen normally thinks about. She mostly doesn't care what the numbers say; every brand cuts their stuff differently so of course the numbers vary. She's an L at stores aimed at teens and an XS at stores for the middle-aged but she doesn't care. If it fits, no worries. But she just had one of those sad, tragic changing room experiences that made her feel like an overweight hippopotamus and it got her thinking.

The Bargain Queen was checking out the winter sales that just started in Sydney and tried on a label she doesn't normally wear. The garments were beautiful, well priced even before the mark down and there were racks of different styles to choose from. It looked like a great buy, but gorgeous clothes end up on sale racks for a reason. Sometimes they were priced too high; sometimes unseasonal weather makes them unnecessary that year; sometimes the store's buyers miscalculate their customers' tastes. But sometimes, noone buys the clothes because noone fits in the clothes.

So The Bargain Queen went into the changeroom... and nothing from this label fit. At all. She tried the medium, she tried the large. She had acres of flesh hanging out all over the place in both of them. Ugh! Really not something anyone wants to see.

Now this would be fair and reasonable if The Bargain Queen was bigger than the general population. OK, she does have a little bit of winter padding right now... but she's currently an Australian size 12 (equivalent to a US 8 or a UK 10) which on a 5'7" frame is not enormous. To put it into perspective, the most recent research on Australian body sizes found that the average 16- to 24-year-old woman fits a size 16! So why is she way too big for the large size garments?

There are a whole lot of possible explanations. Perhaps the designer thought the fabric had more stretch than it does. Maybe they made a terrible mistake while they were grading the patterns and the small size became the large. Maybe they expected shorter people, who also tend to be smaller, to buy their clothes. Or maybe they actually do want to keep 'fat chicks' out of their clothes.

The lesson The Bargain Queen should have taken from all this is that she gets convinced that she's fat a little too easily. So one manufacturer makes clothes for the super-slim... so what? She also tried things from a brand she buys regularly and was roughly the same size as usual, which should be evidence enough that she's not enormous. And even if she was overweight, there are much worse things you can be. (Unhealthy. Mean. Pedantic. Sociopathic...)

As for the manufacturer, it's unlikely the department store was pleased to have racks of their clothes left at the end of the season to mark down. If their super-small sizing is working for them, it's not happening at that store.

Filed in:

fashion

Cheap, chic and (mostly) sane

2006-06-02T09:47:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has a strategy to keep herself reasonably sane no matter what life throws at her. Since it's a lot cheaper then pills, counselling, retail therapy, excessive drinking or any of the other things you might try to get through a difficult time, she thought she'd share it.

A quick disclaimer though: The Bargain Queen is totally not qualified to advise anyone with an actual, diagnosed mental illness. She's mostly sane and this works to keep her that way. If you're also just going through a tough time, this might help; if there's something more serious happening then you probably need more qualified help than The Bargain Queen! But enough disclaimer...

The Bargain Queen's strategy is really just about maintaining a sense of hope at all times. It's not complicated or difficult and you don't need to buy anything to do it. You don't even have to attend meetings or read the right web sites. All you do is make a small step towards one of your goals every day.

Of course, that means you have to have some goals. For some people that's really easy (The Bargain Queen always has goals; she's a little avaricious) but some people find it hard to work out what they want from life. The only advice we can give is to pick something and give it a go. Noone is ever 100% sure that they're shooting towards the right thing, so it doesn't really matter if you're not completely certain. Working towards something gets you a lot further than not working towards anything. Plus whenever The Bargain Queen's got what she wanted only to find it's not so great, she's been able to trade it for something that's a better fit.

So what are The Bargain Queen's goals today?

Live a happy, fulfilled life despite having a nasty incurable illness
Live overseas for at least a few years of her life
Be financially secure enough to not have to do work she hates ever again
Be surrounded by beautiful things
Create stuff she's really proud of (and ideally get rich and famous along the way, but that's probably too much to ask!)

The next part is to do something little towards those goals each day. It doesn't have to be anything dramatic, although if something significant presents itself, of course The Bargain Queen jumps on it! Most days, it's something like these though...

To have a happy life, The Bargain Queen makes the best of each day. If she's not well enough to get out of bed she reads a good book or works on her laptop. On a good day, she tries to squeeze some fun in between catching up on all the practical stuff she hasn't been well enough to do.
The Bargain Queen's best hope of living overseas right now is to get Mr Bargain Queen through his degree - he'll be a qualified English and Japanese teacher when he's finished. She mostly just keeps out of his way when he needs to study, but she does encourage him to try to teach her Japanese even though it makes her brain hurt.
To be financially secure, she sticks to the budget Mr Bargain Queen calculated and does what she can to contribute financially when she's not well enough to work... which mostly means finding cheaper sources for everything she ever has to buy.
In terms of creative output, The Bargain Queen has her blog, she's re-designing the apartment and when she's not well enough to do those, there's always cross stitch!

While that's all pretty specific to The Bargain Queen's goals, there's plenty of little things that can be done to help you creep up your goals too. For example, you might become better informed about the things you want by borrowing a book from the library, reading a newspaper article or checking out the blog of someone who's where you want to be. You could learn new skills by taking a short course, or you could strengthen your existing skills by practising for a few minutes each day. You can also spend time keeping in touch with people who know things you'd like to know, or looking for cheap sources of any supplies you need. It doesn't have to all follow a grand plan, it just has to offer some chance of helping you get where you want to be.

The point is, you can turn those "gee my life sucks" days into "life sucks but I'm really enjoying the book I'm reading" or "today ain't so great but I've almost got enough saved for that holiday in Spain" or "I hate this town but I'm moving soon", which makes it all a smidgen more bearable. It's stopped The Bargain Queen from sliding into depression a couple of times when things weren't going so well, and helped things come good again at the same time; maybe it'll work for someone else too.

But enough of the serious stuff - back to the fun fashion frivolity tomorrow ;)

Filed in:

Showing off: two winter coats, $126

2006-06-01T11:26:00.000+10:00

In Australia, the coldest part of winter has just started so it's time to pull out some warm clothing.

This is a clothing category The Bargain Queen usually neglects because she lives in Sydney where there's only three 'cold' months a year and it never gets below freezing. We have no snow, no frozen waterways and not much frost... but we also don't have the fantastic ducted heating which is standard in colder places. That means we don't have the option of throwing a long North Face coat over our outfit until we get where we're going because indoor and outdoor temperatures don't vary as much. So here, your warm layers have to be an integral part of the ensemble because you're going to be wearing them most of the day.

So after looking at her pathetic selection of winter coats, The Bargain Queen decided it was time to go shopping. Here's what she came home with:

Warm puffy grey jacket, $50

This was $50, marked down from $130 at Witchery in Birkenhead Point in Sydney. It isn't glamourous but it's warm and waterproof which makes it very useful. It replaces a threadbare, oversized snowboarding jacket The Bargain Queen's worn on wet days for the last five years - an unfortunate consequence of buying beauty over practicality. 'Nuff said.

Black military jacket, $76.30

Like most black clothes, this hasn't photographed very well. It's a black military-style shrunken blazer that was $76.30 down from $169 at the David Jones Warehouse in Birkenhead Point.

While it's not very warm by itself, The Bargain Queen bought it a couple of sizes large so she can wear a sweater underneath it. The combined warmth of a cotton t-shirt, cotton sweater, cotton blazer and a scarf is usually enough in Sydney, even in the depths of winter.

As for the military thing, The Bargain Queen loves the big brass buttons and the cute little epaulettes... but is military in or out this year? Every 'hot or not' column she's seen recently has mentioned it, but they're equally split on whether it's 'new and great', 'completely over' or 'classic'. It's all way too confusing for The Bargain Queen: one more reason she ignores the dictates of fashion and just does what works for her!

Filed in:

How to host the Carnivale of Couture

2006-05-31T10:33:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen recently hosted the Carnivale of Couture, run by the super-fantastic shoe blogger Manolo - and frankly had no idea what she was doing. Today she's sharing what she learnt along the way. So if you're a blogger and have thought about hosting the Carnivale of Couture but don't know what to do, read on!

(Some of this advice is applicable to other blog festivals as well. If you'd like to see which other festivals are out there, check out the Blog Carnival Index.)

Step one: ask the host
If you'd like to host the Carnivale of Couture, the first thing to do is email Manolo and ask if you can host it one week. Don't feel like you have to have a topic already; Manolo recently said:

The Manolo would also wish you to know that step of choosing the topic it is not absolutely necessary.

If you are the next host of the Carnivale and you cannot devise the suitable topic, do not panic. Many other blog carnivals do not have the weekly topic, in the stead they ask each participant to select what they believe to be their best post from the previous week, which then becomes the submission for the carnival.

The important thing is to be included in the upcoming schedule; if you're not on the schedule, you're not going to host it!

Step two: post your topic before 'your week'
When you're added to the schedule, Manolo will tell you which week is 'your week'.

While The Bargain Queen is usually regarded as reasonably intelligent, this got her all confused. In Australia, 'week of June 12th' would usually mean 'week beginning June 12th' so she was all set to post her topic on the Monday of her week... which is when her Carnivale was actually supposed to finish. Oops! Thankfully the fabulous Designer Ella set her straight before her week was all over. Thanks Ella!

So if you'd like to be cleverer than The Bargain Queen, post your topic to your blog a few days before the Monday of your week. Then email Manolo so he knows you're ready to go.

Step three: read STACKS of email
Once Manolo posts on his blog saying that your topic is up, be prepared for an avalanche of email. Manolo is a very popular man and anything he mentions gets a lot of attention - including the Carnivale. The Bargain Queen received about 30 full responses to her topic, plus a whole lot of related comments on her blog; you'll probably experience something similar.

So make sure you've set aside a few hours to read it all!

Step four: post on your blog
When you've read all the responses, it's time to post links to them all on your blog. The Bargain Queen's not about to tell you how to post on your blog; you already know how to do that! Hosting the Carnivale in your own inimitable way keeps it interesting, so don't feel like you have to ape anyone else.

But if you would like to see some examples of what other people have done first, check out:

The Bargain Queen's own carnival of best-ever bargains: parts one, two and three
Fashion is a Verb's tinselltown trends gone wrong
Style Graduate's straight-from-the-runway Halloween party
Designer Ella's carnivale of fashion confessions (our favourite carnivale ever!)

Or if you're feeling really inspired, you could check out Manolo's Carnivale of Couture archive.

Step five: have fun!
Not so much a step as a general tip: have fun hosting your Carnivale! It doesn't have to be super-serious or hard work; just have a good time with it and enjoy all the extra attention ;)

Happy hosting everyone!

PS: If anything in this post contradicts something you've heard elsewhere, please post a comment and let us know; occasionally The Bargain Queen does get things wrong!

My best-ever bargain

2006-05-30T09:20:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen is very, very late to her own party. She hosted last week's Carnivale of Couture, in which she asked:

What is your best-ever bargain? Where did you find it, how much was it and why is it your favourite?

Due to extreme technical difficulties she's taken a little while to post hers. But here they are! And no, she couldn't narrow it down to just one...

Gold heart necklace

The Bargain Queen bought this necklace in an op (thrift) shop for $6. It's 925 silver with gold plating, probably only 14K but it still looks pretty. Of all The Bargain Queen's bargains, this is the most frequently used. When it's warm enough to wear open shirts, this necklace gets worn about 4 times a week.

It looks pretty with everything and finishes off an outfit nicely, plus it just generally makes The Bargain Queen feel happy whenever she wears it. Yay for pretty necklaces!

Kenneth Cole boots

The Bargain Queen's other best-ever bargain was a LOT more expensive. These Kenneth Cole boots were US$125 and The Bargain Queen bought five years ago when the exchange rate completely sucked, so they cost over $250 in Australian money. Eep!

So how are they still a bargain? Because they've been worn so many times that on a cost-per-wear basis they're cheaper than any cheap shoes she's ever bought. They're also incredibly comfortable and The Bargain Queen LOVES attractive, comfortable shoes because she walks practically everywhere.

These are brilliant for both work and hiking, which is basically unheard-of in a shoe. Even in their current battered state, they shine up nicely enough to be acceptable under trousers in the office; plus The Bargain Queen can walk miles in them without getting sore feet. That's saved a lot of space in suitcases because she can wear these on the plane, tuck some shoe polish in her toiletries kit and know she'll be acceptably shod for all but the most formal occasions. (Well, unless there's hot weather...)

After five years and hundreds of kilometres/miles, they're just starting to wear out. They don't look as great when they're polished and the sole has worn away on one side, although they're still super-comfy to walk in. Still, one day soon they'll go to shoe heaven and The Bargain Queen dreads that day. They're now saved for travel and long hikes in wet weather to try to preserve them a little longer, and she's starting to look for replacements since Kenneth Cole don't seem to make them any more. If they do ever make these again, The Bargain Queen will buy three pairs on the spot, cost be damned!

And until then, The Bargain Queen's on the lookout for the perfect hiking boot. It must have tough leather on the outside and supple kid leather on the inside... preferably in purple like these. They must have a thinner, more flexible sole than standard hiking boots so you can feel and respond to changes in the ground, but also have fantastic grip... just like these do. And lastly, they mustn't be ugly like 'real' hiking boots invariably are. If you see anything that fits the bill then please, please let The Bargain Queen know!

Filed in:

Trash: the serious side

2006-05-25T19:30:00.000+10:00

Yesterday The Bargain Queen showed off all the things she found amongst the 'trash' people put out for the Council to take. She's absolutely thrilled with all the great things she got and the other scavengers she saw looked pleased with their finds too.

There is a serious side to it though. Every single thing that was put out and wasn't snapped up is now in landfill. That's fine if something's broken beyond repair and has no reusable or recycleable parts, but what about all these things The Bargain Queen saw yesterday? She wonders if all these should be in landfill:

Literally hundreds of electrical appliances, many of them newish with no obvious damage, some still in their original packaging
Piles of clothes in clean, undamaged and completely wearable condition
Solid wooden furniture, re-painted badly then discarded
Christmas presents that had been opened at one end and put in the trash with their wrapping paper still on
A mountain of kids toys, many in great condition
Building materials like 100 year old skirting boards and 60 year old security doors, which need a little cleaning but still work great and would sell easily in salvage shops
Lots of half-empty tins of paints, varnishes, strippers etc, some were even unopened
Practically every kind of household goods imaginable in clean, working, reusable condition

If you wanted to furnish a whole house for free from these piles of 'rubbish', you could - and probably some of the new migrants in the area do. For all of it to end up in landfill instead makes The Bargain Queen really sad. Every single item was made from natural resources, packaged, shipped, bought, used a little and then thrown out. Some had even been wrapped and given as gifts, then discarded unused. There's somebody who needs or would love every one of those things, but instead they've gone to the tip.

This isn't about to turn into a sermon on keeping things til they break though. The Bargain Queen is a fickle fashion fiend, so she's often guilty of discarding still-useful things because her tastes have changed. For example, she has a whole wardrobe of ultra-sleek, tailored and slightly boyish clothes that she wants to replace merely because she's going through a girlier phase and would rather wear lace and low-cut necklines now.

There is a financially, environmentally and socially responsible way to be a fickle fashion fiend though, and that's to keep the stuff going around. Buying pre-loved items (or finding them on the street) is not only cheaper, it also means more things get used 'til they wear out, so less new stuff needs to be made. If you can find some items for your latest fad in a consignment store, eBay, a thrift store or an outlet where retailers send their detritus, you're likely to get a great deal - and you can give yourself a little pat on the back for environmental friendliness too. But even if you can't bring yourself to wear thrift store clothes or drag furniture in from the kerb, you can dispose of useful things you no longer need in a way that keeps them in circulation.

Here's some ideas of better ways to get rid of useful 'trash':

Thrift stores. If you give your things to a charity-run thrift store, they'll either be sold to make money for the charity, or given to someone so needy they can't even afford to buy things in the thrift store. Either way, you get some good karma from the deal.
Freecycle. The Bargain Queen waxes lyrical about freecycle on a regular basis. Freecycle runs lots of local mailing lists where you can post a message about things you have to give away. People email you to say they'd like them and you negotiate a time for them to collect things from you. It's a great way to get rid of things you don't need and get things you do.
eBay. Your stuff has to be worth a reasonable amount to make it worth the time and effort of listing on eBay, but if it is, it can be a great way to get some extra money for your stuff. The Bargain Queen once made $1,000 selling two old gas heaters her boyfriend's father was throwing out. (They retailed for over $2,500 and were in good condition though. They're by far the best eBay sale The Bargain Queen's ever made!)
Community organisations. This take more creativity, but you might be able to match unusual things you want to get rid of with an organisation in your area that needs them. For example, The Bargain Queen has given un-needed craft supplies to a local pre-school, she sent her old computers to a sustainable farm up in the mountains and an old chemistry set went to a high school science teacher she found on freecycle. It's a very direct way to improve your area a little while getting rid of your junk.

Even if the environmental consequences of useful stuff ending up in landfill don't bother you, think of it this way: if you're reading The Bargain Queen's blog, you probably like bargains. When people keep their stuff in circulation, it becomes a potential bargain for someone else (especially in a thrift store, on eBay or in a consignment store). If everyone makes a minimal effort to make their 'junk' available to others, that's a huge pool of potential bargains for you to choose from.

So please, try to keep your stuff out of landfill!

Filed in:

BargainQueen_philosophy

Showing off: a big pile of trash

2006-05-24T16:49:00.000+10:00

Moving into a new area means The Bargain Queen's making a whole lot of fantastic new discoveries. In the way of shopping, there's luscious cheap seafood, more dollar stores than you'd believe, fantastic Thai food, lots of Asian grocery stores and a massive home improvement warehouse just up the road. Loving it all! But the absolute best thing so far is... the garbage collection!

In the area we've just moved into, they still do an old-style large waste collection day. This is the one day every six months or so when the Council will pick up all the stuff that doesn't fit in your regular trash - old matresses, broken couches, building materials, etc etc. In the area we used to live, you could call any time and they'd pick this stuff up, so it didn't all happen on one day any more.

The Bargain Queen headed out early yesterday morning to check out all the things that were being thrown away.

Here's what she came home with:

Framed Indian poster

The Bargain Queen LOVES this picture. It only needed a quick wipedown to remove a few years of dust and it'll look fantastic hanging in our bedroom. Score!

Funky striped rug

This is super-bright on one side, muted on the other. It works really well under our dining table and hides some of the so-so carpet we're about to pull up... so it'll soon be hiding yet-to-be-restored floorboards instead. It was freshly cleaned, neatly folded and has only a little damage, so we're thrilled to get it!

Mid-century leather-upholstered chair

This was sitting by the side of the road in two pieces but took only five minutes, a mallet and a screw to repair. Not because The Bargain Queen's so clever, but because it was so well-made to begin with.

So what will we do with a single chair that doesn't match all our others? The Bargain Queen's trying it out as a dining-room-friendly desk chair, since our new place is so tiny that her work space has to be in the living/dining room. If it's comfy, that means no big ugly office chair in our living room, which is a big improvement.

60s placemat set, new in box

This 60s placemat set for two was still in its original packaging. It needs a quick clean to de-moth it but is otherwise perfect, so we'll use it when we're eating at home along together (which is most nights).

This is how they look in use:

Big spice jars

Spices are much, much cheaper to buy in big quantities and they keep better too. We're a few jars short after the move so it was fantastic finding eight of these in a box by the side of the road. The person who threw them out had even cleaned them and packed them in a box with handles for easy carrying. Thank you stranger, whoever you are.

Blue dress

This blue evening dress has a beaded trim and fits The Bargain Queen really well. It was thrown out in immaculate condition and perfectly clean.

(The Bargain Queen hoards evening wear a little, because although she rarely has occasion to wear it, having formal wear on hand saves so much money and stress when it's needed.)

Red dress

Another discarded evening dress, this time in sexy red satin. It's not ironed because The Bargain Queen only irons when her life depends on it, which is practically never. It laces up the back like this:

The Bargain Queen's especially thrilled because the lining and lacing combined provide enough support that she doesn't have to wear a bra with it - which means it's one of the few backless dresses she can wear!

And last but not least, the strangest find of the day:

Stacks of condoms

The strangest thing The Bargain Queen found amongst all that trash were boxes and boxes of condoms that someone had thrown out. Each one contains 100 condoms, with a sticker for a herpes treatment stuck on each one.

The first thing The Bargain Queen thought when she saw them was, what's the logic with that promotional gimic? Are they trying to say 'Don't get herpes, but hey, if you do, use our product!', or was it more like 'Hey happy herpes patients, try not to pass it on!'.

Then she thought, well, a job's a job and some people must hand out condoms with herpes treatment stickers on the back to make a living. If that's your job, what would you do with the leftovers? There's only so many you could use yourself and they'd probably remind you of work, which would likely remove the need for them in the first place. So, into the bin they go.

And in case you're wondering, The Bargain Queen brought them home merely to photograph - she might wear other people's garbage but she's not entrusting her reproductive health to it.

Mr Bargain Queen has been greatly enjoying them though... for making balloon animals!

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Catching up with the ones we love

2006-05-22T18:05:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's been spending some time catching up on the blogs she loves after being offline for so long! Here's some highlights:

Designer Ella on what she hates about fashion... I'm sure we've all felt that way when we need something specific (new work outfit, flattering evening wear, jeans that make your bum look fantastic) and the gods of fashion have decreed that noone wants that this year so not a single store stocks it, no matter how much you have to spend.
Street fashion photos on She's A Betty. The Bargain Queen loves great real outfits so much more than high fashion photo shoots, although she's also pretty partial to the latter. But while striking images are great, there's nothing better than seeing how someone ties their scarf or layers their jackets and thinking 'I could do that' - especially when it works when you try it and you've suddenly got a great new look for free!
Jory des Jardins talked about her own wedding ambivalence and linked to Make Love, Not Debt. The Bargain Queen wants to personally start an 'end the $30,000+ wedding' campaign. If you love weddings and want to spend a lot that's great, but why should we all feel pressured to do it? Why do the 'simple' weddings in magazines still have 120+ guests, $4,000 wedding gowns and matching bridesmaid ensembles? (The Bargain Queen doesn't hate any of her friends enough to make them wear a bridesmaid dress, let alone pay for it themselves and go to all the fittings.) Why do aunts who never call and haven't invited you to anything in years suddenly hate you if they don't invite them to your wedding?
And in blog-world news, Coutorture got a mention in Women's Wear Daily. Congratulations Julie!

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The Bargain Queen's ultimate shopping destination - Scottsboro, Alabama?

2006-05-20T16:09:00.000+10:00

Have you ever chosen a holiday destination solely for the shopping opportunities there? Or even so you can visit one particular very special shop?

The Bargain Queen wouldn't normally choose a travel destination that way - seeing beautiful places and interesting things, visiting family and friends or practising speaking French (very badly) are normally much stronger motivations. If there's great shopping along the way, all the better, but it just seems so shallow for that to be the main motivation.

There is one exception though, and it's not Muji or Uniqlo or Petit Bateau. It's the Unclaimed Baggage Centre in Scottsboro, Alabama. The Bargain Queen would seriously alter a travel itinerary just to check this place out, even though most of her American friends are from the north and say not-so-nice things about the south.

This store is where unclaimed baggage from all over the world ends up and is sold, and it sounds like a cool place to go for three reasons. Firstly, The Bargain Queen keeps hearing about amazing bargains people have found there. Secondly, there's something fascinating about the strange things people take on airlines and subsequently lose. Thirdly, a big thrift store is always a good place to check out and this one gets pretty good reviews.

There are a few items for sale on their web site: Alexander McQueen pumps for $112.50; Dior driving loafers for $100; a book on the Facial Makeup of the Peking Opera for $15; Bang & Olufsen earphones for $75 and various iPods for $125, $135 and $185 (all prices in US dollars if you're wondering). The big attraction is the 7,000 'new' items on the shelves each day though, and the vast majority of these are not on the site. Sigh.

So next time The Bargain Queen heads States-side, she's off to Alabama for a spot of shopping. What an unlikely place to pick!

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The Bargain Queen is back online!

2006-05-19T16:22:00.000+10:00

Regular readers of this blog might've noticed that it hasn't been updated as often as usual for the last few weeks. For this, The Bargain Queen wants to apologise profusely and offer a brief explanation.

Long story short, we moved house last Wednesday but only got the phone connected today (thanks Telstra). We now have dial-up, but no DSL for another fortnight. Which means The Bargain Queen can post here and update her del.icio.us categories again, finally, but is a bit bandwidth-limited for other things like reading blogs.

The Bargain Queen's used her time offline productively though: she's been planning some exciting new things, which you'll get to see in this blog soon.

So y'all come back now! ;)

Lifestyle trade-offs: being frugal while having fun

2006-05-19T16:02:00.000+10:00

J.D. from Get Rich Slowly has posted an excellent follow-up to The Bargain Queen's post on FrugalForLife.

It's called Lifestyle trade-offs: being frugal while having fun. If you're interested in the frugality/budget conscious side of bargain hunting, go take a look!

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The Bargain Queen on FrugalForLife

2006-05-17T14:16:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has a guest post on FrugalForLife today. It's called My Frugally Fashionable Life and it's her attempt to show that frugality and fabulousness can mix. If you're interested, go take a look!

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Your best-ever bargains, part three!

2006-05-17T13:44:00.000+10:00

For this week's Carnivale of Couture, The Bargain Queen asked...

What is your best-ever bargain? Where did you find it, how much was it and why is it your favourite?

...and the response has been phenomenal!

Here's some more amazing bargains the Carnivale's readers have found:

Ms_Moron makes a much smarter observation than her name would imply: she says her best bargain isn't her £5.50 Burberry trenchcoat £25 Marc Jacobs 60's style flats because she rarely wears them. (Good point!) Want to find out what beats these? Follow the link above!

Girl Detective found her wedding dress for $160, and it sounds stunning. Can't wait to see those photos!

Anonymous said…

My first great bargain was a Burberry classic trenchcoat, with wool lining and collar attachments, obtained from a thrift store in Hampton, Virginia, for fifty dollars. It was in mint condition and worth at least $900.00.
My second bargain was a Brooks Brothers green cotton twill -not poplin- three-piece suit which I purchased for about eleven dollars, also at a Hampton thrift store. The suit would have an approximate value of at least $300.00.

And La BellaDonna said…

I have made some funderful scores, but in terms of Biggest Bargain, I would have to say it was a pretty patchwork mink coat, in good condition and my size, which cost me $2.00. Yes, that is two of the American dollars. It is currently barricaded in storage, so I'm not certain if it still fits, of course...
Another great bargain was The Coat From Hell, which I made myself, from chunks of fabulous wool broadcloth laboriously matched at a pound sale, at probably $2-3 per yard, and two chunks of almost matching sunbak satin lining. I probably spent under $50 to make a wonderful coat which has held up for 17 years in craptastic weather.

If you've missed the fun so far, check out part one and part two of the best-ever bargains. There are some amazing finds there!

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Your best-ever bargains, part two!

2006-05-17T11:58:00.000+10:00

To finish off The Bargain Queen's first-ever Carnivale of Couture, here's some amazing bargains submitted by the carnivale's lovely participants.

Firstly, the fabulous people who posted pictures, because The Bargain Queen gets all excited over pictures:

Ms Shoewawa found bargain Robert Clergerie shoes, reduced from £200 to a mere £29.99. Take a look at the pic, they're fanastic!

Ivy Frozen's best bargains are $10 Charlotte Russe cowboy boots for winter and $5 Mudd leopard print sandals for summer. Both super-cute! Plus she praised The Bargain Queen, which makes her our new favourite person ;)

Geekigirl has pics of two pairs of Diesel shoes ($20 and $50 respectively), plus the most gorgeous chocolate Bossa dress. Love love love that dress!

Kathleen Fasanella, who has a blog called Fashion Incubator that The Bargain Queen can't recommend highly enough, said:

My best bargain was a vintage silk slip made in Hong Kong in the forties. It is all hand sewn, bias seams, french embroidery; it is beyond exquisite. Photos and posting of it are here.
I paid $1 for it, I bought it from a dry cleaner was closing his business and it had been left by a customer several years before.
I have another item, absolutely incredible. A fully sequined floor length gown. Please note, the sequins are not plastic - no, they're mother of pearl!!!!! Maybe I'll post that tomorrow. (Please, please do! - BQ) I also got it from the dry cleaner. I think it was $2.

As for equally fabulous bargains without photos...

Scarpediem got a stack of amazing finds, from Robert Clergerie shoes to great bags and clothes. When The Bargain Queen makes it to Philadelphia, she'll be getting some recommendations on where to shop!

Leek in Chicago said...

I got a pair of apple green Manolo Blahniks on sale at Neiman's and I have worn them so many times, and gotten so many compliments - they were truly worth the price if you calculate price per wearing (while on sale, they still were not
cheap)

(Ooooh, Manolos... stop drooling Bargain Queen, you're going to wreck the keyboard.)

...and Kristopher Dukes got one of the best bargains The Bargain Queen has ever heard of...

I bought a 1970's emerald chiffon gown with gold lame embroidery - labeled Miss
Dior - for $1. Are you turning green like my lovely gown? Also have bought a
1960's white mink coat for $30, and a vintage white mink Saks cap for $8. I love
buying fur in LA.

Monica said...

I don't think I can top Kristopher Dukes. However, I have bought an Emporio
Armani dress in black wool for $10. And yesterday, I arrived at my favorite
consignment shop as they were clearing out old items, and I got a pair of
Adrienne Vittadini heels in black leather for free.

Style Bard posted about a fantastic suede rock star coat she got on ebay for $50, and also said...

Non-fashion-wise, I got an amazing vintage coffee table that's huge and in good
condition for $1.99 and while I can't imagine what I've spent over the years
hauling it around while I move from place to place, the point is that it was a
major bargain and I love that damn table.

...and last but not least, what's The Bargain Queen's best-ever bargain?

You'll have to wait a couple of days to find out. Being without telephone, internet connection and desk because she moved house has slowed The Bargain Queen down a little. They've said someone will connect the phone on Friday afternoon, fingers crossed they'll show up this time...

So come back soon for The Bargain Queen's best-ever bargain. But in the meantime, the Carnivale is moving on to the fabulous Style Graduate. Can't wait to see her topic!

PS: A big thanks must go to Manolo, for your super-fabulous Carnivale organising. Thank you!

Filed in:

Your best-ever bargains

2006-05-15T17:41:00.000+10:00

For this week's Carnivale of Couture, The Bargain Queen asked to hear about your best ever bargains. Here are some of the incredible bargains we've heard about already...

Maria Palma found a fantastic Jones New York black, long-sleeved shirt for $9.99.

SlaveToShopping's favourite Talula pink halter top was a mere $4.95!

Style Graduate loves her $10 Rocket dog sandals and $29.99 sheets from Amazon... but rates her education, boyfriend and friendships as even better bargains. (Hear hear!)

The fashion outlaw Linmayu has a swag of great thrift store finds, including a navy-and-white A-line skirt with a chunky chainlink pattern for $1.20, a really neat blue and white vintage dress for $1 and a black Jansport backpack for 90 cents. Quelle bargains!

Designer Ella spotted her almost-perfect wedding dress for $500, but left it on the rack 'til she finds the man to go with it, which got The Bargain Queen making little sympathetic noises out loud in the internet cafe until someone told her to shut up...

Jewellery designer bartered for her whole glass studio including a kiln, which is seriously impressive. The Bargain Queen's going to have to get some bartering tips from you!

Rebecca's fabulous aubergine winter coat was a tiny $40.

Rondi found top-quality Dale of Norway sweaters for only $50 each, down from $400 at a ski sale.

Katie can't nominate a favourite bargain of all time, but her recent favourites are a $3.75 green cardigan and four long-sleeve cotton tops for $35.

Tammy's husband bought her an 18 inch 18kt gold rope-style necklace which cost $15/gram and weighs 20 grams, which is $300 if The Bargain Queen worked it out right. Not bad considering gold prices today!

Phyllis said:

In the 80's I had a long black Anny Taylor trouser skirt that fit me
perfectly and I wore it for about 5 years until it was in tatters. The skirt was
only $60 at the time, and I must have worn is at least 100 times.

Only recently did I find a replacement, which is pattern from HotPatterns,
so now I can make myself replacemnts as each one wears out!

Bead blogger wrote about stunning pearl beads she found for $8 a strand.

And last but not least, Sarah's got a couple of great bargain jackets.

If you'd like to take part in this week's Carnivale of Couture, you're not too late... yet! Either post on your weblog and leave a comment with a link, or tell us about your bargain in the comment if you don't have a blog.

Bring on more bargains!

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Carnivale of Couture: Your best bargain

2006-05-13T13:09:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen is hosting next week's Carnivale of Couture for the Super-Fantastic Manolo the Shoe Blogger. Her topic is:

What is your best-ever bargain? Where did you find it, how much was it and why is it your favourite?

If you'd like to participate, post your answer on your blog and leave a comment here. Or if you don't have a blog, you're welcome to put your whole answer here.

Let the showing off begin!

We're moving house...

2006-05-05T08:26:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen is taking a few days break from blogging while she moves house.

See you in a week!

Mother's Day bargain hunting

2006-05-02T10:34:00.000+10:00

[To The Bargain Queen's mother-in-law Christine: if you're reading this, please skip this post lest I spoil a great surprise!]

In Australia, the U.S.A. and a few other places, Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May, so all catalogues arrive about now. The Bargain Queen approaches Mother's Day the same way she approaches all holidays: she's going to do something lovely for all three mothers in her life, but she's also going to keep to her budget and skip the purposeless consumer items.

For The Bargain Queen's mother-in-law, one of Mr Bargain Queen's brothers suggested we pool our money and buy her a DVD player and some DVDs. It's a great idea because:

She doesn't have a DVD player
Her tastes are so unusual that mainstream TV doesn't offer her much
We can all use it whenever we visit her, if self interest in any way motivated us which of course it doesn't ;)

The Bargain Queen's done some online research to find the best prices for the DVD player and DVDs. Half an hour of browsing the sale catalogues of all the major retailers online will save us $10 on the DVD player and $15 each on the DVDs, for a total of $40 saving. Not bad pay really!

If you want to do the same, most big retailers have a link somewhere on their web site to their sale catalogue. If you're in Australia, here are the current catalogues from Myer, Target and KMart (all places with good specials on electrical goods, and great return policies if your cheap DVD player dies - a not uncommon occurance). In other countries, Google the names of the shops that might have the things you're after and see if they have their sale catalogues on their web site.

As for the DVDs, The Bargain Queen's two favourite places to find them cheaply in Sydney are JB Hi-Fi and Dirt Cheap CDs, which both have listings of many DVDs on their web sites. Mr Bargain Queen and his brothers have been ordered to pick DVDs their mum will like, because they've known her a total of almost 90 years while The Bargain Queen's only known her mother-in-law a little over a year and has never watched a movie with her. Then The Bargain Queen will make a quick trip to the local shopping centre (mall), buy the presents and Mother's Day is set.

At least, that's the plan. What could possibly go wrong?

Filed in:

occasions

Temporarily not updating categories

2006-05-01T11:52:00.000+10:00

Just a short administrative note: The Bargain Queen's 'posts by category' archives at del.icio.us aren't being updated right now as we're staying at a friend's place and using a different computer. So if you want to see all the latest stuff, you'll have to check here for a few days!

Better perfume for less money

2006-05-01T11:11:00.000+10:00

Since The Bargain Queen's thinking about perfume, she's going to share her best tip for finding breath-taking fragrances without paying an inflated purchase price which covers not only the fragrance, but also those glossy ads you see in Vogue.

While The Bargain Queen wears a commercial fragrance most days, she also uses top quality French essential oils - the kind that were used in perfumery until chemistry and profit margins took over. These beautiful oils are extracted from the plants and have a complexity and nuance that manufactured chemicals lack. They also cost $5-20 for a small bottle that will last over a year if you wear a couple of drops each day.

The trick to getting these so cheaply is to ignore the over-priced little bottles in the chemist (drug store) and go to a good aromatherapy supplier. The Bargain Queen's favourite is New Directions, which now has branches outside Australia as well.

An aromatherapy supplier will sell the really expensive oils like rose and jasmine as 3% dilutions that are safe to use directly on your skin; others you'll need to dilute yourself in a carrier oil like jojoba oil because full-strength oil is too strong. (The only oil which can be used on the skin undiluted is lavender, which is great for treating insect bites but not The Bargain Queen's favourite perfume.)

So what are The Bargain Queen's favourites? She especially loves Bulgarian rose, neroli, champaka, rose geranium and tuberose. These are all beautiful by themselves, or as an accompaniment to a commercial perfume. They're far better quality than the stuff in department stores, they're cheaper and arguably a lot healthier than dousing yourself in chemicals.

The down side to using them? Apart from being harder to source, using them spoils your nose so you'll probably never like commercial perfumes again. This leads to a potentially sticky situation the next time a loved one generously buys you a bottle of Britney. You'll probably grimace when you first smell it, which makes later declarations of appreciation seem a little, erm, fake...

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The 'perfume wardrobe' con

2006-04-30T12:42:00.000+10:00

Every now and again, The Bargain Queen encounters the idea of a 'perfume wardrobe' in a magazine or on a fashion web site. The idea goes a little like this: instead of having a signature scent you wear all the time, you should have a 'wardrobe' of perfumes and choose one to suit your mood each day.

While perfume is always a lovely thing to have, The Bargain Queen is unconvinced about the perfume wardrobe idea and suspects it might be a marketing ploy to increase perfume sales. She has two reasons for this.

Firstly, perfume has a very limited shelf life. Usually it's estimated at about a year; in The Bargain Queen's experience it's a little more if you protect it from heat and direct sunlight. So what happens when perfume goes off? It doesn't look any different or have mould growing on it, but the stale perfume smell is pretty distinctive and really not attractive. If you don't know the smell, check Grandma's dressing table - older people are usually a reliable source of beauty products that have been hoarded too long.

While perfume's shelf life wouldn't be an issue if we used it quickly, The Bargain Queen finds it hard to use a whole bottle of perfume before it starts to deteriorate, even though she wears 2-3 squirts of her signature scent most days. So having more perfumes is likely to result in either throwing out expensive scent that's past its prime, or continuing to wear it until it smells like cat urine. Ew!

Secondly, The Bargain Queen doesn't think wearing a different scent each day makes sense from an affective point of view. Smells are tightly connected to our feelings and have long been used to shape our perceptions and influence our behaviour (e.g. that irresistable bakery smell, aromatherapy, Cleopatra's barge of rose petals on the fetid Nile). Perfume is a way to unconsciously help people associate you with lovely things like flowers, spices and delicious food smells. Maybe there's some logic in smelling like a different lovely thing each day, but it also makes it more noticeable that it's not you that smells great, just the bottled stuff you splash on. Plus wearing a different scent each day means you never build up 'your smell' in anyone's mind, so you lose perfume's evocative effect where people think of you when they smell that fragrance.

So The Bargain Queen's unconvinced about buying a wardrobe of perfumes. If having a few fragrances works for you, fantastic... just try to buy smaller bottles or keep them in the fridge so you don't end up smelling like Eau de Stale Cat. But unless you're a perfume afficionado, The Bargain Queen thinks that one perfume at a time is probably enough.

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Super-impressive dinner party dessert, $10

2006-04-29T08:40:00.000+10:00

This is The Bargain Queen's favourite dinner party dessert. It's super impressive, irresistably yummy and costs about $10 for four generous serves.

Ingredients:
1 litre (2 pints) fresh gelati, from a specialist gelati store like Gelatissimo in Sydney (about $8)
1/2 pack Sara Lee Bake at Home cookie dough (about $4/pack but half can go in the freezer 'til later)

The Bargain Queen's favourite is White Choc Chunk cookies with Veronese Chocolate gelato - yum!

The trick to making two store-bought ingredients into an impressive dessert is getting the timing right. For the gelati to taste its best, it should be bought the day of the dinner party. Also, it saves a lot of fuss later if you have the cookies on the baking sheet ready to be cooked before guests arrive.

Then the timing works a bit like this:

When you serve the main course (entree for everyone States-side), turn the oven on to pre-heat to the correct temperature
When you clear dishes away after the main course (entree), take the cookies from the fridge and stick them in the oven. Set a timer to tell you when they're done, especially if you've had a few glasses of wine!
Pull out the cookies when they're browned around the edges, still a bit squishy in the centre
Stick a couple of cookies in each bowl while they're still hot, add a couple of scoops of icecream, pour some Grand Marnier over the top if you want to be really fancy
Serve!

If it still sounds too simple to be impressive, just think of the fresh cookie smell wafting through your house...

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Rental decorating on a budget

2006-04-28T12:42:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's about to embark on an exciting new adventure, renovating she and Mr Bargain Queen's new apartment. So before she completely loses her rental decorating mojo in favour of ripping out walls and replacing the tiling, she's going to share her tips.

In Australia, you can't paint walls or replace flooring in your rental place unless you have written permission from the owner, which is pretty hard to get. The general rule is, the place must look exactly the same when you leave as it did when you arrive, barring normal wear and tear. So everything The Bargain Queen's done to make the places she's rented look nicer are completely reversible.

Here's some of her favourites:

Clean really thoroughly. This possibly sounds obvious, but you might be surprised by some of the places where grime accumulates. Window sills, the tops of skirting boards, electric outlets and door handles are some of the things previous tenants may never have thought to clean. Taking these from 'ugh' to sparkling clean makes a huge difference to the overall appearance of the place.
Have nice furniture. If you're lucky enough to buy furniture when you move into your rental (rather than making do with family cast-offs and milk crates), it can be tempting to buy everything you need at Ikea or a discount furniture outlet. While everything you buy this way will match, it will also be lower quality and often doesn't wear well. If you can hold out a little longer and scour op (thrift) shops, garage (yard) sales, auctions, small furniture stores and outlet warehouses for the better furniture retailers, there's well constructed pieces to be had for the same price as a flat-packed one elsewhere. You might need to clean them up a little yourself, but the net result will be much nicer-looking decor than if you'd bought the cheap starter set. (This also works well if you can only fork out a little money at a time to make your place nicer!)
Add plants. If The Bargain Queen had decorating rules, #1 would be 'all homes look better with plants'. She's already written about cutting the cost of gardening, and most of these tips are equally applicable to finding and caring for indoor plants.
Cover ugly floors with rugs. You might luck out and get great floor coverings in your rental; if not, they're easily covered with rugs. Attractive rugs sometimes turn up in op (thrift) shops and garage (yard) sales; occasionally dollar stores will have something nice too. Alternatively, The Bargain Queen has found nice cheap rugs in Sydney at Spotlight, Woolworths / Big W, Kmart, Target and Ikea. None of them have great stuff all the time, but with a little persistance you can usually find something suitable for a good price.
Hide it behind a plant, a screen, a piece of furniture. It can be harder to hide the other ugly features in your rental (awful tiles, cracked walls, exposed pipes) but arranging your things to hide them can help. If you absolutely can't put a huge bookcase in front of your place's worst feature, try drawing attention away from it instead. This can be done by organising the room so people will face away from it (especially in lounge or dining rooms), or by putting something eye-catching like a nice artwork in a spot where it draws the eye away from the ugly feature.
Change the light shades. Ugly light fittings can spoil an otherwise nicely-decorated room. If your lights consist of a hanging light bulb with a shade over it, you can usually take out the light bulb, unscrew the piece that sits around it, take off the existing shade and replace it with something you like more. The Bargain Queen's favourite sources of light shades are dollar stores, Target and Kmart.
Replace the doorknobs. Changing knobs is another easy, reversible change that can make a huge difference to the appearance of your place. Most cupboard doorknobs are held by a screw that goes all the way through the door and can be unscrewed easily from the back (inside). eBay is The Bargain Queen's favourite source of cheap doorknobs and is great for buying big sets to make an outdated kitchen or bathroom look a little newer. She's also splurged on some lovely cut glass knobs from a cute little homewares store to dress up wardrobe doors and anything else where only a pair are needed.
Make (or buy) more attractive curtains. The Bargain Queen can't work out why so many houses are rented with ugly, stained curtains and blinds. It seems like these curtains have never seen a washing machine, with dozens of years of dust caked into them. Sometimes these will clean up well, other times they're better hidden away somewhere until you leave. Curtains are surprisingly easy to make - even if you can't sew at all, you can use iron-on tape to make the necessary seams for a professional finish, or make artistic use of unfinished edges instead - and cheap fabrics can look great. If you'd like more instructions on how to make curtains, try this article.
Buy a nicer shower curtain - and hooks. In a dingy bathroom, a bright shower curtain can make a big difference. These are another item you can usually find cheaply in discount stores.
Use lamps and candles to light it nicely. Lastly, no matter what your place is like, nice lighting makes a big difference. Great lighting doesn't have to be expensive, just carefully thought out. Candles, lamps, shades, coloured globes... these can all make your home a lot more atmospheric quickly. The experts all seem to recommend dim ambient lighting with bright task lighting where it's needed and/or feature lighting to highlight anything really great in the room (like artwork), but The Bargain Queen just moves stuff around 'til it looks nice.

Filed in:

decorating

Fabulous things for (almost) free!

2006-04-25T09:33:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen's original motto was 'high style on a low budget', because she loves to prove that you don't have to spend stacks of money to have fabulous things. Whenever she reads fashion or decorating mags, she sees the price tags and starts to feel discouraged - but the reality of the taste that money can buy is more Posh and Becks than Cate Blanchett.

So today The Bargain Queen's going to prove that highbrow doesn't have to be high cost. To get you started, here's some ideas of fabulous things you can have for (or almost free):

Coffee table (library) books. Most libraries have a selection of big, glossy books on interior design, fine art, haute couture and travel for loan - and they're often unpopular because they're so heavy to lug home. Borrow one and you can have a taste of the finer things in life right in your home for free. Ditto for glossy magazines - borrow them from the library and at least you're not paying to drool over $40,000 dining tables!
Art galleries. In Sydney, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of NSW are both free to look around. Gallery openings at the commercial galleries are also free, and they'll give you a glass of wine while you look at the work. (Plus on opening night you're inconspicuous so it doesn't matter as much if you can't afford even the smallest work on offer.)
Fabulous vintage (op/thrift shop) clothing. If you have the patience to hunt through all the fascinating kitsch on offer, there are still wonderful vintage finds in op (thrift) shops occasionally. And nothing makes you feel as glamourous as a fantastic 50s find with intricate beading, that's better quality than most designer fashion in stores now but cost only a few dollars.
Super-fresh produce. Any chef will tell you that the best produce is always what's in season. Luckily for us, that's also usually what's cheapest. Buying at a farmer's market will get you much fresher produce than many supermarkets and they're a lot of fun too. In Sydney, Paddy's Markets or the farmer's market at Fox Studios are both worth a look; in Melbourne we love the Queen Vic markets and Prahran Markets; and in Adelaide Central Market is brilliant. Add a famous chef's cookbook from the library and you can have your own version of a fancy restaurant meal for a lot less cash.
A tidy home. OK, buying fancy furnishings on a tiny budget is a challenge - but making the most of what you've got is a lot easier. Any home will look better if it's tidy, and you can clean, organise, cull and style for free. You can even create some of those nifty still-lifes they always have in magazines (a vase of flowers with a glass ball and some shells of the same colour, a carefully chosen arrangement of ancient cutlery, that kind of thing) using your own nick-nacks. Just keep re-arranging them; they don't look nearly as arty when they've been there for months and are covered in dust!
Great lighting. Have you ever noticed how often interiors magazines use the words 'sun drenched', 'natural light' or 'custom lighting'? Sunshine doesn't cost a cent and good artifical lighting needn't be expensive either. In our house, lamps accumulate but are rarely used as well as they could be. If we went to the trouble of plugging them in we could have task lighting, feature lights, soft puddles of ambience and a glowing magazine-style home whenever we bothered to switch them on. Maybe The Bargain Queen should go do that...

So that's some of the 'highbrow' stuff we do for free. If you've got some more ideas, leave a comment and share!

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Our new challenge: renovation

2006-04-21T10:12:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen and Mr Bargain Queen are about to take on a new challenge: renovating.

We suddenly, unexpectedly have to move (ugh!) and the rental market right now is extremely tough. So after a fruitless search for another rental, we're moving into Mr Bargain Queen's investment property. He bought the place with his brother years ago and never intended to live there himself. Living there will be $100+ per week cheaper than renting another place would cost us, or $60/week cheaper than our current expenses. More importantly, it will mean The Bargain Queen can direct her considerable design talents to renovating the place.

Ideally, at the end of this adventure we'll sell the place for a decent profit. However, since the Sydney property market is pretty flat, it might be harder to sell than we'd like. So we're hedging our bets a little and only making improvements that would improve the rental return as well as the sale price, just in case.

So how does The Bargain Queen start a project like this? Poring over the gorgeous pics in decorating magazines? Choosing colours? Heading to a showroom to buy a bunch of great stuff?

Nope, none of the above. The Bargain Queen's starting this adventure with a whole lot of research. She's in new territory here, so before she spends a single cent she's building up her knowledge so she knows exactly what's involved, can pick a good deal when she sees it, and hopefully avoids all the pitfalls.

So far this has involved:

Checking the place over. The Bargain Queen's biggest concern right now is that she's yet to see in inside of the apartment she's agreed to live in for the next few months. She's had a really thorough look at the outside but because the tenants live there for a few more weeks, she hasn't been able to go inside. All she has is a roughly drawn sketch, showing that the place has a bedroom, loungeroom, kitchen, bathroom, external laundry and car space. Mr Bargain Queen is in the process of arranging a visit through the real estate agent but these things take time and until then, The Bargain Queen's working blind...
Researching sale and rental prices. Before she redraws any money from the mortgage to pay for the reno, The Bargain Queen is making sure each improvement will pay off financially. That means knowing what different types of places in the area sell for, and what features put apartments at the top - and bottom - of the price range. The state government in Sydney releases official sales and rental figures which give average price and price range for apartments in the area, but they're always a few months out of date. For more detailed information, she found sold property details on realestate.com.au which include the full listing for each property as well as the sale price. This is great for figuring out the features that more and less expensive properties in the area have, but since it doesn't list every property that's sold in the area, she's also going to visit some open inspections to get more of a feel for the market in the area.
Talking to people who've lived there. The Bargain Queen would ideally live in the place for a while before she starts doing anything, to get a feel for what it's like in each month of the year, but to finish renovating by the end of the year that just won't be possible. So she's really lucky that her mother-in-law and brother-in-law have both lived there! She's starting picking their brains about what it's like to live there (way too hot in summer), who's who in the owner's corporation and a whole lot of other things you only know if you've lived there.
Reading up on council regulations. The apartment is in a heritage-listed building, so there are a lot of regulations around what can be done to it. A lot of this information is on the council web site in long, boring policy documents; the rest depends on calling the council, speaking to the right person and asking the right questions. It's a lot of work to make sure everything is bureaucratically correct but considering they can order that unapproved building work be reversed, it's worth making them happy!
Learning more about heating and cooling. One of the most important improvements will be installing a reverse-cycle airconditioner, or some other heating and cooling solution(s). Since The Bargain Queen has never done this before, she's learning as much as she can beforehand. The most helpful web site she found is the government's energysmart site. So far, she's determined that a full ducted system will be out of her price range, but that a split system might be feasible; and that the whole 50sqm (500 square foot) will need a 4-5kW airconditioner to keep the whole place cool. (Or 4kW to just cool the bedroom, lounge room and kitchen.)
Researching the cheapest sources of materials. To find great bargains, you need to know where to look - and when it comes to building materials, The Bargain Queen doesn't know this... yet. So she's been comparing prices from the comfort of her computer and has already found some hot tips. eBay is a great source of doorkobs - there are a lot listed at half the hardware store price or less - and also has a few listings of other people's left-over building materials. For bigger materials like tiles, basins, taps etc. she'll be checking out Laws Auctions for surplus supplies. She's also pored over the Ikea catalogue to see what they offer and establish some benchmark low prices, and she picked up a hot tip while reading the newspaper articles on domain.com.au: some people in ritzy suburbs re-do their kitchen every five years and get rid of top-quality cabinetry, stone benchtops, designer tapwear and great appliances cheaply when they do. The Trading Post has a few of these listed so The Bargain Queen's investigating what would be involved in retro-fitting a kitchen into the apartment. Fingers crossed all this research will lead to some great bargains! (PS: While these links are Sydney- and Australia-specific, most cities will have similar resources if you take a look.)
Hunting out contacts. Talking to a pro can provide an enormous amount of useful information in just a few minutes, but good advice can be expensive. So The Bargain Queen's been taking stock of the pros in her life with a view to casually discussing her renovation with them as necessary! A couple of The Bargain Queen's brothers have worked in the building trades, so even though they're in another city, hopefully she'll still be able to ask them a few questions. Two of her closest friends are lawyers who are used to her begging them to look at contracts occasionally. Mr Bargain Queen's best friend has been renovating his house - and his wife's an architect. Plus Mr Bargain Queen's cousin is also a builder, albeit on huge commercial projects. And Mr Bargain Queen's brother (joint owner of the apartment) knows a couple of handymen and most of the people in the owner's corporation. So with any luck, if The Bargain Queen can't find some information she needs, there'll be someone she can ask... and if she remembers to discuss the project with some of these people when/if it seems appropriate (being careful not to wear out the friendships because they're much more important than a house!) they'll tell her when she's getting things really, really wrong.
Reading a home improvements book. Which home improvments are a DIY job and which are best left to the pros? And more importantly, which DIY jobs are actually within The Bargain Queen's reach and when should she bring in a handyman instead? There are lots of books with step-by-step pictures showing how to carry out various DIY home improvement jobs. The Bargain Queen's reading one of them, not only to answer the questions above, but also so that she understands what she's paying others to do to help make sure she doesn't get ripped off.
Salivating over the decorating mags. OK, The Bargain Queen's not just sticking to the serious stuff - she's allowed to drool just like everyone else. Home decorating mags are a great source of ideas and the pictures are so beautiful! There's just two things she's keeping in mind when she reads them: firstly, she's choosing things that will impress future tenants or buyers so her own taste is irrelevant; and secondly, her budget is nowhere near a typical magazine home budget so there's no point falling in love with anything 'til she's checked how much it costs. With those things in mind, she can enjoy those gorgeous photos, make note of some good ideas, and still not succumb to decorator fever... we hope!

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Showing off: $20 of new clothes

2006-04-20T09:42:00.000+10:00

The response to The Bargain Queen's first show-off post was really positive, so she's decided to share some more of her bargains with you.

A couple of weeks ago, The Bargain Queen went op shopping - which is what us Aussies call thrift shopping. For a grand total of $20 she bought all of the following:

Vintage belt, $8

The Bargain Queen wears a belt almost every day, but she's really picky and rarely finds anything she likes when she goes shopping. This one looks fantastic with jeans and can also finish a black dress nicely, so she had to snap it up.

Black evening dress, $5

The Bargain Queen snaps up cheap evening dresses for a completely different reason. Although she has few occasions to wear a dress, keeping a few on hand works because they're SO expensive if you have to buy one in a hurry. For someone as picky as The Bargain Queen, it's hard to find good evening wear at retail for under $500 - and then it'll only be worn once. Madness!

So when The Bargain Queen finds a cheap dress that looks great on her she buys it, even if she doesn't know when she'll wear it. Buying three ten-dollar dresses but only wearing one is still cheaper than buying a single new dress... over ten times cheaper!

And best of all, it takes all the anxiety out of dressing for a formal event, since The Bargain Queen usually has something to wear hanging in her wardrobe so she only has to buy shoes. (Don't tell Mr Bargain Queen that new shoes aren't strictly necessary for all formal occasions. There are things it's best he doesn't know...)

Shiny shirt, $2

This shirt really hasn't come up well in the photo, but in real life it's shiny and a bit sexy looking. One more shirt option fits in well with The Bargain Queen's wardrobe. She buys few bottoms as she spends more money on them, but fills out her wardrobe with lots of inexpensive tops in the hope that noone will notice she wears the same jeans every day ;)

Cute summer top, $2

The Australian summer has just ended, so it'll be a few months before The Bargain Queen has a chance to wear this. But it's cute, a little bit different and pure cotton so it'll be great on really hot days - a no-sunburn alternative to the Aussie singlet in summer.

It has a couple of marks on the front, but for $2 it's worth the effort of soaking it in bleach for a few hours to see if they disappear (and if they don't, it goes back to the op shop and that $2 is a donation to a good cause).

Designer evening top, $3

Last but not least, The Bargain Queen's best find this time was a Zimmerman evening top for $3! It's got a draped, ruched front (which hasn't shown up very well in the photo) and is made from a slightly shimmery spandex. Zimmerman is one of The Bargain Queen's favourite Australian designers so she's thrilled to find this top so cheaply!

Hooray for bargains!!

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fashion

Alternative healthcare: worth the money?

2006-04-17T10:14:00.000+10:00

While this blog is generally pretty fun, sometimes The Bargain Queen just has to talk about the serious stuff. Today, healthcare... (tomorrow, back to the fun stuff!)

The Bargain Queen has an incurable medical condition that hasn't responded to conventional treatment, so she's become a guinea pig for everything else on offer: alternative therapies, complementary therapies and a few other things besides. There's so much controversy about whether they work and many 'miracle cure' claims (plus potentially huge expenses trying them all) that The Bargain Queen's going to weigh in with a little about her own experiences.

But first, a warning. If you want to believe that alternative therapies are a miracle cure, don't bother reading on. The Bargain Queen has tried a few and none of them delivered all they promised. Likewise, if you want to believe that all alternative therapies are useless quack stuff, you'll also be disappointed - some of this stuff has proven useful.

So what's The Bargain Queen tried?

Naturopathy
The Bargain Queen saw a naturopath with training in nutrition, herbalism and homeopathy (more info about each of these below) for about a year. The overall treatment was effective, providing a reduction in pain and other symptoms plus more energy. However, it didn't live up to the practitioner's own belief that she could provide a cure. The Bargain Queen would have happily continued treatment indefinitely despite the expense ($150ish/month) because it was working, but her naturopath became frustrated with the symptoms that remained and basically told her to go away. Quite a comical outcome!

Nutrition
Making dietary changes to control a serious illness seems silly at first - how will giving up junk food fix all that? Better nutrition and avoiding allergy/intolerance foods has made a huge difference for The Bargain Queen though, reducing her pain levels considerably and alleviating her gut problems considerably.

After various blood tests and an elimination diet, The Bargain Queen found she is allergic or intolerant of sugar, lactose, wheat, soy, vanilla, ginger, caffeine and some additives. Avoiding all these is challenging, but well worth it considering how effective it is. It's also surprisingly cost-effective since it forces her and Mr Bargain Queen to cook their own meals at home from fresh ingredients, which is SO much cheaper than eating out or buying TV dinners!

Apart from watching what she eats, she also takes a multivitamin and some fish oil capsules most days, just to make sure she's getting the right nutrients. She's also learnt to recognise when her iron, zinc or magnesium levels are low and tops them up with supplements occasionally. None of these supplements are expensive - all up it works out to about $20/month - and all except the multivitamin (which is just insurance) deliver a noticeable effect when she takes them.

Herbalism
The Bargain Queen has tried a few different herbs for her condition, mostly under the supervision of a naturopath. The majority did what they claimed and the only one with negative side effects was an experimental concoction. The down side is that their effects are much gentler than conventional medications so the improvement is less dramatic than you might like. None of the 'miracle' herbs deserve quite the hype they get, but they can give gentle, side-effect-free improvement if you pick the right one.

Homeopathy
Whenever The Bargain Queen hears anything about homeopathy, her undergraduate (college) science training kicks in and she has a great deal of trouble taking it seriously. However, when a naturopath gave her some homeopathic stuff for one of her allergies, it settled down shortly afterwards and hasn't flared up since. Coincidence? Placebo effect? The Bargain Queen's still not quite ready to try more of it, but maybe it's not completely useless...

Accupuncture
The Bargain Queen has tried accupuncture twice and reacted really badly each time. The needles hurt a lot and afterwards she felt like she'd been hit by a bus. Pre-treatment she thought "what harm can it do?"; now she thinks it's really dangerous in the wrong hands - and with every second quack taking it up, there are a lot of wrong hands out there.

Yoga
The Bargain Queen already did yoga to improve her fitness and flexibility before she got sick, so when she found a book of yoga exercises for her condition she tried it immediately. As with all the alternative treatments she's tried, they don't provide a miracle cure. They do reduce her pain level significantly though, if only because they relax muscles that clench due to the pain. This gives her a feeling of more control, because she can ramp it down a little (as long as it's not too severe when she starts). Even a mild reduction in pain is well worth the cost of the book ($20), and the exercises can be done almost anywhere in 5-15 minutes.

Gentle exercise
As well as doing exercises specifically for her illness, The Bargain Queen also heard that any gentle exercise can help manage pain. This works really well for her, so she takes a stroll, rides her bike or tinkers in the garden whenever she has the energy. Again, it's no miracle cure, but it does make the pain less intense.

Heat therapy
The therapeutic benefits of a hot water bottle are well established both anecdotally and scientifically - but it's easy to forget that something so easy works when the medical approaches (drugs and operations) are so complicated. It's possibly too obvious to state that a hot water bottle doesn't cure anything except chilly feet, but it is worth remembering that it provides as much pain relief as a mild analgesic and works more quickly too. Also, at under $5 for the bottle and neglible ongoing costs, it's the most cost-effective pain relief around.

Psychological techniques
The Bargain Queen has also read up on psychological techniques for making pain more bearable, from meditation to distraction to using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) techniques to change her thinking about the illness. She found meditating while in severe pain a really strange idea. How the hell do you relax while clenching your teeth and clutching your tummy? Distraction is a powerful tool though, as anything that stops you thinking about the pain makes it less intense, so books, DVDs and the internet are always handy ;)

But of all the treatments she's tried, the most effective technique by far has been to look at things differently. The Bargain Queen's illness won't kill her, and thanks to Mr Bargain Queen's excellent care, she will neither starve nor go broke because of it. So instead of seeing it as something that's taken away her career, social life and favourite foods, The Bargain Queen has finally learnt to see her illness as an opportunity and make the best of the situation. She spends her days reading, writing this blog, creating embroidery, having friends over for meals, making her new favourite foods and spending quantity time with her husband - a surprising amount for someone who's in bed 16+ hours a days! But with all that to enjoy, she rarely feels sorry for herself any more.

So that's The Bargain Queen's experience of alternative healthcare: sometimes worth the money, sometime not. If you approach it as a gentle helper rather than a miracle cure and spend accordingly, it can be really helpful. That said, if The Bargain Queen was cured tomorrow, she'd instantly ditch everything except exercise, eating well and positive thinking.

If you've had some experience with alternative healthcare, whether similar or different to The Bargain Queen's, she'd love to hear from you - please leave a comment below!

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Showing off: walking shoes

2006-04-16T08:57:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has been contemplating whether she ought to show off her bargains for a while now. On the one hand, getting a great deal on something you need should always be celebrated. On the other hand, it's so frustrating to hear about someone else's brilliant bargain and realise you've missed out. In the end, she's decided that showing how far money can go with a little effort and creativity will hopefully inspire you, not annoy you. (If I'm wrong, leave a comment and I'll stop showing off.)

So on to the bargains.

Last weekend, The Bargain Queen's sister told her about a sale that Myer (one of Australia's biggest department store chains) are having, with discounts on pretty much every category of merchandise. The Bargain Queen went looking for sports shoes because she walks a LOT but can't bring herself to spend a lot of money on shoes she finds ugly no matter how practical they are. So she bought:

1. Trail running sneakers. $41.23 down from $159.95

The Bargain Queen's hiking boots are quickly wearing out and probably irreplacable. They're also way too hot for walking in Australia in summer. Hence these ones: they're kind of ugly, but when only koalas, kangaroos and outdoors-y types will see her, even The Bargain Queen relaxes her stylistic standards a little.

2. Reasonably attractive sneakers. $26.23 down from $99.95

Here's a quandary: say you often walk 10 km (6 miles) in a day around the city, but don't want to resort to wearing ugly sneakers to do it. Is there a stylish shoe for serious walking? The Bargain Queen has tried Converse and Birkenstocks, but their comfort wears out at 2km (1.2 miles) and 6km (3.5 miles) respectively. This is her latest attempt at looking stylish while keeping her feet comfy, soon to be taken out for their first test-walk. Fingers crossed they'll succeed where the others have failed; if not, they're not too expensive a mistake.

PS: If you're in Australia, the sale's still on for another couple of weeks and last season's stock is now 75% off the marked-down price! (It was 50% off reduced prices when I bought these, so if there's any of them left, they'll be even cheaper.)

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My bags

2006-04-15T08:52:00.000+10:00

Since Designer Ella asked to see them, The Bargain Queen's decided it's OK to show off her bags just this once.

If you haven't been reading long, The Bargain Queen is obsessed with Longchamp bags. They're one of her few splurges, and she makes a whole bunch of budget trade-offs to afford them. She's a tightwad about things that are no fun so she can buy things that are - life's too short not to have some luxuries.

But enough talk, on to the bags!

Firstly, this is the whole collection - a whopping three bags. The Bargain Queen's on a budget :)

Her first Longchamp bag was the one below. She was a finallist for an industry award and had to look nice for the ceremony just in case. Instead of spending her budget on a dress she'd wear once, she bought this bag ($225) and some nice heels to dress up something she already owned. She didn't get the award but she's still got the bag!

The Bargain Queen's second Longchamp bag was a great sale find. She'd been using the one above every day for a year and it's fantastic. It's great for both day and evening, and the perfect size for a wallet, phone, PDA, makeup and keys. The only downside is that A4 papers only fit in it if they're folded.

So, The Bargain Queen spent a year carrying a daggy plastic file envelope in her hand all day when she needed to take papers with her. The obvious solution was to buy a cheap disposable tote, but with her newly-developed taste for Longchamp, no cheapie was worthy of her arm. Then she found the one below, reduced from $500 to $200. Due to all her other budget finds, she had the money to grab it on the spot. Fantastic!

Finally, less than a month after she bought bag #2, Mr Bargain Queen decided to buy his lovely wife a super-nice Christmas present. He took her to a duty-free store in Noumea which has a WHOLE WALL of Longchamp bags and said she could choose anything she wanted. In a mere hour - a record for a Libran - she picked the one below. She's carried it practically every day since. It was about $500 duty free, which was able to come from Mr Bargain Queen's clothes budget because The Bargain Queen is an outlet shopping maven and saves him a lot on his jackets, pants, shirts, underwear etc

It's also the only one she knows the name of: it's a Longchamp 4x4 in chocolate.

The photo doesn't really do it justice - the leather is gorgeously soft, not plasticy like it looks here. (For that matter, all the photos are a bit crappy. Sorry about that!)

So yes, The Bargain Queen is human, she has vices and she REALLY likes Longchamp bags. If you want more Longchamp porn, they have a fantastic web site with pics of their whole range. Yummo!

Or if bags aren't your thing, no problem. Everyone has different priorities and as long as your spending reflects yours, you're doing great.

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If you like it so much...

2006-04-13T09:40:00.000+10:00

...why don't you buy the company?

Remember that cheesy 1970's Remington ad where Mr Remington (Victor Kayam) 'bought the company' that sold the razors he so adored? You don't? Well then you must be much younger and hipper than me.

But either way, Victor was onto one of the biggest bargain ideas around: Invest in stuff you like and are knowledgeable about.

You're about to learn some secrets that even The Bargain Queen doesn't know. (That's mostly because she falls asleep whenever I start talking finance.)

But let me ask you this: Are holidays in the Bahamas boring? Is skiing in Europe boring? Are your future life ambitions, achievements and ideas boring? Of course not. And that's why investing isn't boring, because it's what will make all those other things possible!

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share with you some investing strategies that have worked for me throughout my adult life. I am not a qualified advisor, and I have no specific advice to offer for your specific situation. However, I'm happy to share my experience and ideas that have worked for me and which, if you apply them to your situation, I hope might renew your enthusiasm for the idea that the only thing better than making money is letting your money make more of itself for you!

(To illustrate how important this is, right now The Bargain Queen and I are only earning enough to cover our daily living expenses. We're unable to increase our savings by squirrelling some of our hard-earned away, because there's nothing left after paying the bills and buying handbags. But luckily, I have some investments which are earning money all by themselves - so they're our de-facto savings plan!)

Think about various goods and services you have particular specialist knowledge of. Can you spot a fake purse at 50 paces? Do you know why this year's colour is more popular than last year's? Can you say why some shops make you feel like spending more than you should, and others make you want to clear out as fast as possible? Well, not many people do know these things (I sure don't) - but if you do, then congratulations, you have some specialised knowledge!

But what can you do with your specialised knowledge besides saving at the annual sales? If you believe a particular label, shop or 'look' is going to really take off, then why not make some enquiries and see if they are looking for ground-floor investors? You might not exactly 'buy the company', but you could buy a little piece of it. In a more general sense, if you know that designs and garments from a particular part of the world or a particular material will be in hot demand, why not put your money where your fashion sense is?

Now think about oil. Black gold. Texas tea. Everybody knows that there's squillions to be made in burning non-renewable fossil fuels, right? But do you know how it comes out of the ground? Do you know how to find oil? Do you know how it is refined, stored, shipped and made into petroleum? If you don't, or if your eyes glaze over even thinking about it, then how on earth will you be able to tell a good oil investment from a bad one? Why would you hand your hard-earned money to someone when you don't understand what they are going to do with it?

That's the thing about investing. There's no 'rules' or 'formula' for success. It comes down to your individual judgement about what you think will work. Victor Kayam knew that Remington had something special in razors based on his daily knowledge & understanding of what made a good razor. So what do YOU know about, and what special opportunities could that open up for you?

Now, put your checkbook away. Don't ever make investment decisions impulsively or on the spur of the moment. You can bet that before Victor 'bought the company', he spent an awful long time getting to know Remington really well first. So just for now, spend some time thinking and reflecting about different industries where you think you could spot a winner more accurately than the average joe. Next week, I'll have some more ideas to share about making the bold moves (with a safety-net built-in!).

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personal_finance

Insider shopping tips: retail

2006-04-12T10:09:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has been running a series on using insider information to get the best deals. So far, there are posts on how to get insider info and insider op shopping tips. Today, we'll add some tips for retail.

But first, a disclaimer: The Bargain Queen has never personally worked in retail, but as an avid bargain-hunter she's picked up a lot from friends on the inside, shop assistants she's talked to and things she's noticed while prowling the shoe displays. If you've got more retail experience than The Bargain Queen, please leave a comment with some tips!

Now on to the tips:

Take advantage of employee discounts. If a friend or family member works in a store whose stock you like, ask them nicely if you can use their employee discount occasionally. Sometimes this even extends to other stores owned by the same company too, and if you're really lucky they might issue extra cards to other family members. (In Australia, Coles Myer do this.)
Hedge your bets. The Bargain Queen keeps a sorted folder of receipts, and usually has a few swing tags sitting on her dressing table. The receipts make it easy to return things that break, even if they were purchased months beforehand. The swing tags are for clothes that look just-right on the rack and in the changeroom, but reveal their problems the first time they're worn. Itchy, uncomfortable, rides up, static, just-not-me... these issues all take a few hours' wear to reveal themselves and potentially consign a new purchase to the back of the wardrobe forever. While these could turn into expensive fashion blunders, if you have the tags and the garment has no signs of wear yet, you can air it and take it back... so long as the return policy includes change of mind refunds. For this reason alone, The Bargain Queen favours big department stores for some items. While you might get a lower price elsewhere, if you change your mind and can't return your mistake, it works out considerably more expensive.
Don't buy full-price extras. Most stores are arranged with tantalising displays of full-price merchandise out the front, a sale rack out the back and extras or accessories next to the register. The sale racks aren't just there to get rid of merchandise that hasn't sold at full price; they also help cost-conscious customers decide to buy from the store. And once you've decided to buy, it's much easier for them to up-sell to you. If you buy full-priced items with your bargain the store makes great money, and you can easily over-pay for the convenience of buying the extras at the same time. If you're aware of this, it's easier to leave the other stuff on the shelf.
Find out how they clear stock. Some bigger department or chain stores run discount outlets to clear their excess stock; some send their stock to third-party clearance outlets; others clear the lot on the shop floor. In The Bargain Queen's experience, if the store runs their own outlets, it's barely worth attending the sales in their regular stores. The discounts are often puny because they don't care whether they sell their discounted stock. In fact, a cynical observer might speculate that they have an incentive not to sell deeply discounted stock in their regular stores - better to keep the customers who'll pay full price in those stores and direct people interested in discounts to the clearance outlets. In Australia, since David Jones opened their outlets, there's been no point attending in-store sales - the outlet always has better deals. By contrast, David Jones' main competition, Myer, clears most of their stock in-store and sells a small quantity of leftovers as auction lots. They have a strong incentive to discount, and 75% off is common towards the end of their sales. And you don't have to trek to an outlet or endure discount outlet service to get it.
Shop before the sales. When department stores hold their big sales, the sales assistants have a lot of extra work marking everything down. In many stores, they start on it the afternoon before the sale starts. So if you're after something in particular in the post-Christmas sales, try going in just before the store closes on Christmas Eve to see if it's marked down already. That it, unless you're too busy drinking eggnog...
Know which sale days to attend. Some big retailers discounts popular items during the first day of their sale to entice people in - for example, fashion items like designer jeans, shoes and sunglasses. They don't need to discount this stock as it would sell at full price, but offering it half-price attracts lots of customers. If you want this stuff you'd better buy it then - some of the deals are one-day only. For example, in the post-Christmas sales, The Bargain Queen bought only two things: Seven For All Mankind jeans at 50% off and Marc Jacobs shoes at 75% off. Both were first-day-only deals, and in the case of the shoes, the deal ran for one hour out of the whole day. There was nothing else worth buying though, as The Bargain Queen is unimpressed by 20% off last season's trendy top. If you're are looking for more run-of-the-mill items, you're better off waiting til late in the sale. The less-popular stuff makes it through to later rounds of discounting, which happens after the initial spending frenzy. That's when they're trying to get rid of EVERYTHING at 75% off, so you get the best deals.

If you have any other tips to share, leave a comment!

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Bargain-friendly links

2006-04-11T07:59:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen usually steers away bunch-o-links post, as she has much more to say than just 'go look at this site' (or maybe she just likes the sound of her own authorial voice :). But she's found so much great stuff lately that she couldn't resist:

Frugal fitness solutions (see also The Bargain Queen's get fit for free tips)
Gandhi on budgeting - some great tips on working out tradeoffs to make in your budget
Choice reports - Australian consumer reports available for free online. (Many of the products reviewed are available in other countries too.) Great for making sure that your new purchase isn't a lemon, they review everything from computers to whitegoods to food to financial products to cosmetics.
handbag.com's how to look good articles - to help you avoid buying unflattering clothes!
NSW government agricultural info - information on how to grow all sorts of different food crops. Aimed at commercial growers, but some of the tips are equally useful for home growers. Other states have similar sites too.
Beware craft-assembly frauds - another type of 'work from home, make lots of money' scheme that turns out to be a con.
Supernaturale's Frugality & Living index - great articles for frugal crafters.
ReadyMade blog's closet organisation series. Part one: know when it's time to say goodbye (tips on what to purge); part two: 50% more space for under $15 (extra hanging rail project); part three: divide and conquer (shelf dividers project); part four: midwest wardrobe (instructions to make some extra shelves; not as well-explained as the rest of the series unfortunately).

Enjoy!

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Fashion confession: my splurges

2006-04-10T10:02:00.000+10:00

Designer Ella is hosting this week's Carnivale of Couture. Since she's once of The Bargain Queen's favourite bloggers and the topic is great (fashion confessions), it seemed like time to start participating.

So today, The Bargain Queen's going to confess her fashion splurges.

As a quick aside, 'splurge' doesn't have to mean 'things you pay off your credit card just before they wear out' as fashion magazines sometimes imply. To The Bargain Queen, splurges are things that are worth spending more on, so she economises on everything else to afford them. She buys things like t-shirts at op (thrift) shops, cheap chain stores and sales so she can afford a few insane expenses like:

Designer jeans. In Sydney, denim is the prefered apparel for going to the opera, hitting the town for a big night out, meeting friends for coffee, going shopping, even working if your boss will permit it. Jeans have become such an important wardrobe staple that finding a pair which make your bum / saddlebags / love handles look great can turn into some sort of unholy quest. The Bargain Queen has tried to love chainstore jeans but ended up looking like a dumpy dwarf, and in the last five years she's found only two great pairs in her size in thrift stores. So about once a year she splurges on a pair of designer jeans in the sales. She'd rather have two great pairs than a dozen that make her butt look bad. The things we do for vanity.
Well-cut work pants. Staying on the theme of The Bargain Queen not liking her butt much, her next splurge category is well-cut work pants. Again, a long exploration of every cheap option available convinced her that she'd have to spend more to look better. It's still a search to find flattering, attractive, professional-looking trousers that don't need constant ironing, but with a budget of a couple of hundred dollars it becomes much more possible. (Tip 1: MaxMara's Max & Co. stores have pants that emerge from a suitcase looking perfectly ironed - LOVE them! Tip 2: buying a cheaper coordinating jacket saves money and is less stuffy than a 'proper' suit if your workplace allows it.)
One nice watch. The Bargain Queen is currently saving up for one really nice watch. No Chanel chronographs will make it into the budget this time around, but if her winter fashion expenses are sensible, a gorgeous Michael Kors one looks realistic...
Nice dressy shoes. The Bargain Queen owns a total of three pairs of heels, none of which would meet Carrie Bradshaw's Manolos-all-the-way standards. Still, one pair of Marc Jacobs at 75% off is a big enough splurge to keep The Bargain Queen swooning every time she dons formal wear.
Longchamp! The Bargain Queen's only true fashion obsession is Longchamp bags. Over a few years she's accumulated three (one on sale, one a gift, one a present-to-self for winning an award), which she LOVES. They're as classic and (mostly) really cute, and since they're not big on branding, they're cheaper than others of similar quality. OK, spending $200 on a handbag is still excessive but it's never going to become a regular expense, but one expensive obsession in a wardrobe of bargain purchases feels alright.

The important points about all these things is they're occasional purchases: no weekly shoe-shopping for The Bargain Queen. They're not trendy so they don't date quickly; they're good quality so they last for years; and they're versatile enough that they're used all the time. The Bargain Queen only commits to the initial outlay if she's sure the cost-per-wear is going to end up in the single-figure range!

Still, as The Bargain Queen's mentioned previously, she does have a pretty generous wardrobe budget, which is the result of a whole bunch of trade-offs. Looking nice makes her far happier than a car would, but it's not a trade-off everyone could make. If you put your money into a mortgage, kids, investments or anything else that's important to you instead of fashion, you're doing great! Don't let the ravings of a confessed fashion tragic like myself make you feel bad - it's possible there are more important things in the world than handbags ;)

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Big fat fashion fibs

2006-04-08T09:12:00.000+10:00

If you read fashion magazines, this article on big fat fashion fibs is well worth checking out.

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fashion

The fake debate: the Australian story

2006-04-07T10:20:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen is a guest poster on The Budget Fashionista while Kathryn is away on holidays. Today, she's written about the Australian perspective on the fake designer goods debate.

If you're interested, go take a look!

PS: You might also like David Weinberger's post about Louis Vuitton, which says a lot about why they cost so much and what you get for your money.

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We're in this week's Festival of Frugality!

2006-04-05T20:58:00.000+10:00

This week's Festival of Frugality includes a link to The Bargain Queen's post entitled Do sweat the small stuff. If you haven't checked out the Festival of Frugality before, they gather together some great blog posts on living well for less money each week. Go take a look!

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Be a crafty saver

2006-04-05T20:03:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen LOVES crafting. She's a nut for making things with her very own hands, but boy can it get expensive! There's so much stuff to buy: materials, tools, magazines, books, storage containers, extra bookshelves, a special desk and chair to leave half-finished projects on... if you become as enthusiastic about craft as The Bargain Queen is, it could easily become a source of finacial ruination.

So The Bargain Queen's going to share her tips for crafting on less money - but first a brief disclaimer. Embroidery, sewing, painting, beadwork and stuff that goes through the printer are The Bargain Queen's favourite crafting pursuits, so these tips will be skewed a little bit that-a-way. If you have a different favourite and have some tips to share, leave a comment! :)

Now for the tips:

Use materials frugally. The people who manufacture craft kits really don't want you to run out of materials before you finish the kit, so they put a heap more stuff in there than you'll use. After all, a few extra strands of thread cost a lot less than a cranky customer! If you use them sparingly, you will often have enough left over to make a little something else later. For example, The Bargain Queen is still using pretty shiny pink beads that came in an especially generous kit... four years ago!
Take extra-good care of your tools. When The Bargain Queen was a wee lass, she was the lone scholarship kid at a ritzy private school. There she saw some heinous crimes against beautiful sable paint brushes. Since the brushes were 'only' $20 each, there were many girls who didn't bother to clean them - ever. Why bother when Daddy can always buy you more, and shouldn't they have a cleaner to do that anyway? But The Bargain Queen lacks rich parents, so she learnt to wash her brushes thoroughly and lay them flat to dry after every use. She now uses the same technique for keeping makeup brushes in fantastic shape (still uses the set her mother bought 25 years ago) and applies the same principle to all her other tools too. While she doesn't oil her pliers or service her sewing machine as often as she really ought, she does make the effort just often enough to keep everything running, so she rarely has to buy the same thing twice.
Save all your excess materials... You never know when you'll need a couple of meters (yards for my American readers ;) of mid-green floss for a piece of embroidery, or just one sheet of shiny printer paper, that last bit of really dark yellow paint. If you have a good stock of leftovers on hand you don't have to head down to the craft store to buy those last bits and pieces. Not only do you save money on your current project; you also avoid a trip to Alladin's Cave and if you're anything like The Bargain Queen, that means less chance of impulse buying more pretty stuff.
...within reason. There is definitely such a thing as too many craft supplies and some of them really won't get used, ever. If your supplies are so disorganised you can't find the things you need when you need them, it's time to have a cull. Ditto if your nearest and dearest are complaining about all the 'junk'. If you don't know where to start, getting rid of supplies for any craft you don't enjoy doing is a no-brainer. Then start to remove anything that's neither practical nor gorgeous and inspiring.
Make crafty friends so you can borrow tools, swap patterns, donate leftover materials to one another, discuss your project ideas and most importantly, trade tips on the best (and cheapest) places to buy your supplies. If you don't know where to make crafty friends... well, The Bargain Queen doesn't know either. None of her friends share her zest for cross stitch unfortunately. (Awwwww)
Shop around. Craft stores are great for finding exactly what you need but they can be very expensive. Finding the cheapest craft store in your area is good for starters, but to really save money on your supplies, look in other places as well. The Bargain Queen has picked up great kits, books, magazines and other supplies in op (thrift) shops. Post-Christmas is the best time because most of these start life as unwanted gifts, although unappreciated birthday presents are donated all year round. A serious art supplies store is also a great place to check; many of them have selected craft supplies at good prices. Just beware of the trendy art supplies store, where nothing at all will be cheap. Hardware stores, office supply stores and dollar stores are worth a look too. And if your city has a garment district, look carefully for fabric sales there, where designers offload amazing fabrics cheaply.
Don't buy too quickly. When The Bargain Queen is feeling fired up about a new project, she's always tempted to buy everything she needs to complete it immediately. Depending on the project though, it can be years before it's finished - and in the meantime she's lost the grout and tile sealer she bought when she started it. She now tries to buy the bare minimum to start each project, then commit more funds as her progress justifies the extra spending.
Ignore crafting fashion. Fashions in craft can be as fickle as shoe trends. But really, who cares if gingham ribbon is so last year? If you like it keep using it! And if the craft fashion police get you, tell them The Bargain Queen said it's OK ;)

Now that I've shared a few of my tips, how about some of yours?

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craft

Big indulgences on little money

2006-04-03T22:11:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen likes a treat every now and then, but not all treats are created equal. One fashionable impulse buy - a trendy jacket, a new tech toy, even a couple of cocktails - can completely break the budget. And while everyone deserves something special occasionally, if it goes on the credit card, it'll be making you miserable months after you would've otherwise forgotten about it.

So, here's some of The Bargain Queen's favourite budget-friendly treats:

Fresh air and sunshine. There's a certain type of frustrating experience that can quickly drain your will to live: say, being locked in a meeting room with certain managers for a few hours. Or writing graduate school papers. The Bargain Queen's favourite remedy is to get outside, breath the fresh air, bask in the sunshine, stretch your legs and come back renewed. While not all regions or neighbourhoods offer a reliable supply of either fresh air or sunshine, if yours has either, make use of it! A few minutes of enjoying the great outdoors can put the day's trials and tribulations back into perspective, for absolutely no financial outlay.
Time to yourself. Next on the free-but-brilliant list is to take some time out to do something you really enjoy. It could be anything from meditating to reading the paper to going for a jog to giving yourself a home pedicure - whatever feels most like a treat. The Bargain Queen can't tell you much about how to do this though, because she's pretty hopeless at taking time off.
Sleep. There's a reason why sleeping in is such a cliched luxury: even a little extra sleep can make a huge difference, and to time-poor people it's the ultimate treat. (The Bargain Queen is extra spoilt: when she sleeps in, but Mr Bargain Queen has her breakfast ready by the time she wakes. Brilliant!)
Chocolate. OK, if you've ever watched television, you've heard about what a great indulgence chocolate is. But like most indulgences, it's best when you only have it occasionally. A daily chocolate bar quickly becomes routine... and leads to further expenditure on a gym membership. The Bargain Queen's strategy is to trade quality for quantity. She can only justify a $13 box of Lindt Petite Desserts once or twice a year, but those are the happiest days of her year. Even if she can only manage 2 or 3 chocolates before she feels seedy...
A nice hot bath. This is a treat The Bargain Queen often forgets all about: hopping in a nice hot bath and soaking until she feels all floppy and relaxed. When she gets organised with bubble bath and candles kept in the bathroom, it quickly becomes a favourite thing to do. Then she runs out of bubble bath, forgets to buy more, leaves the candles burning til they're misshapen puddles of wax, forgets to clean the tub for a few weeks, and it's back to showers-only. Oops.
A stiff drink, mixed at home. When no other form of 'relaxation' will do, The Bargain Queen mixes herself a nice stiff drink at home. While it's not the recommended way to make yourself feel better after a tough day, keeping a spirit and a mixer at home is much cheaper than buying drinks at a bar. That is, as long as you don't drink more because it's right in front of you.

So now that you've heard The Bargain Queen's favourite ways to unwind after a tough day, how about you? What are your favourite cheap treats? How do you make yourself feel better when life's treating you rough? Add a comment below...

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Gourmet Japanese, take-out prices

2006-04-02T20:18:00.000+10:00

Just wanted to share with you a recipe that combines the elegance and refinement of Japanese-style cooking with the all-round yumminess and bargainity of french fries!

These are great for cocktail parties or as an appetiser. Their impressiveness is matched only by their quickness and simplicity.

Although not a traditional Japanese dish, they remind me of the hearty teppan-fried okonomiyaki (Japanese "Pizza") that is a signature of chefs in Hiroshima...

...So, I give you:

Hiroshima Fries!

Ingredients
- Peeled & washed potatoes - suitable for french-frying.
- Several sheets of sushi nori (the square flat sheets of seaweed you roll sushi in)
- Sesame oil, enough to shallow-fry. To save cost, you can use a half-and-half blend of soya and sesame oil. Corn oil + sesame oil would also work well.

Method
1. Puree the potatoes in a food processor (bargain food processor article coming soon!).
2. Strain the puree in paper towel or cheesecloth to remove as much excess moisture as possible. You can skip this step if you're in a hurry, but the fries turn out crisper if you drain prior to cooking.
3. Cut the sushi nori into 2-inch squares and put enough potatoe puree on each square to completely cover them and over-run the edges. They will naturally assume a round shape but you can shape them with your fingers if need be.
4. In a large fry-pan, heat the oil until the aroma of sesame is strong. Lift the fries with an egg-flip and shallow-fry, 6-8 at a time, seaweed-side down. 3 minutes per-side. Turn once to complete cooking - when they're golden-brown, they're done
-----

Can be eaten hot or at room tempurature. Do not refrigerate. A suitable dressing is a half-and-half blend of soy sauce + mirin (sweet cooking rice wine), or they're delicious plain.

otanoshinde kudasai　(Enjoy!)

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food

New site design!

2006-04-02T08:17:00.000+10:00

The Bargain Queen has been quiet for a couple of days (but Mr Bargain Queen says she never shuts up...) and now you can see why: she's been busy re-designing the site.

The Bargain Queen loves having things noone else has, so an off-the-rack site template simply wasn't cutting it. Dan Rubin's Thisaway Rose is a great design, it just doesn't scream 'The Bargain Queen' quite loud enough.

While she was changing over the design, the site template was broken, so no posts for a couple of days. Sorry about that!

Feedback on the new design would be very much appreciated. Or if you find anything that's broken, send The Bargain Queen an email.

Now back to the regular posting schedule...

Extra juice for less dough

2006-03-30T19:15:00.000+11:00

While she's no healthfood freak, The Bargain Queen does enjoy a fresh juice from time to time. And even Mr Bargain Queen can occasionally be persuaded to substitute his coffee for the fruity stuff.

But why spend money on juice when water can quench your thirst just as well?

Here's a few ways that juice can save you money, if you get the right stuff:

Juice is full of vitamins, and if you're getting enough of these nutrients through your diet, then you won't need expensive supplements.

Being healthy is a bargain. Fewer expensive trips to the doctor, and less missing work or dipping into your sick-leave.

Reduce snackiness. The extra nutrients in juice can prevent cravings for expensive and nutritionally bankrupt junk food.

So what's the best-value juice in terms of cost and nutrition?

Well, to begin with, we're talking about juice. Real, fresh-squeezed juice, from real pieces of fruit. Not cordial. Not from concentrate. Not adulterated with preservatives or sugar or synthesised vitamins.

In the supermarkets, you'll find these kind of fresh juices in the refrigerator aisle. Since they're a fresh product with no preservatives, they have to be kept cool and drunk within 1-2 weeks. They are pretty high in nutrition, and $5 per 2L bottle is about right for the good-quality brands (in Australia anyway).

The plastic or UHT bottles you buy off the shelf are generally made from concentrate. While these usually taste pretty good, they're not the same nutritionally as the fresh-squeezed stuff. All those extra weeks or months spent on the shelf, often in non-lightproof bottles, means the vitamins can seriously degrade. So even though they cost about half of the fresh brands, it's questionable that you're actually getting value.

What about cafe or chain-store juices? Well, these have the advantage of being freshly-made to order from real fruit, but they're seriously expensive. A single serve in a juice bar can cost you as much as the 2L bottle of fresh stuff from the supermarket. Not exactly Bargain Queen material.

The happy medium? Home-juicing! It's time to either dig up that juicer that's been sitting unused in the bottom of your cupboards (stuff you've bought and haven't used is costing you big-time, naughty), or sniff around eBay for a cafe-style model. You need a heavy-duty one, because it will be durable enough to handle anything, and will last you ages.

We use a Breville cafe-style juicer (A$130), and it's seriously useful. We have tossed in every kind of fruit imaginable, skin, leaves and all, and it doesn't skip a beat. It sounds like a jet-engine taking off, and I think it could probably juice a tree. And it's easy to clean with no fiddly bits or brushing required.

If the juicer is beyond your means at the moment, it time to start hinting to your friends and family for your next birthday...

So, having got the expensive bit out of the way, how much money will it save you?

Well, we yielded 4 litres of yummy apple, carrot and celery juice for $7.30.

2Kg of Juicing Apples - $2
2Kg of carrots - $1.80
Whole stick of celery - $3.50

The same amount would cost a whopping $32 from a cafe!

As for the supermarket brands, well you would pay $10 for 4 litres, so you're only saving a few dollars a throw - but then again, supermarket juice isn't as enjoyable as the stuff you squeeze yourself, and at home you can choose whatever combination of fruit you feel like - grapes, oranges, apples, pears - choose what's in season and it will be cheap and plentiful! Although it will take a while to pay off your juicer this way, we think that the health and enjoyment you get from home-juicing your favourite blends are well worth it.

For your home-juicing, don't buy your fruit at the supermarket, because they only sell stuff that looks most presentable for eating. If you ask the local greengrocer, they can give you bags and bags of the misshapen or damaged fruit for juicing. If you feel squemish about funny-looking fruit, just remember, that's what the cafes and supermarket brands use too.

PS - To save even more, rinse your juicer right after using it! It's quick and easy, saves you heaps of time cleaning dried bits bits from the machine, and makes your machine last longer.

So that's the juice on, er, juice.

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food
health

Do sweat the big stuff

2006-03-28T13:56:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen usually likes to keep things breezy and fun, but today she's going to talk about some of the serious stuff: lifestyle trade-offs.

If you want to stick to your budget and still be fabulous, there will be some trade-offs you have to make. Maybe you spend all your money at the hairdresser and live in a hovel? Or eat like a King and dress like a hobo? Or drive a great car but panic each year when the insurance bill comes in? Or perhaps you ignore the trade-offs and buy the things you can't afford on credit cards or hire purchase. The first three are completely valid trade-offs to make; the fourth will lead you to a world of financial pain.

So what are the trade-offs The Bargain Queen and Mr Bargain Queen have made?

We have a flatmate. The Bargain Queen used to think that once she could afford to live alone, she'd never have a flatmate again. It only took a year of apartment loneliness to convince her otherwise. The Bargain Queen and Mr Bargain Queen now live in a big house in a tree-lined street near the centre of town, with our friend Jon and his dog. The good bits are that we spend a lot of time with our friend; the dog's adorable; we share household chores; and we save money on rent and bills. On the down side, we've all had to cull some of our possessions (we had three of everything) and The Bargain Queen and Mr Bargain Queen can't have sex on the kitchen floor lest Jon comes home and catch us (although he's lived in band houses so he's hard to shock). Sharing a house works really well for us, but it's only feasible when you've got someone as cool as Jon to share with.
We don't have a car. In some places it's literally impossible to live without a car; in other places it's more-or-less doable. Living close to work, shops etc. makes it easier; being able to use Jon's car occasionally helps; and when all else fails, an occasional taxi ride is much cheaper than car ownership. On the down side, Sydney's public transport gets worse all the time, so being late is sometimes unavoidable. Again, this trade-off isn't for everyone but it suits us.
We're cool with pre-loved stuff. Our house is full of cool old stuff; we're avid Freecyclers; and The Bargain Queen buys half her clothes in op (thrift) shops. We try to fix stuff up rather than throwing it out. We even occasionally drag things in off the street, clean them up and make them look nice again. Some things are off-limits (no used underwear or shoes; nothing too stinky) but overall, we're happy to reuse and recycle. To some this will sound totally normal; to others it'll sound gross. The Bargain Queen knows people who are revulsed by the idea of wearing secondhand clothes or sitting on a couch someone else's bum has been on. If it works for them that's great, but it wouldn't work for The Bargain Queen. By buying pre-loved items she's able to have better quality things for less money - plus it's good for the environment. But most importantly, noone else has the same vintage dresses as The Bargain Queen ;)
We don't shop recreationally. While we both LOVE buying gorgeous new things (especially when they're on sale) neither of us shop recreationally. The Bargain Queen knows people who go to the mall every weekend to hang out and end up spending money every time. Great if it works for them, but we don't need much new stuff so we don't go shopping very often. Mr Bargain Queen only goes shopping when a piece of clothing has worn out (or offended The Bargain Queen's aesthetic sensibilities); The Bargain Queen goes a little more often because she's the household organiser so she needs storage boxes and file folders as well as clothes.
We make the most of what we have. This will definitely fall into the 'too obvious to mention' category for some readers, but it's important to us. When either of us 'need' something we see what we can do with what we have before we go and buy anything. For example, The Bargain Queen regularly proclaims she has nothing to wear. She then goes shopping in her wardrobe and finds an outfit that will look great for the occasion. This prevents a whole lot of 'cheap and fun' fashion purchases that would be worn for a single night out, then discarded. This also applies to kitchen gadgetry. The Bargain Queen LOVES gadgets but realistically, you can do almost anything with good saucepans, knives and food processor. Some great cooks even skip the food processor. (Plus every gadget needs to be stored somewhere and if The Bargain Queen bought them all there would be no room in the kitchen for food or cooking...)

So what's the up side of making these trade-offs?

We live in a big house on a tree-lined street.
Our house is nicely decorated.
We eat well.
We have generous clothes budgets. (Hey, The Bargain Queen's vain ;)
We take great holidays.
We're still living within our means.

Everyone's trade-offs are different so please don't feel bad if your financial priorities differ. If you know what's important to you and spend accordingly already, you're doing great. If not... think about it?

(The Bargain Queen will post some tips for sorting out spending priorities in a few days, so check back for more!)

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The Bargain Queen is on Project Blog!

2006-03-27T13:06:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen blog has just been added to Project Blog (presented by The Budget Fashionista). It's a directory of all the best fashion, beauty and shopping blogs around so I'm thrilled to get a listing!

If you're interested in fashion, beauty or shopping go check it out :)

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Heavy-duty duty-free

2006-03-27T12:39:00.000+11:00

Duty-free. Savour those words. Duuu-tyyyy freeeee.

Bargain, right? Well, sometimes. If you can control yourself.

The reality is, duty-free is only going to save you money if:

1) You would normally buy that stuff anyway. Do you typically spend your Friday evenings quaffing Rœderer and puffing on Montecristos? Me neither.

and;

2) The goods you're purchasing actually have significant sales or import taxes on them in the first place.

In Australia and much of the world, many "luxury" goods like handbags, perfumes, sunglasses, cameras & computers just don't attract much tax these days. Once upon a time, these goods were taxed at 30%, so duty-free was a real saving. But these days, luxuries attract maybe 10% at most. Now, how hard is it to find a sale offering 40%-off, 50%-off, or more? Not hard, right? So really, duty-free on these sorts of things isn't much of bargain, and you can probably find a wider selection if you stick to the original retailers anyway.

As for perfumes and cologne, there is a certain allure to picking up something on the way through. But to get your money's worth, don't buy the large (100/90ml) bottles. They may be cheaper-per-millilitre, but the fragrance only has about a 12-month shelf-life when it will be at its radiant best, after that it will start to change its character and become noticeably, umm, Britney. And the only way you'll get through 100ml of fragrance in 12 months is to go out every single day smelling like a muskrat. So really, buy a 50ml bottle and put the $50 you save into your holiday bar tab.

In fact, when it comes to duty-free, if you want to really save, you have to sin. I'm talking booze and fags. And by fags, I mean, well, fags. In most countries, alcohol and tobacco attract about a jillion percent tax, and when they remove that, the price really comes down.

But even so, the best bargains are at the bottom end of the market. Because the "duty" is imposed on the alcohol content alone. So, since a bottle of Coyote Tequila ($A35.00) has the same alcohol content as a bottle of Lous XIII ($A1350.00), you save a princely $15 on the alcohol-related duty. That means your bottle of firewater has come down in price by about 40%, whereas your fine cognac is about 1% cheaper.

And it's the same for cigarettes. In Australia, and in many places, the government imposes a "per stick" tax. So your 40-pack of Longbeach attracts more tax than do 25 Havana cigars. And without the duty, your Longbeach get super-cheap, while the Havana cigars, with their premium prestige, remain highly-valued.

So really, to be a Bargain Queen in the Duty Free store, you have to sail through customs with a 50ml bottle of J-Lo, 2 litres of Bacardi and a carton of menthol cigarettes. I don't think so.

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Word verification

2006-03-27T12:31:00.000+11:00

Just FYI, there was some comment spam left over the weekend so word verification has been turned on. The Bargain Queen gets just as annoyed deciphering those silly word pictures as everyone else does, but it seems preferable to deleting spam.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Confession: bad holiday purchases

2006-03-25T17:23:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen has a confession to make: like a lot of people, she's made some shockingly bad purchases while on holiday. She gets to a fabulous exotic destination and all of a sudden, things that will never be practical / appropriate / attractive on the streets of Sydney become must-haves. She's come home many times with bulging suitcases, having spent half of the next year's clothing budget in a single day. (Just typing this, The Bargain Queen has a look of utter horror on her face...)

What is it about holidays that make ridiculous things seem like worthy purchases? Is it the one-off-opportunity factor? (Maybe I'll never come back here. Gotta buy that ugly shirt.) Does all that relaxation go to one's brain and cause temporary insanity? Or is it just that The Bargain Queen's memory is so poor she forgets all about her normal life the second she steps out of it?

Whatever causes it, The Bargain Queen has (mostly) learnt to shop sensibly while on holiday. But before we have more of The Bargain Queen's limitless shopping wisdom, let's get to the promised confession.

Here's some of the truly nutty things The Bargain Queen has bought over the years:

Clubbing gear (Melbourne, 1998). As a very young lass, The Bargain Queen once went on holiday and spent half her year's clothing budget on clothes which are only appropriate in nightclubs (like tight silver PVC trousers and very slinky black tops). Everyone's young once, so as long as The Bargain Queen doesn't think about how those pants would look on her now, it's all good - especially since she knows how to keep to a budget now.
Lesson: if you wouldn't contemplate spending that much at home, don't do it on holidays.
Serious winter jacket (Chicago, 2000) - as shown in the pic. While on holiday in Chicago, The Bargain Queen managed to forget that she lives in a really warm climate, where it practically never gets below freezing. While this jacket would be a cute way to deal with icy winters, an inch of goose down all over will never be needed in Sydney. The justification was "I'll wear it skiing"... The Bargain Queen's only gone skiing twice. Oops.
Lesson: the weather on holidays is not the weather at home.
Shiny silk skirts (Thailand, 2002). Thai silk is incredibly beautiful - no visit to Bangkok is complete without buying some. The sensible shopper would possibly probably pick up some cushions, a tablecloth and maybe a top (but only if they're really thin). The Bargain Queen fell for shiny silk skirts. (She likes to blames the tiny Thai women, who are not only 3/4 her height but also 3/4 her width. This is because The Bargain Queen has a weird mental disorder that causes her to buy clothes that make her look fat whenever she feels fat.) Let's just say, shiny skirts do nothing for the thighs of a Westerner, even if they're usually pretty svelte. These are now in the sewing basket, waiting to be made into the cushion covers The Bargain Queen should've bought in the first place.
Lesson: what makes you look fat on holiday, still makes you look fat at home.
Ugliest rain jacket on Earth (London, 2005). In the midst of a drizzly London day, The Bargain Queen decided that she must end her ongoing quest for a nice rain jacket immediately. Like most rushed purchases, this didn't go quite to plan. While the jacket in question met all the practical criteria (waterproof; folds down to be really small; neutral colour), it's also butt ugly. A black nylon anorak with gold trim (cringe), it's been worn exactly once and that was in the bush. And The Bargain Queen was still embarassed by it.
Lesson: practical + great price + butt ugly = not a bargain after all.
Ceramic garlic graters (Provence, 2005). These seemed like the coolest idea: they're little ceramic dishes with a rough surface on the bottom. You rub cloves of garlic against the bottom and they get all grated up. You can even grate your garlic in there, then pour in some olive oil and dip bread in it. Yummo! The Bargain Queen bought one for herself, one for Mr Bargain Queen and a few for other people (they were only a couple of Euros each and they seemed so cool and unique). None of them have been used at all. Evidently, they're just one more kitchen gadget noone needs.
Lesson: nifty gadgets maybe aren't the best idea.
Books and magazines (too many holidays to count). Books and magazines seem like such a cool souvenir. They're relatively cheap, they're mostly not available back home and you don't have to worry about whether they'll suit the climate. The only problem is, they weigh a tonne. So you either lug them up and down escalators in unfamiliar subways or you pay a fortune posting them home.
Lesson: beware of heavy souvenirs; a free hernia is not a bargain.

That's enough shaming now. The Bargain Queen's going to follow this up with some 'show off' posts in a couple of days, to tell you how good she is at holiday shopping now.

In the meantime, here's The Bargain Queen's absolute favourite holiday souvenir: pens. Not anything fancy, just ordinary plastic souvenir pens that cost roughly $2 each (if that). Maybe that sounds dull, but they have some big advantages. For a start, they're cheap. So if you hate them when you get home it's no big deal to give them away. More importantly, you're pretty much guaranteed to use them because EVERYONE loses pens sometimes. Plus every time you do use your holiday pen, you're reminded of the holiday.

But the best bit about holiday pens is they're practically theft-proof. The Bargain Queen's favourite pens both sport big logos (one's funky and purple from the Tate Modern, the other's chic chocolate brown from the Bolton Hotel in Wellington) and they always get given back. Maybe they're just too tacky to steal, but The Bargain Queen prefers to believe that noone's scummy enough to steal her special holiday memories. Aw.

OK, they're just too tacky to steal.

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The cheaper catfood challenge, continued

2006-03-24T21:11:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen's been working on the cheaper cat food challenge set by her friend kt. Cheaper cat food has never been a big issue for The Bargain Queen because she has just one cat, and Queen Kitty is tiny. She costs $5-10/week to feed, which is nothing compared to rent, bills and clothing expenses. But The Bargain Queen is always up for a challenge :)

So here's an update on the cheaper cat food options we've tried and how they worked out:

Cheaper cat food. We tried a cheaper brand of tinned cat food, and while it looked and smelled awful, the cat seems to really like it. Go figure. The Bargain Queen's still not convinced that it's good for the cat though... surely nothing that smells that gross can be healthy?
Fish head. This seemed like a really good idea: feed the cat meat off a fish head. We bought the head off a premium Tasmanian salmon from the fish market for a little over a dollar. From it, we got three meals for the cat (one tablespoon of salmon sashimi, plus two lots of flaked cooked salmon) plus a couple of snacks from the dog since she likes bones and cartilege. The only problem was that the cat wasn't so keen (although she did like the broth we cooked the fish in), so next time we'll just eat the salmon ourselves.
Dog meat. The dog gets a lot of fresh meat, so we've been looking for ways to share it with the cat. Since the cat's tiny and the dog's really big, taking a tablespoon of meat from the dog's meal and giving it to the cat works really well. The dog doesn't even notice it gone but it's a big treat for the cat.
Egg yolk. We've been making a big effort to give the cat leftovers from our own cooking wherever we can. So when a receipe called for egg whites only, we gave the yolks to the cat. This worked pretty well - she ate a whole yolk and even seemed to like it. But when we gave her a second one, she gave us a look like "enough already" so the dog got it instead. She's a tiny cat though, so it seems sensible that she wouldn't eat much.
Prawn (jumbo shrimp) heads. Again in the leftovers department, we gave the cat some heads and shells from prawns we cooked. When we pulled all the brains out for her she had some and seemed to like it, but who wants to handle prawn brains for a cat? So we gave her some whole prawn heads and she's ignored them. Though on the up side, the dog loves them!

So far, The Bargain Queen has discovered that the cat is by far the fussiest eater in the house. If it doesn't come in a dinky little can, she's not interested in eating it.

But while the cat food challenge isn't working out so well with the cat, the dog is having a feast. Whatever the cat doesn't eat, the dog does, with great gusto and appreciation. Gotta love dogs!

Filed in:

pets

No longer a seedling sucker

2006-03-23T17:44:00.000+11:00

While The Bargain Queen gets most of her plants cheaply, she has been known to buy seedlings from time to time - mostly because it seemed like the only way to grow things that aren't typically given away. It might sound silly but growing from seed seemed intimidating, time-consuming and way too difficult. Every pack of seeds The Bargain Queen picked up stated that seed raising containers and special potting mix are needed, and then you have to find a spot that's sunny buy doesn't get direct sunlight. It all sounds so hard!

However, it did also occur to The Bargain Queen that plants grew from seed long before the invention of special seed raising potting mix so perhaps it's not strictly necessary. Upon asking her flatmate, The Bargain Queen was told that paper kitchen towels do just as good a job.

So The Bargain Queen gave it a go and these are the results a week later:

All those green bits are baby now pea plants!

It's just an ordinary plate with a stack of four ordinary paper kitchen towels (scrunched at the edges) on it. The seeds were sprinkled randomly on top and kept moist with tap water. For the first couple of days there were a couple more paper towels on top but the seedlings didn't seem to be able to bust through them so they were taken off after that. Really, planting them in the garden will be more work than growing the seedlings has been.

Now admittedly, these are snow pea seedlings which are apparently about the easiest thing on earth to grow. Plus (completely by chance) The Bargain Queen managed to sprout them at exactly the right time of year (it's early autumn here in Sydney). Still it's a promising enough result that The Bargain Queen's just started a second tray of seedlings, this time with some native Australian flower seeds.

As for the snow peas, these will go in The Bargain Queen's potted kitchen garden in the pots where the tomato plants with no tomatoes have been all summer. Can't wait for fresh snow peas out of the garden, yummo!

Filed in:

gardening

Insider shopping tips: op/thrift stores

2006-03-22T11:22:00.000+11:00

A couple of days ago, The Bargain Queen talked about how to get great insider shopping info, to help you find the best bargains. Today, The Bargain Queen shares some of her best tips for shopping in op shops (which are called thrift stores in America).

The Bargain Queen volunteers in one of her local op shops occasionally, and always comes home with some great finds she's unearthed while helping around the store. She's also seen the best and worst shopping techniques in action, and watched one shopper go home thrilled while another gets cranky.

If you're not a regular op shopper already, they're a great place to find cheap clothes, accessories, furniture, homewares, books, craft supplies and all sorts of other things. Two big chains that operate in both Australia and America are The Salvation Army and Goodwill - look in the phone book to find your local ones. Just be prepared to look through a lot of, erm, interesting items to find the great stuff. If you view it as a treasure hunt, it's a lot of fun... but it's still a lot more work than going to the mall. So what's the incentive? Fanastic bargains! (The Bargain Queen's going to show off her latest haul in a couple of days, so y'all come back now :)

Here's how to get the best op shop deals:

Shop on a weekday. Op shops are usually packed on weekends, so often the great bargains sell out early. Plus the staff are so busy they don't put anything new on the shelves, meaning stock can be seriously depleted by the end of the day.
Find out how the store is re-stocked. Some stores get their stock entirely from over-the-counter donations (i.e. things that are brought into the store). Other stores, usually in big chains like Salvation Army and Goodwill, get all their stock from a central warehouse, and anything that comes into the store is sent there to be sorted and priced. Some stores use a combination of both methods. The best way to find out how your favourite op shops are re-stocked is to volunteer occasionally. If you really don't have time, try chatting with the staff next time you're there shopping and see if you can find out.
Come in on re-stocking days. Stores that sell over-the-counter donations often have the best stock early Monday morning, because Saturday is the busiest donation day. Customers who work during the week bring in bags of stuff, but the store is so busy that it's not put out until Monday. If stock comes from a central warehouse, there's usually one drop a week and the best selection of stock is available on that day and the day afterwards (as it takes a little while to shelve it all). Wednesday is a common day for drops but it varies between chains and stores, so it's best to check with the individual store. Again, volunteers find this out very easily, or you can ask the staff.
Don't leave things in changerooms. If you want to make yourself popular, re-shelve anything you don't want! The majority of op shop staff are volunteers who often work very hard sorting stock, cleaning and fixing things for sale, making the store look nice and dealing with the occasional crazy customer. The last thing volunteers want when they're trying to make 1,000 books with broken spines look attractive, is to get up after every customer comes in and re-shelve unwanted clothes. If you want to be waited on, go to the mall and pay retail - you can't expect that level of service from volunteers. You won't be kicked out of the store for making more work for the staff, but you won't get information or discounts either.
Be super-polite. Believe it or not, a lot of op shop customers are really rude! Sometimes they're mentally ill or disabled and don't know any better; sometimes they're anti-social; and sometimes they think it's OK to look down on volunteers who handle used underwear and serve crazies all day. If you're one of the polite, pleasant customers, the staff really notice. The Bargain Queen is always nice to op shop staff and apart from being the right thing to do, it has gotten her many discounts and freebies.
Don't ask for discounts. Most things are so cheap in op shops already that asking for a discount just makes you look like a scumbag. If you really are so poor you can't afford a $4 top, many charity-run op shops will give you clothes, furniture and/or food for free, which is worth keeping in mind if you're ever seriously down and out. The rest of the time, please remember that the money you spend is helping a charity and just pay what they ask.
Do let them know if the pricing is wrong. Generally, haggling in charity stores is just wrong, but it is OK if you think they've got the pricing wrong - just remember to be super-polite. Everyone makes mistakes occasionally. Here's the three circumstances The Bargain Queen has when it's ok to ask for a discount:
1. You spot something great in a store, but the price tag looks WAY high. You come back a month or so later and it's still there - the price is so high it hasn't sold. In this case, you can politely ask the manager: "I notice this has been in stock for a while and I think the price is a bit high. Would you accept $X for it?".
2. There's no price on an item you'd really like it. You take it to the counter to ask how much and they tell you an amount you think is over the top. Sometimes, especially if you're well-dressed, you've been mistaken for a dealer and given an inflated price. Gently letting the staff member know you're not will sometimes get the price lowered. For example: "Oh, I'm just student, I can't afford that!". Just be honest - if you are a dealer, or as well-off as you look, give the charity the money already.
3. You find a damaged item that's been priced the same as similar undamaged items. If you point this out to a staff member, sometimes you'll get a small discount.
Please use all these methods sparingly though. Cutting into a charity's funds for your own gain does not make you a Bargain Queen!

Update:
Rebecca helpfully reminded The Bargain Queen of something she'd forgotten (oops!):

Op shops / thrift stores have sales too. In Rebecca's area, The Salvation Army stores mark things down on Thursdays. Where The Bargain Queen lives, the sales are more random (the store managers have discretion over what sales they hold and when), so it's best to ring the store and find out. Usually stock that's been in the store more than a month will be half price (they'll all have a particular tag colour), but there'll also sometimes be 'fill a bag for $10' days, which are brilliant!

So we've talked about how to get the best deals at op shops. Stay tuned for info on how to get the best retail and discount outlet deals!

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Welcome new readers!

2006-03-21T10:31:00.000+11:00

If you followed the link from Digs Magazine and are here for the first time, welcome!

The Bargain Queen blog is all about living well on a budget and feeling good about it. Here you'll find information on saving money (without compromising on style) in all aspects of your life: food, entertainment, fashion, beauty, gardening, decorating and a whole lot more.

It's written by The Bargain Queen and her husband, Mr Bargain Queen. They're 27 and 31 respectively and live in Sydney, Australia. The Bargain Queen is ruler of all things retail: if there's a cheap source of anything, she knows all about it. Mr Bargain Queen backs her up with his expertise in personal finance, budgeting and investing.

This blog is a work in progress. We're new to this and learning as we go. For now, all previous posts are neatly organised by subject on del.icio.us. We hope that makes it easier for you to find what you're interested in. If you have any tips for improving our blog, email us!

Thanks for stopping by,

The Bargain Queen

PS: If you like cats, you can meet Queen Kitty here.

Banish the Balcony Blues

2006-03-21T10:24:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen has an article published in Digs Magazine!

It's called Banish the Balcony Blues and it's all about gardening in small, rented spaces. If you'd like a gorgeous garden but don't have space, money or a lot of gardening expertise, take a look.

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gardening

Frequent flyers frequently disappoint

2006-03-19T18:11:00.000+11:00

Frequent Flyer programs are a waste of money. There, I said it.

For those of you who like Frequent Flyers, I promise there’s a useful comparison up ahead, so keep reading. For those who loathe Frequent Flyers, just sit back, enjoy the rant and an oxygen mask will drop down if there is an interruption to the air supply.

I’m sorry, but anything for which you have to pay fees, that restricts your choice of flights and seats to whatever late-night, low-season tickets that it suits the airline to offer you, just isn’t worth it.

Why pay a fee to get the crumbs off the table? And then pay again just to get a flight that actually suits you?

If this is how airlines treat their most loyal customers, heaven help the rest of us.

In 10 years as a semi-regular flyer, I’ve never joined a program – I’ve always just gone with the cheapest fare I could get at a time that suited me. In 10 years, I’ve saved $2500 just by choosing the cheapest available fare instead of one connected with a Frequent Flyer. And I’ve done it all without flying Aeroflot.

I’ve never been stuck with flying an airline who’s service has gone downhill just because I’m in their program. When I look at the timetabling contortions my friends have put up with, the annual fees they’ve paid and the all the bizarre things they’ve bought at overpriced supermarkets just to get Fly Buys, I can tell you, I’m way ahead.

But fortunately, there’s now a frequent flyer in Australia that costs you nothing and lets you choose any seat you like, on any flight. So The Bargain Queen has persuaded me to take another look at Virgin’s Velocity program.

But first, which sounds like the better deal to you? Get 17% off your next airfare, or earn 6 frequent flyer points for every dollar you spend? Believe it or not, there’s no difference!

How do we know? I simply logged into Velocity with The Bargain Queen’s code and checked how many points it cost for the cheapest seat on a Sydney – Melbourne flight. Then I logged into Virgin’s non-Velocity web page to check the dollar cost of the cheapest seat on the exact same flight. The lowest-cost in points was 7,000 ; the fare was worth $105.00 . So, you’d have to spend $630.00 with Virgin to claim that $105.00 seat. It’s a straight 6-to-1 deal, or roughly 17% off.

Now, if you went into a retail shop and they offered you 17% off, you’d be pretty happy, right? But if they told you that they’ll only give you the 17% discount after you’ve bought 6 things in the shop, you’d tell them to go to hell, wouldn’t you?

So why do people accept deals from airlines that they wouldn’t accept from anyone else? Beats me.

Let me put it this way. Frequent Flyers were invented for the benefit of the airline, not you, the flyer. It was a way to get the airline to fill its unused seats. That’s why all those other programs restrict the seats available to only the ones they can’t otherwise sell. All that warm-and-fluffy stuff about how much they wanted to reward you for your loyalty was so much marketing guff. All they ever wanted was to foist their unpopular seats onto you while making you feel good. Sorry, but that's the truth, and I've heard it from senior marketing executives in 3 different and very prestigeous airlines.

Of course, it worked a treat, in the early days, the airline with the best Frequent Flyer programs attracted lots of new customers.

But ironically, now that all the airlines have programs, there’s really no difference. OK, it’s great that Virgin will let you choose any seat on any flight, but it’s only a matter of time before Qantas follows suit.

If an airline really wanted to attract new customers now, the best thing they could do is scrap their Frequent Flyer program. The way Velocity is priced, it suggests that they could make all their airfares 17% cheaper overnight, just by getting rid of the Frequent Flyer.

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

PS - The opinions expressed in this post are not those of The Bargain Queen, they are Mr Bargain Queen speaking in a private capacity. From cattle class. In the centre seat.

Filed in:

Get insider info, get the best bargains!

2006-03-18T18:49:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen LOVES getting insider info, because it makes it so much easier to find great bargains. If you know:

WHO sells the type of thing you're looking for,
WHAT they most want or need to sell,
WHEN their sales are slowest,
WHY they discount and
HOW they sell their clearance stock

...it's a whole lot easier to find the best deals.

Here's how to get that information:

Get into the industry. The best source of insider info is to actually be on the inside. This doesn't mean you have to give up your day job though - there are other ways in.
The Bargain Queen's first tip is that if you like op (thrift) shopping, you should volunteer in one of your favourite shops occasionally. Even if you can only spare a few hours each month, many stores will be thrilled to have the help, and you'll learn a lot about how op shops work and how to find the best deals. Plus, when you're re-arranging shelves or sorting out tangled racks of clothes, you're likely to find some great bargains to buy.
The second tip, is that your existing skills might allow you to provide services to the industry you're interested in. For example, if you design software like The Bargain Queen does, look for projects / jobs where you design software for retailers, manufacturers or service providers whose products you're interested in.
Talk to insiders. It's really easy to talk to insiders, even if you don't know any personally. Every sales assistant you speak to has insider info, which they're usually happy to share IF you approach them the right way. Be friendly, be charming and remember your manners - don't be too blatant about trying to get things more cheaply. In Australia, the general rule is that it's fine to ask for information ("I love these shoes but they're just too expensive. Do you know if they'll be marked down in the next sale? When is that?"); it's usually not appropriate to ask outright for a discount unless an item's faulty. The exceptions are garage (yard) sales and some markets.
These rules apply doubly if the insider is a friend or family member, because if they can give you a discount, they'll usually offer.
Read up. Industry insiders write and/or are interviewed for books, magazines and newspapers all the time. Most major newspapers (and some magazines) post recent stories online for free, so this can be a great start. A trip to your local library can help you find books and magazines to read too. The stories to look for are about the overall state of a particular industry; trends within that industry; the health of particular companies; and articles about previous years' sales (they're usually repeated each year).
Get online. Apart from newspapers' web sites, the two best sources of insider info online are blogs and discussion forums. Google's your best resource for finding these sites, but to get you started, here's two of The Bargain Queen's favourites:
- Kathleen Fasanella's blog Fashion-Incubator is a great place to learn about the inner workings of the fashion business
- The Vogue Australia Forums are a popular online hangout for Australian shop assistants and other fashion people. They often post about when the sales are on and what's been marked down, to help you pick the best sales to attend.

So what are you waiting for? The sooner you start your research, the sooner you get your Masters in Bargain Hunting ;)

Tomorrow: some insider tips for op (thrift) shopping, retail and eBay.

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Stop buying magazines!

2006-03-18T18:21:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen LOVES checking out celebrity outfits, although she would never, ever slavishly copy anyone else's outfit, no matter how famous/ cool/ rich/ whatever they are. But copy-catting aside, some celebrity images are inspiring and beautiful, others are just so much fun to be bitchy about.

Now if you want to spend lots of money keeping up with what Lindsay Lohan's wearing, you can buy magazines. But if you want to get them before they're published in the mags, for FREE, you can check the sites magazine editors use. According to The Bargain Queen's magazine sources, WireImage.com is currently the best source of celebrity images, and Getty Images is pretty popular among Voguettes.

Just don't visit these sites if you have other things to do, they're kind of addictive and The Bargain Queen is now due to leave for drinks and still in her trackies. Oops!

Filed in:

entertainment

How many pairs of shoes does a girl need?

2006-03-17T16:01:00.001+11:00

According to The Chicago Tribune:

Shoe wardrobe's magic number: 5

Via ShoeSense

Filed in:

fashion

Fraud: eBay's number one best-seller

2006-03-17T14:00:00.001+11:00

The Bargain Queen has been defrauded on eBay twice. The first time, she bought a Tiffany necklace (before everyone knew that all Tiffany on eBay is fake), which turned out to be a good quality fake in the dodgiest packaging you'll ever see. She still wears the necklace, mostly because it's pretty, but partly because it was $200 which is a lot to spend on something and then never use it.

The second time, she bought a CD and the seller sent her a burnt CD copy of it, instead of the pictured item. By then, The Bargain Queen had enough positive feedback that one negative wouldn't kill her, so she reported the seller and got her money back.

These aren't isolated incidents by any stretch. If you're looking at Tiffany jewellery, designer handbags, Diesel or Seven For All Mankind jeans, even some car parts (!) on eBay, there's a high chance you'll get a fake. According to the Chicago Times, one woman even got ripped off on a wedding dress. And apparently New Zealand's equivalent, trademe.co.nz is no better.

So how do you make sure you don't get ripped off on eBay and other auction sites? Keep these tips in mind, and eBay's a relatively safe place:

If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. This season's hottest super-expensive bags do not show up on eBay for $100 - cheap copies of them do.
Treat all 'high risk' items (like accessories by well-known designers) as possible fakes, and do your research. Ask the seller about the authenticity of the item before you bid, read guides to spotting fakes and check the seller's feedback really carefully.
Be suspicious if the item is being shipped from China or Hong Kong; a lot of fake goods are manufactured there.
Don't take return policies at face value. A common ploy is to offer a full refund, "if you can prove the bag is fake", because they know it's very difficult to get any documentation to prove it. (My Poupette are one of the few places to authenticate bags, although they only do Louis Vuitton.)
Be aware of the other types of eBay fraud, including buying things you never receive. Just because the item in the pictures is genuine, doesn't mean that's what you'll get. Wikipedia has a pretty complete list of ways you can be defrauded on eBay.
If you do buy a 'risky' item on eBay, pay for it using either Visa or PayPal and you'll have an easier time getting your money back. Both have fraud protection programs you can sometimes use, whereas bank deposit and wire transfer offer no protection at all.

As a footnote, kudos to eBay's PR people. Every Australian magazine The Bargain Queen has purchased recently has an article about how brilliant eBay is, even though many people seem to be getting sick of the scams and logging off. Plus eBay's spokespeople seem to be there to say how safe online shopping is, every single time there's an article about any kind of online fraud. Now that's seriously good PR!

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$4.95 Vogue dressmaking patterns! (4 days only)

2006-03-16T00:00:00.000+11:00

Spotlight have the following offer on at the moment:

Buy your dressmaking patterns now.

* 4 DAYS ONLY * HUGE SAVINGS

McCalls, Butterick and Vogue - ALL THREE BRANDS ONE LOW PRICE! VIPs $4.95 each
Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 March ONLY

You have to be a member of their 'VIP club' to get it, but the club is free to join and they don't spam you too much. If you're not a member already and you want to take advantage of this offer, ask the sales assistant nicely if they'll sign you up before you buy the patterns (you might have to buy something small to join, not sure). Just try to go in when the store's quiet, you can't sign up with a long queue of people tapping their feet behind you because their lunch hour's almost up!

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Potato chips: $2 each

2006-03-15T23:22:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen would like to know, what ever happened to generous portion sizes? We went to a restaurant in Newtown called Oscillate Wildly last night for a friend's birthday, and left wondering where the rest of the food was.

While The Bargain Queen thought the food was excellent (except there was so little of it), Mr Bargain Queen decided his was inedible and ate nothing all night. This meant that, by eating both hers and Mr Bargain Queen's food, The Bargain Queen felt pleasantly just-full at the end of the night. For a special night out though, The Bargain Queen would prefer to feel uncomfortably gluttonously full, since an occasional treat is all the better for over-eating. But really, if The Bargain Queen had eaten only her own meal and felt just-full at the end, she would've been happy enough.

To make it even worse, neither of us are huge eaters, so we refuse to accept that the food was the right size but our appetites were too big. Seriously, The Bargain Queen's ($23) main was a small portion of fish with six chips and a tablespoon of salad on the side - and that's not an exaggeration. We'll call that $10 of fish, $1 of salad and $2 each for the chips (which were the best The Bargain Queen has ever tasted, but still only worth about $1 each).

The Bargain Queen really hopes this isn't the start of an Australian nouvelle cuisine trend, where two over-cooked asparagus spears warrant a line on the menu to trumpet their scintillating fabulosity. Or on second thoughts, The Bargain Queen hopes that's where Sydney food is headed - for the sake of her budget. We'll never eat out again!

Note: Apart from the micro-portions, Oscillate Wildly was brilliant. Nice decor, great service, super-tasty food, a little loud but that was probably our drunk friends... if we could get double helpings of everything, we'd go back tomorrow. Or at least, The Bargain Queen would. Mr Bargain Queen rated it all as inedible, but there's no accounting for (lack of) taste.

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Lancome Juicy Tubes special

2006-03-15T10:51:00.000+11:00

Another great special: Lancome Juicy Tubes for AU$19 at Fresh fragrances and cosmetics.

Via saleguide.com.au

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Qantas sale

2006-03-15T10:43:00.000+11:00

In The Bargain Queen's email this morning, a Qantas sale for flights within Australia:

The Go Australia! Sale
seats on sale until Tuesday 21 March 2006 or until sold out

one-way economy specials are valid for travel 2 May to 30 June 2006

Canberra to Melbourne from $78*
Hobart to Sydney from $139*
Sydney to Brisbane from $79*
Cairns to Sydney from $154*
Melbourne to Adelaide from $79*
Darwin to Sydney from $194*
Brisbane to Melbourne from $110*
Perth to Melbourne from $199*
Adelaide to Sydney from $119*

They also have Sydney to Melbourne for $79, which The Bargain Queen will probably take advantage of to go see her brother.

You can book flights here.

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A big apology

2006-03-14T10:52:00.000+11:00

The Bargain Queen owes her readers an apology. The other day, The Bargain Queen blogged about $1,000 handbags, wrote pretty poorly on the subject, and Rebecca was rightly offended.

While the intended message was "if you can afford expensive things, make sure you'll get value from them by wearing them to death", this is what was actually said:

This is a great lesson to remember when you're out shopping: if you stick with classic things that you love, you can buy expensive things and still be a Bargain Queen. Let's start with The Bargain Queen's personal obsession: bags. A $1,000 bag like the ones in the story is fine, if you really will carry it every day for 10 years - and as long as you can afford it without resorting to plastic. Over its life, it costs the same as two fashionable $50 bags a year, and a great bag will look a lot better than a bunch of cheapies. (The Bargain Queen's most expensive bag was a present from Mr Bargain Queen and even that was under $1,000... no wonder she's not a fashion editor!)

If a $200 bag is a big splurge for you, work with that: buy the nicest fabric bag you can find and treat it well. (The Bargain Queen finds the majority of $200 leather bags are a bit ew.) Or if you're a fashion chameleon and get bored with a bag after a few weeks, forget the 'investment' bags and have fun with cheap and cheerful.

The point is, spend according to the amount of wear you'll get from each garment, and you'll never look like a slightly unstable fashion victim.

This is the immediacy of blogging at its worst. The Bargain Queen meant to say one thing, but kind of managed to say something else entirely. And was bitchy in the process. The post in question has now been updated, so you can see what she meant to say over here.

To clarify The Bargain Queen's views on expensive bags:

You don't have to have an expensive bag to be stylish. You don't even have to 'buy the best you can afford', as magazines often say. Any bag that suits your budget, personality and lifestyle is great, even if the magazines say it's a 'don't' this year. ('Cos if it's 'out', it'll be back 'in' as soon as you've thrown it away!)

The Bargain Queen likes to look at super-expensive fashion the same way she looks at Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles: as fabulous, inspiring artwork that has no place in her life or her credit card statement.

The Bargain Queen HATES that "my stuff is not good enough" feeling that she sometimes gets when she's reading magazines or looking at things online. She hates feeling cheap because her budget didn't stretch to an extragavant wedding, fully colour coordinated home furnishings or this season's throwaway fashion trend.

Noboday should ever feel bad about living within their means. Ever.

Fashion magazines applaud the personal style of people who buy couture dresses, and regard $5,000-10,000/year clothes budget as minimal. That's because the majority of their revenue comes from companies that sell vastly expensive clothing. People who have the money for couture and their own personal stylist have it relatively easy. They're scrutinised more, but they also have a big team of people dedicated to making them look good.

The people who really deserve applause are people like Rebecca, who's stylish on $1 a day. Finding a great sweater for a few hundred is easy; finding one for $1.77 is fantastic!

Hoyts March super specials

2006-03-13T11:26:00.000+11:00

Hoyts cinemas currently have two great specials running:

$8.50 tickets for all movies on Mondays and Tuesdays
$10 tickets Wednesday-Sunday, if you book your tickets online

Looks like Mr Bargain Queen can afford to take The Bargain Queen on a date or two this month...

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Sydney markets guide

2006-03-13T10:27:00.000+11:00

Markets can be a great place to find cheap clothes, food, presents and a whole lot of other things too. The best guide to the markets around Sydney The Bargain Queen has found is this one on UrbanBoheme. (There's also a Melbourne market guide too.)

The Bargain Queen's favourite markets around Sydney are:

Glebe markets
Balmain markets
Paddy's fruit market
Sydney fish market
The Rocks market, where The Bargain Queen's brother-in-law sells his super-funky lamps

The Bargain Queen has no idea why so much fuss is made about the Dixon St night markets in Chinatown though. Every time The Bargain Queen has gone, it's been al fresco dining (no big deal anywhere outside Sydney) with a few stalls of cheap imported crap scattered around. Without even a decent phat thai on offer, it's no substitute for a real Asian night market!

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