The White Hat Guide to Money saving tips in Melbourne

One of 100 great things to do in Melbourne for under $10
the White Hat guide

Be sure to check out our pages 100 Great things to do in Melbourne for under $10.

Public transport

Public transport is relatively cheap in Melbourne. However, the following tips may help you make your dollar go further.

• Free city circle trams run in both directions around the perimeter of the CBD and through Docklands from 10am to 6pm. They run at 10 minute intervals.
• A free Tourist Shuttle Bus runs around the city and part of the inner suburbs from 10am to 4pm. See details.
• If you are going to buy a two hour ticket, be aware of how the time 'rounds up' to the next hour. For instance, a two hour ticket purchased (or first validated) at 9.59am lasts until 12 noon. However a ticket purchased 2 minutes later at 10.01am would last until 1pm. Thus, if you are able to control your starting time you can turn a 2 hour ticket into a 3 hour ticket.
• A 2 hour ticket first validated after 6 pm lasts for the rest of the night. Similarly, a weekly ticket first validated after 3pm provides that evening's travel as a bonus and the week of the ticket starts the next day.
• Weekly or monthly tickets can be used in any zone at weekends. Thus a weekly zone 1 ticket can be used for unlimited metropolitan travel at weekends.
• Sunday saver tickets are ridiculously cheap (currently $2.90) and allow you to ride all day anywhere in metropolitan Melbourne.
• A weekend daily (same as above but can be used on Saturday as well) costs $14.50 for a ticket that can be used on 5 separate days

Eating Out

If you want to eat cheaply and well in Melbourne, here are a few tips.

• Eat on off-peak days (Monday Tuesday and Wednesday). Eating places often have special offers on these days.
• Eat your main meal in the middle of the day - it will often be cheaper than the same meal at night.
• Avoid food labelled as 'yummy' - this is almost invariably a de-natured form of vegetarian food with a uniformly grey taste.
• Eat in the bar area at pubs - you will often be eating an identical meal to those in the lounge area except at half the price.

Recommended cheap eating can be found at Cheap Food in Melbourne.

Buying food

When buying food in Melbourne, there are a few simple guidelines.

• Try to avoid 'convenience stores'. They charge a premium for their convenience and are usually a very expensive way to buy food. The smaller independent (often Asian) convenience stores usually have a better range and better prices than the well known chains.

• Fresh food markets are usually considerably cheaper than supermarkets - particularly if you choose a larger one and shop around.

• The best value food is usually to be found at markets approaching closing times. You can usually purchase food for about a quarter the price you would pay in a supermarket. For instance, try the meat hall of the Preston Market approaching noon on Saturday, or the top end of Shed B at the Victoria Market approaching 4 pm on Saturday. If you can't feed a family of 2 adults and 2 children for under $10 then you are not trying!

Shopping

Certain consumer items can be purchased over the Internet because it may cut out layers of middle men. Others (such as contact lenses) have now become commodity items but often have a premium charged on them by the professionals in the area. We have listed a number of good deals on such items here.

Events

When attending major events, take your own food and drink if this is possible - particularly at major sporting venues. Organisers take advantage of having a captive audience to greatly increase the price of food and drink. Most sporting venues will allow you to bring your own hamper, but many do not allow you to bring alcohol. Be prepared for your hampers to be inspected and suspicious drink containers to be opened and sniffed for alcohol by the gate staff. It may be a bit of trouble, but it can, for instance, halve the cost of taking the family to the football.

Petrol

Newcomers to Melbourne are often bewildered but the wild fluctuations in petrol prices. However, as any Melbournian who is serious about saving money will tell you, it is fairly simple really. The price changes have settled into a weekly cycle, so try to buy on Tuesday or Wednesday morning when it is cheapest and avoid buying at the weekend when it is most expensive. Similarly, price varies from suburb to suburb - well-heeled suburbs will be more expensive while lower rent suburbs will be cheaper. The best value seems to be in a ring of middle suburbs from about Oakleigh through Doncaster, Preston, Brunswick to Footscray. Of course, don't drive across town just to fill up, but a sensible motorist can save hundreds of dollars a year through buying petrol when it is cheap.

Travellers Aid

Travellers Aid is a long-established institution in Australia, and offers a number of free and cheap services to travellers. If you are a tired & hungry traveller in need of a shower, accommodation, food, tourist advice, give them a visit. You can find them on the Main Concourse, Flinders Street Station, Corner Flinders street and Swanston Street. This service is located within the ticketed barrier area of Flinders Street Station and offers a comfortable lounge, amenities, rest area, and practical assistance to the travelling public, through a number of services. The phone number there is (03) 9610 2030 and the website is www.travellersaid.org.au.

Beware of False Economies

Would you rush out to a 1% off sale? Most of us wouldn't, and it is worth remembering that most credit card and other loyalty programs operate at about 1% value. That is for every $1 you spend you have 1 cent credited to some future reward. Thus if someone will give you 5% discount for cash you're way ahead.

Perhaps the greatest examples of false economies can be seen amongst visitors to Melbourne. Many will spend thousands of dollars getting to Melbourne then insist on always using the free City Circle tram rather than spending a few dollars on a tram ticket and seeing much more of Melbourne. Similarly many will take free and self guided tours or rely on guide books and leave Melbourne never knowing that they had missed things which were of passionate interest to them just around the corner. We often have people taking one of our tours on their last night in Melbourne who are shattered to find out what they have missed because they did not pay a small amount for a knowledgeable guide at the start of their stay.

Related links

• Melbourne Show on a budget