Should I peel the water/energy rating stickers off the new washing machine, or leave them on for continued smugness?
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Category: Consumerism
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South Wharf
DFO has moved from Spencer Street to South Wharf. Oh, well done fellas — a move from an easy-to-get-to spot, to some godforsaken new place which nobody can find. Apparently they weren’t happy with their high-profile location, being next to a major railway station. For motorists they also had a big car park underneath (though ... [More]
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Hey you! Daniel!
American Express have this advertising campaign going on. Every time I open a newspaper or pass an Amex billboard, I do a double-take. Perhaps this isn’t happening to people who are not called Daniel. Please note: This Daniel does not recommend or endorse American Express products. They’d have to pay me first.
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Expires 10/09
One of my credit cards expired at the end of last month. It happens to be the one I hang most of my automatic payments off. My ISPs (internet access and web) emailed me to ask for new details. So too did Citylink and the after-school care people, so I updated all of those. The ... [More]
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The number became a brand
Back when I worked at Hattams (mid 80s to early 90s), we stocked Levi’s jeans, primarily the 555 “red tabs”, but also the 517 “boot cut”. The numbers were Levi’s product codes. The first digit 5 signified they were for adult men’s — my recollection is that the “student” (kids/young men up to a size ... [More]
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I’m confused
Toothpaste. There’s a bewildering number of varieties in just the Colgate brand. This is what the Safeway Homeshop site lists, excluding things like Pump packs and size variations: Colgate Toothpaste 2in1 Gel Whitening Colgate Toothpaste 2in1 Liquid Gel Icy Blast Colgate Toothpaste 2in1 Max Fresh Cool Mint Colgate Toothpaste Advanced Whitening Colgate Toothpaste Baking Soda ... [More]
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Cling wrap
Speaking of shopping for cheap alternatives, but preferring locally-made goods: initially I avoided buying the Aldi cling wrap because it was made in China. Then I noticed all the brands of cling wrap are now made in China, including OSO and Multix, and the one that’s in common use as the generic term, Glad Wrap. ... [More]
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Round and round and round
My washing machine is a Hoover, which is about 15 years old. It’s been pretty good over the years, though in that time I reckon the service people have been called out perhaps 4-5 times (twice that I recall for blockages which I later learnt to fix myself). Now however the spin cycle is making ... [More]
My blog’s sponsor Lasoo, which provides online catalogues and price comparisons, now has an iPhone application. The media and marketing blog Mumbrella writes: Until you think about its significance, itâs easy enough to dismiss it as just another app. But what it does is bring much closer for consumers the economic concept of the âperfect ... [More]
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Exchange rate
I’m not going to claim I’m a currency expert, but I think Channel 10 put the decimal point in the wrong place, as I’m pretty sure an Australian Dollar is worth more than US 8 cents.
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Aldi product reviews
So, in my quest to become a cheapskate, I’ve tried a few Aldi products. Having pretty-much restricted myself to Aldi products made in Australia (food miles, though it’s something of a generalisation), and ruled-out some categories I’ve been warned about (fresh fruit and veg, meat), here’s what I’ve found so far: The Weetbix clone — ... [More]
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Spot the odd one out
The Saturday Age’s property section has a bit on pages 2-3 called Private Property, where they highlight various homes for sale, and note who is selling them, and their claim to fame, such that it is. Spot the odd one out from yesterday’s edition: Frankston car dealer and philanthropist Gary Lechte Maryann Jesudason and her ... [More]