Some of us have long days at uni that seem to stretch forever with no end in sight. Some of us just have some long classes that go well into the afternoon.
Either way I think we can all agree that it can mess up your schedule. The later you get back from uni the later you end up having something to eat for dinner.
Now my big tip is that recently I had the same problem, I would leave at 8 in the morning and be back at 5-6 in the afternoon/night. I would be tired and not want to cook a decent meal, usually opting for whatever was quick on those days like cup noodles or a sandwich. But I recently went out and bought myself a slow cooker.
Yesterday I chucked in a corned silverside with some carrots, onion and covered it in water and a couple of spoons of brown sugar and vinegar. I set it to low and left for my 8-5 day. I came back and it was done, the meat was so tender that It was like cutting butter. Plus I had a lovely meal with little effort.
So I would recommend getting a slow cooker if you have the spare money. I got mine from Kmart for $20 and it has a 5 litre capacity.The Kmart brand one was amazing value for money as the brand name ones were half the size and cost $50 or so. You could maybe even find some at op shops. Alternatively you could even ask family or friends to borrow theirs (I know my Mum never uses her one so I borrowed it on occasions until I got my own).
You can make almost anything in these. Today I put a whole chicken into it and will find out later how it went. But other than that you can put almost any meat into it or vegetables and have them be super tender and delicious. There are thousands of recipes you can find online for slow cookers.
Not many people I know shop at Aldi, or they avoid shopping there.
Aldi is a discount supermarket chain. Meaning most of the products they sell are at low prices.
Aldi has most basic items but it may not have all the items you may need. The only way to tell is to do a shop at a local one and take note of anything you need that they don't have.
Checkouts
Aldi operates differently to other stores in that the workers at the checkout don't bag your items and you need to do the bagging. On top of this they do not provide the plastic bags other supermarkets do and instead expect you to bring your own bag to use. At the checkout area they do sell re-usable shopping bags (plastic, fabric and freezer types).
One bit of advice I will throw in here is that if you have a trolley of items, do not sort and pack them at the checkout. It annoys the other shoppers at the checkout. There are benches near the checkout for you to put your items into your bags you have brought along. Just simply grab each item after it gets scanned and put them in the trolley and deal with sorting afterwards.
I am not sure if this is the case at all stores but it has been at the ones I have been to, they do not have baskets. There are only trolleys. I have a small foldable basket (similar to supermarket ones except made of fabric with a metal handle and top frame that the fabric attaches to) that I use. If you can find something similar to use that would make a small trip so much more simple. Plus at the checkout you can just throw all the items into it, no packing needed.
Products
Aldi sells its own brand of items and you will not most of the time find a branded product such as doritos. Often you can not find a noticeable change in quality and taste in some products compared to the branded ones. But this is my own opinion and I encourage that you try the products yourself and form your own opinion on the taste.
Aldi also has a thing called "special buys", these are twice weekly thing. On Wednesdays and Saturdays Aldi stocks special items that they normally don't regularly stock. Each of those days stocks something different, such as for example Wednesday was kitchen utensils and appliances and Saturday is Valentines gifts and living room decoration/furniture.
Some Aldi stores have an alcohol section that stocks named brands, example Vodka cruisers and rekorderlig cider. Along with its own brand of alcohol, which they like to advertise has won various taste awards. I can not give my own opinion on their alcohol as I rarely drink except for certain occasions.
One item I love to buy there is their chocolate Bavarian cake in the frozen section. It is cheap and I love the taste of it. Regular items I buy there are the fresh produce, tinned items, bread, butter, cream, dish washing liquid, frozen berries and I love the variation of the special buy items you can get there. There are more things I get but can't name more off the top of my head.
In my opinion it is great value for your money and I find it saves me money than shopping frequently at the other supermarkets. But to find the best price always look around for specials and deals. You will find some items you can get cheaper at the other supermarkets on sale. I don't solely shop at Aldi as like most people have a preference for certain items due to taste. But you can save money by substituting some items at Aldi or getting the no named brand items when you shop.
I substitute flour for the coles or homebrand ones as it always under a dollar (flour is flour right? except bread flour that is a little different). Same with sugar, I buy the cheaper brand. Tinned vegetables I find that there is no difference between the taste of a brand and the cheaper tins. Just some examples from my experience.
In the future I may do a more detailed piece about supermarkets.
Some statistics + My way of making extra cash on the side
So a big part of being a student is learning to budget your money to make ends meet. Most students go and get some part time jobs to make extra money, some do it just to have money. Most students I have met get student payments from the government.
Not all students work part time jobs and rely on these government payments. It is not much to live on, in fact taking a quick look at the poverty statistics here it shows that the poverty line for a single adult was $400 per week. Now take a quick look at the income support section and notice that 50.6% of people on the youth allowance are living below the line. The payments are fortnightly and depending on the individual circumstances the payment amount can vary. But a single over 18 year old can get between $200 - $400. Still below the line.
It is best in the long run to stay at home if possible while you study. Starters you don't have to pay rent (maybe a bit of board money to chip in around the house), mostly no bills and you come home after a long day to be surrounded by your family. But it comes down to your family structure money wise. Some families pay for all expenses because they have the money. Some families have low incomes and all members need to chip in.
But if you are like me you had no choice in the matter and had to move out of home to study. My reason was simple, I lived about 3 hours away from the campus by car in a country area where there is absolutely no public transport out there. Now a round trip would mean I would be driving 6 hours a day. No way was I up for that, let alone the price of petrol and parking. So I moved closer to the campus and use public transport.
To make a bit of extra money I did online surveys and got paid for it. You get a credit to your account and when you have enough you can use it to get gift cards for many places even supermarkets.
I used two sites Mint surveys and Valued opinions. Both are Australian sites. I have had no problems with using either and when you have been on for a while and answered a decent amount of surveys you will eventually find you get offered a ridiculous amount of surveys to do. It is worth it if you have the free time.
