DO YOU REALLY SAVE MONEY?

DO YOU SPEND MORE THAN $264.00 ON GROCERIES?

This month we carried out a little experiment in Grocery Shopping very similar to those done by ‘Choice Magazine’ and by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to measure the C.P.I (Cost/Price Index). By doing some local shopping first we were able to establish what was available in Linton before moving to the bigger stores with a wider range of products.


Below we provide three grocery traders and the shopping list with the total price for each
shop. We have not gone into listing individual pricings as these vary too much from day to day as to be accurate, and avoided specials. Not all the same products were available so we purchased those with close to or equivalent pricing and weight. To make things totally fair none of the Traders were aware of the experiment so could not offer any store specials or reduce prices.

As we found out the three shops differed in Olive Oil Products. Shop 1 selling 1 Litre for around $ 8.00 so the following two shops we purchased the same Extra Virgin Olive Oil with different brands but only varying by around 5c in price. Sausages bought at Shop 1 for $5.59 and again we opted for sausages which only varied about 10-15 cents each way in price, and all shops carried different brand eggs.

Vehicle costs were based on an average of 56c per.km according to RACV figures for different size/type of vehicles. This was calculated as costs associated with the purchase (over 5 years) plus insurance, registration, maintenance and fuel and all distances were calculated from the Linton Post Office.

SHOP 1
Nanna’s Apple Pie 600g
6 Organic Sausages
KR Rindless Bacon 250g
La Espanola Olive Oil 1 Litre
Kraft Parmesan Cheese 100g
Nuttelex Margarine 500g
Store Brand Cream Cheese Spread 250g
Kraft Fat Free Mayonnaise 410g
Store Brand Lemon Juice 250ml
Kraft Vegemite 150g
Store Brand Crunchy Peanut Butter 375g
Store Brand Raspberry Jam 500g
Sprite Lemonade 2 Litres
Purina Toasted Muesli 1Kg
6 Free Range Eggs
Lipton Tea Bags 50
Store Brand Wholemeal Sliced Bread 650g
Golden Circle Cream Corn 425g
Store Brand Sandwich Tuna 185g
Country Cup-a-soup 2 Serve
Pauls Full Cream Milk 2L
Morning Fresh Detergent 450ml
Store Brand Laundry Powder 1Kg

Shopping $ 83.74 + Add Car Cost 2/3 Km being 37 cents = Total Cost $ 84.11


SHOP 2 (Differences)
6 Spanish Sausages
Vetta Olive Oil 2 x 500ml
6 Olde Ballarat Eggs

Shopping $ 86.41 + Add Car Cost ……Km being cents = Total Cost


SHOP 3 (Differences)
6 Premium Sausages
Island Olive Oil 2 x 500g

Shopping $ 77.76 + Add Car Cost 58.6 km being $ 32.81 = Total Cost $ 110.57

Even allowing only for LPG fuel at 9c Km the minimum you could add on to any Ballarat purchase would be around $ 5.27. So at shop 3, and we have not even considered travelling time in the car, you would have saved $1.08.

What does all this mean? Unless you work in Ballarat or have some other reason than to just go Grocery Shopping you would have to be spending at least $ 264.00 to actually be saving any money at all, AND will your Ballarat Shop Home Deliver?

Published in the interest of saving you money in the longer term. Keep your eye out for the possibility we might also check out the Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick Maker.

THINK YOU CAN DARNCE?

In One Act
Entertainment Reporter BOB LE BILLDEUX

So You Think You Can Dance, Australian Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Australia’s Got Talent and even Red Faces have been able to attract huge audiences on TV but that is Free. Would we pay to see the same thing live? Apparently not going by the dismally small – off the street – audience at Her Majesty’s over the last three months.

When did you last go to a Live Performance and I don’t mean going to see a bar brawl or a pub band. Where you have performers coming from afar as Launceston, Perth, Sydney and even Mt.Gambier.

Nearly every day during August, September and October at various venues but principally Her Majesty’s Theatre the Royal South Street Society hold their Annual Talent Quest.

Admittedly the word ‘Eisteddfod’ conjures up the thought of amateur performances. However in amongst the 40,000 participants performing in 10,000 individual acts there were, and I’m afraid I missed about 9,800 of them, some extraordinarily talented seniors, children and young people.

I’d missed the August performances by the time I even found out about RSSS (for some strange reason they stick Bagpipes out in February) so I wasn’t able to get to the Brass Bands, Pianoforte and Instrumentals. All that was left was Stage Bands, Dance and Calisthenics.

I was certainly not interested in the under 10 performers such as the under 6 Tap Solo or Song and Dance Solo. I think I’d rather be ‘mulesed’ by Maxine than to be forced to cohabitate with a crowd of Stage Mums egging their offspring to perform well beyond their capacity.

The first performances I was able to see were the Intermediate Concert Bands from High Schools and Colleges from all over the State. I wasn’t disappointed by their performances considering their age but it would have been nice to hear some counter melody or harmony.

The next I got to was the ‘Young Prize’ for Choral works old and new. There were no groups from this District that I’m aware of which was a bit sad considering we have a Choral Group in Woady Yaloak who would have given those performing a run for their money.

A week later I sat through Modern Solo 10 under 12. I was impressed by the ability of the dancers to put some life into the dreariest music I have ever had the misfortune to have to sit through. Think worse than Celine Dionne or Barry Manilow. Thankfully the music was nearly drowned out by the constant clicking of knitting needles coming from the stalls. I was later to find out it was actually the clashing of Talons between the Mothers in the front row.

Why is it that dancers have to have their hair pulled back so tight in a bun that you can almost hear the creaking of the roots? A few girls could only have been described as anorexic and should really have interpreted Saint Saens ‘Danse Macabre’.

Stage presentation could have been better, the choreographers are to be blamed for this not the kids’. This varied from just walking on and off through to gliding sideways into the wings somewhat like a showground duck in a shooting gallery. One girl literally flew off into the wings so fast I don’t she would have stopped until she hit Sturt Street.

What nearly brought me to tears of joy was a performance by one of the smallest competitors when she interpreted ‘Memories’ and almost brought to my feet by a ‘barely out of nappies’ brother and sister act flawlessly impersonating Fred Astaire and Shirley Temple.

In the Solo Tap and Dance for 10 but under 12 one wonders why a boy, built like a Rugby Forward chose to perform ‘I Like To Wear A Dress’ (and did). Was the number his choice or some disappointed Mother? Now that’s G.U.T.S for you.

Congratulations to Emma Rix of Ross Creek who achieved 1st Place in Country Music Solo and an Honourable Mention in Contemporary Vocal Solo.

I’m now looking forward to the competition entitled ‘Impromptu Telephone Conversation’

I’d like to go on about the ‘Nijinsky’ but that will have to wait until after the Christmas break.. Godfrey has been off his trolley this month. Hopefully he will come to his senses for the Christmas Issue. There will now be a short Interval.