Aldi 12L toaster oven

I saw the Aldi 12L toaster oven that was coming up on the Aldi special buys day and two things crossed my mind. I'm a bit over specials where they're gone before you get to the store and, I wondered perhaps if other stores had just as good an offer.

The Aldi 12L toaster oven is priced at $34.95. Not a big outlay and I do miss grilled cheese on toast, as our grill is in our oven. A check on the internet from various retailers shows the Aldi 12L toaster oven is a good price. But there was one which interested me more and took the urgency of the Aldi special away. It was an 18L toaster oven at Kmart for $39. For $4.05 more I'd get 50% more capacity and that would potentially give me more flexibility in what I could cook.

I decided the no pressure buying at Kmart and the 50% greater capacity oven for me, was the way to go.

Kelvin Eldridge

Petrol prices around Melbourne appear to have started going up to 151.9 for unleaded.

The first signs of petrol prices around Melbourne going have appeared. The new high price is 151.9 for unleaded petrol. Only a few petrol stations appear to have lifted their prices.

Now is good time to watch prices. You can get petrol for around 120 at some places. If you're not in one of the lower priced areas, using a Woolworths Petrol discount can bring the price down close to the lowest prices.

For the 7 Eleven fuel app watch the prices. If you're going past and area with lower prices (south west of Melbourne, Fairfield East, etc.) you can lock in lower prices for another 7 days.

There's no way to know whether prices will rise quickly or slowly, so all you can do is watch the prices and pick up petrol for the best price you can when convenient. Sometimes we have seen a false start to the price hike, so again, watching petrol prices is a good idea.

Remember a trip driving just to pick up petrol often consumes a few dollars. However buying a full tank soon could save $10-$15 for most people.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.PetrolPricesMelbourne.com.au

Update: Prices of the initial petrol stations went to 151.9 however, by Monday the prices stabilised at 149.9. During the past week the average gate price (think of the gate price as wholesale price) dropped 3-4 cents meaning the 149.9 is what would have been expected.

Saved the $125 Westpac annual credit card fee just by asking.

Banks don't want to lose your business, so it doesn't hurt to ask the question, "can they wipe the annual credit card fee?" In my case that's a saving of $125 this year simply for making a telephone call.

I call the bank around 4-8 weeks before the annual fee is about to be charged. I am fully prepared for them to say no and I'm happy to close the credit card. The reason is, I have a number of other cards now that can do the same or similar things. For example I have debit cards issued by other banks so could forgo the credit card if I wanted to. Those cards don't cost me anything so it really doesn't make sense to keep paying an annual fee. However, I do like the card as it keeps the transactions I use it for separate.

Be sincere and friendly during the call. They want your business and they're there to help. If it's not worth it to them, that's OK, that's their choice.

Kelvin Eldridge

Melbourne beaches and Yarra water quality EPA reports.

As a general rule I don't swim in Melbourne beaches until there's been a couple of really hot days. I'm not a fan of the colder water, but after a run of hot days (mid thirties) the water can be beautiful. We also have some of the best beaches around the Bay.

This approach also means generally the water is good for swimming. Best to avoid swimming in beaches after heavy rains and this approach coincidently corresponds. However, a better way to check the health of the beaches and the Yarra is to check the daily reports in the summer swimming season by the EPA. The following are links to the EPA reports for the Bay beaches and the Yarra.

Beach report - http://yarraandbay.vic.gov.au/beach-report

Yarra report - http://yarraandbay.vic.gov.au/yarra-watch

Kelvin Eldridge

NOTE: I'm not quite sure how often the testing is done, but if I'm right, the testing is done once a week and the reports are forecasts. Not great as this isn't the actual quality of the water but a forecast. The factors in the forecast are historical sampling, rain previous 24 hours (less is better), rain predicted for forecast period (less is better), cloud cover (less is better). In essence best to swim in areas with historically low microbiological sample, no rain prior or during the forecast period, and clear skies.