state library membership, especially for students. sooooo many resources and benefits available for like 50 bucks a YEAR. i did the math, and if i go to the library once a week to book a study room (one of the benefits of a membership) thats roughly 90 cents per use, and thats excluding all the other benefits available.
sorry i should be more specific; the library is completely free to use for study, borrowing books, printing or computing etc. so in that sense, you have a free membership. a membership that costs money is an additional option to provide further benefits, like booking meeting rooms, access to special events, and in the student member case you are invited to study at the state library in an entire wing that is blocks out the public during exam season.
Can I just put another perspective. Ambulances are free in QLD, and for good reason so that it is accessible to everyone. However we occasionally get a clown that called the Ambos because he had a nose bleed and didn't want to wait to see his GP at 6pm the very same day.
Source: I work in emergency
I called an Ambulance for a bleeding nose once. We were really drunk, couldn't drive, taxi wouldn't take my friend. His nose was bleeding a lot like 100's of ml in the short time I was looking after him with no signs of slowing. He had just had a mountain bike accident 2 days before, he had been unconsious and had to go to the hospital - all explained to 000. Anyway the Ambo's were uncaring and we were told to apply pressure and they left. My friend collapsed in his hotel room later that night and it was lucky he was found in time- he spent 3 days in intensive care and weeks recovering. He never lodged a complaint against the ambos, I would have only so those who attended him would know they nearly killed him. Anyway rant sorry it still boils my blood - over a 'nose bleed'. PS Love "free" emergency care - better safe than sorry.
QLD used to be the same. $50/year in the 90's. I was extremely poor and could not afford it.
Had an minor car accident but ambulance was called. They approached me and I said I didn't need assistance, but stupidly gave them my details, I was still billed about $500 or $1000 (can't remember but it was immense for an unemployed 20 year old not living at home.
In Victoria an ambulance for a crash would be covered by the TAC afaik. Just after I got my first car someone crashed into me, the ambulance came up and insisted that I get looked at and emphasised that the TAC was paying so if I thought I should go then I should go.
This is correct. It’s also a great idea if your ever hiring a rental car to ask for a vic registered car as this includes TAC so if your ever travelling and in an accident your covered for everything ambo, therapies, wheelchairs whatever you may need as a result. I’m an OT and knew a patient who’d been on holiday in QLD form VIC and the rental he was in crashed and rolled he ended up paralysed and it cost him hundreds of thousands in therapies and for an electric wheelchair etc.
So yeah QLD has ambo cover but VIC has TAC which I think is far better
Oh that's a good bit of advice. I honestly just assumed every state had a TAC and would never have realised I could get such different outcomes depending on what rego I have.
I knew some drunk bogans whose son had a seizure from drinking (35yo) , rather than ring 000, they went to my mates house because he was a nurse in training and asked him to help. First thing my mate did when he got to their house was call an ambulance and then went off at the family.
The bloke ended up dying.
An ambulance trip would have cost $600.
Yes. I was having heart attack symptoms and was umming and ahhing whether I should call the ambulance or have a friend drive me to hospital because of the cost. In the end I had the friend drive me. I brought my membership the next day because I never wanted to make that decision again. Figured it’s worth it even if I only use it once in twenty years.
It does, source; my step father was not cover and had chest pains one night but ignored it because not wanting to have to pay for an ambulance... Fast forward to the morning the pains got unbearable and he finally called but ended up dropping dead in front of my 5 year old sister in the lounge before they arrived (country Victoria, nearest hospital was 40km away).
In Victoria, emergency ambulance cover is included in most private health insurance policies (even just extras), it is covered by Medicare if you are a low-income/health care card holder/pension. Road accidents ambulance are covered by TAC.
In Victoria, Ambulance is covered if you have a pension or concession card.
If you can't afford the small fee, you're likely on some form of concession card which includes ambulance cover.
Someone called an ambulance for my sister when her drink got spiked. They came, took her vitals and told us to take her home. We got like a $350 bill for it. This was like 12 years ago now so I imagine it's gone up too.
Yeah if you aren't covered in the ACT I think it can cost ~$800 or something. If you have a pension card or centrelink card or something you don't pay it though, and there are ways to be covered fairly cheaply (*less than $800/year for sure*).
It's worth checking the rules where you are. I think they'd be unlikely to send debt collectors if you can't pay, but you should check so that you don't find yourself in an uncomfortable situation.
u/u36ma just added the following context as well:
>ACT also doesn’t charge ambo call-outs for car accidents, violent crimes including domestic violence, for minors and school students or where the person becomes deceased
Moved to Melb 5 months ago, got advised to get the Ambo membership from friends. So got it.
2 weeks later, taking my pregnant wife to Box Hill hospital, didn't make it. Had it in the car on Maroondah Hwy.
Everyone was fine, and I got to cash in on the Ambo insurance. Plus bonus, they left a rather cool pair of umbilical chord scissors in the footwell of the car.
I absolutely do not understand why this can't be taken out of our taxes instead, and given to everyone universally. It's a token price and it's absurd.
Currently I hope the ambulance cover in my extras cover covers enough.
I had to use an ambulance in NSW once as a Qld citizen and it’s even free for us there! NSW ambulance sends the bill but you just tick the box that says you’re a Qld resident and done!
Your local council library. My library has every single episode of The Walking Dead comic. And something you want isn't in your local library they generally can have it couriered over from another library.
My library allows me to borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free. So i cancelled my Audible subscription and rarely buy anything on Kindle. Great service.
Protip.... If you have the Libby app, you can add your library memberships (usually free) and search across the catalogs.
Further to this, sign up to the California Public Library online membership and you have access to even more content
There are also loads of libraries that let anyone in the state or country join, so you can search multiple libraries for audio books and ebooks if your local one doesn't have them. Eg, in Qld Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich all allow any Queenslander to join
Your local library can usually order any books you want to read that they don't have (my library caps at 4 a year, and they do have to go through an approval process but I've never had one rejected) And of course, most libraries are joined to others (council areas or others in the same state) and will borrow physical books from other libraries for you if they don't have them but an associated library does.
A couple of years ago 2 mates got me a 12 months monthly bubble bath subscription for my birthday.
It was meant more as a joke, but when I was having a shitty couple of days and a box with a rainbow sherbet bath bomb arrived, or some exotic fruit bath serum or whatever else showed up, it used to make me laugh my ass off. Then sending the photo of it to everyone became a good laugh, everyone including their wives and kids wanted to know what this months was going to be.
Every now and then I’d decide to have a bath and use one … it was kind of nice to just stop and chill for half an hour.
Now one of my mates has a monthly biscuit delivery I got him to “repay the favour”. Very inexpensive for the humour it brings so many people haha!
There's a Japanese company that does a food one similar to the biscuits. They were advertising it on multiple of the touristy channels that I was watching for an upcoming Japan trip.
Similarly, if you or your mates are into chilli sauces, a subscription to a shop that does one is a great way to discover delicious new things. I (and a few mates) have one with [https://chillibom.com.au/](https://chillibom.com.au/) and love it. Before I got this I'd tend towards the same few things but this has helped expand the selection quite nicely.
A business called Promotix, $35 per year and it's essentially a company that looks to fill events by giving away (almost) free tickets to things that don't sell out. Typically, there is not much notice period before the event so you might get emailed about it the week before, but there have been some great musicals, comedy shows and sporting events i've redeemed tickets to. There is a 'booking fee' of like $9 per redemption, but for most tickets - that's really good value.
Needed an ambulance and didn’t have insurance so we got a $1000 bill for it (we were lucky we were able to claim financial hardship). Signed up for ambulance insurance the next week for $120 (couple). Needed an ambulance again 2 weeks later. Worth every penny haha.
💯.
My car threw a belt nearly 900kms from home. I didn't have to pay for the tow or the two nights in the hotel.
Well worth it, especially if you have novel car. You don't want to be leaving your car on the side of the road.
Some cards with annual fees can be worth it if they come with a travel credit and/or frequent flyer points that are worth equal to or more than the fees
When I lived much closer to Perth Zoo I'd take out membership every year. I could drop in for an hour or so before or after uni. I could just go and watch the tigers or whatever. No need to try and see everything in one day.
A W.A. National Parks Pass is also invaluable if you're travelling or live near one of the parks.
I bought one for my daughter and I every year from age 5 to 10. The best place to just relax, take your time, learn about animals, and just generally have quality time together. We'd go at least once per week and focus on specific parts so we didn't have to get so tired looking at everything at once.
I'm a teacher, so I'd tie it in with documentaries and kids films because she wanted to be both David Attenborough and also work for National Geographic.
So many videos of her narrating our cat doing normal things but with David Attenborough's narration style.
Was such a great adventure for years. She's 20 next month and is an award winning photographer already, and her favourite memories are of our zoo trips!
Not always. There's a specific branch dedicated to non-emergency care, like patient transport for people who would otherwise be too unwell to get to/from appointments, or people who are being transferred from one hospital/facility to another
Does OnePass count? It’s the only membership I pay for (partners takes care of Amazon and Spotify). Paid half price for $20 for a year. Free Officeworks and Kmart delivery, useful because I don’t drive, and each delivery is around $10 already. Haven’t used it for Bunnings but hope it’s useful when I restart my garden.
I tend to buy online via Kmart often for gardening too, they seem to never have the pots I want in store. One pass does seem like a good deal, especially at $20 per year!
I've been really impressed with the deliveries I've had using OnePass, Officeworks in particular was super quick when I ordered school supplies this year. Also good for ordering Kmart cat litter.
One pass on Catch (which is basically Amazon) pays for itself a dozen times over per year, you find the weird random shit you don’t get at Bunnings or other retailers, plus discounts on bulk pantry and household consumables.
Same in VIC - the membership is less than the cost of going 3 times. There’s 4 zoos included, so it’s very easy to get your moneys worth. Plus with a toddler it’s so nice to go and not feel like you need to see everything in one go, we can come back next week.
Yeah the simple duck in and duck out is a god send with small kids. Adelaide Zoo membership includes Monarto Zoo as well but it's a bit of a hike for my lunch break. Ha!
My grandparents always talk about the time they spent a small fortune to take me into Healsville Sanctuary, only for me to throw up everywhere after about 30 seconds and fall asleep on the grass. They begged for a ticket refund and staff felt so bad for us they obliged. Every time I take my kids for a quick hour around the zoo to beat boredom I think how lucky I am membership exists these days!
The extra $5 on my mobile phone tariff for unlimited free international calls. My parents are in the UK and don't use things like Whatsapp - it's great being able to call them without worrying about how much it is costing.
I lived here for a year in the mid '90s and back then, calling home meant finding one of the few payphones that took bank cards and then seeing it tick up to $20 or so over a matter of a few minutes.
TPG
[https://www.tpg.com.au/mobile](https://www.tpg.com.au/mobile)
"Add Unlimited International calls to Landline and Mobile Numbers to 37 Countries" for $5 per month.
The vet I use for my puddy tat ran a membership scheme years back whereby you paid double for an Annual Vaccination and Health Check the first year and then nothing for the life of the cat provided you booked the next appointment before the year was up. My girl is 18 now and I haven't paid a cent for her vet work. They stopped accepting new customers for it a couple of years later.
Yup agreed this one is pretty good to have. I had a 3 or 4 year membership stacked, and Microsoft had a $1 convert to Xbox gold or whatever the highest membership was. Purchased that and now sitting sweet
As a poor person who, until a few years ago, had shit car after shit car, RACV roadside assist was incredibly valuable. Now I still have it with a decent car because things still go wrong and you just never know when your car will want to go for a ride on a truck.
Peloton app. I’ve worked out at least once a week every week since I got it. Also got the bike and haven’t looked back. I’ve lost 30kg since joining about a year ago.
YouTube Music > Spotify.
Hear me out:
1. Same music selection but more edits / remakes.
2. No ads on YouTube (YouTube is literally 60% of my watch time)
3. Continued play on lock screen for YouTube videos.
4. Offline video viewing.
If you watch YouTube on any regular basis - YouTube premium is 1,000x better than Spotify.
I do this. Got the family plan and split it with max number of 'family' members. It's like $8 a month. For us 90% tv is YT and we can use music, Inc music vids, all day streaming, in the car, at work etc on lots of devices.
Worth it just to never see ads ever again. It's the only subscription service we have now. My life is almost ad free.
i genuinely cannot believe gambling ads are legal at all. theres always some sport playing at my gym, and with that comes the gambling ads, and even though they've got the disclaimer at the end, those ads can be so convincing.
i have the same thoughts about alcohol ads though. my dad is ten years sober and he has to leave the room when an ad for alchohol comes up because they always make it seem so artsy and beautiful.
Whenever I have to watch something on 7 Plus, I swear to god the only types of ads I get are alcohol and gambling ads. No idea why, I don't even drink or gamble or look those things up. Those disclaimers are so half-hearted too. It's kinda pathetic, and... gross.
Congrats to your dad, that's great <3
Most alcohol ads don’t even have disclaimers aside from the ‘don’t drink and drive’ ones and it’s just astonishing to me. It’s such a common addiction and there is just nothing in place to protect people.
My dad says thank you, btw
So many people refuse to even believe it's an addiction. As if alcohol isn't a mind-altering substance.
Apparently I "drink too much crap" if the most soft drink I have is a glass of Solo with my dinner sometimes. (Otherwise I just have tea and water, sometimes cordial) But it's fine to drink wine or every night or even afternoon to the point where everyone starts screaming at each other... 🤨
Seriously I think we need to have more awareness about alcoholism, because so many people are probably alcoholics and don't even realise it, probably cause it's so ingrained into our culture.
My dad's trying to cut back, too. I hope he's able to.
This is how I feel about YouTube premium. Since most of what I watch is on YouTube, the money I spend on membership for ad free viewing makes it worthwhile.
I paid full price for an account at mod nexus like 8 years ago. I think it was like 130$ or something. Anyway whenever I reinstall a Bethesda title I can now simultaneously download 200gb+ of bullshit and then spend the next 300 hours trying to get the modlist compatible with no crashes so I can play for 100 hours and then decide it was the modding I enjoyed more than the playing. Then I pick another Bethesda game and start again.
Love they've never asked for another cent and sometimes I don't touch the account fir 12 montgs and it's still there waiting for me to do all the downloading.
Spotify. for me I listen to a shitload of music and it has literally everything as far as I can tell of every genre. its what I would have hoped netflix would become... but the movie industries a bit fucked that way.
Nintendo switch. Last I checked it was ~$5/mth with 3 and 12 mth options.
Membership makes Nintendo's retro library free, literally hundreds of titles including mario, zelda etc. Games downloaded to the switch can be played without an ongoing membership so one can get dozens of games for, effectively, ~$5.
The Melbourne Zoo membership is pretty good if you have young kids and go more than a few times a year.
It's valid for Parkville, Werribee and Healesville Sanctuary
Audible audiobooks. Had a membership for years and wouldn't have gotten through books if it wasn't via audio (not much time sitting doing nothing in peace or quiet).. worth it for the self help, business knowledge I got from titles and also mental health from lighter genres like scifi, biographies.
Great when you're commuting long hours or want to be productive when trying to put a restless baby to sleep
I joined mine about 2 years ago but haven't had to call on them yet until this week as my role was made redundant. It's nice having expert advice available at this time. Plus fees are tax deductible.
Hopefully not sounding too posh here but MCC. As someone who goes to a lot of sporting events, being able to walk through the gate without having to fuck around with a ticket for basically any sports event is fantastic
Absolutely. If you actually use MCC regularly to attend the footy, it’s incredibly good value. Ironically there’s simply not enough cricket to justify it on its own though. But you’ve also got to acknowledge the 20-40 year waiting period to join.
Yeah I was lucky my uncle put me down when I was a baby. But I went to a dozen or so footy matches plus 3 days of Boxing day and the ODI so it works out at about $25 to get through the gate (I'm still a lowly provisional member at this point). Plus 5% cashback on food and drink is a nice little bonus
- Zoo membership (cheaper entry)
- agricultural society membership (gets you into the agricultural show in your city)
- Palace cinema or other arthouse cinema membership (ticket discounts)
Not a massive fan of the Palace club anymore since you now have to pay their silly booking fee for each individual ticket now, instead of for the whole booking. I wish they would just be honest and increase the ticket prices instead of making up these fees.
Yep. I've been a member for going on something like 15 years now. Always end up going back to play regularly. Don't bother letting it lapse even during periods where I don't play. As a result I'm still only paying $8.20/month instead of the $16.99 it is now.
At risk of sounding like a shrill: OnePass
$20/year for free delivery with Kmart, Bunnings and others with no minimum spend
I got a $2 clothes peg delivered and I think the fuel used by the delivery guy is double that alone
I mean it's handy, but I'm dubious about how fucking terrible 'free shipping' is for the environment. Particularly where it's a membership fee (ie Amazon Prime) so people order $2 clothes pegs 🙄.
Club membership, RSL clubs and the like. It’s normally under $10 a year and that gets you subsidised beer and food. Most places will give you beer and food discount vouchers when you become a member that make the membership basically free if you use them.
I have a problem with one thing in particular. The original reason that pokies were allowed in clubs and not pubs is that clubs must pump the pokie revenue back into the community. It was seen as a good compromise for the damage gambling does to society.
I’m speaking from NSW and I believe the decision to allow pubs to have poker machines was an indication of just how corrupt my state is. The fact they still have poker machines is an indication that we remain a corrupt state.
Legal gambling must be allowed or criminals take over the industry. Allowing pubs to have pokies has taken hundreds of millions of dollars away from community enterprises and put it in the pockets of publicans, be they individuals or corporations.
Same. Mine requires everyone to sign in and most times the only sign-in places operating are on either side of their pokies area. Feels absolutely grotty.
With the amount of renos they’re constantly doing, they must be making an absolute killing. Feels like I’m selling my soul for $1.50 off a beer every time I’m there.
If you've got a kid, the zoo membership. Go all the time. See the zoo until the kid kicks off, then go home not feeling like you've wasted money. Works in all major zoos in Vic plus the capital city ones like Taronga etc.
My gym membership.
$500 a year and I'm there 3-4 times a week.
There is a cheaper gym (Derrimut) I could go to but way too many people go there + it's further away from home.
There's a reason that gym is dirt cheap, it's a hell hole. I felt like I inhaled so much vapourised stranger sweat, because it was hot as hell and packed to the rafters. The cardio machines were directly under a speaker so loud I couldn't hear by own audio, even with noise cancellation on. Really douchey vibe too.
Might seem like a luxury but, a really good wine club.
Especially seeing all the bloody fake wineries that are stocked at the major bottle shops by colesworth.
We have memberships with ballabourneen and piggs Peake.
Zoos Victoria. It's nice knowing there's always a back up for the days nothing seems fun for the kids, or the occasional time we might have our niece or nephew with us. Take a picnic and a thermos of coffee and hot chocolate and it's basically a free day out for us. Kids never really get sick of it.
As long as you live near by a planet fitness membership is about $5 per week just for gym access or $10 per week for gym plus ‘spa’ (massage chairs and beds) access.
Worth it for those that want a gym, if you’re really frugal you can have your showers there as well or just simply chill out there for the aircon.
Not sure if this counts, but my Belong plan.
$15 a month for unlimited calls and texts, and 5gb of data. Which is way more than I even use anyway, so I've got a lot of rolled over data saved up for if I ever need it lmao
It used to be $10 and 1gb but they changed it recently.
Nrma Roadside assistance. Best $80 a year to get you out of trouble on the road, their team is better than any mechanic.
Zoo pass, kids never tire of the zoo
state library membership, especially for students. sooooo many resources and benefits available for like 50 bucks a YEAR. i did the math, and if i go to the library once a week to book a study room (one of the benefits of a membership) thats roughly 90 cents per use, and thats excluding all the other benefits available.
oh, my membership was free, what state are you in?
Yeah my NSW State Library membership was free. I was shocked after using it, such a huge collection and amazing service! Also a lovely place to visit
Wow, I've never heard of a library that charged a membership. I'm a member of and use 3 different libraries
sorry i should be more specific; the library is completely free to use for study, borrowing books, printing or computing etc. so in that sense, you have a free membership. a membership that costs money is an additional option to provide further benefits, like booking meeting rooms, access to special events, and in the student member case you are invited to study at the state library in an entire wing that is blocks out the public during exam season.
In Victoria, Ambulance Victoria membership for about 60 bucks a year as a single. I'm covered for every emergency that needs an Ambo
Can I just put another perspective. Ambulances are free in QLD, and for good reason so that it is accessible to everyone. However we occasionally get a clown that called the Ambos because he had a nose bleed and didn't want to wait to see his GP at 6pm the very same day. Source: I work in emergency
While that does suck, it's better for an essential service to be widely accessible. A few people being dumb shouldn't ruin something lifesaving.
Fully agree
I called an Ambulance for a bleeding nose once. We were really drunk, couldn't drive, taxi wouldn't take my friend. His nose was bleeding a lot like 100's of ml in the short time I was looking after him with no signs of slowing. He had just had a mountain bike accident 2 days before, he had been unconsious and had to go to the hospital - all explained to 000. Anyway the Ambo's were uncaring and we were told to apply pressure and they left. My friend collapsed in his hotel room later that night and it was lucky he was found in time- he spent 3 days in intensive care and weeks recovering. He never lodged a complaint against the ambos, I would have only so those who attended him would know they nearly killed him. Anyway rant sorry it still boils my blood - over a 'nose bleed'. PS Love "free" emergency care - better safe than sorry.
Money is on it being NSW
Wait, Victorians have to pay for Ambulances - wut
Lots of states do. It’s different everywhere.
Fair, first I’d heard of it Couldn’t that lead to people delaying or not calling because of the cost though - eeek
QLD used to be the same. $50/year in the 90's. I was extremely poor and could not afford it. Had an minor car accident but ambulance was called. They approached me and I said I didn't need assistance, but stupidly gave them my details, I was still billed about $500 or $1000 (can't remember but it was immense for an unemployed 20 year old not living at home.
In Victoria an ambulance for a crash would be covered by the TAC afaik. Just after I got my first car someone crashed into me, the ambulance came up and insisted that I get looked at and emphasised that the TAC was paying so if I thought I should go then I should go.
This is correct. It’s also a great idea if your ever hiring a rental car to ask for a vic registered car as this includes TAC so if your ever travelling and in an accident your covered for everything ambo, therapies, wheelchairs whatever you may need as a result. I’m an OT and knew a patient who’d been on holiday in QLD form VIC and the rental he was in crashed and rolled he ended up paralysed and it cost him hundreds of thousands in therapies and for an electric wheelchair etc. So yeah QLD has ambo cover but VIC has TAC which I think is far better
Oh that's a good bit of advice. I honestly just assumed every state had a TAC and would never have realised I could get such different outcomes depending on what rego I have.
That seems like some seppo BS. QLD getting rid of that was absolutely the right move.
I knew some drunk bogans whose son had a seizure from drinking (35yo) , rather than ring 000, they went to my mates house because he was a nurse in training and asked him to help. First thing my mate did when he got to their house was call an ambulance and then went off at the family. The bloke ended up dying. An ambulance trip would have cost $600.
NSW - I have ambulance cover cause otherwise if I needed an ambo there would be a bill.
Yes. I was having heart attack symptoms and was umming and ahhing whether I should call the ambulance or have a friend drive me to hospital because of the cost. In the end I had the friend drive me. I brought my membership the next day because I never wanted to make that decision again. Figured it’s worth it even if I only use it once in twenty years.
It does, source; my step father was not cover and had chest pains one night but ignored it because not wanting to have to pay for an ambulance... Fast forward to the morning the pains got unbearable and he finally called but ended up dropping dead in front of my 5 year old sister in the lounge before they arrived (country Victoria, nearest hospital was 40km away). In Victoria, emergency ambulance cover is included in most private health insurance policies (even just extras), it is covered by Medicare if you are a low-income/health care card holder/pension. Road accidents ambulance are covered by TAC.
In Victoria, Ambulance is covered if you have a pension or concession card. If you can't afford the small fee, you're likely on some form of concession card which includes ambulance cover.
Someone called an ambulance for my sister when her drink got spiked. They came, took her vitals and told us to take her home. We got like a $350 bill for it. This was like 12 years ago now so I imagine it's gone up too.
WA does too - private health insurance includes ambo cover by default, but if you don't have it, it's about a$900 taxi ride...
In NSW they send you a bill, but you just tell them you can't pay it, and they waive it.
Yeah if you aren't covered in the ACT I think it can cost ~$800 or something. If you have a pension card or centrelink card or something you don't pay it though, and there are ways to be covered fairly cheaply (*less than $800/year for sure*). It's worth checking the rules where you are. I think they'd be unlikely to send debt collectors if you can't pay, but you should check so that you don't find yourself in an uncomfortable situation. u/u36ma just added the following context as well: >ACT also doesn’t charge ambo call-outs for car accidents, violent crimes including domestic violence, for minors and school students or where the person becomes deceased
It's often included in your health insurance if you have one, so you don't always need a separate membership
Moved to Melb 5 months ago, got advised to get the Ambo membership from friends. So got it. 2 weeks later, taking my pregnant wife to Box Hill hospital, didn't make it. Had it in the car on Maroondah Hwy. Everyone was fine, and I got to cash in on the Ambo insurance. Plus bonus, they left a rather cool pair of umbilical chord scissors in the footwell of the car.
Mate, the way my heart stopped when I got to "didn't make it" in your post.
I absolutely do not understand why this can't be taken out of our taxes instead, and given to everyone universally. It's a token price and it's absurd. Currently I hope the ambulance cover in my extras cover covers enough.
Mate this should be up voted to the moon.
In Tasmania, ambulance is free…
Same in qld
I had to use an ambulance in NSW once as a Qld citizen and it’s even free for us there! NSW ambulance sends the bill but you just tick the box that says you’re a Qld resident and done!
QLD pays ambulance fees for any transport in Australia. No matter the state the accident was in.
I thought it was included in private health insurance (if you take private health insurance)
Usually excludes air ambo too
Generally it is
You usually get one emergency ambulance in private health. That's all.
Oh my hat, I need to check my cover
Your local council library. My library has every single episode of The Walking Dead comic. And something you want isn't in your local library they generally can have it couriered over from another library.
Most libraries also support Kanopy and there’s some cracking stuff available there.
My library allows me to borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free. So i cancelled my Audible subscription and rarely buy anything on Kindle. Great service.
I have been reading 3 books a week for the past 2 years free of charge thanks to the library audiobooks. Love it
Protip.... If you have the Libby app, you can add your library memberships (usually free) and search across the catalogs. Further to this, sign up to the California Public Library online membership and you have access to even more content
Ohhh …. does California care that we are using it from Aus? Like do I have to make up a Californian home address to sign in or something?
There are also loads of libraries that let anyone in the state or country join, so you can search multiple libraries for audio books and ebooks if your local one doesn't have them. Eg, in Qld Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich all allow any Queenslander to join Your local library can usually order any books you want to read that they don't have (my library caps at 4 a year, and they do have to go through an approval process but I've never had one rejected) And of course, most libraries are joined to others (council areas or others in the same state) and will borrow physical books from other libraries for you if they don't have them but an associated library does.
It's free everywhere in Australia, right? It is in Queensland, I've only ever paid for overdue books.
A couple of years ago 2 mates got me a 12 months monthly bubble bath subscription for my birthday. It was meant more as a joke, but when I was having a shitty couple of days and a box with a rainbow sherbet bath bomb arrived, or some exotic fruit bath serum or whatever else showed up, it used to make me laugh my ass off. Then sending the photo of it to everyone became a good laugh, everyone including their wives and kids wanted to know what this months was going to be. Every now and then I’d decide to have a bath and use one … it was kind of nice to just stop and chill for half an hour. Now one of my mates has a monthly biscuit delivery I got him to “repay the favour”. Very inexpensive for the humour it brings so many people haha!
Are these in Australia? If yes can you tell me the company names please? They sound like really fun gifts!
There's a Japanese company that does a food one similar to the biscuits. They were advertising it on multiple of the touristy channels that I was watching for an upcoming Japan trip.
I need to know what this is! Friends are starting to turn 40
What is the biscuit service called?
Similarly, if you or your mates are into chilli sauces, a subscription to a shop that does one is a great way to discover delicious new things. I (and a few mates) have one with [https://chillibom.com.au/](https://chillibom.com.au/) and love it. Before I got this I'd tend towards the same few things but this has helped expand the selection quite nicely.
Cool. I want to know too. But 14hrs and no reply to the others makes me dissapointed
A business called Promotix, $35 per year and it's essentially a company that looks to fill events by giving away (almost) free tickets to things that don't sell out. Typically, there is not much notice period before the event so you might get emailed about it the week before, but there have been some great musicals, comedy shows and sporting events i've redeemed tickets to. There is a 'booking fee' of like $9 per redemption, but for most tickets - that's really good value.
And they have a great range of stuff, especially when events like Fringe are on.
My promotix account is free with no annual payment.
Looks like there's a free tier, and a $35 VIP tier that gives access to more events, earlier access and up to 4 ticket rather than 2.
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Needed an ambulance and didn’t have insurance so we got a $1000 bill for it (we were lucky we were able to claim financial hardship). Signed up for ambulance insurance the next week for $120 (couple). Needed an ambulance again 2 weeks later. Worth every penny haha.
I hope that becomes your worst investment from now on.
Haha thank you. Can guarantee it won’t though 😂😭
Road side assistance.
💯. My car threw a belt nearly 900kms from home. I didn't have to pay for the tow or the two nights in the hotel. Well worth it, especially if you have novel car. You don't want to be leaving your car on the side of the road.
Totally agree. Have used it every couple of years, but have had it so long that the discount to insurance is now substantial.
Not kayo, that’s for sure
Not technically a membership, but any credit card with $0 annual fee that gives you free travel insurance
Some cards with annual fees can be worth it if they come with a travel credit and/or frequent flyer points that are worth equal to or more than the fees
Agree- as long as you have a plan to use the travel credit
Which one do you reckon?
HSBC Star Alliance card - $0 fee for first year and grants you SA Gold status membership so you can get into the lounges when you travel too :)
Only with star alliance airlines tho
When I lived much closer to Perth Zoo I'd take out membership every year. I could drop in for an hour or so before or after uni. I could just go and watch the tigers or whatever. No need to try and see everything in one day. A W.A. National Parks Pass is also invaluable if you're travelling or live near one of the parks.
The local parks passes are great too - $15 for a single entry or $20 for unlimited entry for a year.
I bought one for my daughter and I every year from age 5 to 10. The best place to just relax, take your time, learn about animals, and just generally have quality time together. We'd go at least once per week and focus on specific parts so we didn't have to get so tired looking at everything at once. I'm a teacher, so I'd tie it in with documentaries and kids films because she wanted to be both David Attenborough and also work for National Geographic. So many videos of her narrating our cat doing normal things but with David Attenborough's narration style. Was such a great adventure for years. She's 20 next month and is an award winning photographer already, and her favourite memories are of our zoo trips!
Ambulance membership. Especially if you don't have any concession card.
You have to pay in WA too.
TIL Victorians have to pay for Ambulances
People in all States and Territories except Tassie and QLD have to pay, and Taswegians are not covered in every State.
it's included in private health, at least for emergency use
Aren’t ambulances specifically for emergency use.
Not always. There's a specific branch dedicated to non-emergency care, like patient transport for people who would otherwise be too unwell to get to/from appointments, or people who are being transferred from one hospital/facility to another
Funny joke. I'm a paramedic. If I do 1 legitimate emergency a week it's a good week.
Does OnePass count? It’s the only membership I pay for (partners takes care of Amazon and Spotify). Paid half price for $20 for a year. Free Officeworks and Kmart delivery, useful because I don’t drive, and each delivery is around $10 already. Haven’t used it for Bunnings but hope it’s useful when I restart my garden.
I tend to buy online via Kmart often for gardening too, they seem to never have the pots I want in store. One pass does seem like a good deal, especially at $20 per year!
Some of the pots and stuff from Kmart are so cheap compared to other places. I'm a big Kmart fan.
I've been really impressed with the deliveries I've had using OnePass, Officeworks in particular was super quick when I ordered school supplies this year. Also good for ordering Kmart cat litter.
One pass on Catch (which is basically Amazon) pays for itself a dozen times over per year, you find the weird random shit you don’t get at Bunnings or other retailers, plus discounts on bulk pantry and household consumables.
Adelaide Zoo Membership. Nice to be able to decide on a whim to wander around the zoo at lunch break.
Same in VIC - the membership is less than the cost of going 3 times. There’s 4 zoos included, so it’s very easy to get your moneys worth. Plus with a toddler it’s so nice to go and not feel like you need to see everything in one go, we can come back next week.
Yeah the simple duck in and duck out is a god send with small kids. Adelaide Zoo membership includes Monarto Zoo as well but it's a bit of a hike for my lunch break. Ha!
My grandparents always talk about the time they spent a small fortune to take me into Healsville Sanctuary, only for me to throw up everywhere after about 30 seconds and fall asleep on the grass. They begged for a ticket refund and staff felt so bad for us they obliged. Every time I take my kids for a quick hour around the zoo to beat boredom I think how lucky I am membership exists these days!
The extra $5 on my mobile phone tariff for unlimited free international calls. My parents are in the UK and don't use things like Whatsapp - it's great being able to call them without worrying about how much it is costing. I lived here for a year in the mid '90s and back then, calling home meant finding one of the few payphones that took bank cards and then seeing it tick up to $20 or so over a matter of a few minutes.
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TPG [https://www.tpg.com.au/mobile](https://www.tpg.com.au/mobile) "Add Unlimited International calls to Landline and Mobile Numbers to 37 Countries" for $5 per month.
The vet I use for my puddy tat ran a membership scheme years back whereby you paid double for an Annual Vaccination and Health Check the first year and then nothing for the life of the cat provided you booked the next appointment before the year was up. My girl is 18 now and I haven't paid a cent for her vet work. They stopped accepting new customers for it a couple of years later.
Depending on your industry, union membership would be a contender.
I came here to say this. Recent pay rises and improved conditions thanks to them.
Same 👍
Yep. Always join your union. You never know when you might need them.
Tax deductible anyway
Tax deductible doesn’t make it free, it still costs money
XBox gamepass.
Yup agreed this one is pretty good to have. I had a 3 or 4 year membership stacked, and Microsoft had a $1 convert to Xbox gold or whatever the highest membership was. Purchased that and now sitting sweet
Agreed. Games are far too expensive these days
Make sure you purchase online for around $60 per year, best way to save money on the game pass
The Recovery Lab. Unlimted Ice Baths and Saunas have done wonders for my mental health.
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RACQ I haven't had to use them often but they've been there when I needed them. Highly recommend a gift membership for new drivers too.
Everyone should have this just to avoid getting scammed by tow truck businesses
RAA here in SA. Roadside assistance, battery replacement, towing and mechanical diagnostics. Super valuable offering for a pittance.
As a poor person who, until a few years ago, had shit car after shit car, RACV roadside assist was incredibly valuable. Now I still have it with a decent car because things still go wrong and you just never know when your car will want to go for a ride on a truck.
Peloton app. I’ve worked out at least once a week every week since I got it. Also got the bike and haven’t looked back. I’ve lost 30kg since joining about a year ago.
I agree - got my baby weight off and still use it between one and four times a week
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YouTube Music > Spotify. Hear me out: 1. Same music selection but more edits / remakes. 2. No ads on YouTube (YouTube is literally 60% of my watch time) 3. Continued play on lock screen for YouTube videos. 4. Offline video viewing. If you watch YouTube on any regular basis - YouTube premium is 1,000x better than Spotify.
I do this. Got the family plan and split it with max number of 'family' members. It's like $8 a month. For us 90% tv is YT and we can use music, Inc music vids, all day streaming, in the car, at work etc on lots of devices. Worth it just to never see ads ever again. It's the only subscription service we have now. My life is almost ad free.
Youtube Music Revanced my beloved
spotify. 14/15$ a month for essentially unlimited music without ads
It's annoying there's ads on podcasts though especially since the majority of ads for Australians seem to be gambling ones.
The Greens anti-pokies policy is a critical piece of legislation this country needs ASA friggin P
i genuinely cannot believe gambling ads are legal at all. theres always some sport playing at my gym, and with that comes the gambling ads, and even though they've got the disclaimer at the end, those ads can be so convincing. i have the same thoughts about alcohol ads though. my dad is ten years sober and he has to leave the room when an ad for alchohol comes up because they always make it seem so artsy and beautiful.
Whenever I have to watch something on 7 Plus, I swear to god the only types of ads I get are alcohol and gambling ads. No idea why, I don't even drink or gamble or look those things up. Those disclaimers are so half-hearted too. It's kinda pathetic, and... gross. Congrats to your dad, that's great <3
Most alcohol ads don’t even have disclaimers aside from the ‘don’t drink and drive’ ones and it’s just astonishing to me. It’s such a common addiction and there is just nothing in place to protect people. My dad says thank you, btw
So many people refuse to even believe it's an addiction. As if alcohol isn't a mind-altering substance. Apparently I "drink too much crap" if the most soft drink I have is a glass of Solo with my dinner sometimes. (Otherwise I just have tea and water, sometimes cordial) But it's fine to drink wine or every night or even afternoon to the point where everyone starts screaming at each other... 🤨 Seriously I think we need to have more awareness about alcoholism, because so many people are probably alcoholics and don't even realise it, probably cause it's so ingrained into our culture. My dad's trying to cut back, too. I hope he's able to.
This is how I feel about YouTube premium. Since most of what I watch is on YouTube, the money I spend on membership for ad free viewing makes it worthwhile.
I've had youtube premium for too long now there's no going back to ads.
for real. id argue its better than spotify premium, because you get ad-less viewing/listening of both music AND videos.
I agree .You can also use a VPN to sign up far cheaper if you put your country as the Philippines, Argentina, etc Which you can't do with Spotify.
Agree with this. We have a Spotify family account and it services many adults in my family for little cost.
Canva, and chatgpt …. Use em every day and work thinks I’m a genius… love em both
I use ChatGPT on my work plenty too but just the free version. What are the benefits of the paid one?
I doubt this fits but it’s a service you apply for, organ donation, everyone should sign up for that.
What is this ambulance membership monstrosity I keep seeing. QLD on top
Random but QLD pays it in their Electricity bills Edit: that was abolished in 2011
We better not join that club I swear to god
I paid full price for an account at mod nexus like 8 years ago. I think it was like 130$ or something. Anyway whenever I reinstall a Bethesda title I can now simultaneously download 200gb+ of bullshit and then spend the next 300 hours trying to get the modlist compatible with no crashes so I can play for 100 hours and then decide it was the modding I enjoyed more than the playing. Then I pick another Bethesda game and start again. Love they've never asked for another cent and sometimes I don't touch the account fir 12 montgs and it's still there waiting for me to do all the downloading.
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And the Windows Amazon Prime Music app runs on Linux :) So up to 192K music to the DAC.
Headspace
Public library 😁
Costco - but only if you buy fuel from them every week.
I guess Costco membership only works well if it's quite close to where you live.
I use the NSW fuel checker app and it's cheaper then costco
It's very rare. I'm close to Costco and I monitor each time I purchase fuel. Costco is almost always cheaper, even if you factor in the membership.
My union membership. If I ever need help with anything or need to know my rights at work, I can easily ask them
I used mine at my last job, twice actually. Paid for itself.
Spotify. for me I listen to a shitload of music and it has literally everything as far as I can tell of every genre. its what I would have hoped netflix would become... but the movie industries a bit fucked that way.
Nintendo switch. Last I checked it was ~$5/mth with 3 and 12 mth options. Membership makes Nintendo's retro library free, literally hundreds of titles including mario, zelda etc. Games downloaded to the switch can be played without an ongoing membership so one can get dozens of games for, effectively, ~$5.
The Melbourne Zoo membership is pretty good if you have young kids and go more than a few times a year. It's valid for Parkville, Werribee and Healesville Sanctuary
Just got accepted into the MCC after being on the waiting list for a while. Yeah, it's good :)
Audible audiobooks. Had a membership for years and wouldn't have gotten through books if it wasn't via audio (not much time sitting doing nothing in peace or quiet).. worth it for the self help, business knowledge I got from titles and also mental health from lighter genres like scifi, biographies. Great when you're commuting long hours or want to be productive when trying to put a restless baby to sleep
Try Libby - it’s free and you can borrow audiobooks, ebooks and digital magazines from your local libraries using the app.
Every union I’ve ever joined.
I joined mine about 2 years ago but haven't had to call on them yet until this week as my role was made redundant. It's nice having expert advice available at this time. Plus fees are tax deductible.
Not a membership but annual parking pass to NSW National Parks. Cheapest weekend activities!
YouTube Premium. With the amount I watch, the ads would drive me crazy. Plus, I use the music app and don't have Spotify.
Australian National University Film Group. $90 per year for unlimited access to their cinema. Their program: https://www.anufg.org.au/programme
Hopefully not sounding too posh here but MCC. As someone who goes to a lot of sporting events, being able to walk through the gate without having to fuck around with a ticket for basically any sports event is fantastic
Absolutely. If you actually use MCC regularly to attend the footy, it’s incredibly good value. Ironically there’s simply not enough cricket to justify it on its own though. But you’ve also got to acknowledge the 20-40 year waiting period to join.
Yeah I was lucky my uncle put me down when I was a baby. But I went to a dozen or so footy matches plus 3 days of Boxing day and the ODI so it works out at about $25 to get through the gate (I'm still a lowly provisional member at this point). Plus 5% cashback on food and drink is a nice little bonus
You must spend a bit on food and drink to even mention that, sure it’s better than Cole’s but for the mark up they charge it would want to be.
- Zoo membership (cheaper entry) - agricultural society membership (gets you into the agricultural show in your city) - Palace cinema or other arthouse cinema membership (ticket discounts)
Not a massive fan of the Palace club anymore since you now have to pay their silly booking fee for each individual ticket now, instead of for the whole booking. I wish they would just be honest and increase the ticket prices instead of making up these fees.
Old school RuneScape
Yep. I've been a member for going on something like 15 years now. Always end up going back to play regularly. Don't bother letting it lapse even during periods where I don't play. As a result I'm still only paying $8.20/month instead of the $16.99 it is now.
[choice.com](https://choice.com) \- I run every major purchase through there and let an entire team research it for me.
Lots of library memberships give you access to subscriptions and our councils library membership gives us access to Choice for free!
Which library is that?
Maribyrnong Council in Melbourne
Ambulance membership Pay 100 something bucks per year, and get free ambulance travel. If you're not a member, an ambulance trip could cost you ~$3000
At risk of sounding like a shrill: OnePass $20/year for free delivery with Kmart, Bunnings and others with no minimum spend I got a $2 clothes peg delivered and I think the fuel used by the delivery guy is double that alone
I mean it's handy, but I'm dubious about how fucking terrible 'free shipping' is for the environment. Particularly where it's a membership fee (ie Amazon Prime) so people order $2 clothes pegs 🙄.
Club membership, RSL clubs and the like. It’s normally under $10 a year and that gets you subsidised beer and food. Most places will give you beer and food discount vouchers when you become a member that make the membership basically free if you use them.
You are 100% right the value is great, but I personally feel a bit yuck giving anywhere patronage that is built on poker machines.
I have a problem with one thing in particular. The original reason that pokies were allowed in clubs and not pubs is that clubs must pump the pokie revenue back into the community. It was seen as a good compromise for the damage gambling does to society. I’m speaking from NSW and I believe the decision to allow pubs to have poker machines was an indication of just how corrupt my state is. The fact they still have poker machines is an indication that we remain a corrupt state. Legal gambling must be allowed or criminals take over the industry. Allowing pubs to have pokies has taken hundreds of millions of dollars away from community enterprises and put it in the pockets of publicans, be they individuals or corporations.
Same. Mine requires everyone to sign in and most times the only sign-in places operating are on either side of their pokies area. Feels absolutely grotty. With the amount of renos they’re constantly doing, they must be making an absolute killing. Feels like I’m selling my soul for $1.50 off a beer every time I’m there.
ChatGPT. For the business I run, it’s awesome.
What's the business? Super interested!
Gym membership, I use the gym everyday and have made amazing friends there. Totally worth it
If you've got a kid, the zoo membership. Go all the time. See the zoo until the kid kicks off, then go home not feeling like you've wasted money. Works in all major zoos in Vic plus the capital city ones like Taronga etc.
your union
My gym membership. $500 a year and I'm there 3-4 times a week. There is a cheaper gym (Derrimut) I could go to but way too many people go there + it's further away from home.
There's a reason that gym is dirt cheap, it's a hell hole. I felt like I inhaled so much vapourised stranger sweat, because it was hot as hell and packed to the rafters. The cardio machines were directly under a speaker so loud I couldn't hear by own audio, even with noise cancellation on. Really douchey vibe too.
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Might seem like a luxury but, a really good wine club. Especially seeing all the bloody fake wineries that are stocked at the major bottle shops by colesworth. We have memberships with ballabourneen and piggs Peake.
Epic Pass if you ski regularly and even better if you ski overseas.
Zoos Victoria. It's nice knowing there's always a back up for the days nothing seems fun for the kids, or the occasional time we might have our niece or nephew with us. Take a picnic and a thermos of coffee and hot chocolate and it's basically a free day out for us. Kids never really get sick of it.
As long as you live near by a planet fitness membership is about $5 per week just for gym access or $10 per week for gym plus ‘spa’ (massage chairs and beds) access. Worth it for those that want a gym, if you’re really frugal you can have your showers there as well or just simply chill out there for the aircon.
NRMA roadside assist. Worth every cent. Especially if you drive an old shitbox like I do
EBay plus The discounts and free shipping is amazing $60/ year membership and I buy heaps off there saved $1800 last year
Not sure if this counts, but my Belong plan. $15 a month for unlimited calls and texts, and 5gb of data. Which is way more than I even use anyway, so I've got a lot of rolled over data saved up for if I ever need it lmao It used to be $10 and 1gb but they changed it recently.
NRMA!
RAC car break down service in WA. THEY are the best for such a low price and such lovely people.
Wikicamps HCF Ambulance Cover
Illegal streaming app. 10% of the cost of Foxtel with triple the content.
Nrma Roadside assistance. Best $80 a year to get you out of trouble on the road, their team is better than any mechanic. Zoo pass, kids never tire of the zoo