Free Wi-Fi lands in the city courtesy of City of Melbourne

We talk about this new initiative by the Victorian Government aimed at connecting people.

There is now free wi-fi in the city thanks to the City of Melbourne and it is only 250 MB per day. This is great news for those looking to save money or needing it for other things such as rent. This is only a pilot project run by TPG and the Victorian Government which has spent $11 million dollars on it as part of an election promise.

Many students cannot afford a lot when it comes to living in Melbourne so this will be good news for them. It is in Bourke st mall and some places in Melbourne with more to come in the coming weeks.

The free wi-fi does not always work on my phone but when it does its good. Here you just go to your WI-FI connections and select Vicfreewifi. And then you need to accept the terms and conditions. The wi-fi is available in all places in the city as well as the underground stations.

The money report: How to earn extra money

Students these days want to earn some extra money for stuff. So here's how.

Being students you'll probably always want extra money for stuff such as food and outings from time to time. 

Cash courtesy of live4life.com.au

1) Sell your unwanted textbooks.
Many students are looking for cheap bargains these days. You can sell them on ebay, amazon and other student textbook sites. Many students are looking for cheap ways to buy textbooks as the brand new ones are  about $150-$200 each per course

2) Write
By that I mean doing blog posts. Is your English really good? Can you write about once a week? If your blog has been established for some time earning money via Adsense and affiliate programs is one way to be exposed. Blogging is a great way to practice your marketing and writing.

3) Do surveys
Surveys are another way of earning money. Here you are paid on your opinions. If you collect enough points then you can redeem it for cash. Rewards central is one that gets you to do multiple things. Opinion World has lots of good surveys. Other companies may also have surveys and rather than cash you'll be given a gift voucher for your time for a particular store.

4) Direct Marketing
This one is quite an investment. Many people lose money because they are ill prepared and have not actually done their research. Amway, Tupperware, Herbalife etc all are multi level marketing companies. Do your research before thinking about starting as some of them don't earn much.

5) Mystery shopping
This is a good way to get exposed to some of the shops out there. Mysteryshopper is one good site. Don't apply for jobs where you need to travel lots from your house. But be careful not to apply for spammy companies or companies that scam people. Do your research. Some of the stores will require you  to buy something and others will require you to just enquire about something. Make sure that you read the instructions carefully.

Where do you like to earn the extra money? Comment below

Buying groceries on the Woolworth's e-gift card

Woolworths has an e-gift card which means no paper and no postage costs to send the card. This was a relatively easy process but the only thing was waiting for e-gift card. We had to wait twelve hours for this.

Signing up for one is really easy on their site. With the one from Rewards Central it came within seconds. Where as the one I bought came 20 hours later.

Getting the prices online was easy. All I needed to was to search for the item and then buy it. When in-store all I needed to do was to provide the voucher number at their self serve. The first time it was really tricky and I made a mistake or two along the way.

I got tea, peanut butter and a naughty thing known as ice cream. I haven't had it for a while and it was a really  hot day. So I bought this new flavour from Ben and Jerry's for $3.90 called "Cotton Candy". Cotton candy was more like vanilla flavored.

I bought Tasmanian brie too with this account. The brie was $5

And then I bought Macro's corn chips. I really do enjoy them for their health benefits.

Wanting to eat vegetarian food at a BBQ I bought veggie burgers from Macro ($4 each), cheeses, Mission wraps (at $5 each) etc.

I need my protein too and so with that I got a few protein shakes to help me get through the day. They were priced from $3-$4 each. Bread bought at the supermarket by their homebrand was $2

Shampoo was $6.

Do buy an e-gift card to help you to keep track of your spending. After every transaction they will tell you how much you have left making it easier to keep track.

Melbourne Namu

Melbourne Namu is a Korean fusion cafe in the heart of the city and its right in Hardware st. Here it is a cosy little cafe where Sensory lab coffee is served.

RNIS purchased a Groupon for $9 for one meal and one drink. Here I chose water rather than soft drink as they are very sugary.

 We went because of the kimchi queasidilla which we enjoyed. The meal also offers burgers but we wanted something different. Here it came with chips at 1:30pm we weren't that hungry so we were happy with smaller sizes.

The Queasidilla was really spicy and gave us that kick. The salad was good and the chips balanced out the spiciness well.

The lady there was really friendly. She knew a lot of people and this one lady that came in after got her coffee and she really likes the food.

Do come by for lunch. Oh and I wished they were open for dinner.

Melbourne set to have 24 hr public transport as of next year

At Richmond. Image courtesy of PTUA on Facebook.

As of next year there will be some changes to Melbourne's public transport system

Under the Andrews government Melbourne is set to have 24 hr transport as of next year. This will come as good news for students who study and work late into the night. But it is only a trial.



There will be trams every 30 minutes on six of Melbourne's busiest routes.

These are the trams to run every half hour.
• 19 - North Coburg to Flinders Street
• 67 - Melbourne University to Carnegie
• 75 - Docklands to Vermont South
• 86 - Bundoora RMIT to Docklands
• 96 - Brunswick to St Kilda
• 109 - Box Hill to Port melbourne

Trains will run one every hour to get people home safely.

Students there is no need for a cab now or the Nightirder bus. We welcome this move as it is a safer and cheaper option to get students home. Many students work late or study late at uni.

Fried Chicken the KFC way

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

You can normally buy fried chicken at KFC, but our version of this is much better and healthier for you as you can control the oil and the salt content.

You need:
* Cornflour
* 1 egg beaten
* Chicken drumettes or wings ( the number will depend on how many people you are feeding- we used about 6 pieces)
* Chicken seasoning
* Oil ( however much you need, depending on how many mouths, but we say about 1-2 tablespoons for just the two of us).
* 1 Cup of buttermilk.

Fried chicken from christinarae.com

Directions (taken from allrecipes.com).

1. Place chicken thighs and drumsticks in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and mix in salt. Cover and refrigerate from 8 hours to overnight.
2. Rinse chicken thoroughly. Mix buttermilk, beaten egg, and 1 teaspoon chicken seasoning in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
3. Place chicken pieces into buttermilk mixture and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Place flour and 2 tablespoons chicken seasoning into a shallow bowl and mix until combined. Remove chicken from buttermilk bath, shake off excess buttermilk, and press into flour. Tap off excess flour.
6. Gently place chicken into hot oil, 3 or 4 pieces at a time; fry chicken until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes per batch.
7. Remove chicken pieces to a cooling rack set over paper towels to remove excess oil before serving.

How to have a well stocked pantry- students tips

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

Students you will need a well stocked pantry in Melbourne for all the nights that you do not feel like going to the supermarket. A well stocked pantry will save some time and money.

We have some tips from students.

"Clean out all the old items once in a while. All the things which are moldy or smelly should be thrown out. Schedule to do this near your household garbage day so that the house does not stink for a week" Xu, China

"Buy things which you would normally eat in bulk. You can look at the online catalogues or you can hit the markets." me.

"Make a list of the items that you'll need so you don't buy anything extra." Charlie, USA

"Plan meals ahead of time. Think about what sort of recipes you can make with that stuff which you have. There are some good recipes on taste.com.au in which you can use." Katherine, Aus

"If you are living in a sharehouse, it is better to clean the pantry with your flatmates and work out all the things you need together. You might be able to put some money aside each to buy all the basics to share." Michelle, China

These are some useful ideas and we will have a Living out of your Pantry post soon, so stay tuned

Dex2Rose

Dex2Rose is a nitrogen ice cream place and its the third place to open in Melbourne's CBD. These sort of places are becoming more and more popular.

In fact Study Melbourne have one such meetup but I couldn't go to this one. So I had purchased a Scoopon of $5 for $10 to spend at this great place which bloggers like Sweet and Sour Fork and others say it was great.

The place is a massive warehouse and here you can watch them make your ice cream. Like Other places they use a Kitchen aid to do this in.

The owner was nice to me and so was the lady working the machine. They had been open for a few months now.

The pina colada ($6.95 for a regular) was mind blowing. I was like like wow. The lime was subtle but there was lots of coconut in there. In fact they are really meticulous with their presentation.

Rating: 14/20- ice cream love. Students do come here for your quick and low fat dessert fix

Windows Lumia and Amaysim

Thanks to Study Melbourne, Rewards Central and Amaysim RNIS did not have to pay. RNIS chose a Windows Lumia phone after careful research.

The sim card. Image courtesy of techgeek.com.au

Windows Lumia has been on the market for sometime now.

Amaysim is Optus's sibling company which means that you can have an Optus phone and then use Amaysim.Amaysim only sells the sim cards online and via their retailers. They don't sell phones though.

With Amaysim's website it was really easy to set up and sign up for their "Pay as you go" rate plan. There is no need to pay for the things that you don't use and the phone calls are pretty cheap. Also you can order and activate your sim and keep your old number. They will then send you the sim via mail.

The calls are cheap.; It is 12c per minute and the signals are good. It is 3G enabled.

With the phone though I ordered it via Harvey Norman and picked it up in store. Ordering online via the Harvey Norman site was really easy and points were credited to my Rewards central account. The points takes about 30-60 days to be credited to your account.You can choose between your Paypal or your credit accounts. Signing up is very quick and is done within seconds.

With Harvey Norman's Click and Collect it is really simple and quick. The order is usually processed within a few hours and you'll just need some photo ID and the order number to collect it.


Students do go with Amaysim as it is a lot cheaper and you can recharge whenever you want. They have all sorts of different plans to suit you

How to earn extra income

Students do you need some ways to earn extra money? As students things in Australia are very expensive so here is how.

Image courtesy of surveymonkey.com

Surveys
Marketers are always on the lookout for what you think about their products. The only downside is that you need to check your mail. Signing up is really easy.

Another downside of that is sometimes you may not qualify for one survey and eating some money can be a little bit difficult. But Rewards Central and Opinion World are both good where as with Nielsen you need a home address.

Selling your stuff

You can sell your extras at the markets on Sunday if there is enough stuff. You can also sell your stuff on ebay for free.

Blogging

Blogging is a great way to get noticed and build your portfolio. It is a good way to improve your English plus tell people about your experiences in Melbourne.

But did you know that you can also earn money via Affiliate programs such as Google Ad Sense, Amazon books and other ones. Do spend a bit time browsing the net for some programs. Every time when someone clicks an ad you would earn $0.50- $100 (depending on who you signed up with).

You can also be invited to special blogger events if you are good enough for the business/brand.

Mystery shopping

Applying to be one is quite easy and we applied for the job at mysteryshopping.com.au. Here you will get money within two weeks. You can pick the jobs that you are interested in.

Internet Streaming and why students do it

These days a lot of students watch tv online. We talk about the advantages of tv online.

TV- Image courtesy of mashable.com

We don't want to have to wait until an episode is shown on TV. Its more convenient and its free (for Youtube) that is. The screen is often clearer and there are subtitles.

With streaming you can find out about the latest cooking shows and entertainment from around the globe. You can pause and rewind shows especially if English is your second language. Many students find this easier than watching the mainstream as you can watch it at any time which is convenient to you.

It takes about five minutes for the program to load and can be watched legally in places such as Netflix and Stan.

The only downside is paying for it. The service can cost anywhere between $10-$30 per month depending on what you watch. Youtube is free for most of the time but new releases are somewhere between $3-$20 depending on whether you want to own or rent a movie.

Sometimes the service stops when the WI-FI drops out but then it goes back again.

We enjoy watching TV online as there are also no ads.

Students what is your favourite programs online?

Coles Fair Trade Coffee

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

Many of you have been looking for ways to save money and here is one. I love homebrand items as they are cheaper. I always love coffee and cheap coffee is always good for a student like me. I buy all my own coffees and things.

This has been one of my favourite instant coffee powders for a little while and I discovered it on the cheap for about $4. It was only discovered after one of the guys from RUSU Queer brought it in for everyone to try.

Here they taste the same but at least its Fairtrade and cheap. And this is good for a student like me. It is not too weak and not too strong.

Do buy this at Coles if you love a good coffee and want to save money.

Scholardeck

We discover this new website (Scholardeck) which can make applying for scholarships a lot easier. 

Scholardeck picture courtesy of Scholardeck on Facebook

The Malaysian government has just released some new scholarships for Malaysian students. It has been around for four months and it is meant to bridge the gap between Australia and ASEAN nations.

You can select your level of study and your country. Australia is participating in the program and so far we found three scholarships offered by the government. You used to have to go through the traditional uni way of asking your teacher and applying for it via the uni site. But now during this digital age this is no longer an option as that site features about 70+ scholarships for various unis.

Applying for them the hard is tedious for most especially in Malaysia where the site originated. Ever since the site started they have been helping 4000 students gain access to a scholarship to study in Australia and Asia.

Do try and apply for scholarships here.

Il Nostro Posto

Il Nostro Posto is in Hardware Lane in the city. Hardware Lane really reminds me of a Parisian street with the nightlights and the outside dining.

Course I wanted inside on this cold and windy day. And inside was nice and cozy and I enjoyed the Italian paintings on the wall.

Here I had the seafood marinara for $14.75 (Normally it is about $29.50 but because I had the entertainment book voucher I got it for half price). It was presented to me in paper and with a bowl on a plate. I like this presentation as it is very rustic. The chef cooks the pasta and the seafood in a frying pan and then lays the paper out onto the plate and puts the pasta in there.

Although it looked really small, it was moreish for someone who does not eat much after 7:30pm. In fact there was the bread and the bread and the olive oil was really nice.

Bread

Olive oil

Lets talk about the actual dish shall we? The pasta was aldente but I think the seafood was a little bit overcooked. The prawns were nicely deveined and the mussels were fresh. I think there was a little bit too much tomato sauce in the marinara. I would have liked more pasta and less sauce. Also all that sauce drowned out the flavour of the cheese.

Rating: 13/20 more pasta please as we are paying a lot for a tiny plate. The other people's plates looked seriously good and I loved the look of the zucca.

Buying secondhand whitegoods and appliances what you should know

 Students when you come to Melbourne and are renting a place for the first time, your place may be unfurnished and you may need some appliances. Brand new ones costs a lot of money and can be a waste of money if you don't use it for a long period of time. ie a fridge.

Kitchen appliances are a must for any student as you'll be cooking at home a lot.

Do your research into brands
One good site is Choice where members rate items. A lot of the items are tested by experts and the article is free to read online. YOu don't want to be getting an item which does not suit your needs

Buying privately
You may not have the same consumer rights. You may not be able to see the product and if it does not work you may not be able to get a refund.

Buying from a group buying site such as Groupon
Always make sure that the site has a lock or accepts Paypal which is the secure way of paying for things.  Always check to see if they have an actual address.

Have a look at othersites so if they have cheaper/better prices.

Always read the testomonials and do your research before buying it.

Fridge. Image courtesy of styleathome.com

Buying from an electrical store such as the Good Guys.

You are always covered so if something goes wrong you maybe able to get a refund. Most of the store offer student discounts so it is best take your student card and ask.

Ikea Family card and why you should sign up for it

RNIS had just recently signed up for their free IKEA card. The IKEA card has been around for a while and it has huge amounts of savings. They signed up after Leandro said it was good and entitles students to cheap furniture and other things. And ideas.

IKEA is a furniture store in Richmond and Springvale.

1) Free hot drinks
Its from Monday to Friday at the IKEA restaurant. Normally its about $2-$3 per mug

2)Cheap discounted meals

Under $5 or for very big combos, under $15.

3) Free magazine
This gets sent in the mail once a while and its got all the decorating ideas.

4) Special invites to member events

Ikea has quite a few workshops which are only for members.

5)Free insurance and returns on any furniture items.
So if something does go wrong then you'll have peace of mind.

6) Other specials on things like furniture. Such as the one below which will help you save money.

Oh and another thing: It's free to sign up and your card will come in the mail within four weeks.

So what are you waiting for? Do sign up now in store

Hecho En Mexico in King st

You may remember the Hecho En Mexico in Fitzroy and how popular it was. Well this time the owners decided to have a place in the city on King st and RNIS bought a $5 Groupon for this. The Groupon was for a large burrito and chips, only they changed it to a small size since they had a small appetite. Normally a small size is $10.

The store is smaller and it was harder to find. It is right near Victoria University, Taketori and the Study Melbourne Centre.

The owner was down to earth and friendly.

The burrito took some time to come but that was good though as it meant that they were spending some time in making it lovely. Whilst there only one other guy came to the place and he wanted takeaway.

The place is clean.

When the burrito came it looked small on the outside, but it was extremely moreish and I was full afterwards. That was the expectation that I had seeing as I went to the one in Fitzroy and they had exactly that. Except this time it came with little salsa or beans and it was toasted. But it came with heaps of rice and potatoes and no sour cream which I liked. There was no guacamole but I didn't mind given that there was lots of chilli sauce and onions in it already.

It was bland though, I'll give them that. The tortilla wrap was lovely.

Oh well give them some time to find their feet I suppose. But lets say that I would recommend the place to Sweet and Sour Fork, Leandro, Eat and be Merry and others for their lovely looking moreish paella picture and the tacos.

Rating: 12/20- shall we just give them another go but maybe on tacos? And maybe wait until they find their feet?

Instant Giveaway: Liven Membership

These days dining out is expensive - a serious put-off for tight-budgeted international students! So when RNIS heard about Liven, a new entertainment discount app that gives you loads and loads of savings on the go (a minimum of 25% to 50% off the total bill for restaurants and other activities such as spa or golf courses), we knew we had to spread the word!  Today, RNIS is giving away the followings:

• 1 month premium membership to all readers of this blog (promo code below); and
• 1 year premium memberships to two lucky winners of this giveaway.

Benefits of Using Liven

With the Liven app, you can forget about prebooking, prepaying, expiry dates, and having to carry any vouchers or coupons. You just need to do walk in and once your meal is finished, show your phone to the merchants. Offers are available 7 days a week, all year round. Saving money is great but Liven has gone a step further to make the process convenient and rewarding too. In particular, RNIS likes the following features:

• Nearby: shows you the closest merchants around you, perfect for an unplanned meal on the go. 
• Reward points: users get rewarded with reward points for using Liven which can be used to redeem prizes such as movie tickets, David Jones vouchers.
• Saving history: shows you how much money you have saved using Liven.
• Calculator: for those who don't want to do math while out dinning, the built in calculator tells you exactly how much you will save before you spend any money.

How Does it Work?

1. Download the Liven app for free and create an account. 

2. Open the side menu and tap "redeem promo code" and type this promo code exclusive to RNIS only: RMT2014. 

          For Liven iOS App: click here:

          For Liven Android App: click here:

3. Select a merchant from over 150 choices available including:

• Bluetrain

• Wagyu Ya

• Peninsula Hot Springs

• Takumi

• KOBA

• Tadka Boom

• Wa Modern

• Laksa Bar 

• Kin Vietnamese

• Mamame 

• Yuzu

• and many more (click this link to view all)

4. Go to the merchant and enjoy the service, and when presented with the bill tap “Redeem Now” on your phone and show the merchant.

5. They’ll validate the offer (this is important so you earn reward points) then grant you the discount.

Craving more? Liven has also given RNIS two 1 year premium memberships to giveaway! 

To enter, simply like the RNIS & Liven Facebook pages and winners will be drawn on [31/12/2014]. Its that easy!

• RNIS Facebook Page
• Liven Facebook Page 

Good luck everyone! Don't forget to subscribe to my blog too.

For more information about the Liven app, visit www.liven.com.au

How to save costs on your electricity and gas bill.

RNIS was at the latest Saving money seminar by the City of Melbourne and so they have some tips on saving on your bill.

As students you need to use electricity. But did you know that the more you use, the more you spend in bills? For the lucky some where bills are included the rent you don't need to worry about paying for it. But for those that need to pay then read on.

The money that you can save. Image courtesy of RMIT Newintstudents

Heating:
In Winter we use a lot of heating. But did you know that you only need the heater to be on a comfortable 18C-20C? If you have it too high, it is not good for your body. In fact you could gain a lot more weight this way as not a lot of energy or fat is being used during that time. Also if it is too high and you go out you could catch a cold as your body is not used to the cold.

However to even save more money you should seal all the gaps whenever you can. We will have another section to talk about sealing the gaps in the house.

Leaving the electricity on all the time can leave you with a very high bill

Windows
They bring in a lot of sunshine if placed correctly. From the north in summer it is about 80% of heat that goes in, so you'll want some sort of shade. In winter you'd lose about 49% of heat especially in the winter.

Other things
Don't leave appliances on for too long as that will waste electricity. Also turn off everything before you go to bed or leave the house. A TV left on for ten hours will set you back by about $120 extra.

Wash your clothes in a cold cycle. A warm cycle will use more energy will set you back about $155 extra in energy bills per year

In winter dry your clothes indoors as a clothes dryer will set you back by $155 per year.

Don't have too fridges at home as they use up about $640 worth of energy. Instead just have one big one in which everyone uses.

Cooking with Baked beans

Baked beans is $1-$2 a can and they have all the energy you need for class. There are two ways of using baked beans as explained below.

How to make nachos

1 can of Heinz baked beans
One or two handfuls of corn chips. We love Doritos but you can use other things.
A small sprinkle of grated cheese
Some Sour cream


But if you are lactose intolerant like I am you can have this without the cheese and sour cream.

You just heat the beans in the microwave for about 1 minute or a minute and a half if you have a big can.
And then pour it on top of the corn chips. Yum.

Baked beans on toast- this is great for a morning breakfast as it is full of protein and goodness. Add an egg to this and its even better. It is quick to make and you just toast the bread and heat the beans for about 1 minute on high.

You could also have this with sausages and potatoes to make a great dinner or lunch.

I hope that these ideas will help cure the hunger. These are just some ways to save money on food.