Spy equipment at Aldi

Want to make a clandestine video recording of a meeting or interview? Work for a TV current affairs program? Into the idea of violating privacy laws?

Well at Aldi you're in luck! This HD camera pen has 4GB of memory and can be operated at the touch of a button. The lens is just above the clip, so you can clip it in your pocket or bag for the best angle. I'm not sure if or how well it works as a pen.

Honestly I am surprised to see this advertised. It's on sale from Saturday 27 April.

Absorb the savings

My friend Andrew describes his house as 'dank'. It's always damp and things get mildewed really easily. If you have the same problem with excessive moisture, solve it for cheap at Aldi.

From Saturday 16 February, Power Force Moisture Absorber is at Aldi for $3.99 for a 354g tub. It's basically calcium chloride crystals, and they reckon it lasts up to 75 days.

Put a tub under the sink, in bathrooms, basements and garages, on bookshelves, in wardrobes and linen cupboards, and anywhere else that needs to be dry and free of mould and mildew.

This stuff might also come in handy if you drop your phone or other small electronic device in water. The usual advice is to seal it in a bag with dry rice, but these crystals might work too.

Green up your house

I find indoor plants very restful. I feel it makes your house look much better. Of course I am too cheap to get a large one, so I have a collection of small, pitiful plants rather than the major green room feature of my dreams, but there are some great garden bargains around at the moment.



At Aldi, 140mm indoor plants are $7.99. You can get (L-R) sago palms (in NSW, Victoria and ACT only), peace lilies, Zanzibar gems and magic beans.

At Bunnings, you can get a 130mm Easy Care Calathea Orbifolia for $8.24. These are quite nice-looking.



It's part of the Easy Care range of indoor plants that are all the same price. I guess it's a lottery which ones you get at various Bunningses.

Bunnings also has 30cm hanging baskets (with liner) for $3.98 and 35cm baskets for $5.36. These would be good if you only have a courtyard or balcony, but would still like some greenery.

And there are 'Grow Your Own' vegetable seedlings for $2.94 (which may include tomatoes, lettuce, capsicums, chilli, beans, peas, carrots, eggplant, sweet corn, silverbeet and zucchini), and 'Flying Start' 70mm perennial plants for $2.97.

Australiana food

Major retailers tend to assume everyone hosts a massive nationalist fiesta on Australia Day rather than just enjoying a day off work (which is arguably more Aussie). Should you be taking this opportunity to host a picnic, a barbecue or other party on Saturday, here are some true-blue products to buy.



Many ordinary products are getting rebranded with flag motifs to cash in on the day. MasterFoods tomato sauce is now MasterFoods Australian Grown Tomato Sauce in a blue bottle with a red lid. It's currently $2 at Coles (save 99c). Also at Coles, Campbell's Chunky Fully Loaded canned soup has an "Aussie Lamb Casserole" variety with pasta for $2 (save $1.29), and you can get Edgell Aussie-branded canned corn kernels and sliced beetroot for $1 a can (save 49c).

Other quintessentially Australian foodstuffs are also on special at Coles. A twin pack of Twinings Australian Afternoon Tea (that's 200 teabags) is $15 (save $4.99). Excellent value if you drink a lot of tea, and this is a nice variety.

As a treat to have with your Aussie tea, why not pick up some Unibic Anzac Biscuits for $2 (save 95c), a six-pack of Coles Bakery Australia Day Donuts (lemon icing; green sprinkles) for $2, or Coles Lamington Fingers for $1.99 (half price; save $2).

Planning on making a pav? Coles Bakery Pavlovas are currently $7 each (save $2.25), but this is just the meringue shell; you have to add your own cream and fruit.

How about a Chiko Roll? At Woolworths you can get 2 packs for $7 (save $2.38) – that's eight Chiko Rolls to get your fish'n'chippery nostalgia engines revving. Motorbike optional.



And I don't know about you, but there's nothing more old-school Aussie than a platter of kabana and cubed cheese. Head to the deli at Coles, where Don Kabana is $12/kg (save $3.39/kg), while Cracker Barrel Gold Release Cheddar (fancy stuff covered in wax) is $20/kg (save $10/kg). (FYI: toothpicks are $1.63 for 200, and cocktail onions can be had from $1.19.)

Since Victorians are jocularly known as Mexicans, why not have an Australia Day spread including Aldi chicken enchiladas ($5.49 for two) and Tabasco sauce ($1.99).

And on behalf of the Croweaters amongst us, I am pleased to learn that Aldi is selling Coopers Pale Ale six-packs for $12.99. This is great value, considering they're $14.99 at Dan Murphy's.

Australiana paraphernalia

As 26 January approaches, the shops become full of distressing nationalist tat. If you must buy this seasonal stuff, here's where to get it cheaply.

At Aldi you can get giant Aussie flags, just the right size for wearing as a cape (sigh), for a mere $3.99. For the same price Aldi also has coloured face paint, and those obnoxious padded top hats in either green and gold or an Aussie flag design.

They also have T-shirts and singlets for men, women ($4.99) and children ($3.99). Some are more tasteful and subtle than others (one says "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!"; another one says "Young Hot and AUSSIE"). The kids' ones are actually the cutest – you could mistake them for ordinary surfwear tees.

If you're after some Australiana swimwear, Big Dubs has flag-print men's board shorts for $9.94, and girls' or boys' board shorts for $8.92. As with Aldi, the kids' ones are the least obnoxious – I especially like the boys' shorts, which have an abstract flag pattern in red, white and blue rather than the depressing navy-with-the-Union-Jack-and-stars that's par for the course in nationalist apparel.




Big Dubs' women's swimwear is a little better than your bog-standard triangle bikinis – a cute bandeau bikini with halter tie and a red ruffle decoration is $14.98. The pants are plain navy with red ties; the Southern Cross is emblazoned on the left boob. For the less exhibitionist, but at the same price, there's a rash vest and a navy halter-neck 'tankini' with the Aussie flag across the right hip.

Aldi is boasting that its thongs – either ladies' sizes in an Aussie flag design or unisex in plain black – are 15% cheaper than last year. They're $1.69.

Aldi also has Aussie flag beach towels for $8.99, and Aussie flag beach chairs for $9.99. But at Big Dubs, similar chairs are just $7.88.

Oh god, where does the Aldi merch stop! Australia Day golf umbrellas for $7.99! Stubby holders! Picnic rugs! Big Dubs also has a ridiculous thong-shaped inflatable pool toy for $10, and to mitigate against road-rage incidents by bogans, an Aussie flag for your car for $2.



But if you're planning a more tasteful and less jingoistic public holiday, perhaps Aldi's four-person wicker picnic basket set is for you. It's one of those nice ones with a gingham lining, leatherette straps and an insulated cooler section. It includes four sets of stainless-steel knives, forks and spoons; four melamine plates; four plastic wine glasses; four cotton napkins; and a bottle opener (IMPORTANT). All for $49.99.

Sporty bargains at Aldi

This week Aldi is having a bit of a sport and fitness jag, with all sorts of sporting clothes and equipment on sale.

What caught my eye was that they're selling inflatable gym balls for $7.99. Also known as 'fit balls' or 'Swiss balls', these are the sort of balls you sit on at your desk instead of a chair, or that you hold or lie on to do various exercises.

They come in black, aqua, lime and pink, and in 55cm, 65cm, 75cm or 85cm, depending on your needs. They take a maximum user weight of 120kg.

If you're a bit WTF when it comes to gym balls, here's a list of 10 manly exercises recommended by AskMen, and 10 exercises recommended by Weight Watchers.

Also at Aldi, a waterproof mp3 player for $29.99. I was pretty excited about this as I have recently taken up swimming again. It's suitable for water sports and activities and is waterproof up to 3m. Considering my local pool is 1.9m at the deep end, I should be okay.

It's nothing fancy – it has a 4GB internal memory and its only functions are play, pause, reset, and volume up or down. It comes with a clip, armband, USB cable and earphones. It's available in blue or black.

The pictures show the player clipped to a lady's goggles and the earbuds tucked inside a swimming cap. Perhaps it is a little ridiculous to go to so much effort. One of the things I like about swimming is the quietness of the mind it instils. But you could also just use it as a small mp3 player to wear while exercising and not have to worry about damaging your 'good' mp3 player in rainy conditions.

Back to school… for adults

Back-to-school season is now in full swing, and let me tell you, I've never felt better about not having to go to school any more. However, we can still take advantage of the bargains! If you like to wear polo shirts, grey, black or navy pants or white ankle socks, this is your time to shine.

Schools have made a massive move towards 'nude food' policies: kids have to bring their lunches in individual plastic containers that eliminate the need for lunch bags and wrap. I'm pretty sure this is because teachers hate having to supervise kids picking up litter in the playground. But you can use them to take your grown-up lunch to work.

At Kmart you can get Smash Nude Food Movers snack boxes and sandwich boxes, triple snack tubes or double snack tubes for $3 each.

Woolworths has all the Smash Nude products at half price. The sandwich box is the same price as at Kmart, but the snack box is only $1.99 and the double and triple snack tubes are only $2.49.

Woolies also has other products in the range, including a cube-shaped salad box for $3.99, a large meal box for $3.49, an "ice melt with chillout socks" for $3.49 and a hilarious "muffin pod" for $1.99.



Kmart has a range of aluminium drink bottles for $6. Good to have on your desk, clip to your bike or slip into your gym bag. Available til 16 January.

Are you a creative type who enjoys sketching or keeping a visual diary? Aldi has A4, 120-page visual diaries with covers in five different colours for $2.99. I'm not sure what quality the paper is, but for $3 I'd be happy to risk it.



Also at Aldi is a 200-sheet pack of coloured copy paper for $3.99. Officeworks probably has it cheaper, but what I like about this one is that each pack has 20 sheets in an assortment of ten different colours. It's perfect for small craft projects, or printing off just a few documents, or even – gasp! – writing a letter to someone.



The good thing about back-to-school footwear bargains is that the stores know parents prefer leather school shoes over synthetics, so you can get some decent shoes really cheaply. Big Dubs has some cool-looking Bata Scouts black leather sneakers, styled a bit like Chuck Taylors in men's sizes 6-12, for $30.

The ladies' ones are styled like hipster plimsolls; they look a bit too much like jazz-ballet shoes for my taste, but they're $30 too.

If you prefer good old Dunlop Volleys, but in a more durable material than canvas so it doesn't make a hole where your big toe sits, Big Dubs has men's and ladies' leather Volleys for $35.

And since 'back to school' clearly means fine literature, Big Dubs also has some hilariously titled books that almost seem to parody themselves – Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus ($27.99); Man Drought by Rachael Johns ($29.99); and The Girl in the Hard Hat by Loretta Hill ($32.95).



I am not especially into 'farm lit', or 'rural romance' as I hear it is more properly called, but I was curious about Snow White Must Die. Turns out it was not based on a fairytale but is a fairly standard-sounding detective novel, whose characters include Pia Kirchhoff, Oliver von Bodenstein and Tobias Sartorius.

Thirst-quenching specials

Weather's been hot, huh? I bet you're thirsty. Well, you're in luck. Until Tuesday 8 January, Coles is selling 15 cans of Pepsi, Solo or Schweppes soft drink at half price – $6.49.

A pack of four cans of V Energy Drink is also half price – $4.61. That's excellent value for workaholics and party animals. But from 12 January at Aldi, you can get a 1.2L bottle of V for $4.99. Holy shit. I had no idea they sold it in bottles that large. You will probably have a heart attack if you drink the entire thing.

At Coles you can also get the limited-edition retro slabs of Fanta, Sprite or Mello Yello for half price – $12.44 a slab.




Looking at these old logos makes me realise how much packaging designers these days rely on drop shadows, gradients and illustrative elements which look quite crass and busy compared to the clean, flat colour, simple typefaces and geometric imagery of the original logos. Compare and contrast with the contemporary packaging:



For people who like the taste of Coke Zero and were like, "I wish there were other flavours of Coke Zero!" well your dreams have come true at Woolworths, which has Coke Zero Cherry. It comes in 600ml bottles at 2 for $5 (save $1.15) or in an eight-pack of "mini refreshment" 200ml cans for $5 (save $2.63).

Farmer's Union Iced Coffee is also 2 for $5 at Woolworths. That's one for you and one for your mate down the building site!

But for people who don't like or can't tolerate dairy, Coles has Almond Breeze almond milk for $2 a litre (save $1.29). This is a pretty good deal, since almond milk is the most expensive of the non-dairy milks.  

New year's resolution supplies

Have you vowed to quit smoking in 2013? Woolworths is here to help, with 20% off Nicabate products. Specifically, a 7 pack of CQ patches is $24.99 (save $6.50), a 60 pack of mini lozenges is $23.19 (save $5.80) and a 96 pack of gum is $21.99 (save $6). The deal excludes 24-packs of gum and mini lozenges.

And to clean you up for the new year, Woolies has Metamucil for $14 (save $4) and a pack of 30 Berocca for $10 (save $4).

Do you want to lose weight this year? Coles has assorted packs of five Celebrity Slim "Delicious Meal Replacement Shakes" for $22 (save $5.99). On sale until 15 January.

Other miserable diet products available at Coles include Nature's Way Slim Right Powder Chocolate for $10.50 (save $3.20) and Weight Watchers muesli bars for $3 (save 99c) and Weight Watchers frozen meals for $4 (save $1.79).

Honestly, don't do that to yourself, buddy. Have some carbs instead. Hot cross buns are already instore at both Coles at 2 for $6 and Woolies at 3 for $9. And Aldi has loaves of raisin toast for $2 – it's the toast I like most!

Award-winning baby wipes

Would you like to wipe your baby with the baby wipes that won the silver medal for Baby Wipes of the Year in this year's Australian Mother and Baby Magazine Awards? Well at Aldi you can – and they're only $2.49 for a pack of 80 – that's 3c per wipe.

Keep your insides healthy

Aldi has Bee Vital Manuka honey for $7.99, which is Active 5+. I looked into WTF that means, and apparently all honey contains the glucose oxidase enzyme, which produces hydrogen peroxide, giving the honey mild antibacterial properties; however Manuka honey has an additional antibacterial component which is not due to hydrogen peroxide and can fight more resistant bacteria. This is known as 'active' honey and if it's been lab-tested against a regular antibiotic it gets a UMF rating. Ratings of 0-4 are negligible; 5-9 is 'maintenance', 10-14 is suitable for therapeutic use and 15+ is the most medicinal. So there you go.

Years ago my friends Renée and Gemma gave me an Eziyo yoghurt maker for my birthday. To my annoyance I have misplaced it somewhere – it might be in a box or something – but currently at Aldi you can get a yoghurt maker for $14.99, and the yoghurt mix sachets for $2.49, which is cheaper than Eziyo.

Invest in cast-iron cookware

Aldi has a six-piece cast-iron cook set for $69.99. It includes a 9-quart camp oven with a wire handle, 3-quart saucepan and wire base, 12-inch skillet, 2-burner BBQ hotplate, 43cm lid-lifting stick and a wooden chest to keep it all in. Holy shit it is heavy.



It's designed for use in open fires while camping, but honestly I love cast-iron cookware and find it very hard to buy cheaply. I get so much use out of my skillet, which Sandor gifted me as a cherished heirloom from Donald Street. It's the same pan in which my housemate Matt used to make his patented meal, 'skillet'.

If you'd like to know how to rejuvenate old, rusted cast-iron cookware, here's a good step-by-step guide.

Kit yourself out for summer home entertaining

Aldi has cheese knives for $2.99, and a glass multi-function cake stand for $19.99 that has a pedestal and a domed lid. When you tip the pedestal base upside down you can use it as a chip'n'dip; the upside-down lid holds desserts such as trifles; or you can display and store cakes.

And for more entertaining, Aldi has rigid wire domed food covers for $4.99, citronella candles in tin buckets for $4.99, and packs of three jaunty striped tea towels for $4.99.

I am in the midst of a Summer of Champas, and so I was interested to learn that from 29 December Aldi is also selling bottles of Grandin Méthode Traditionelle, which is one of the better French cheapies, for $12.99. You can get it right now at Dan Murphy's for $13.60.



Another Dan Murphy's bargain I can recommend is the Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux Brut, which I (shamefully) bought because the label superficially resembles that of Veuve Clicquot. It's $13.99.

And just finally, you can't beat Aldi's price on blueberries – $1.99 for a 125g punnet, which works out to $15.92 per kilo. By contrast, Coles has them for $3.40, or $27.20 per kilo.

A good night's sleep

Big Dubs' post-Christmas sale includes 30% off pillows, doonas, mattress protectors, etc, and 40% off the Tontine Good Night range. I am in the market for a new pillow so I will be looking into this. And just so that your pet is not left out, there will also be $15 memory foam pet beds.

Meanwhile, Aldi has either a European (square) pillow or 2 regular pillows for $9.99, and 225 thread-count percale sheets in a range of jaunty colours for $24.99 QB and $29.99 KB.

Cost-effective hydration

Would you like to take up boxing in the New Year? Big Dubs offers a low-stakes entry with $10 Everlast boxing gloves. And to stay hydrated, how about a Sodastream machine for $55 (save $9.88)? They reckon the gas cylinder is good for 60L. When my housemate Paul had one of these, it was a golden era. I drank so much bubbly water.

In other water bargains, Aldi has Brita water filter jugs for $19.99. Holds 1.4L filtered water. I got one of these when Is Not Magazine had the Vesta House office and the water came out of the tap a weird brown colour. It was astonishing how it made the water normal.

Celebratory foods and drinks for intolerances

Here's my Food And Drink Intolerances Corner! If you know someone who can't or won't eat gluten, Ajitas Vege Chips are on special at Coles for $2.15.

And if you are in the market for non-alcoholic wines during the festive season, Woolworths has Fronti red and white varieties on special for $3.89. Appletiser sparkling apple juice is 2 for $5 – a saving of $1.84. And Aldi has Ariel dealcoholised wine in 'rouge' and 'blanc' for $9.99. They also have Paulaner Alcohol Free Beer for $1.79 per 500ml bottle.