Couponathon

If you’ve ever been to Australia (or read my previous blog entries), it’s no secret that it’s a pricey place to live. We were warned before we came, but you really have to be here for it to sink in. Some things are not overly expensive relative to the US, but if you want to go out to eat, have a few drinks, or take a vacation, it will cost you. To be fair, I must say that wages here are really, really good (double in some cases), and working in Australia will allow you to do the things you want to do. Nevertheless, the sticker shock hits hard, and in a country that closely resembles the US in so many ways, the prices were our most difficult adjustment.

Of course, we were not about to move to a new city/country/continent and sit in the house to save a buck, so our first few months consisted of some weekend tabs that were hard to swallow. However, it all changed when my wife fell victim to what can only be referred to as Coupon Mania! Blake's addiction to Coupon started rather innocently when she signed up for Jump On It, a company offering “daily deals” for restaurants, hotels, haircuts, massages, and so on. Most of these deals are offered at less than half, if not a quarter, of the actual cost. A 3-course dinner here, a haircut there, and bike rentals at the beach all seemed pretty harmless. Before I knew it though, she was hanging out in the dark, seedy alleys of the internet getting her fix from dealers named ourdeal, livingsocial, groupon, scoupon, voupon, ozbargain, loveitup, shareon, cudo, spreets, whypayfullprice, and on and on. The “deals” were piling up so fast we hardly had time to use them all. I mean, who can pass up a 3-course feast for two with a bottle of wine for $39? Not Blake. That would even be a deal in the States. And so it was...spending money to save money.

Our weekends started filling up with sailing lessons, lunch cruises, and nice dinners all over town. I was slowly getting sucked into the coupon lifestyle. Before long, things were getting out of hand, and I found myself searching for deals offering counseling for coupon addiction to no avail. As our using intensified, we noticed that some restaurants were treating us like second-class citizens. Advance bookings were required but some restaurants had severely limited the number of coupon bookings allowed each night. It was like trying to redeem airline miles, and I couldn't help feeling a hint of shame as I handed over our printed voucher after a great meal. Nevertheless, it was going to take a lot more than mistreatment and shame to stop the addiction.

A typical email chain between Blake and I became,

Blake: Look at this great deal to Norfolk Island! 3 nights accommodation with water views, free dinners, and a bottle of wine upon arrival only $299! Can we, can we, can we!

Ben: That’s awesome! We should totally do it!

Blake: Should I book it, or can you do it?

Ben: I’m on it!

(A couple minutes went by…my finger a mere centimeter away from clicking the confirm payment button)

It was at this moment I caught myself thinking, where the @*%& is Norfolk Island? Is that even in Australia? Do I even want to go there? It was then I realized we had a problem. Our couponing had become like a trip to Wal-Mart that results in buying a bunch of stuff you don’t need because it’s a such a “good deal.”

We hit rock bottom when we attempted to redeem our voucher to Bar Baba Fusion in Leichhardt, the Italian center of Sydney. We had been dying to dine in this neighborhood for months, and here was our chance. The only problem was that our coupon was not for an Italian dinner. Not even close. Blake had managed to score us a voucher for a Tandoori Platter and a Scotch. Yes, you read that right. There we were making the difficult journey on public transportation to the “Little Italy of Sydney” for Scotch and an Indian dish at a seafood fusion restaurant. I’ve been more excited for a trip to the library. Upon arrival, we thought we were at the wrong place. There were no Indian dishes on the menu, much less a Tandoori Platter. We had not made a booking, but the restaurant was empty. Phew! The feeling of relief was short lived, however, as the owner quickly informed us we could not redeem our voucher without a booking, despite the apparent lack of business.

After making our disgruntled exit, we found a nice Italian restaurant and finally had the proper Leichhardt experience we had been looking for in the first place. Moral of the story: cheaper is not always better. The coupon can at times be more trouble than it’s worth, and we have since learned to be a bit more discerning about which ones to buy.

In reality, the daily deals have provided us with numerous great experiences and led us to places/neighborhoods that we would not have previously known about. We recently used a voucher for several nights at a 5-star rainforest lodge in the tropical region of Queensland near the Great Barrier Reef. The package included a day trip to the reef, wine, breakfast, dinner and was without a doubt one of the best travel experiences I have ever had. An offer for a Nepalese Banquet down the street finally motivated us to have our friends come to our neighborhood for the first time. Another voucher for all-you-can-eat (a non-existent concept in Australia) ribs led to another gathering of friends. We have had really great meals at restaurants we would have never found otherwise, and I got to try sailing and stand-up paddle boarding for the first time thanks to the daily deals.

I’m not sure how long the coupon fad will continue, but I’m pretty sure we will ride it to the finish line. Just no more Tandoori Platters with a side of Scotch.

***Update: While proofreading this blog entry, Blake called to notify me of an amazing offer on Ourdeal. I kid you not. A three-night stay on Heron Island with all meals included and free boat transfers from the mainland for less than 1/3 of the actual cost. Heron Island (pictured below) is an amazing destination, but the only resort is normally very expensive. We literally spent two hours last night researching a trip to Heron Island before coming to the disheartening conclusion that it was not within our budget. And now it is. I take back all the negative things I said above. Coupon…I love you!