By Melissa Grant
Most mums love a bargain.
Perhaps none more so than Officer mother-of-two Amanda, the creator of popular Instagram page Bargain Boss.
The page has amassed more than 14,000 followers in a little over two years.
With money saving tips, side hustle ideas and bargain finds, there is plenty of useful and inspiring information for anyone looking to save some cash.
Amanda’s love of Disney is peppered through the content, and there are also appearances from her two children Alyssa, 8, and Levi, 5 as well as their dog Eva, and their two recently adopted kittens.
Bargain hunting has long been a passion for Amanda. Saving money has always been a priority and, at times, a necessity for her family.
Amanda and her husband, Steve, bought their first home in their early 20s after scrimping together a deposit, which involved a challenge to spend just $10 on work lunches for the week.
Shortly after buying their first home, Steve tore his ACL at soccer and was unable to work.
Amanda said they were unable to access any Centrelink payments.
“We needed to come up with ways to save,” she explained.
“That’s where my love of bargains kind of kicked in.”
Amanda would often go into work on a Monday and show off the bargains she had purchased over the weekend.
“They (colleagues) would always be amazed at how far I had gone for a bargain,” the former Consumer Affairs Victoria employee said.
Over the years, Amanda’s friends told her she should share her money saving tips with the world.
At the time, she had the idea starting a social media page but didn’t think it would get off the ground.
It was actually a trip to Fountain Gate with her son that prompted Amanda to get cracking on her own page.
“Krispy Kreme were celebrating National Doughnut Day by giving away free doughnuts… I took a picture of Levi eating his doughnut and I thought this is starting today.”
Afterwards, she went to Coles and took photos of their marked down bulk buys products.
When she got home, she put Levi down for a nap, made a logo and created an Instagram account.
“I shared it on Facebook – some family and friends followed. I hit 100 followers, and I celebrated that milestone with a glass of bubbly. I never thought it would take off the way it has.”
The Bargain Boss Instagram account has been going for just over two years.
Amanda spends endless hours creating content and responding to comments and messages.
“I enjoy chatting to people. When people send me a message I always reply. I’m often up until midnight just making sure I’ve responded. The content takes time as I want it to be perfect.”
She has also enjoyed some collaborations with businesses – but has turned some down.
“My biggest thing about my page is keeping it as authentic as possible. It takes a lot of work to build a following and trust and it can be taken away very easily.”
She said the best thing has been the connections made through her page.
“I’ve made some really amazing friendships through it,” she said.
She also enjoys hearing about the way her followers have saved money, although some admit to spending on things they shouldn’t have.
“It is a bargain page but it’s only a bargain if it’s something you are going to use!”
You can follow Amanda on Instagram at @bargain.boss
