Tips for saving more money....
You have taken the class, you've learned about coupons, where to find them and how to trade them, how to price match and use flyers to find sales; your becoming the shopper you never thought possible!
Now, you want more... more of your money to stay in your pocket. You want to pay down debts, save for your first car or birth of a child or take that trip you've always dreamt of. It's about time and patience. Saving takes time and that, requires patience!
Now, you want more... more of your money to stay in your pocket. You want to pay down debts, save for your first car or birth of a child or take that trip you've always dreamt of. It's about time and patience. Saving takes time and that, requires patience!
Buy a Gift Card for Yourself...
Have you ever noticed that some promotions want you to purchase a gift card in order to obtain "more points" etc.? well, why not purchase and use the gift card right away! Here's a great example:
I was at a restaurant and they offered an online registration promotion, when you purchase the gift card and register it online; get a bit of credit (like cash towards your purchase!). So, I purchased the card, used it for the purchase I was making RIGHT THEN, and went home to register it online. Voila! I had $5 in additional credit ready to use next time I was in the restaurant!
Want another example? Bon Appetite (Montanas, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, etc) quite often have promotions for purchasing a gift card and you recieve Scene points for Cineplex. Great deal if you are eating out and you purchase the card and use it right away. Purchase the card before your meal/you order at the take out. Then, use it right then. You don't have money locked up on a card that you aren't able to use... it's yours to use on the purchase you were making right then anyhow. Follow any instructions for obtaining your Scene points... and then you have more points towards free movies, as well as the food you were already purchasing!
Need a Scene card? Click here.
Coupon Used = Money Not Spent!
Where does the money come from? You have your bills that area "set" that don't really change month to month (like: rent/mortgage, hydro, gas, water, insurance, car payment, day care, etc).
Then you have the one bill that fluctuates the most: groceries. It's the one place where you trim a bit from once in a while, to send the kids to school with pizza money; or pay for an Avon order for your friend's birthday present... it's the one part of your budget with any "wiggle room."
You have the tools from the class to start saving at the check out... now, to put that into a bigger plan! Up until now, you've been spending let's say, 100% of the asking price for groceries. You may have caught a sale and you may have met some coupon lady in the store who gifted you a coupon, but let's just say, you pretty much "wanted" to coupon, but weren't.
So, you paid 100% for your groceries last month... then you took my class. You learned how to shave off more and more (and more!!)... it's already budgeted for groceries... in your mind and on paper, it's been "spoken for." So leave it spoken for. Put it away and save it. For every dollar in coupons, put it away. Your coupon savings will add up very quickly... and my friend... you just found money!
Free Air!
Did you know that AIR is FREE?
The air at a gas station, where it says "$1.00" can be free? Ask the attendant to turn on the air for you, they have a button and it automatically starts the machine.
Then, throw your loonie into your savings jar; you just saved another dollar... and you're one step closer to paying down a bill, debt or saving for a great life-time event!
Then you have the one bill that fluctuates the most: groceries. It's the one place where you trim a bit from once in a while, to send the kids to school with pizza money; or pay for an Avon order for your friend's birthday present... it's the one part of your budget with any "wiggle room."
You have the tools from the class to start saving at the check out... now, to put that into a bigger plan! Up until now, you've been spending let's say, 100% of the asking price for groceries. You may have caught a sale and you may have met some coupon lady in the store who gifted you a coupon, but let's just say, you pretty much "wanted" to coupon, but weren't.
So, you paid 100% for your groceries last month... then you took my class. You learned how to shave off more and more (and more!!)... it's already budgeted for groceries... in your mind and on paper, it's been "spoken for." So leave it spoken for. Put it away and save it. For every dollar in coupons, put it away. Your coupon savings will add up very quickly... and my friend... you just found money!
Free Air!
Did you know that AIR is FREE?
The air at a gas station, where it says "$1.00" can be free? Ask the attendant to turn on the air for you, they have a button and it automatically starts the machine.
Then, throw your loonie into your savings jar; you just saved another dollar... and you're one step closer to paying down a bill, debt or saving for a great life-time event!
Wait for the Sale!
Cut back on what you don't really need, (example: junk food and luxury items). Live a bit more frugally... you don't have to have the latest gadget when it comes out, wait until they will come down in price, they usually go on sale. You lived without it this long, waiting a bit longer isn't such a big deal; but the money you save will be a big deal (when you spend less than your friends on a new "thing"... you are the smart shopper!)
Play time! (even when you don't have kids!)
Family game or movie night is a more memorable event for kids and teens *yes teens* then spending lots of money on them. Believe it or not, kids want what they can't buy in a store and only you can give. They want you and to spend more time with you, their parent (etc). Long after the latest handheld gadget (that exercises their thumbs more than anything), becomes a relic sold in a second hand store, their memory of playing a game or watching a classic with a big bowl of popcorn will linger on. Pull out some classic games like Monopoly, Life, Trivial Pursuit or Mouse Trap... it's worth more than you think!
It's In the Bag! (even when you don't have kids!)
Pack a lunch. Skip the take out or cafeteria foods at school or work. Leave the vending machines over priced fare for some other co-worker to go broke on. Pack a healthier more cost efficient meal, something you will look forward too and the reward isn't just the money, but it's healthier than pre-packaged or fast food!
Drive-by the Drive-thru!
Coffee (or tea...) in a Thermos. Save your change for paying down your credit cards or saving for your special life event... every dollar counts... and that includes your Tim Hortons (etc) run! Pack your favourite... your bank account will look better for it! Save the Tim Horton's run for a treat, not a daily "must have."
Credit Cards versus Pre-Paid "Credit" Cards...
Credit cards: do you need one? can you live without one? should we all have one? These are really personal questions. I know what works for me, I have had a credit card. I don't have one any more. I have a pre-paid card (from the CAA office, called Travel Money). It's my money, but it's on a Visa. I pay a small fee to load $4.50 and a minimum load is $250.00 This is optional to reload, because it's my money! I can reload when I like, if I like.
It's just like a Visa accepted online and in stores everywhere. It's easy to use and budget with and it's secure. If I loose it, or it's stolen, I can cancel the cards ability to be used and transfer the balance to a new card. (unlike prepaid disposable credit cards purchased with a pre-set amount, these are not secure if you loose it or it's stolen, it's just like cash... not traceable).
So, if you need a credit card but can't get one for poor credit, or you want the flexibility of when it gets paid (like now or never again!) then, this card is the way to go. $4.50 to load is less than paying interest fees! And if you only need it once... then you never reload it!
It's also a cool way to save up for something really big! Add the minimum $250 when you like and in no time, you'll have some extra tucked away for your big life event!
It's just like a Visa accepted online and in stores everywhere. It's easy to use and budget with and it's secure. If I loose it, or it's stolen, I can cancel the cards ability to be used and transfer the balance to a new card. (unlike prepaid disposable credit cards purchased with a pre-set amount, these are not secure if you loose it or it's stolen, it's just like cash... not traceable).
So, if you need a credit card but can't get one for poor credit, or you want the flexibility of when it gets paid (like now or never again!) then, this card is the way to go. $4.50 to load is less than paying interest fees! And if you only need it once... then you never reload it!
It's also a cool way to save up for something really big! Add the minimum $250 when you like and in no time, you'll have some extra tucked away for your big life event!
Money Seen is Money Less Likely Spent!
Cash in hand versus debit card in machine. When we see cash being spent, we SEE the money being used and we become a bit more aware of where it is going and why. Some of us are less likely to spend it, if we SEE it being spent, (think of a kid with their allowance in hand... they don't want to part with their cash versus their parent's "unseen" money).
In other words, we put more value on seeing the cash, then we do with a debit card when we spend at the check out.
There are pros and cons to using a debit card. One con is that we don't see the cash, so we don't really think of it as depleting as much as if we give the cashier cash and receive change in return. The debit card is simply swiped or inserted and money removed from an "invisible" source. We remind ourselves how much we have, but it's not the same as seeing cash and change, exchanging hands.
The pro to using the debit card (which makes this a con for cash) is that we can track what stores we spent the money in, how much and when. The cash con, is that we have to keep track with receipts or on a note pad if we want to recall where/when/how much we spent for each transaction.
In other words, we put more value on seeing the cash, then we do with a debit card when we spend at the check out.
There are pros and cons to using a debit card. One con is that we don't see the cash, so we don't really think of it as depleting as much as if we give the cashier cash and receive change in return. The debit card is simply swiped or inserted and money removed from an "invisible" source. We remind ourselves how much we have, but it's not the same as seeing cash and change, exchanging hands.
The pro to using the debit card (which makes this a con for cash) is that we can track what stores we spent the money in, how much and when. The cash con, is that we have to keep track with receipts or on a note pad if we want to recall where/when/how much we spent for each transaction.
Transportation Alternatives
Car pool, bike, public transit, walk... We hear the "going green" in the media all the time... but have we fallen deaf to it? Hearing something too often can make us block it out, rather than listen (look at a teen-parent relationship!) But, there is truth to the message... car-pooling may be "greener" for the environment, but it saves gas... for the savvy shopper... that is money! Cash you don't have to spend! Cash you can put towards other things!!
Leftovers = Save time & Save money
Make leftovers. Heat your oven once or stove top; cook a double meal (which really doesn't take a lot more preparation because you have everything out already!) and make a meal for later in the week or for next week! Freeze it and just heat and serve! (it also gives you a night off cooking, and more fun time... especially on family fun nights!!)
Bulk purchases... share the load!
Buy in bulk (reasonably and cost efficiently)... as I have demonstrated in class and in my book, purchase the necessities that are non-perishable during sale periods to avoid the higher cost in the sale cycle. Purchase items like ground beef in large quantities (example: The Wholesale Club sells an amazing roll of ground lean beef for about $21-$22 dollars), this is a lot of beef... make patties, balls, meatloaf and one pound packages up... freeze and use as needed. It's a big amount of beef that will go far! If you have a small freezer... arrange to split the package in half with a neighbour or friend. In half of a roll of the meat, I got 16 huge burgers! (no fillers, just cut the roll to burger sized patties and freeze). Ready to eat when I want them!
Remember your friends, family and neighbours with freezers (or without) and share the cost with someone if you have limited space (or they do). It keeps a variety in your (and their) freezer!
Buy a bigger roast and cook it up, make meals and sandwiches. Buy an extra turkey near the holiday season and save it for a month or two after, then cook it on a non-holiday time. Get all the trimmings out and make a feast of meals... it will stretch really far!
Soup, stew, stock; shepherd's type casserole, other casseroles, pot-pies/meat pies (use crust or with potatoes on the top!) TV dinner-style meals... and remember senior citizen friends who would love a turkey (or other) dinner, but would find cooking all the trimmings too much. Make one extra meal up and give it to a friend, a single or senior... it will make you feel extra good! It will make them feel cared for too and it really didn't cost you a lot to make up one extra plate*.
* I use the disposable (recyclable) pie plates for making up the dinners I give to senior friends or for my own use to put in the freezer. They go straight from freezer to oven with no problem. We don't microwave.
Remember your friends, family and neighbours with freezers (or without) and share the cost with someone if you have limited space (or they do). It keeps a variety in your (and their) freezer!
Buy a bigger roast and cook it up, make meals and sandwiches. Buy an extra turkey near the holiday season and save it for a month or two after, then cook it on a non-holiday time. Get all the trimmings out and make a feast of meals... it will stretch really far!
Soup, stew, stock; shepherd's type casserole, other casseroles, pot-pies/meat pies (use crust or with potatoes on the top!) TV dinner-style meals... and remember senior citizen friends who would love a turkey (or other) dinner, but would find cooking all the trimmings too much. Make one extra meal up and give it to a friend, a single or senior... it will make you feel extra good! It will make them feel cared for too and it really didn't cost you a lot to make up one extra plate*.
* I use the disposable (recyclable) pie plates for making up the dinners I give to senior friends or for my own use to put in the freezer. They go straight from freezer to oven with no problem. We don't microwave.