I was inspired by a great podcast I listened to last week about “Top 10 Money Saving Tips” to create my own article about tips and tricks to help you out! There are so many seemingly insignificant purchases we make that can add up quickly. For example a $5 /month subscription to ANYTHING can add up to $60 at the end of one year. That could instead be used towards a fuel purchase, a small grocery store trip, a personal service to pamper yourself, or even invested to possibly earn you more money rather than just losing it.
Check out my compilation of ideas to help you earn back your moola:
- Get Rid of Subscriptions You Don’t Use
Everything has a free trial. Which is excellent, it’s always nice to try something before you commit. However, how many subscriptions do you pay to each month? Between music and tv streaming services, online coaching groups, free delivery on food orders and so many other things, that can really add up at the end of the month. Take a deep look at what comes out of your bank account or onto your credit card everything month. Do you actually use all of these things? If so, great! Carry on… If not, get rid of the extra expenses and have more money for stuff you actually want to do and get. Trust me, if you change your mind, it’ll still be there to resubscribe.
- Get Rid of Cable TV
Do you subscribe to various tv streaming services and still pay for cable tv? WHY!? There are a few perks to still have ‘normal tv’, such as the news or live sports — but you can still get those online and streamed from apps. Most of the news is negative, so do you really want that daily dose of depression? So many sports providers offer their own streaming apps t0o. Cable tv is expensive! Even if you subscribe to all the various streaming services out there, it’s still probably cheaper! Watch what you want, when you want! Who really need commercials?
- Cheap Parking App
I just recently learned about ParkWhiz. If you live in a big city or plan to visit a place where paying to park is the norm, this app will be your new best friend. You can find parking nearby, compare prices and even save up to 50% by booking in advance.
- Save on your Online Shopping
Want to save time and money with online shopping? Download the Honey extension for your browser. It can only be used on a physical computer/laptop — that I know of. No more searching for coupon codes that never work, honey does that automatically and pops up when it has one for you! They also apply the one that saves you the most if there are multiple. You can even earn rewards for using the extension and get gift cards for more shopping! Click Here to Get It Now!
- Make Coffee at Home
This might anger the big name coffee shop chains, but it’s cheaper to make from home. Your order NEVER gets screwed up, and you can get better quality coffee — for the most part. Single serve machines such as Keurig are great. They are fast and simple to use. To save MORE I suggest buying coffee (either ground or beans) and getting a reusable pod. It takes an extra moment, but it’s even cheaper than buying the throw away pods — and better for the environment. Throw the used grinds away OR EVEN SAVE them in a jar to use as a fertilizer in your garden. Double win!
- Easy Price Matching
Flipp is a helpful app for viewing all your favourite store flyers. Browse weekly digital flyers from retailers near you, or search for the items you need. You can even clip coupons to use and create a shopping list in this app. You can also save prices from other stores to quickly show cashiers to price match.
- Unsubscribe from Promo Emails
Constantly being bombarded with emails every day for sales here, there and everywhere can be enticing. Especially the stores that send multiple emails each day. Also, they’re annoying to delete. Just unsubscribe, save time and money. If you have the Honey extension I mentioned earlier, you’ll get all the deals you need, when you actually need something.
- Borrow Instead of Buy
Instead of buying every book under the sun that you want to read, GET A LIBRARY CARD! Libraries have such a vast array of things to read. Whether it’s on your e-reader, tablet or (my favourite) old school book form! If you really love something and feel you want to be able to constantly re-read it, feel free to then purchase your own copy, but why not find out before you shell out the money! Also, many libraries have movies and tv series you can borrow, as well as ‘books on tape’.
- Get Rewarded for your Purchases
Do you have a credit card? Does your credit card give you cash back or reward points? If it doesn’t, get rid of it and get one that does! Get more from all your every day purchases by earning back in other ways. Many banks also have chequing accounts you can do this with now too, so think about making a switch there if you use your debit card a lot. Also, if you frequent a store regularly get their points card too! I can’t tell you the number of Home Depot gift cards I’ve got for free with my Petro-Points!
- Make Saving Automatic
If you get a regular pay cheque (and even if you don’t), SERIOUSLY consider setting up an automatic withdrawal from your chequing to a savings account when you get paid. It can be an amount or % of your pay — you decide. You probably won’t even notice it not being in there. Even $25 every 2 weeks is $650 at the end of the year. Consider doing this twice. Have ONE account that is for fun. Book a vacation, treat yourself to a spa day, go to a fancy restaurant, whatever suits you. Number TWO should be an emergency fund. If the last couple of years has taught us anything, it’s that we all could be more prepared. Whether its a natural disaster, sickness leave from work, getting laid off or fired suddenly, a water pipe in your house bursts, a pet gets ill, etc etc etc — it will be far less stressful if you have an emergency fund to dip into.
I sincerely hope this helps. Check out the Elite Your Heart Out podcast: “Top 10 Money Saving Tips” that inspired me.
Do you have any winning tips and tricks? Let me know in the comments below…
Take care,
xoxo Amy
