Comments on: Our Top Ten Money Saving Ideas

By: Onepennyatatime

Onepennyatatime — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:25:18 +0000

I have implemented many of your ideas already and i just found your site. Have you ever considered couponing? I don’t spend more then $1 a bottle for laundry soap, free shampoo, conditioner, body washes, makeup ect. (no noname products in my house and i pay pennies on the dollar) in some cases we get a coupon for over the value of the product and then the overage gets applied to the order… at some stores not all.
On top of the couponing, I drive a used car, have a room mate, pay cash, get the internet deals every year, have a budget i try and come in under, we rarely eat out, my daughter uses the library (she reads 3 books a day and is 16), i am starting a money diary so i can see what is spent where. I am not rich and i don’t have money in the bank, I do however have everything we need and a budget that was ready for a sudden change of me being off work for illness.
We live with better products and comfortably with coupons. $150 a month is our grocery budget including all costs of food, cleaning, body, laundry, dog food and so much more. There are 2 of us plus one big dog and the 16 year old can EAT lol, before coupons that may have possibly fed one of us. However i must say, couponing does take a time commitment and considerable effort.

By: Limey Jean

Limey Jean — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:13:32 +0000

I’m glad to see there are so many people here who support PC Financial! ING Direct is another great bank. If you sign up for an automatic savings plan, the money can be withdrawn from your account on your payday so that you don’t see or miss the money. Using this method, I save at LEAST 35% of my net pay (I rent and have no debt).
Living below your means – taking TTC instead of owning a car, renting or buying a smaller place, and limiting meals outside the home – are huge contributors to how much money you can save.
I live in a small one bedroom apartment with my boyfriend, and it includes utilities, internet, cable, and laundry – any comparable apartments in our area go for at least $150 more per month, so we save a lot each month on that. We also gave up our car (a 1997 Honda Civic) when me moved, and it cost at least $300/month for insurance, gas, parking, and maintenance. For food, we look through the flyers for the deals and try to do the bulk of the shopping at No Frills and Price Chopper, which is considerably cheaper than Sobeys, Loblaws, and Metro.
Finally, keeping track of where the money goes is very useful in finding out where you can afford to cut back. We created an excel spreadsheet and save our receipts so we can input our cash/debit/credit purchases easily. Saving on living expenses, food, and transportation (and tracking it!) has helped us put away a considerable amount of money over the past year that we just used towards the purchase of a condo.

By: Money saving Tips

Money saving Tips — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:27:29 +0000

Paying down the mortgage with additional cash is my second priority after 18% RRSP’s. I struggle with whether mortgage paydown should come first, with expectations of reduced stock market returns and increased interest rates over the next decade, and pretty nifty guaranteed tax-adjusted return on mortgage paydown. Ah well, do one or the other, and it will all work out.

By: TKK

TKK — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:55:11 +0000

Moneygardener:

Comparing the best to the good is one thing.

But half the time these “best” brands are simply the most famous. They are more expensive because they have huge marketing bills – not because they are of better quality.

For example, there is no real difference between Coke and the cheaper store brands except the Coke has to charge more to cover its advertising. Coke = 1.29 per 2L, PC Cola = 0.79 per 2L. Neither have any redeeming health benefits, Both are just empty calories but I’ll choose PC any day for the price difference. They pretty much taste the same.

By: Sue M

Sue M — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:05:39 +0000

Biggest way to save is take a list where ever you go. I think I wasted money when I would get side tracked and became an impulse buyer. I don’t go to Costco anymore because I would buy things I didn’t really need or quantities that were too large and went bad. Walmart is a hot zone too if you dont’ have a list. I don’t overstock my cupboards, I keep a list on the fridge. We make a meal plan and buy for the week at one place. I try to buy fresh and focus on small portions. We all tend to over eat. We have half a chicken breast rather than a whole one each. Left overs are tomorrow’s meal. One night a week we make pizza and we have a breakfast for dinner night. We roast chicken and then make soup out of the left overs. Get rid of your phone extras, call waiting, call display and call answer. Nothing is more freeing to not have a dozen messages waiting for you when you get home. I have voicemail at work so I do not miss it. For telemarketers, we just say no and hang up, who needs call display? For Christmas and back to school, I take inventory first and then again shop with a list. This year, I will only be buying paper for back to school, the kids don’t need anything else. I also stopped wasting money on cosmetics and drug store items. No more miracle creams or lotions. I stick to the basics in cosmetics and clothes that are neutral and go from one season to another with only a need to change jewelry, purse and shoes. It is not huge but it works.

By: Taxsaver

Taxsaver — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:56:00 +0000

I cut my own hair with a $30 hairshaver. I save $250 a year, so $2500 over 10 years. I’m getting better at it.

I’ve just sold my car, which saves me $300 a month in insurance, gas, parking, and repairs.

Check out your credit cards, loan and line of credit statements. See how much you pay in disability or/and life insurance. Did you even know you had them???

By: D.A.

D.A. — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:31:21 +0000

I know this is not new, but I save by drying our clothes on wooden racks and on sunny days, on our deck, even in late winter, they smell great, and my dryer is not eating up the hydro. It is a bit more work but very satisfying. thanks.

By: Canadian Business Blog » Blog Archive » Running with the spouse

Canadian Business Blog » Blog Archive » Running with the spouse — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:05:08 +0000

[...] Capitalist and his spouse seem to have things sorted out. He is happy to drive a 1992 Honda Accord even though they could easily afford something more impressive. I’m happy to do it in a 1998 [...]

By: canabiz

canabiz — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:23:13 +0000

I mostly bought things second hand (furniture, electronics, cars etc), the savings are just out of this world. We furnish our entire house with second hand stuff that we found on local websites, the guests who came over to our place for a visit wouldn’t know the difference!

We also save on the tax as well.

Before I buy something, I figure if it’s something that I need or I want and will almost always go with the former.

By: Leon

Leon — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:22:51 +0000

I would say there are three themes here and you must manage them all at the same time. 1. Deciding what you need to spend money on (cars, etc.); 2. Figuring out how to save money on the things you must consume consume or buy (energy, clothes, transportation, shelter, etc); and 3. Deciding where the highest benefit is of your excess cash flow (mortgage, etc.)