It’s important to save money. Perhaps you want to purchase a house or relocate,  you may be planning a major purchase, such as a car, or you’d like to set aside some funds for holiday gifts. Maybe you’re planning your retirement and want to make the most of it.

Many people like to save money, they just don’t know where to start, we have compiled a list of easy ways to start saving money right now.

Continue reading to learn how you can begin saving right away. You can start with just a few of these easy tips and then add on a regular interval. You’ll be amazed to find out how much money you can save per month.

How To Save Money

Banking

How To Save Cash In Your Day By Day Life? Is it time to move bank accounts?

First and foremost, pay yourself. Make a direct deposit of a certain percentage of the sum of your pay into your savings account/emergency fund.

Bank Service Charges

If you keep a minimum balance in the chequing account you can avoid fees. The other option is to choose good online banks that don’t have any service fees.

Setup Auto Deposit to Savings Account

Automated financial savings is the easiest and most convenient way to save money, as it keeps additional funds out of sight and out of mind.

Try to open a separate savings account, and automatically deposit whatever you can to this account at a regular interval (biweekly). It is even better if the new account does not have a debit card or checks. Let the money grow and work for you.

Most of us find that keeping our savings separate from our checking accounts reduces our tendency to borrow from our savings on occasion.

Traditionally, you can set this up via your employer’s direct deposit; ask your HR consultant for more information and get started right away.

Get Higher Interest Rate on Savings

Make your money work for you and gain more interest by taking advantage of bank perks. There are a couple of approaches to this. When you open a new account with a bank, it usually comes with a promotional incentive in the form of a one-time cash bonus.

Alternatively, your current bank might have better account options with better interest rates. Consult with your bank to go over your choices.

Choose the bank account that gives you the best interest rate, lowest service charge, and good reward program. Use a comparison tool to find the best interest on the savings account.

We use a no-fee chequing account at EQ bank for online bill payments and any debit purchases where a credit card can’t be used.

Fund or save every penny in a high-yielding savings or investment account.

Investing

You can reduce the trading costs from $29 to $9.99 and the management fee if you combine accounts with one brokerage to reach the minimum investment amount.

If your goals are more long-term, consider items with higher yield rates, such as a Regions CD or a Regions Money Market account, for even more savings.

I try to put 20% of my earnings into investments. It enables me to invest effectively. It’s still there if I need anything, so not having it directly helps me budget my expenses.

Use low-cost index funds than mutual funds with higher MER. 

Matching RRSP

If your employer offers a matching RRSP take advantage of the RRSP contribution, it reduces your tax and increases your return.

Set Up Emergency Fund

When it comes to investing, several experts recommend setting aside the equivalent of six to eight months’ worth of expenses. That money can come in handy in a crisis, such as if you lose your job or get sick unexpectedly.

Home Purchase – Negotiate for Low Mortgage Rate

• Use a comparison site like Rate Super brokers before negotiating a low mortgage rate to ensure we’re getting the best deal.
• You can avoid paying CMHC mortgage insurance fees if you put a 20% minimum down payment. If you put less than 20% down on your new house, your mortgage is classified as a high ratio loan (loan to home value ratio) and you must get CMHC insurance to protect the lender if you default on the loan. It is worth saving enough money for the down payment before buying a home.

Choosing Credit Card

Look for a cash-back credit card for everyday spending and recurring bill payments.

Use credit card rewards to earn money on bills that you would have paid anyway, such as electricity, phone bills etc.

Pay Your Bills on Time

Interest and late fees are a waste of money. Paying off loans and expenses should be your budget’s top priority. Set up automatic payments or, if you’re worried about incurring overdraft fees, set calendar reminders to ensure you pay on time. Paying your bills on time will also help you increase your credit score.

Pay Bill’s first (including extra on credit card and mortgage)

Pay down the principal faster. Take advantage of prepayment maximums on your mortgage or loans to make compound interest work for you.

Internet, TV & Utilities

We often check with our internet providers and utility companies to ask for discounts. We’ve saved money on our internet bills and utility bills.

By switching your mobile phone contract to a smaller cell phone provider, you will save hundreds of dollars.

Sell Your Unused Stuff Online

Is it time to downsize? Consider selling any things you don’t want to give away on the internet. Having your own virtual garage sale has never been easier thanks to online marketplaces. Sell or get rid of what you don’t want, use or need. 

Sell your Unused Clothes

• If you have too many clothes and not using them as much try selling them online. This is a great way to get extra cash and do a bit of clean-up of your wardrobes. There are many places to sell them.
• ASOS.com
• Facebook Market
• Depop.com
• Refashioner.com
• Virtual Garage Sale

You can find a local marketplace such as Craigslist, Letgo, Facebook Marketplace, to sell unwanted items

You can meet your buyer in a public place (many local police stations provide a “safe haven” for such sales) or have a friend wait for you as you make the deal, depending on what you’re selling. The secret here is simplicity: no packaging, no fees, just cash in your hand.

How To save money heating your home

Get a smart thermostat: If you want to save energy when you’re not at home or simply control the temperature in your home, installing a programmable thermostat is a no-brainer.

Yes, you will have to pay for a smart thermostat upfront. This installation, on the other hand, will save money in the long run. Smart thermostats keep your home’s temperature as low as possible and adjust to your needs and the season, saving energy automatically. Users can also adjust the settings to save as much energy as possible.

It will ensure that your utilities aren’t wasted when you’re at work or sleeping by programming it to heat or cool your home at specific times. This will save you money.

In the winter turn the heat down a bit at night. It can be comfortable with a flannel shirt or soft comfortable clothes.

How To save money on electricity

Turn off the lights, switch off the power strip

Keep it turned off if you aren’t using it. There’s a lot that goes into determining how much money can be saved by turning off a lightbulb. However, turning off a light switch when you don’t use it never harms your wallet or the world, and the same goes for power strips that provide electricity to gadgets that aren’t in use.

Buy Used

Buying used furniture, clothing, dishware,  and other items will save you a lot of money. You’ll be shocked to learn that many used products are really brand new. Automobiles can offer the best value in this category. Used vehicles cost an average of $10,000 less than new cars, and insurance premiums are much lower than they would be for a brand new car driven off the lot.

• Shop at the thrift stores for good brands when you can. Some people are hesitant to buy secondhand clothes, but if you are ok with it you can save money.
• Get whatever you can buy for free on your local buy/sell network like kijiji or FB market.  AND always make sure it actually works for you and your circumstances.
• Join the Buy Nothing group on Facebook in your area. If you really need something, first inquire within your group to see if someone has one to offer or lend. You can some really cool stuff and give away a lot of stuff that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.

Save on Shopping

Some transactions, such as groceries and fuel, are inevitable. Fortunately, by following these suggestions, you can save money on day-to-day expenses.

Limit Impulse Buys

There are mental strategies you may learn to help you avoid impulse purchases. Create a system to help you slow down before you click the “buy” button on the internet. Remove any stored credit card details from your browser so that you could manually enter them.

• Before you buy something, think about why you’re getting it and how much you’ll use it. Consider delaying your order for a week to see whether you really want it or whether the itch goes away.
• Don’t go to places where you are tempted to spend money. Don’t browse for things on the internet unless it is absolutely needed. Ask yourself if it’s a need or a want before you purchase anything. Basically, it comes down to learning to want less stuff.
• Avoid the shopping mall unless you want to buy something specifically needed.

Buy in Bulk

• Purchasing in bulk is usually less expensive than purchasing individual items. However, if you’re buying a warehouse club membership, make sure you’ll use it often enough to make it worthwhile.
• If you don’t have a large family, buy supplies that will not expire quickly. Toiletries,  rice or dry beans, and canned goods are all good things to purchase in bulk.
• Buy paper products, foods, and bulk goods at Costco. Their rates are almost always lower than most.

Make Your Own Home Cleaning Products

You can make a simple all-purpose cleaning solution using vinegar, water, rubbing alcohol, and soap.

How To Save Money using Coupons and Promo Codes

Coupons! We often check for online coupons and promo codes when shopping online. And downloading your grocery store’s app to look for deals on stuff I was already gonna buy. It’s usually a couple of bucks here and there but it adds up.

You can save money shopping online using sites like Great Canadian Rebate where you can earn cashback

Also, the Honey browser extension automatically finds coupon codes for you during online checkout.

Check out coupon plug-ins if you do a lot of online shopping. When you go to make a purchase, these apps run in the background and check to see if there are any discounts, offers, or sale codes available. Two of the most common services are Honey and WikiBuy.

What Is The Honey App, and Can It Really Save You Money?

Sign Up For Free Samples

You can sign up for free samples from reputable companies like Huggies, and Pampers if you have younger children. 

Buy It On Special Sale

Black Fridays & Boxing Day Sales – Take Advantage of these specials.

If you need clothing, look for clearance and sales—they’re typically cheaper and better at the end of the season to make way for the next.

Make a Shopping List Before Buying

One of the most effective ways to save money is to shop only when you have a list. And when you don’t have one, you’re more likely to make impulse and unplanned purchases – all of which cost money.

Invest In Positive Experience

I’ve begun to think of money in terms of time. Breaking down how much of my time I spent on a purchase has served as a strong motivator to be more thoughtful when making purchases.

Rather than wasting money on things, invest it in positive experiences. Most items have recurring costs, but not experiences.

Maintain Your Purchases

Buy quality over quantity. Spray Armor-All (or another brand) vinyl protectant on your shoes’ rubber soles, let it soak overnight, and then wipe away the residue. The shoes would have a stronger grip on the floor, be more comfortable to wear, and last longer.

Shop big-ticket items at holiday time

Try to find sales before making any big purchases

Are you in the market for a new tv, sofa, vehicle, mattress, or other large purchase? Wait before the holidays come around. During Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day weekend retailers often offer significant discounts.

Buy Generic Brand Products

Many generics are almost identical to their brand-name equivalents. According to Consumer Reports’ study, generic products usually save 25% and taste very close to the more costly name brands.

You can purchase generic sunscreen, allergy medication, paper goods, and other items in addition to food.

Budget – Tips and Savings

Keep track of your expenses for a few months. You can’t make a financial plan if you don’t know where your money is going.

Having a budget is the first step toward saving money and reducing spending. Budgets help you to prepare for financial goals and identify areas where you might be overspending.

To avoid overspending and to know ways to save, set aside a time and day per week to balance your actual spending against your budget.

Keep track of your goals and expenses with a spreadsheet or a budgeting app. These applications bind to your financial institutions to keep track of your expenses automatically.

When your spending is not reviewed it’s easy to overspend all your money.

• Budgeting is extremely important. Some people set aside a smaller sum per month to save for large bills like insurance. For this, you can use a savings account so that the money is available when the bill arrives.
• Give yourself an allowance for misc expenses every week like $20 for a meal out of something with friends
• Write down your monthly expenses, look at your bank statements and debt and make a planned budget. 
• Find a Budgeting Apps that you LIKE and then review your spending categories once a month (at least). It helped you to get some perspective on how you are spending your money. E.g. Mint

Entertainment – savings

Attend online events

There are plenty of chances to attend free interactive activities online thanks to many people adhering to social-distancing guidelines and skipping travel plans.

Hundreds of museums, Broadway theater companies, opera houses, and performers have made cultural activities open to the public via a variety of websites since March.

• Stage shows, musicals and opera you can watch online now for free
• All the virtual concerts, plays, museums and other culture you can enjoy from home
• Live-streaming concerts and DJ sets to enjoy from home
• D-Nice Can’t Wait to Turn ‘Club Quarantine’ Into a Real-Life Party
• See Brian Wilson in ‘In My Room,’ a New IGTV Music Series
• New York City Ballet

Find low cost activities that you truly enjoy. (outdoors?)

Take advantage of free weekend activities such as hiking, picnicking at various parks or the beach, and so on.

It can be costly to subscribe to cable or satellite television. Consider canceling your cable subscription and installing a TV antennae if you only watch streaming services and seldom flip channels. Built-in tuners on televisions enable you to receive local broadcasts with the addition of a low-cost antenna.

Check out the library

Are you bored? Make a trip to the library. Libraries not only provide a fantastic alternative to purchasing books, but they often have digital versions of e-books, latest DVDs, audiobooks, and movies available. Additionally, some libraries have free activities and book clubs. It’s impossible to beat free!

Plan your meals!!

Make a meal plan, Plan it around sales! It saves us a lot of money on shopping for meals we’ve prepared ahead of time, and we’re less likely to eat out because we know what meals we have on hand!  Also learning how to make your favorite foods that you eat when you go out.

Purchase items on sale and store them in the freezer. If you eat meat, buy meat on sale, marinate and freeze. Then, depending on what you have on hand, prepare meals and throw in a few fresh ingredients. 

Taking Care Of  Health

Make sure to take care of your teeth, by regularly flossing. It will help you save money on your dental bills. Get a mouth guard if you grind your teeth. Spending the extra money to cover your teeth is preferable to paying 4-5k to have them capped.

Travel – Savings

• Trips may be combined and save on gas. you can start at the farthest point and work your way back if you’re going to the bank, grocery store, hardware store, and so forth.
• Keep snacks and drinks in your vehicle to avoid kids asking for food stops while you’re out. Pack your own snack for Road Trips. You can find more Travel savings tips here. 

Review your subscriptions payments – Cancel Unused Subscriptions

• We sign up for different online services with our credit/debit cards.  You may be paying for Music services, Software, etc every month even though you are not using these services anymore. These are recurring charges that get posted every month on your debit/credit card by the vendors. Unless you closely review your bills you may not even notice it.
• Cancel your unused gym membership
• Do you have too many magazines and newspapers? Call and cancel your subscriptions, see if you can read any of them for free via your library, or consolidate your subscriptions into a single subscription to a news service like Apple News or Scribd. Similarly, go through your monthly bills and see if there are any digital subscriptions you failed to cancel. There are apps for that.

How To Save Money Grocery Shopping

If you’re wondering how to save money on groceries here are few money-saving tips:

• Don’t shop on an empty stomach.
• When grocery shopping, check out grocery advertisements and shop the fruit and meat specials. Plan your week’s meals for what you have on hand.
• Try to buy food from supermarket specials and other products from budget-friendly stores.
• Before you go grocery shopping again, check what you already have in the kitchen. I saved the grocery money for a few weeks and we had some interesting meals.
• Instead of buying desserts and cookies, make it a fun activity to bake at home once a week. There are lots of great recipes on YouTube. You will love the freshly baked cakes and cookies!!
• You won’t be able to do this if you live in an apartment. You can still grow a few plants near sunny windows.  There’s nothing quite like picking your own tomatoes.

How To Save Money on Food

Eat at home and pack food to go

Restaurant dining should be treated as for special occasions. Restaurants charge about three times the actual cost of production. The $15 sandwich you had for lunch could only cost you $5 to make at home.

• Stop buying fast food. When you buy fresh food it saves you money and keeps you healthy.
• Some restaurants have a reward program that gives you a discount for the next meal, Use their app for special discounts.
• Pack Lunch (Baked Good, boiled egg, sandwich) by purchasing several durable plastic food containers to transport lunch and snacks.
• Start your day with a good breakfast from home
• Making my iced coffee at home instead of buying it at my local coffee shop has been a big change for me.
• Eat less processed food and minimize fast food- great for your health AND wallet!
• Reduce Alcohol Drinking Bill. Allow yourself a planned eat-out/entertainment budget.
• Drinking is not only healthy and it is also an expensive way to drain your money
• Cook Large Pot Dishes and try to freeze leftover.

How To save money on gas

The gas prices could be different at different places, look for a cheaper rate to maximize your savings. If you don’t need the car then you can save on insurance, petrol, repair, maintenance

• Buy used vehicle if you can
• Take Public transport
• Use Carpool
• Trips may be combined. you can start at the farthest point and work your way back if you’re going to the bank, grocery store.  hardware store, and so forth.
• Group memberships as much as possible with family members’ car insurance, streaming service, AAA, park/museum/activity memberships.

Passive Income Ideas

• Short term Rental Host,
• If you have an extra bedroom in hour home or apartment, consider renting it out through sites such as Airbnb
• VRBO (Vacations Rental By Owner)
• Home Away

Reduce Environmental Impact and Save Money

• Use a water filter instead of buying bottled water.
• Buy face cloths and reusable kitchen cloths instead of using paper towels (and napkins).
• If you have an energy-efficient washer they actually use much less water and power.
• Carry a water bottle everywhere.
• Invest in a water dispenser vs plastic water bottles- not only helps the Earth but only $1.25 to fill up for 5 gallons.
• Join your local buy nothing group—it will help you declutter while also introducing you to a wonderful community of people who are giving away fantastic items!
• Visit a thrift store to look for clothing and other things.
• If you have small children, You can save on diapers by using cloth diapers or try to potty train the children after they reach the age of one and a half years old.

Amazon – Shopping Tips

We all know Amazon’s prices fluctuate; use camelcamelcamel to see the price background and how much it changes. I’ve saved a lot of money by just being careful when I can.

Start Gardening

I would encourage you to grow a garden if you have the opportunity (and space) to do so. It does not need to be big. A few tomato plants,  beans, carrots, and anything else that appeals to your palate will make a significant difference.

Gardening requires a small initial investment in both time and money. If you’re willing to put in the effort to create your own containers and prepare them with soil it can be a cost-effective way to eat tasty, nutritious food. Although you can buy seedlings from a supermarket, you can also get seeds from a seed library for free or for a small fee.

It’s not the food you grow that helps you save money. There are financial benefits, but the real benefit is spending more time at home with your family, enjoying a home-cooked meal.

If you live in a good gardening environment, you can grow your own vegetables. You will also see if anyone has any surplus produce from their gardens or fruit trees on your local buy-nothing pages.

If you have space in your backyard, I would also recommend planting a fruit tree. Nothing beats picking your own apple, peaches, strawberries, pears, or plums… The taste of tree-ripened fruit is unlike anything you’ll find in a supermarket.

Work From Home

Working from home can save you a lot of money, but it isn’t for everybody. Working from home saves the average worker $4,000 a year in commuting, work clothing, lunches out, and other expenses, according to FlexJobs. Even if full-time remote work isn’t feasible, working from home one or two days a week will make a significant difference.

Rakuten has cash back savings on most of the stores, like Walmart, CVS, Kohl, etc.

Try cash back rebate websites

What is a rebate website? These websites have affiliate links, and when you buy something through those links, they get a small commission. As a bonus, they’ll refund a portion of the purchase price to the buyer—you—in that’s cash, gift card points, or other forms of compensation.

Rakuten App

The Rakuten App is a money-saving app that will help you to save on cosmetics, sneakers, clothes, pasta, espresso, and a variety of other products. Rakuten is a money-saving must if you shop online. Here is the link to get $10 off.

Use Discounts

Do you consider yourself a student, a senior, or a veteran? Still ask if there are any discounts available at the movies, theaters, supermarkets, or even small grocery stores. There are also membership programs, such as The American Legion or AARP, that provide additional discounts on hotels, insurance, car rentals, and other services.

Wrap Up

While saving money we also do not want to force ourself to miss out the important aspect of life and enjoyment so make sure to adjust based on your circumstances.

It’s never too late to learn how to manage your money better. The source of these tips is from Pinterest, Facebook, and other online resources.

References

1. The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, Dave Ramsey (Author)
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!, Robert T. Kiyosaki
3. I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition: No Guilt. No Excuses. Ramit Sethi