January is a month when many of us find ways to lower our budgets and recuperate from the gift giving, parties and other expenses of the holiday season. I started thinking about all the ways that Garrett and I save money during the year. In general we’re pretty careful with our money, but there are a few little things we’ve been doing over the last few years that have made a difference. When I started making this list and calculating the savings, I was floored to see it added up to $13716 a year! That’s more than we pay on rent! I hope this list helps inspire you to make little changes too!
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1. We nixed the cable
When I first moved into my apartment in Toronto I was really budget minded and decided to not set up cable and use an old school antenna instead. I was able to get most major networks with that, and then used the broadcasters’ websites to watch many shows on broadband (CTV, CBC, Global or in the US: ABC, NBC, etc).
Money Saved: $324 a year
2. I Make a Weekly Dinner Menu
On Sunday mornings, I like to sit down with our calendar and figure out what nights I have time to make dinner, when I need to have leftovers/freezer meals available if I’m working late and any special events we’re going to.
Then I look up the online flyers for all of the grocery stores in our town. I look at what they have on sale, compare it with what I already have in stock and then figure out some meals for the week.
The average person wastes at least $10 of food per week by throwing out food that they didn’t need. Buying only what we need helps us keep the budget tight, but also prevents us from letting good food go to waste.
Money Saved: $1040 a year.
/// Check out my previous post on 10 Ways I Save Money in the Kitchen & 10 Ways I Save Time in the Kitchen for more ideas! ///
3. Garrett Cuts His Own Hair (with a little help from me)
Since he was a teenager, Garrett has been cutting his own hair (with the exception of special events, like our wedding). He’s still using the same electric shears he started out with (for about $20) and he’s got it down to a real science now.
After he has done his trimming with the shears, I use some sharp scissors ($10) to trim around his ears and remove some of the bulk in the front. Considering that he trims his hair every 2-3 weeks, and it costs about $18 (+ tip) for a haircut, that’s a huge saving over time. I try to keep my hair appointments down to a minimum too, by choosing cuts that don’t requite frequent trims. When I had bangs, I had my hair dresser teach my how to trim them myself between appointments.
Money Saved: $360 a year for him, $160 a year for her
4. Bank Fees & Online Billing
We’re both big savers and generally put away as much as possible each month in our saving accounts, until we recently discovered something. If you keep the minimum amount in your chequing account, you can often have your bank fees waived, which adds up over the year. Combine that with switching from paper billing to online billing, we get another $2 off each bill.
Money Saved: $263 a year on bank fees and $72 a year on billing
5. We Bought Used Cars With Cash
I worked in the automotive industry for a few years and the number one thing I learned – don’t buy or lease a new car if you can avoid it. They depreciate as soon as they’re off the lot and you’ll never get the full value back. By doing the research and picking older models (mine is pushing 14 now!), we were able to both find great cars that were in good shape for a fraction of the cost of something newer. With a little care, regular maintenance and cleaning, you can keep them going for a long time.
Money Saved: $9168 on two base model leases for a year (which is more than our two used cars were combined!)
Another Tip: For every 2 PSI that all of your tires are below the recommended level, you lose 1% on your gas mileage. Most car tires are 5-10 PSI below the normal level, so that means by just adding air to your tires, you can improve your gas mileage by up to 5%. It’s easy, too. Just read your car’s manual to see what the recommended tire pressure is, then head to the gas station with a tire gauge.
Money Saved: $600 on gas between two cars commuting
6. We find deals for our Movie Date Nights
Garrett and I are both big movie lovers. Going out to the theater is one of the few splurges that we really love. We go at least a couple of times a month to see the latest films. Our local theater costs about $12.50 per person (and don’t even get me started on the snacks), but there are some ways to reduce this.
- Cheap Ticket Deals from Third Parties: We both have CAA Memberships for our cars, and you can use that to buy ticket vouchers for $9.83. We can also buy vouchers for 2 tickets + 2 drinks + popcorn for $28.82. We don’t get snacks unless we have one of the coupons (or I might sneak something small in). Garrett’s grandmother gave us some of these for Christmas, so we’ve been saving them for nights when we want to splurge.
- Tuesday Nights & Saturday Matinees: Most theaters have a cheap night or matinee discounts up to $4.50 off . If we’re going to buy full ticket price, we do it when it’s a good price. Some theaters take off even more if you book it online and print the tickets at home.
- Buy One Get One Free Promotions: Every once and awhile there will be a coupon promotion that is Buy One Get One Free with a cereal or pop company. That is a $12.50 savings. If you combine that with a Tuesday night, you get another $4.50 off. Two movie tickets for $8 isn’t bad!
- Point Card: For ever 10 tickets that we buy, we get a free movie. We each of a card to accumulate points faster.
- Head to the Drive In: During the summer months, we go to the drive-in at least once a month. We can see two movies for $11 each, or sometimes even three movies if it’s a long weekend (although I usually fall asleep during the third one anyways). We save by bringing drinks and snacks from home. Plus Whiskey and Cola get to come with us!
Money Saved: at least $260 a year
7. Sign Up for Free Customer Rewards
The grocery store we go to the most has a free customer rewards card that I attached to my keychain. Every time I’m there, I absent mindedly swipe it. Then one day I was there and the cashier asked if I wanted to use the $35 on my card to pay for my groceries. Score!
If you have these rewards cards, the biggest challenge is to make sure that you use them at the best time. I have a Shoppers Optimum Card and I know that about once a month they have a promotion where if you buy $50 worth of product that day you get 20 times the points (which adds up quickly). I make a list of things we need from there throughout the month and then go on that day. Then about four times a year they have a promotion that if you redeem your points on that day it’s worth more. If you redeem 95,000 points they are normally worth $170 but you can get $200 worth of product. I usually get to that point every other year and save it for the big shop. I stock up on face creams, first aid supplies, toothpaste, makeup, paper products, etc. to last us the whole year.
Money Saved: $235 a year
8. Making Our Morning Coffee & Tea at Home
A couple of years ago, Garrett’s parents gave him a Keurig machine for Christmas and they stock him up with biodegradable cups they buy in bulk. At $0.43 a cup, it’s a much more economical option for him to make his morning coffee at home, instead of purchasing a $2.00 coffee on the way to work. He also has a refillable k-cup that let’s him use his favourite ground coffee in the machine – and save even more money.
Money Saved: $826 a year
9. Repair Clothes Instead of Throwing Them Out
I’ve been doing this since I was a kid – if I can try to fix something before throwing it out, I’ll give it a try.
I repair holes in shirts, hem my jeans, fix split seams and reattach buttons. By repairing our clothes (and just about everything else we can get our hands on), we save on going to a tailor AND on buying new clothes.
Money Saved: $180 a year
10. Go Through Our Bills and Eliminate Unneeded Services
I felt that I was paying too much for my cell phone bill, so I called the company and asked about promotions. I ended up knocking $15 off my bill every month. I did the same thing with our internet bill, getting a free six month modem rental thrown in too. It doesn’t hurt to call your providers – and you might be surprised by what they say!
Money Saved: $228
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Do you have any other tips for small changes to save you money?
I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
it sounds like a lot of work, but then again, anything worth doing does take some effort. Good for you! I wish I had thought this way when I was younger!
This is great!! Thanks for posting 🙂 I’m always looking for new ideas to save (I’m also a fan of coupons and going to the movies on Tuesday nights).
this is a great list – we can’t let go of cable though!