Saving In Canada
In a recent survey conducted by Loans Canada, 82% of respondents have experienced a loss of income due to the current COVID-19 situation. With times remaining uncertain, it’s difficult to know when things will go back to normal and how long we must wait until the economy starts to pick up again. We recently discussed how to manage a budget out of work and we feel you can never have too many life hacks when it comes to saving money.
It’s always good to get into the habit of regularly saving and reduce your spending. Whether you’re looking to cut your costs due to the current difficult economic situation, or simply searching for hidden ways you can change your life habits to benefit your bank. We believe that if you have your budget in line, and regularly put money aside you should be on your way to reaching your financial goals and targets. But sometimes, life happens, and we find ourselves in a situation where our income isn’t as regular, and our savings needs to be reduced.
Don’t worry – there are other ways you can reduce your costs and still save and resist spending. Let’s learn some simple lifehacks to help us combat over-spending, impulse buying, energy wasting or food waste and save on a budget.
1) Clear your browsing history
So, did you know that some online retailers increase the price of some of their items if you’ve viewed the page multiple times? For example, you may be looking at flights and they were $100 dollars on Monday.
You’ve been consistently checking these flights to make sure they stay at this price and don’t have the money to purchase until Friday. But unfortunately, your browsing history wasn’t cleared, and browser cookies tracked your steps online and allowed the price to increase.
An easy way to combat this is to clear your browsing history and cache, which allows you to avail of the lower price just like a new customer and save on a budget.
2) Decrease your entertainment budget
As much as it’s difficult, it’s important to not have an unnecessarily high entertainment budget, no matter how bored you think you are. There are plenty of things you can do at home besides paying extra for satellite television or overpriced video games. For example, streaming services offer a cheaper way of watching some of your favorite shows. So why not pick between Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus for a simple and cheap form of entertainment and the ideal way to continuing saving on a budget.
3) Budget using cash
Do you ever find yourself spending and spending on your credit card and struggling to keep track of how much money you’ve spent? A way to avoid this mindless spending would be to withdraw your cash weekly from an ATM. This means that you have designated a certain amount of money for food, travel and other essentials. It will help reduce your spending and allow you to know where the limit is – when your cash is gone, you’re done spending for the week!
4) Increase your credit
Whether you have great credit, fair credit, or poor credit, use this time to work on improving it. Not only is credit used to determine your rate on loans, but utility and insurance companies have started using credit scores to determine your monthly premium. Are you looking for assistance in boosting your score to prepare for your future? Find out how Score-Up can help you here.
5) Wait 30-days before making any purchase
This is something very simple but effective. If you REALLY want that new handbag, new video game or even, new car, wait 30 days before purchasing. If you give yourself a 30–day rule on most items, it will help you figure out what is an impulse buy, or something you really want. Most of the time, you will find that you didn’t really want that new outfit and sometimes, you will forget about the item before the 30-days are up.
6) Brew your own coffee
I must admit, morning coffees from my local café are a huge expensive, but a novelty I find hard to let go of. Why not consider brewing your own coffee at home to help remove this cost. If you think of it, a take-away coffee costs about $6. If you buy one coffee 4 days a week that’s $24 dollars you could be saving. You can invest in a good quality portable coffee mug and learn how to brew your coffee here.
7) Try being a flexitarian
An easy place to impulse buy would be while doing your grocery shopping each week. But at times, the things you buy weekly may be the items incurring the higher costs. Why not try a Flexitarian diet, which is basically mixing between a vegetarian and a regular meat-eating diet. If you reduce your meat consumption and have a couple of vegetarian meals per week, you may say savings on your weekly shop. Meat can be expensive and reducing your consumption can help you save on a budget.
8) Swap brands for generics
Following on from point number 7, food shopping can be expensive. If you make sure you use a generic brand instead of the well-known pricey versions of kitchen cleaner, soaps, canned food items and more, you will find yourself saving a lot of money each week.
9) A Water Filter (no bottled water)
Remember all those empty water bottles gathered together in your car? Imagine how much money you could have saved if you had a refillable water bottle and used a water filter. A water filter is a great way to avoid bottled water. It’s the same taste but doesn’t cost you $3 each time you go to the grocery store!
10) Batch Cook & Freeze
This is the perfect way to reduce costs. If you batch cook your meals at the start of the week, it means you will not waste food or see it go off in your fridge. It also means you may just buy exactly what you need when you do your weekly grocery shop.
11) Plants your own herbs
Having a herb garden is not only rewarding, it’s also kind to your wallet. It means you don’t have to over buy your usual parsley or basil from the supermarket and see it go off or sit unused. Having a herb garden can also be a great way to spend your weekends and free time, as gardening is definitely a relaxing hobby to pick up.
12) Set-up an auto-transfer for savings
It’s simple – the day you’re paid, set up a direct debit from your current account to your saving’s account. You won’t even miss the money, because it’s gone before you even see it!
About Marble Financial Inc. (CSE: MRBL; OTCQB: MRBLF) We are a group of forward-thinking financial technology experts that fully understand the benefits and drawbacks of credit in Canada. Marble helps Canadians improve their credit to gain access to prime lending. Through our industry-leading proprietary technology solutions Fast- Track, Score-Up, and Credit-Meds. Our proven strategy guides our customers back to a meaningful credit score, 50% quicker than traditional methods. Since 2016, Marble is proud to have empowered thousands of Canadians to a positive financial future. We continue to establish ourselves as leaders in financial wellness.
