There are many ways to save money in Canada without living like a pauper. You may see budgeting as impossible, but even the most extravagant spenders can find surprising ways to cut expenses.
You might learn to forego a few things, but you won’t have to do without TV or live in the woods to save costs. If you’d like to learn how to save money fast, continue to read the contents below.
How to Save Money in Canada
1. Free Bank Account
If you’re paying for your bank account, you’re doing business with the wrong bank. There are many cool banks where you can open a free account with services that are on par with The Big Banks.
However, if you don’t fancy online banking, remember that even the biggest traditional lenders will waive a bank account fee if you keep a particular sum of money with them. Doing this alone can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. If you insist on a premium banking service, ensure you get your money’s worth.
2. Reevaluate your Subscriptions
It’s a fact that more of the things we buy are gradually becoming subscription-based. Whether music, television, or software, it’s getting rare to purchase these services on a one-off basis.
You need to be aware of your subscriptions by reassessing them each month. Ensure you cancel the ones you don’t need and keep the subscriptions you use regularly. You may also decide to share a subscription with others to save costs.
3. Debt Consolidation
Don’t let the big words fool you. Debt consolidation can benefit your finances. For instance, you can take a loan at 3% to pay off credit card bills with an interest rate of 19.99%. Although tempting, you should always apply caution when using one loan to cover another.
4. Use Your Bank ATM
It may seem like a little money, but using your bank’s ATM services can save you hundreds of dollars in service fees in the long run. Only using another ATM when you’re in dire need of cash.
5. Obtain DIY Skills
If only you knew how much you could save if you learned a little about carpentry, plumbing, or gardening. Some of these skills can save you a lot of money if you know how to fix or grow things yourself.
Fortunately, it isn’t too late to learn. There are videos on the internet where you can learn how to acquire new skills at no cost to your pocket.
6. Make Bi-weekly Mortgage Payments
Making your payments bi-weekly instead of monthly will allow you to make extra payments in a calendar year. These additional payments mean you pay off your mortgage quicker and save money on further fees.
7. Work on your Credit Score
A poor credit score can deny you the opportunity to save money on big purchases like a house or a car.
Although you may be able to get a mortgage or car loan, you’re likely to pay more for these purchases than individuals with a good score. Improving your credit score is a no-brainer and one of the best ways to save money in Canada.
8. Mortgage Refinance
If you’re paying higher monthly rates for your mortgage than you can afford, you should consider mortgage refinance. Mortgage refinancing is one of the ways to save money in Canada.
As mentioned above, a poor credit score can force you into making expensive decisions. Once your credit score improves, you can qualify for a better rate. You should consider refinancing your mortgage if you can reduce your interest rate by a minimum of 1%.
9. Organize Yourself
It is possible to default on your payments unknowingly. Late payment means you’d have to pay a penalty fee. You can avoid these additional payments by organizing your payment calendar.
Better still, you can use a budgeting app to keep track of your expenses and pay your bills through the app. A very good budgeting app may cost you a few bucks, but you can find free budgeting apps that are just as good!
10. Cash Back Offers
There are so many ways to save money in Canada, and cashback offers are one of them. You can earn up to 20% on every online purchase you make. There are cashback offers all around you if only you’d care to notice.
Top retail chains like JC Penny, Amazon, and Walmart offer cashback offers to customers. Rakuten Rewards and Swagbucks are online platforms that offer gift cards when you shop.
You may also earn money through minor tasks like surfing the internet, taking online surveys, or watching a video.
11. Price Checking
Price checking is the art of determining how much a product costs at multiple stores and opting for the least price. That way, you wouldn’t sacrifice quality on the altar of price.
Now that a lot of buying and selling takes place online, you can find price-checking websites that will search multiple online stores to bring you the best price.
You’d be hard-pressed to find better ways to save money in Canada, especially when many of the biggest retailers offer price-matching services.
12. Use Coupons
Consider using coupons if you’d like to know how to save money in Canada on groceries. To stack the deck even further, you can wait until an item is on a discount and use coupons to get a better deal.
Another idea is buying used items on Facebook Market Place and Kijiji. Buying a used product can save you money if the item in question doesn’t have to be brand new.
13. Cancel your Gym Membership
You don’t need a gym membership to workout and keep fit. Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need a ton of expensive equipment either.
Some of the best exercises you can ever do involve using nothing else than your body weight. Working out at home will save you gas money, gym membership bills, and many more expenses, too numerous to mention.
14. Use Energy-Saving Appliances
One of the ways to save money in Canada and help the environment at the same time is to use energy-efficient appliances. Some of these appliances include energy bulbs, water heaters, dryers, washing machines, and air conditioners.
Energy-efficient appliances are specially designed to fulfill their objectives using the least amount of energy possible. You can reduce your energy bill significantly and save money when you use energy-saving appliances
15. Cook your Meals
You probably have heard this a lot, but cooking your meals can save you a lot in expenses. Restaurants are not in business to feed you but to make money.
The profit they make on the items you’re served is the money going out of your pocket. A C$30 meal in a restaurant can cost you C$5 to make in the comfort of your home.
16. Shop Smart
Shopping smart isn’t just about buying the stuff we need. It is about ensuring we don’t fall into the trap set up by retailers. Make sure you have a plan, so you don’t buy products on impulse.
Bring only the money you intend to spend, so you don’t buy items that aren’t on your list. You can also buy generic products where the quality is good enough. And if you use a product often, it makes good financial sense to buy it in large quantities.
