We will be honest: saving money is not easy. Still, you want to put aside 15-25% of your monthly earnings aside. The reasons for savings can be different: house renovations, new trip, and, most of all, retirement. Here we offer you some tips to save money without feeling the pain of deprivation in 2024.
In any case you should be able to save several hundred dollars by the end of each month. Imagine you are able to put aside $300 each month. This will be $3,600 per year without much effort! Let’s dive in.
With an average Canadian salary of $48,000, which is between $2,800-$3,000 in net revenue per month, let’s see where it’s possible to save.
1. Avoid impulse and unnecessary purchases at all costs
Change your behavior towards any purchase. Use this phrase that you need to memorize and say to yourself before you take your money to buy something impulsively: "Am I going to regret this purchase tomorrow?"
Next time you are at your local grocery store or your local Costco, just don’t go into the kitchen and clothing sections. Move to the grocery you need without being distracted.
2. Keep expenses at bay
Keep your revenues and expenses in a computer program. If you don’t want to invest in personal finance software, like Quicken, use Excel or Google Spreadsheets on your computer.
If you prefer old-school expense management with a journal, here is what you need. Get a Kakebo journal.
The Kakeibo journal for household budgeting is based on the Japanese system made popular by Motoko Hani, the first female journalist in Japan, in the early 20th century.
Sometimes also spelt Kakebo, this journal is an essential tool for the money-savvy and is perfect for managing household finances. It is said that if you diligently maintain your kakeibo every day you can almost guarantee yourself savings.
The Kakeibo is very simple to use, just record your income, budget your expenses, set a goal for savings. Simple, but very effective.
3. Pay with cash
It's easy to pull out your credit card and pay. Unfortunately, with 1, 2, 3 credit cards you can easily and quickly lose track of what you are buying.
Here is a useful method. Withdraw a fixed amount of cash at set times (every Saturday, for example) and do everything possible not to exceed that amount in expenses and payments during that period.
That's another 5% in savings.
4. Keep your bills
Keep your invoices for all purchases during the month. Do some analysis of your purchases and identify the sources of unnecessary purchases. Avoid them during the next month.
Another 3% of your monthly earnings in savings.
5. Plan your monthly budget
Plan a monthly budget that is in line with your anticipated income.
Some personal finance advisors say that 50% of your income must go to cover these basic needs: rent, electricity and heating, TV / Internet / phone, food, transportation.
25% of your income must cover your personal needs (outings, entertainment).
25% of your income should be for savings.
If your big expenses are over 50%, try to find ways to reduce them to 50% of your income:
- you drive an expensive car with high monthly installments - opt for a cheaper car.
- your cell phone plan is over $ 100 - find an optimal plan or negotiate.
- your TV bill seems too high - switch to Netflix for $ 9.99 per month for 1 device or $13.99 for 2 devices.
6. Buy returnable and refundable products
Yes, it is not a mistake. Buy whatever you like, but be sure you could return the purchases to the store the next day. Treat yourself. If you regret the purchase afterwards, return it without any remorse.
7. Spend less than you earn
Not living beyond our means is elementary, but it is a difficult rule to follow. With so much easy money available with credit cards and loans, temptations abound.
Here you have to practice and practice a lot.
8. Get rid of recurrent small fees
Having a coffee at your Tim Hortons or Starbucks ($ 2.00 - $ 4.00 each morning), buying your lunch ($ 8.00 - $ 12.00 each time), it's already $ 10 to $ 16 per day.
Multiply these by 22 business days and you have an expense of $ 220 to $ 350 per month. Cut these fees whenever you can and save.
Another 5% savings!
9. Plan your meals
Set your weekly menus and make a list of ingredients or foods needed.
Here is a hack:
Order your groceries online if it’s possible in your area. Even if it’s more expensive due to handling and shipping, it’s still cheaper for your budget. By ordering online, you will not be tempted to buy more when shopping in store.
You can save $ 30-50 just by following your list without making impulse purchases.
10. Use your car economically
Control the speed of your vehicle. The optimum speed which allows minimum gas consumption is 90 km / h in the 100 km / h zone. By respecting this speed your economy (compared to the speed of 100 km / h +) will be 25-30% on gasoline.
11. Switch off the lights
Take action on "hidden" electricity consumption in your place. Most household appliances are equipped with a "stand-by" mode which keeps them on standby when not in use.
This hidden consumption can amount to 1,000 kWh / year in a well-equipped household.
This represents an expense of $180 per year in Ontario, for example.
The advice is to turn off your devices. How to do this easily? Connect them to a power strip equipped with a switch.
Bonus tip:
If you smoke or consume alcohol regularly, these expenses pile up very quickly. Plus, these habits are not necessarily healthy. If you work to reduce or quit smoking an drinking excessively altogether, you will get some more savings fast.
Follow these tips, get used to controlling your expenses and buying behaviours, and you will start seeing more money left in your bank account every month. Our calculations show that saving 20% and more is feasible with these 11 tips above.