Weird and Wacky Ways to Stretch Your Dollars
Sometimes it can be a whole lot more fun to be weird and wacky than normal and predictable. And, if it saves you a few bucks, that makes it even more great, right? Here are some out-of-the-box ways to save when you are trying to stretch your budget dollars.
Take a course at the community college, and get access to their library, their gym, their internet, and more. Why not? You can take all kinds of great courses from art to physics, meet a whole lot of new people, get in shape, and get other stuff for free. Many community colleges (or universities) have terrific workout rooms, pools, running/walking tracks, and so on. As well, the libraries have the latest industry magazines, journals, books and great seating, too. You also get free super fast internet access, because as a student, you get to use their computers, too. And, once a week, you can learn about something you may have always wanted to know.
Get chickens for your back yard. Chickens are totally cool birds that lay eggs you can eat. They’re super cheap to feed, don’t smell if you care for them properly, and it takes only a few hens to provide plenty of eggs for your family. And they taste a whole lot better too. Getting ready for your chickens can be a lot of fun in itself. The whole family can read up on different kinds of chickens (Auracanas lay green eggs, for example; Rhode Island Reds lay brown ones) and how to prepare for their arrival. Oh-and you don’t even need to have a single cockle-doodle-do male that annoys the neighbors-the hens will lay for you as long as you feed them well. Be sure to check your town or city by-laws regarding keeping small animals on your property. Pretty soon, you’ll be supplying eggs for the whole neighborhood-and hey, now you have a second income so birdies pay for themselves, and you make a few bucks, too.
Move outside town and buy a smaller house. If you can live on the edge of town, you can save a fortune, not only on the actual cost of a house, but also on the taxes you pay. If you buy a house that’s smaller than your current one, you can save money that way, too. It takes a bit of time to organize going to town for groceries and other purchases and appointments, but with a bit of care, this can be a huge cost saver. And the cost of moving is totally tax deductible, so save every bill, and lower your taxes for next year.
Volunteer for special events and go for free. When special events come to town, volunteers are always needed to help out. And volunteers almost always get rewarded with freebies or deep discounts. As well, when you volunteer, you find out about all kinds of other freebies or special events before other people do. So volunteer at the symphony, the local YMCA, your library, or for special events at the movie theatre.
With costs only going up, and what seems like incomes always coming down, it might be time to start thinking really creatively about how you can save more money and stretch your income dollars.
Get Your Savings Stocked
It can be frustrating when you try to save money but never seem to get started, let alone achieve the goal. Hiding it under the mattress, entrusting it to a friend, or ‘forgetting’ about the extra dollars in your account may be ways to save, but most likely are not the best ways to reach your financial goals. If you’re in the market for a few money-saving tips, here are some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to stock up their bank accounts.
As the wealthy barber used to say, always pay yourself first. Take your share and place it into a savings account as soon as you get paid. This way it’s done. Out of sight, out of mind. The rest of the money is yours for the month. To reach your goal, it’s important to make saving a priority.
Instead of just agreeing with yourself that you will start to save money, it pays to set a financial goal. If you would like to save $1,000 in the next 12 months, then figure this additional $84 into your monthly budget. Opening a separate account that you do not have card access to is also a great way to ensure it stays in the bank.
Not paying attention to interest you’re being charged on overdue accounts is another sure way to waste money and eliminate your chances at saving. Keeping up to date with high-interest accounts such as credit cards is very important. The interest on one missed payment can easily add up to more than what you were hoping to save, so that $84 you had earmarked for savings has now gone to a wealthy credit card company in interest. Thank you!
Trying to save money when you’re covering your costs pay cheque to pay cheque will only increase stress and dampen the efforts towards your monthly goal. Paying particular attention to small non-necessity purchases is key. Even larger bills can be cut back – do you really need 257 channels and high-definition TV? Over time, you will learn to live without them, especially when you see your savings grow. Getting ahead or starting a savings account will not be obtainable if you feel like you only have enough money to survive each month.
These tips should be able to guide you in the right direction to starting saving. Remember that the old saying is true, “every little bit counts”.
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If you currently find that you are overwhelmed with too many small monthly bills and that is what’s keeping you from saving, perhaps getting a consolidation loan can help. If traditional loans are not an option, there are many private lending institutions that are available and cater specifically to clients with bad credit. To find out if you are eligible for a private loan, you can fill out one of their many no obligation applications. These applications can be found online 24-hours a day.
Less Risk and More Savings at Canadian Banks
Canadian banks may be the ones benefiting from the savings safety net many people have put their money into. A growing trend has seen Canadians putting their money into checking and saving accounts rather than high-risk investments. Banks have reported a 20 percent increase in the last year, which is up considerably from the normal 3 or 5 percent they saw the year before.
Financial services consultant David McVay explains, “Canadians are more conservative than they were in 2007, adding that “more consumers are paying off debt, opening RRSPs and tax-free savings accounts than they were a year ago. We’re seeing a shift from stock investing into keeping more money in savings accounts because of the financial crisis,” he said.
“The banks are marketing to the uncertainty that Canadians have about their savings and retirement plans caused by the financial crisis,” McVay said. This comes as banks see many baby boomers putting their money in safer places after declining stocks had a large impact on their retirement savings. Another equivalent loss could see them possibly working for another 10 years.
The recent 20 percent increase in the banks checking and saving accounts will add up to about $100 billion in business as banks can easily make more money from consumers with savings accounts instead of customers who pile their cash into stocks and bonds.
A recent Scotiabank survey done by Harris / Decima, found that almost one-third of Canadians do not have any savings accounts even though 94 percent of those surveyed said they feel better having a saving safety net. Gillian Riley, Scotiabank senior vice-president of retail deposits, payment and lending noted, “We did have a tough period in the last few years and I think now is a great time to really focus on this and get people thinking about how they can save. Over the last year we certainly have seen some movement towards savings as a flight to safety,” Riley added.
It was also found that 55 percent of those surveyed said they do save money on a regular basis but yet, one-in-five Canadians confess they do not have any savings at all. It was also noted that the debt to income ratio has risen dramatically and is currently around the 147 percent mark. That means for every dollar a person makes, they owe $1.47. These numbers are proof that it’s important to save more than we did before the recession.
The Temptation of Crazy Heart
At least one take-away from the movie “Crazy Heart” has got to be that you can turn things around at any age and under the worst of circumstances. Even though the main character is a 57-year old, drop down drunk stumbling downhill, a dramatic incident makes “Bad Blake” realize that he’s got to change his ways. And he does. Sure, “Bad” has to pay for his mistakes, but he’s back on the straightaway and heading down success highway at the end of the movie. And we can pull off the same Phoenix trick when it comes to rising out of our own financial ruins.
Even if you have had a long and tough financial past, you can recover from poor credit, bankruptcy, and general money mismanagement. There’s really no secret to it. It’s a matter of “wanting to stop” as “Bad” does, and do things differently.
So what do you do if your spending is way out of control, and you’re spinning headlong into the money ditch? Put on the brakes, just like Bad. Then, clean house, again just like Bad does, and get what’s sent you down that highway out of your financial house.
For financial mis-managers, that can mean a few different strategies. The best one for compulsive spenders might be to remove the ability to spend. So, eliminate all non-cash sources of money, like credit cards. You can even shut down your line of credit, if you ask your banker to close the line to general use, and only allow it to be paid down. Then, use only cash, and don’t even allow yourself to carry a debit card. Make it difficult to get at your money.
Now, budget every single cost, and only go to the bank to get the money you need to live. Besides groceries, most people really can live without access to cash. Even budget your gas use, and fill-up at regular intervals, using cash you’ve taken out specifically for that purchase. If you always go into the bank, and only take out the money you need for specific purchases, you’ll find you spend a lot less than when you were carrying credit and debit cards.
Taking away the ability to spend without thinking-using credit and debit cards-making your cash hard to get at, and living by a budget where you always pay cash are three top tactics to get your financial house in order. These changes can feel like a cold turkey approach to getting your finances straightened out, but just as “Bad” discovered, life is better when the debts are paid.
Five Financial Oversights that Cost You Money
If you think you have your finances pretty much in hand, that’s great. But once you get the basics down, there may be some fine-tuning that can help you save even more. Here are five financial oversights that might be costing you needless money every month.
Check your bank statements, and while you’re at it, your credit card statements, too. Look these over every month-at least. Review them every two weeks, if you tend to have a lot of money moving in and out of your accounts. Banks make mistakes, and so do credit card companies.
Always pay yourself every month. It’s a good idea to do this automatically so you have no choice about saving. Even if it’s the smallest amount of money–$20, $30 or even less-setting some money aside gets you in the habit of saving. When you begin to make more money, you can set aside more. Shoot for 10% of your gross, 1% at a time.
Create some kind of home-based system to track all your accounts. Consider a file where you keep all your financial statements-RRSPs, banking statements, credit cards, lines of credit, mortgages, other investments, and savings. File by type-savings, credit lines, and ongoing bills. For monthly bills, like utilities, phones, rentals, number it by the day. It can be as simple as writing the day the bill is due (say the 15th) in large print in the upper left or right hand corner of the bill, and then filing all your bills by due day. Now you’ll be able to quickly scan through your bills and know when every payment is due-and never be late again.
If you’re electronically minded, you can have an electronic notice sent to you-to the minute-reminding you to pay that upcoming bill. But, even though your billing may come electronically, consider printing out at least one copy of a bill to put into a paper-based system. Research shows that when you physically handle material, you’re more likely to remember it.
Now that you’re saving so much money every month, consider getting a chequing account with a small floating balance. Often it’s about a $1000 minimum. These kinds of accounts carry zero cost for most transactions if you maintain the minimum balance. Instead of thinking about the float as money you cannot access, think about it as making you money-chequing accounts can cost $15 and more each month. So if you’re not paying that $15/month, it means your float is making you at least $180/year return on your investment. That’s an astounding 18 percent annual return (when’s the last time your RRSPs did that?)!
Keep reviewing your how you spend your money and where until every dollar you spend is accounted for, and working for you.
Ways to Save on Groceries
If we only didn’t have to eat at all, we could put a big chunk of change in the bank, and save ourselves a lot of time, too. But until we can get by without food at all, we can sure cut back on our expenses with a few money saving tips and a bit of frugal spending.
First, what’s in your fridge already? Knowing what’s there can help you save money by not buying duplicates and building meals around what you’ve already got at home. It’s often the strangest things in the cupboard that don’t get eaten-so go online and google pears-in-light-syrup and almonds and see what dinner items you might come up with. Then buy the complimentary ingredients and poof!-stewed pears in white wine. Serve it with sautéed asparagus with toasted almonds and a bit of tenderloin. Yum.
Put a price cap on your groceries. Don’t allow yourself to spend whatever you want. Determine a reasonable amount for your groceries-some estimates suggest about $40 per week per person. That will vary depending on where you live, of course, but it’s a good starting point. If you limit the money you spend, and track your spending as you shop, you can make cheaper choices so you don’t exceed what you allocate.
Price shop. Local corner stores compete with the big boys with at least one item that’s cheaper every week. Go in and get it-bananas at five cents a pound? You bet. Just don’t get sucked into buying anything else there-hit the big superstores where the cheapest prices and best selections can generally be found.
Look for no-name brands, and look down. It’s a war for aisle space in the supermarkets, and the losers get stuck on the lower shelves. That’s a win for you, of course, because now you know where to look for the cheapest prices and best bargains. So keep your eyes on your toes, and your nose to the floor.
Eat before you hit the supermarket. This might be a golden rule of food shopping. Never go to the grocery store hungry. Not only will you eat your way through the store, you’re much more likely to veer off your shopping list, overbuy on everything, and splurge on items your starving tummy is crying out for. So be sure to eat your Wheaties before you shop.
Use a shopping list. This will not only save you money at the store, but it will also save you money because you’ll know what you’re eating every day of the week. This helps avoid last minute impulse buys and pre-made dinners like pizza on your way home after work. It may even help your waistline because fast foods or instant foods are almost always higher calories than what you prepare from scratch at home.
Leave the kids at home. Taking kids to a shopping mart is the quintessential recipe for disaster-and overspending. And supermarkets know it. Every isle is filled with teaser items that just scream for little hands to reach out and touch, play, or eat, especially at the checkout counter. Leave the kids at home.
Only a few changes to your grocery-buying habits can result in huge savings at the supermarket that can add more mileage to your budget.
More Money In, Less Money Out
When it comes to saving money, there is more to consider than merely what we are able to put away each month. We also need to consider other factors such as late fees and user fees. Impulse buying and becoming too risky can also damage your savings. Here are a few details to consider that may help put a few extra dollars in your account.
One of the largest non-essential expenses we pay for each and every month is the convenience of having a bank account and using ATM machines. It is imperative to know what interest rate you are charged on your line of credit or how much your bank charges you each month to use your interact card. These fees can vary greatly from a few dollars a month to a few hundred dollars a month. If you do not know what you’re being charged to use these services, it’s important that you find out. Keep this convenient, but non-essential fee as low as possible each month.
We’ve all been warned about the dangers of impulse buying. If something is on sale, it is much easier to rationalize the purchase, which often means we’re buying items we just don’t need. If you find yourself considering an item only because it’s on sale, walk away and sleep on it. Most stores will hold an item without a payment for 24-hours. Either way, reconsider the purchase.
Another non-essential fee many people pay each month is interest on overdue bills. Are you someone who procrastinates because they just don’t get around to paying bills on time? Perhaps a $100 hit in credit card late fees will be an incentive to start making the payments on time. If you procrastinate and pay late each month, you can easily be wasting a few hundred dollars each and every month on late interest payments. Not only do credit card companies charge a substantial late fee, so do many other services such as cable or satellite companies, water and utilities, not to mention additional annual fees like property taxes and personal income tax. These late fees can easily cost you thousands of dollars a year.
If you are paying your bills on time and are saving money for your retirement, it is wise to diversify your savings in the way of an investment portfolio. Placing all your money in a safe investment or a low-yield investment may not bring you the return you hope for. It could be a wise idea to consider getting some professional advice when it comes to investments. Professional financial advice can offer great suggestions as to where to invest your money, as well as help avoid potential costly mistakes. Also investing in a good accountant can help you take advantage of the many tax breaks that you will be entitled to. Professional financial advice as well as tax planning can also help keep a substantial amount of money in your account.
Move Over TSX, There’s a New Option in Town
For 157 years the TSX has enjoyed the near monopoly status as the place to buy and sell stocks in Canada as it currently sits as the sixth largest in the world. Lately, there have been options moving in, eroding the TSX’s monopoly. These alternative trading systems such as MATCH Now, Chi-X, Omega, Pure Trading, Instinet and Alpha Group have arrived on the scene with varying degrees of success. In some markets, these new players make up more than 40 percent of all trading activity in Canada.
Currently, Alpha Group seems to be the biggest threat to the existing TSX. In February, the TSX’s market share of all trading in Canada decline to 71.9 per cent compared to 93.1 per cent at this time last year. Alpha, on the other hand, has seen its share increase to 21 percent from 3.3 per cent during this same period. Major Canadian banks and other large financial institutions formed alpha in 2007. They’ve been successful in obtaining a large part of the market due mostly to decreased fees.
The TSX is parented by TMX Group Inc. who essentially has three businesses. The listings business where companies who want to have access to investors pay TMX fees to have their companies listed. They also provide trading data and historical marketing activity data to clients who, in turn, pay subscriptions fees for this information. As well, they are in the trading business, where brokerages pay fees to buy and sell securities.
For now, Alpha does not have much interaction with individual consumers. However, on April 22, Alpha filed papers with the Ontario Securities Commission to become a listings exchange. If approved, this would make them a full competitor to the TMX Group who has always competed with new entrants across each of its business units. Major companies trade on the main market that is reflected in the S&P/TSX composite index, while smaller start-ups are typically listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, which TMX also owns.
Alpha is owned in part by Canaccord Capital as well as the investment branches of Canada’s six largest banks. Having multiple stock exchanges would move Canada closer to the U.S. system where as many as seven separate stock markets are available for listings. The two giant New York based traders the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange still dominate the market. Having money to invest in the stock markets is a great way to secure a future nest egg. It often does not take a lot to make a lot.
An Attempt to Save our Petty Cash
It’s difficult for us to save money when we’re not even sure where we’re spending it. According to a survey done by Visa, we spend an average of $21 a week that we cannot account for, which adds up to about $1,000 a year. Compare that with young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 who say they easily misspend an unaccounted $2,500 a year. So, where does our petty cash go?
According to the survey, most adults found the ‘mystery money’ was spent most often when shopping for food and other groceries, while a third of us cannot account for spent money when enjoying a night on the town. One quarter felt that dining out caused them unexplained expenditures.
Regardless, consumers are still losing track of a considerable amount of money each year. Worldwide, the average person is unable to account for 20% of their cash spending which is being blamed on leisure spending, especially when out with family and friends during holiday seasons. Last minute shopping stress is being credited for the over-the-budget purchases and impulse buying is a key factor when it comes to all consumers. There are several ways to prevent those impulse purchases:
The best defence to avoid unwanted purchases is to order online. With internet shopping as common as department store shopping, it’s easy, convenient and eliminates those impulse ’standing-in-line’ purchases. If you have enough time, you can always buy your item through auctions sites such as eBay.
Writing down the names of the people you need to buy for and the maximum amount you can spend on each gift will also help control the petty cash flow. If you are shopping during a major holiday season and will not be seeing these people until afterwards, perhaps waiting to shop is an idea. You will most likely be able to make your purchases with considerable discounts during December and January. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid buying something just because it is on sale.
Another way to avoid petty cash blunders is to give a magazine subscription as a gift. Annual subscriptions generally offer much steeper discounts than buying off the shelf every month. A wrapped magazine with a note of an annual subscription is thoughtful and eliminates the urge to spend on items that are not on the list.
There are many ways to avoid unnecessary purchases and keep track of that annual $1,000 in lost cash. Keep track of your spending habits and you’ll be shocked at how much can be saved.