It’s interesting reading other personal finance blogs, because you quickly realize all that you save on certain things without even thinking about it.
I thought I’d blog about a few things that I do to save money that have turned into sort of saving no-brainers to me.
No Cable
J and I cancelled cable almost a year ago now. It was a huge time suck, and also cost more than we should have been spending at the time. We’ve never had consistent cable, but every winter J tends to get bored and signs up for a couple of months.
I find it much more peaceful and productive to live cable free, so we keep the cord cut to avoid the couch.
That saves us around $50/month.
Meatless
I’m not quite a vegetarian, because I eat poultry, but I would rather not eat meat. I prefer vegetarian meals. When ordering at a restaurant, I always order vegetarian options.
As such, I cook vegetarian 98% of the time. The exception is barbecuing – and then it’s chicken.
Meat is probably the most expensive part of any meal, and I’m at a huge advantage because I just don’t like it. It’s a texture thing. J just rolls with it, because while he eats meat, he’d rather not have to cook separate meals from the ones we cook together. Even if we only ate meat once a week, we’d be saving big bucks. A 3 pack of boneless, skinless chicken breast around here is about $11, so lets go with that.
Total Savings = $44.00/mo
In reality, I’m sure we make up for these savings in other ways. Our gas usage is astronomical, and we live in an expensive neighborhood. But these are the things that we do intuitively which save us some cash every month.
What are some ways that you save that are easy for you?
We save money by doing these same things, except we have cable. I have favorite shows that I like to watch, so it’s one of the things that I splurge on.
I don’t have a car, which means no insurance, gas, or parking payments. In fact, I rent out the parking spot of my condo, which saves me 10% on my woud-be rent. I don’t have cable, I watch shows online and have Netflix. I don’t have a house phone. I mostly walk anywhere that is reacheable within 20 minutes by foot, and only take a taxi if it’s late at night, or I am late.
I don’t cook meat but will eat it while dining out. I buy very little processed food. These two things may not sound big, but compared to before, my grocery bills are much lower.
Meat must be outrageously priced there. It’s generally no more than $5 for that amount of chicken (sometimes less) down here. I completely agree with the cable thing (I only have it because it’s packaged with my apartment), but when I move, I’m not getting it. The internet (Hulu + Netflix) provides me with all I need 🙂
Nice! You are very good that you don’t buy much processed food. Sadly almost 50% of my groceries are processed. I need to change that. I don’t have a kitchen and I end up lacking creativity so I end up buying processed.
I try to always bring my lunch to work. Always.
And this year, I think that I’ve only gone out for lunch only a handful of times. 🙂
I’ve also tried cooking more veggies and legumes and less meat. That helps a lot, as well.
As for driving, I try to group my car trips together. So I go to the library on my way home from work, or I only stop at grocery stores on my way. Or, I borrow BF’s bus pass on the weekends. Every little bit helps.
Another great tip to save money on gas is to but gas gift card promotions.
Recently at Shoppers Drug Mart we earned bonus Optimum Points when purchasing gift cards.
Another gas retailer that has cash-back bonuses is Real Canadian Superstore (receive 10 cents cash back per fillup).