Saving money on household expenses

[killramos]

The RBC thing is pretty sweet, not as good as dedicated personally accounting software but it’s damn close.

Works better if you go in every few months and manually reclassify transactions.

End of the day discipline is what is really going to save you money. That and getting your debt servicing costs down.

[taemo]

I have Mint but havent found any value on using it.
Pretty good to see all your accounts under one page though.

based on your criteria
-Keeping a record of transactions made (any and every, per day).
-limit going shopping, to only 1 time per week.
-not eat out at restaurants (eat more at home, drink/make/take coffee from home).

I've been using a spreadsheet for over 5 years now to keep track of our expenses.
On it, I log any household shopping, utilities and various expenses.
We basically try to limit our needs (mortgage and expenses to 40% of our income)
Other 30-40% goes to our saving and 20% for allowance/entertainment.

We go shopping once a week and since there's only 2 of us, limit our grocery to about 100$/week

Not eating out all the time is a huge saving, it can be almost as much or more than your grocery.
When we do eat out, we tend to go to chinese/viet restaurants and leave fancy dining for special occasions or when we travel.

Another tip is utility at your house.
We (rather I) like to keep our home temperature pretty low and just wear a sweater.
Whenever our in-laws comes to our place, they complain how cold it is since they are used to theirs with temp always cranked to 20+ and them being in summer type clothes. Then their utility bills are twice/triple than ours.


Regarding credit card debts, I would say concentrate on paying those out first.
I know someone who has 10K+ of CC debt but instead of paying it out, is stubborn and prefer putting the small money they have aside on savings.

[pheoxs]

Not sure if anyone else posted it but buy your fruits/veggies from the asian markets (like T&T or something similar) they are often cheaper and better quality than what youd get at superstore/walmart

[Xtrema]

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Not sure if anyone else posted it but buy your fruits/veggies from the asian markets (like T&T or something similar) they are often cheaper and better quality than what youd get at superstore/walmart

Not necessary. Varieties yes, cheaper than Superstore? May be 1 item out of 60 any given week.

Also, not sure if they change their Chinese veg supplier, their shit tends to stay greener longer.

T&T mark up on everything else is as bad as Co-Op or Sobey.

[Brent.ff]

The European Market off 11th street blows superstore out of the water for cheap produce, or at least it did last time i was there. 3 pack of red/yellow peppers (think this should be the gold standard to determine price of produce) for like $2. Co-op selling same one for $7, Superstore - $3

[jwslam]

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Not sure if anyone else posted it but buy your fruits/veggies from the asian markets (like T&T or something similar) they are often cheaper and better quality than what youd get at superstore/walmart

I've had luck buying $3.99/lb "rib-eye" at Lucky. =)
Not high quality marbled meat but was still great after running it through my deli slicer.

[Strider]

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Not sure if anyone else posted it but buy your fruits/veggies from the asian markets (like T&T or something similar) they are often cheaper and better quality than what youd get at superstore/walmart

T&T is usually more expensive than Superstore for Fruits/Veggies, quality is on par.
Places like Lambda, Tops, Lucky are cheaper, but the quality isn't as good (almost like Grade No 2 vs Grade No 1)

[HiTempguy1]

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drink/make/take coffee from home).

Only thing I have to say about this is coffee/tea/muffin deal from McDonalds is amazing. $2.25 is a great deal.

If I ate at home, I'd have to make an egg, toast, make tea (total cost, around $1-$1.50) then deal with all the mess either in the morning or once I get home. Nothin starts my day like getting a tea and muffin from mcdicks I'll gladly spend the 75c to save all that hassle.

On the other hand, if you are getting bacon and eggers and what not, yea, $6.50 for breakfast is not a good deal. And I do still try to make breakfast at home, $1/day saved is $365 per year. That almost pays for liability coverage on a single car.

[Strider]

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If I ate at home, I'd have to make an egg, toast, make tea (total cost, around $1-$1.50)

Probably closer to $0.70 for 2 eggs, 2 slices of toast and a cup of tea which is arguably more nutritious than a mcdicks muffin.

[taemo]

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Only thing I have to say about this is coffee/tea/muffin deal from McDonalds is amazing. $2.25 is a great deal.

If I ate at home, I'd have to make an egg, toast, make tea (total cost, around $1-$1.50) then deal with all the mess either in the morning or once I get home. Nothin starts my day like getting a tea and muffin from mcdicks I'll gladly spend the 75c to save all that hassle.

On the other hand, if you are getting bacon and eggers and what not, yea, $6.50 for breakfast is not a good deal. And I do still try to make breakfast at home, $1/day saved is $365 per year. That almost pays for liability coverage on a single car.

Ollys across from work has been a big convenience and saving for me.
I bring my own brown rice then for breakfast I buy 6-10 strips of bacon for less than 2$.
For lunch I get 4$ worth of veggies and meat.

[roopi]

You eat 6-10 pieces of bacon on a daily basis?

[taemo]

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You eat 6-10 pieces of bacon on a daily basis?

no, maybe 2-3 strips. usually save the other at a later day.
not a big fan of crispy bacon so I dont buy them when they are.

[mr2mike]

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You eat 6-10 pieces of bacon on a daily basis?

Keto, brah!

[jwslam]

Not keto when he's eating it with brown rice...

[msommers]

The secret to getting over 100 is eating bacon every day.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...yday/73444660/

[Seth1968]

Saving money lol.

The whole fucking system is to keep you poor.

[Hero_X]

Thanks guys, for the suggestions!

So basically when I took a look at our transactions, we tend to eat out a lot. Nothing expensive but it all adds up. And same thing with coffee; starbucks, tims, mcdonalds. It's never one single big transactions, it's several small transactions that rack up the bill.

Thank you for all your suggestions!

I know this is kinda hijacking the thread a bit, but, what would you guys recommend for extra income? I work 40hrs a week but wouldn't mind doing something extra if I can get a bit more $$$.

[jwslam]

https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/378...The-Evening?s=

[suntan]

There's always Chaturbate.

[jaylo]

@Hero_X

-Cut down to 1 vehicle. Bicycle is a good alternative.
-Cut the cord. Learn to use Kodi or sign up for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime is a $39/year student membership.
-Cut down on expensive red meats, chicken often goes on sale. Canned foods are filling like tuna and sardines.
-Volunteer at YMCA and receive free membership after 3 months of volunteering. It's 2 hours per week commitment.
-Open up a no-fee bank account like Simplii Financial (formerly PC Financial)
-Credit card with cash back. Pay it all off monthly.
-Earn Air Miles and use them for travel or purchases from their catalogue.