Dec. 16, 2022 "Stretch your money and get on top of inflation with these 10 tips": Today I found this article by Ethan Rotberg on the Financial Post:
This article was created by MoneyWise. Postmedia and MoneyWise may earn an affiliate commission through links on this page.
The price of goods and services in Canada is 6.9 per cent higher than last year, with essentials like gas and food fueling much of the rise.
The Bank of Canada is using the tools it has to fight inflation, and has raised the interest rate seven times in 2022. But there are still moves you can make to protect yourself from rising costs. One way to fight back against rising prices is by taking advantage of some simple ways to stretch and save your money in your day-to-day life.
Here are 10 ideas on how to effectively give yourself a raise — and kick inflation to the curb.
1. Cut down on debt costs
Credit cards and high-interest personal loans can eat away at your money each month, especially if you’re making only the minimum payments.
If you find yourself only making minimum payments, you may want to consider a debt consolidation loan. You can trade in all of your current balances — on credit cards, loans, everything — for a single monthly payment at a lower interest rate.
Depending on how much interest you’re currently paying on your debts, consolidating them could save you thousands of dollars and help you become debt-free years sooner.
2. Hunt down your long-lost money
You do know where all your money is, right?
Actually, people move on and forget all about money in old bank accounts all the time. It’s so common that as of June 2022 Canadians had nearly $1.1 billion in unclaimed funds waiting for them. Is any of that yours?
Search the Bank of Canada Unclaimed Property registry, which will show if you left any money in an old checking or savings account.
You also should check with the Canada Revenue Agency to see if there are any tax refunds you’re missing. You can amend your previous tax returns for up to three years if you were eligible for a refund but neglected to claim it.
3. Shop smarter and earn cashback
If you are ordering from the same website over and over again, you might want to consider downloading a cashback app, like Ampli.
It pays you cash on purchases from brands like Lowes, Doordash and Sephora.
It only takes a few minutes to download the Ampli app and connect your debit or credit card, and you can start earning cash back right away. Use the promo code (AMP10) to get $10 of welcome cash back when you join.
4. Bring down your grocery bill
Food costs are one of the biggest drivers of inflation in Canada. If you’ve seen your grocery bill creep up week-after-week, you know. This is one of the toughest areas to fight inflation, but even some small tactics will have an impact on your spending.
It’s estimated that the average Canadian household wastes about $1,300 of food a year.
Making a meal plan and buying what you know you will eat, will help you from literally throwing money away.
Building a meal plan around the flyer specials will help you save each week,
and eat what’s fresh and in season.
Consider buying discounted ‘ugly’ produce, that is still fresh and full of nutrition when prepared and cooked.
Apps like Flashfood and FoodHero can help you score deals on food that is approaching its best-before date, you can enjoy them now and save good food from going to waste.
5. Turn your closet into cash
Do you have a closet full of clothes you barely wear? Or collectables that don’t spark joy anymore? Downsizing your clutter can help you free up space in your garage and add to your wallet.
You never know what might be worth more than you think. If you keep your items in good condition, you could sell things on Ebay, Kijiji or even Facebook Marketplace. Do some research to see what the going rates are in your area and consider what is worth getting rid of.
6. Cut your car insurance costs
If you aren’t driving to and from work every day, and haven’t adjusted your insurance, the time is now. A change in driving habits is one factor that can help lower your auto insurance bill.
Even if you are hitting the road often in a province with private car insurance, if you aren’t shopping around for new insurance every year, you could easily be overpaying by hundreds of dollars.
No one likes spending their downtime comparing rates and requesting quotes, but some websites like Rates.ca do the shopping around for you. You might find a better deal in just a few minutes.
You’ll answer a few quick questions and be presented with the best quotes from hundreds of car insurers. That way, you can find the lowest price available on the coverage you currently have.
7. Bring your home insurance bill down
With every year and every natural disaster, home insurance premiums have been rising. According to Rates.ca, the average home insurance premium was $1,487 in 2022, up 16 per cent year over year.
If your bill seems high, you might be able to cut it down by shopping around. An easy way to do this quickly is to go online and compare quotes from hundreds of insurers to find a better price.
Just answer some basic questions, and you’ll instantly see the best deals available in your area. You could be able to save more on your policy while keeping the same coverage you already have.
8. Put your savings to work
Whether you are saving for your emergency fund, a house down payment or any short-term goal, you should have your money in a high interest savings account.
The biggest win is obviously a high interest rate. If you have the money sitting in your account, it might as well be making you money.
One of Canada’s highest-earning savings accounts, EQ Bank will earn 2.50 per cent interest on every dollar you save. That’s 250 times better than a chequing account with a 0.01 per cent annual percentage yield (APY). If you are looking to stash your money for longer, you might also consider a guaranteed investment certificate (GICs), which rates depend on how long you lock your money in for.
9. Invest with as little as $1
If you’ve been reluctant to invest, and watching the current stock market dip, you might think this isn’t a good time to dip your toes in.
But investing apps like Wealthsimple will let you buy pieces of companies like Apple and Tesla for as little as $1 — and when they profit, so will you.
You can invest in fractional shares of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and even cryptocurrencies, and you won’t have to pay commissions.
10. Don’t forget about that spare change
Another way to use investing to help you battle rising inflation is by putting your pennies to work.
You might use an app like Moka that helps you grow your portfolio by investing just your “spare change” from everyday purchases. It simply rounds up your day-to-day spending and invests the rest.
Inflation may be eating away at the value of money, but your pocket change is far from worthless. If saved and invested properly, it could turn into hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.
This article was created by Wise Publishing. Wise is devoted to providing information that helps readers navigate the complex landscape of personal finance. Wise only partners with brands it trusts and believes may be helpful to the reader. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
10 ways to make more money and beat inflation | Financial Post
My opinion: I definitely looked into this:
Bank of Canada Unclaimed Property registry
Dec. 29, 2022 "Is your budget bursting? Try these 3 simple ways to save money": Today I found this article by Rae Hartley Beck on the Financial Post:
This article was created by MoneyWise. Postmedia and MoneyWise may earn an affiliate commission through links on this page.
If you are like most Canadians, the past few months have been expensive. Whether you are facing higher mortgage payments, grocery bills or just some unexpected expenses landed on your lap, things are tighter than ever.
In fact, Canadians are facing near record-high debt levels. According to Statistics Canada, Canadians now owe $1.83 for every dollar of disposable income they bring in. That’s up from $1.77 last year.
Whether you are looking to pay down your debt, or just find more cash, making big budget changes can be painful.
Even so, the process can help
you learn more about how you spend,
what you truly value
and what kind of slow, incremental changes you can make in the future to build good habits.
It starts with knowing where your money goes. Once you start tracking how you’re spending, stop and examine whether the things you need and value match where you’re spending the most.
Spending more than you expect?
Not getting enough value?
Time to cut it out.
Nowhere to cut?
Time to focus on increasing your income and boosting your savings.
Know where you’re money is going
Before you can find savings, you need to track where you are spending. Taking a look back at your credit card and debit transactions for the past month should give you a quick snapshot.
Many banks and credit card companies offer tracking tools that will show you a breakdown of your expenses.
Better yet, if you have accounts at multiple financial institutions, you could use a budgeting service that tracks them all. Popular free services include Mint and Goodbudget. Paid options like, You Need a Budget have more extensive features, but will cost you.
Also, if you deal with a lot of cash, don’t overthink it. Basic paper and a pen, or a spreadsheet can help you quickly get a sense of what your bills are. Then write out what you want your budget to be on discretionary expenses such as entertainment.
If you need more discipline with your spending, a simple way to see where your money is going is with cash stuffing, also known as the envelope method.
The concept is simple, you take your paycheque in cash and divide that into envelopes based on your budget for different needs, including both spending and saving.
When the money in the envelope is gone, that’s it.
Cut down your expenses
Once you have a good idea of how much you’re spending, you’ll probably see places to cut.
Depending on how much money you need to save,
and how fast you want it,
you may need to be ruthless about your cuts.
Discretionary expenses
Discretionary spending, like your daily Timmies, is easiest to cut, but don’t make yourself miserable unless you have to. The primary goal is to save money fast, but the secondary goal should be to build a sustainable savings habit so you never have to make sudden sacrifices in the future.
Think about those small joys that are worth the cost to you. If getting a $3 latte brings you far more joy than $3 spent elsewhere, get the latte.
But if you’re grabbing coffee and breakfast, plus lunch out at a total of $20 a day, it adds up fast. You are looking at $100 a week, $400 a month and, you guessed it, $4,800 a year.
Sure, a lunch out can feel special, but a treat isn’t a treat when you do it every day. Then you just have an expensive habit.
If you aren’t ready to pack your own lunch or meal plan, don’t worry. Consider buying nice ready-made meals at the grocery store or even a meal kit. Sure, they are more expensive than cooking from scratch but if it stops you from ordering UberEats and paying for delivery, plus tip, you are saving some money.
Fixed expenses
If you think your fixed expenses are, well, fixed, think again. A little research and being open to change can help you save without cutting corners.
An easy way to reduce your phone bill is to switch to your cellphone provider’s discount brand. You’ll stay on the same network but likely pay way less starting this month.
In the same way, shop around for car and home insurance and see if you can find similar coverage for a better price.
You should also call your internet service provider saying you’re planning to switch and see if you can get a retention offer.
For essential purchases, make sure you aren’t leaving money on the table. Besides using a cash-back credit card on your daily expenses, you can earn extra cash back automatically by connecting your debit or credit card to RBC’s Ampli app. Purchases at places like Petro-Canada and Lowes count towards cash back.
If you’re carrying a hefty balance on a credit card, consider signing up for a balance transfer card with a lower interest rate. You might pay a fee for the transfer, but you’ll get a reprieve from interest for a while. You can also look into a personal loan, which would likely have lower interest rates than your credit card, and allow you to transfer balances.
Free services like Smarter Loans can help you find the best quote and best repayment term available for your situation.
Increase your income
Inflation has hit food, mortgage and rent prices the hardest, which means you might not be able to cut much from your budget. The solution to getting ahead might just be in increasing your income.
If overtime is an option, that is an easy way to boost your paycheque.
If you are facing extra responsibilities or have upgraded your skills, it might be time to ask for a raise.
If that doesn’t work, you can always pick up a side hustle that makes the most of your talents and skills.
If you have graphic design skills, writing, editing or video editing, it is worth perusing Fiverr, an online marketplace for freelance services to see how much you could make.
If you have time to spare, but need flexible hours, Survey Junkie is one of the simplest ways to earn some extra cash fast — plus, you can do it from home.
The platform rewards you for your opinions and all you have to do is sign up with a bit of information about yourself. Then you can start to take surveys about products you use and places you go. You’ll start earning points within minutes.
Once you’ve got $5 in rewards, you can redeem them for gift cards at places like Amazon or Walmart or as PayPal payouts.
Another fast way to get cash in hand is by selling extra items in your home on Facebook Marketplace or Ebay. If you’re not using them, you’re just sitting on excess money.
And you can take that logic one step further if you have a spare room in your home. Consider furnishing it and listing it on Airbnb, renting it out or even getting a long-term roommate.
This article was created by Wise Publishing. Wise is devoted to providing information that helps readers navigate the complex landscape of personal finance. Wise only partners with brands it trusts and believes may be helpful to the reader. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Is your budget bursting? Try these 3 simple ways to save money | Financial Post
vacuous, useless and idiotic article, written by a very naïve person, totally useless.
The single biggest expense are taxes!
Not you mortgage or groceries or entertainment.
Taxes, and they are rising and will continue to rise in the foreseeable future.
Find a way to avoid paying them.
My opinion: You can go to Leo Opinion surveys. This is not a scam:
LEO - Online Paid Surveys - Give your Opinion! | Leger Opinion
No comments:
Post a Comment