I guess I better introduce myself, my name is Nadine and I’ve been writing the blog Save Money in Winnipeg for over 3 years (boy, time flies) I started using coupons after my daughter was born, and then found myself constantly phoning people to fill them in on the great deals – and finally one told me, you really need to get a blog! So, maybe now you’re thinking, well, I’m not from Winnipeg and I’m not some crazy couponer!! ;)How about we talk about some quick and easy ways to save money, that anyone can do in just a few minutes? Things that can be done anywhere in the world.
One of the quickest way to lower your monthly budget is to call your services providers… cable, internet, phone, cell phone etc. Give them a call, ask if there’s any promotions going on. Explain to them that you need to lower your bill. Most people think this won’t work for them – until they call! There’s usually some promo going on that you qualify for, and can usually lead to savings of $10-50 a month! If you don’t qualify for anything ask to speak to customer loyalty – maybe there’s some other way to lower the bill. And don’t give up, if they say no the first time, call back in a month. Easy way to save yourself hundreds of dollars a year.
Think about how you shop for groceries? Do you use store loyalty programs? A lot of people have cards (like shoppers drugmart, sobey’s etc.) that have points on them that they never even think of using. One good example of this was my own grandmother – during the big mega redemption at Shopper’s Drugmart last xmas I checked her Optimum card for her online – ends up she had enough for $500 in free stuff – she had no idea what the points even meant. It was great to see her do her groceries for a few months for free! Cash some in if you want to lower your grocery bill too, places like Sobey’s you can cash in $5,10 etc. Also, if you find you buy a lot of one thing every month, like bread, look for a discount outlet. We buy all our bread at a local one and freeze it right away – bread there is usually around $1 a loaf for breads that are $3-6 at the grocery store. For meat, look at some local butcher shops, usually they sell all kinds of family boxes and you can get some really great prices. Keep an eye on store promotions too – are they offering anything free that week with your purchases, those kinds of discounts can add up very quickly. Also, shopping on 10% off days is another good one – your regular groceries on sale, with no work on your part. Same thing with airmiles, they can add up pretty quickly with your regular purchases.
Group buying deal sites are a big money saver in our home – we use them for everything from going out to dinner, family outings, car repairs etc. There are many sites all across Canada ex. Teambuy, Groupon, WagJag etc. and there are new deals daily. You can even get toys, baby supplies, housewares etc. at over 50% discount. I’ve bought a lot of gifts through sites like this, and it’s fun to have some outings and treats for the family already prepaid!
Last one – I swear! Look for free stuff in your area, the library is a huge resource. In Winnipeg you can get free books of course, but also free kids movie rentals and they often have activities on for the whole family. You can even start a book club and get everything you need from the library! Keep an eye out for local theatres having a free showing, events at parks etc. Always fun to have a free day out!
Hope a few of these tips can help you save a few dollars this month, and maybe continue into further months too. Anyone have any money saving tips they want to share?
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