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Money Saving Tips

Money Saving Tips

Saving Up For Your First Home

There will come a time when you wish to say goodbye to rental properties and purchase a home of your own. Indeed, often a mortgage works out cheaper than renting anyway.

The Largest Purchase You Will Ever Make

Saving money for a house is unlike saving for most other things. The amount will usually be larger than for any other goal you have ever tackled, and so the time frame will be much longer. The amount required is notoriously difficult to calculate and the sum of money you need will be much less intimidating if you think of it as a monthly amount rather than a lump sum. The larger the deposit you save, the more flexible the mortgage and the more competitive the interest rates. It is wise to create a graphical tool to motivate your saving, for example, a money thermometer. In the run-up to your purchase, you could free up money by avoiding or at least reducing the cost of renting by moving in with your parents or in-laws or sharing a house with friends.

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Money Saving Tips

Should I Buy Winter Tires This Year?

My husband and I are considering whether or not to buy winter tires this year for our car. In the past, we purchased good quality winter tires and rims and hoped that they would last us for several winters.  Unfortunately, I got into a car accident and our insurance company decided to write the car off.  So, needless to say, our nearly brand new winter tires were now useless to us.  Of course, we could have looked for another car that was the same make and model and still be able to use the old tires.  We opted not to do that, and instead we sold the tires and rims, getting at least a small amount of the money back that we paid for them.

Now that we have a different car, we are seriously debating on whether or not we should buy winter tires again.  We know that the winter tires we want would cost us approximately $1000.00.  If we buy them, we know it will likely be safer to drive in the winter.  At the same time, the car we bought has relatively new all-season tires on it right now and the tread is still quite good.  There’s really no way to predict how bad the roads will get this winter.  Some years the roads are always terrible, and some years they are almost always great, so it’s really impossible to know for sure what winter will bring.

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Money Saving Tips

5 Ways Students Can Save Big Money

Students usually have to live on a tight budget as most of their time is spent studying rather than working and earning an income.  As a result, it is important that students take advantage of the savings that is available to them.  Below are just a few ways that students can save.

1. Save big on your banking.  Most financial institutions provide free banking to university and college students.  All you need to do is provide proof of enrollment and you shouldn’t have to pay monthly fees or transaction fees on your bank account.  This perk can result in significant savings for you, especially if you do a lot of banking transactions each month.  Remember to provide proof of enrolment every year to your bank; otherwise you will end up with fees after the year has passed.  Most financial institutions won’t remind you, so be sure to mark your calendars to avoid fees.

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Money Saving Tips

Five Money Saving Tips For Seniors

If you are a senior citizen, make the most of the savings that is available to you through a wide variety of discounts and perks.  Below are just a few of the many ways you can save as a senior.

1.  Save money on groceries.  Many grocery stores offer discounts to seniors at a specific time each month.  Pay attention to your local grocery store’s advertisements, or simply ask a cashier the next time you shop to find out what seniors discounts they can offer you.  Mark your calendar and plan to do your biggest shopping on the day or time of the best discounts.

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Money Saving Tips

How To Save Money On Halloween Costumes

I was listening to a CBC radio station last night and there was a feature about how much Canadian parents are spending on Halloween costumes for their children, and on Halloween in general.  I could hardly believe my ears when I heard that parents were spending on average about $50 for one costume, and that’s not including all the accessories!  Apparently by the time all is said and done, Halloween is costing between $100 and $150 per child in a Canadian household.  Yikes!

This may be all fine and good for parents who can afford this, but it makes me sad to think of all the kids whose parents really shouldn’t be spending that much money on Halloween.  The good news is that costumes can be made quite cheaply with some creativity and flexibility.

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