How To Stop Wasting Money
Stop wasting money once and for all, and start saving if you plan to become debt-free.
Lately, all I’ve heard is that prices are going up on everything, which is the truth.
The other truth is that what I’m going to say will not make you rich, but it might just lead you there.
Everything from housing to gas, groceries, utilities, and clothing stresses Canadians to the limit.
Is it possible to stretch your budget any further?
The last truth is that we either do something or face serious financial issues.
Unfortunately, we can stop wasting money on what we don’t need.
I’m not going to ramble on about fast food, eating out, and your evening outings with co-workers.
That should be common sense by now and if you can’t break free, wait until you’re broke.
Today, I want to discuss stopping wasting money on things we really could do without.
Although we are debt-free, we invest quite a bit for our son’s future since he is an only child.
- Life Insurance Policy
- Fully Paid Education
- Savings of all Government Cheques
- Non-Registered Investments
It’s still not always easy to zero out the budget if we spend too much in one budget category.
The reality is that it does happen, especially with miscellaneous items you didn’t budget for.
Even then, we struggled with our $650 grocery budget, which we will continue to work on.
My main focus was to touch on whether we are squeezing enough money from our overall budget,
How can we earn a little more money to balance what we need vs what we want?
Squeeze Your Budget To The Limit
We have to be strict with money and give up things we don’t want to let go of.
There was a time when we were wasting our money, but we learned and didn’t give up on the frugal lifestyle.
If there’s been a time to think frugal, it’s in 2022, and there are ways to get the most from your money.
Here’s the thing, you have to be willing to let go.
It can be difficult to tell someone who needs to cancel their cable subscriptions.
Consider the person with a disability, a stay-at-home parent, or a senior with plenty of time.
Watching the television may be important, but are they wasting money doing so.
I can hear people screaming at me that it’s their entertainment, and I agree, but can they afford it?
There comes the point where we have to get real with our money and the reality of affordability and pleasure.
Wasting Money At Home Is Costly
For example, we gave up Rogers cable and home phone last year and haven’t missed it at all.
Our monthly Rogers bill used to be shy of $200 some months and other months $154.
Today we have Rogers unlimited high-speed internet and Mrs. CBB’s cell phone for $94 a month.
On the higher end of our old Rogers bill, $200-$94=$106*12=$1272 in savings each year.
If you have both the internet and television, perhaps stop wasting money by cutting one or the other.
I want to mention that I used Mrs. CBB’s older Samsung 7 for work and home and paid $21 monthly for 2.5 gigs of data with Freedom Mobile.
It’s been about a year, and I’ve had zero problems with Freedom, and Mrs. CBB is planning to move.
That’s an amazing deal considering Mrs.CBB has no data plan with Rogers and pays $20 monthly.
Which would you give up?
I know some people who have neither and use their local library for free internet or wi-fi from local businesses.
Get The Most Out Of Grocery Shopping
As I’ve been moaning about over the years, grocery shopping has always been our weak spot.
However, if you read our monthly budget figures, you’ll notice we hardly ever eat out.
Shopping at Costco is hard because we shop in bulk, which lasts for a few months.
Based on current grocery flyer prices, we’ve run the numbers on the products we buy.
Even then, we are still saving money, which is the game’s name.
This year, we will focus on meal planning using only flyer deals, finding coupons, and using coupon websites such as Checkout51, FlashFood and Save.ca.
There are many other coupon sites for Canadians; if you know of more, drop them in the comments.
We will also bump up our grocery sludge fund to $50 from $25, so if we do see an item 50% off, we can buy it.
Typically, we look for meat, produce, and dairy for fifty percent off deals, which is why we also like the FlashFood App.
What are your grocery saving plans for 2022?
Big Houses Are A Waste Of Money
The biggest waste of money is buying a big house unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend frivolously.
Having a big house seems to show some success; however, there will be even more shame when you can’t afford to pay the bills.
Utilities such as gas, hydro, water and property taxes are expensive, especially if only part of the home is used.
In a nutshell, stop wasting money on a too-big house for you or your family.
Nobody cares how big your house is, nor should they since everyone saves and spends money differently.
When we purchased our home in 2009, the bank offered us a mortgage near one million dollars.
We spent $265,000 on our house, paid it off in five years and live happily ever after debt-free.
Related: How Mortgage Freedom Means We Still Live Frugal
Another example is that you won’t need a large house if you’re single, and perhaps a condo, townhouse or semi-detached might be a better fit.
Even so, houses for sale in 2022 are so far out of reach for anyone that it’s a matter of luck.
Can you believe buyers are willing to pay $100,000 to $300,000 over the asking price to buy a house?
Well, believe it because it’s happening, and it’s terrifying.
Stop Wasting Money Listening To The Bank
There’s nothing wrong with owning a small 900 sq ft bungalow that you can afford in a not-so-popular end of town.
What is a shame is wasting time trying to buy a house in a pricey end of town that you can’t afford.
Even if the bank says you can afford it, you shouldn’t listen to them.
They won’t care if you go bankrupt, so run the numbers and determine your debt-to-income ratio.
What types of renovations can you afford, or can you handle upgrading little by little?
Often new homeowners take out extra money on the mortgage to renovate before they move in.
I hope they realize just how much that renovation will cost when they pay the mortgage.
Is it worth it? Probably not as long as the house is livable.
Remember, it’s the bank’s job to sell you ideas, and what a grand idea taking out home equity lines of credit and other loans.
Stop Wasting Money Without Emergency Savings
Another waste of money is being in a massive rush to renovate a house using all available cash.
Do you have at least one year of emergency savings?
I’ve bumped that up from six months, given the state of the economy lately.
However, if you’re comfortable with three to six months of cash stashed away, that’s your call.
Some buyers who can afford a big house do so for investment purposes, but the average Canadian wants a roof over their head.
Finding a house in this current seller’s market is causing more stress for every budget.
There is lost hope that being a homeowner will ever become a reality for buyers on the hunt.
Renting is the only option left on the table, perhaps with someone else to cut costs.
Lastly, if you are close to your parents, there’s no shame in moving home to save money. I did.
Stop Wasting Money On Expensive Vehicles
Don’t do it if you can’t afford the vehicle’s monthly payment and maintenance costs.
Before you even think about buying a vehicle, please find out how much it will cost to make repairs.
How much will a new air conditioner be? Alignment? Oil Change? Strangely enough, my phone just rang, and Dodge called me to bring in my truck for maintenance. It’s a sign, haha!
You’ll be surprised to find out how expensive some vehicles are in the hundreds of dollars.
I know that wealthy people in our city don’t drive brand-new vehicles because money is better invested elsewhere.
Purchase a Reliable and Affordable Vehicle
There’s much truth to that, but for us, a truck ticked all of our boxes even though it was hours away.
We spent $47,000 cash for our truck in 2017, a floor model used for drive testing.
It was in mint condition with under 6000 km and half the price, so it was hard to turn down.
At the time, I was working two full-time jobs, so Mrs. CBB called around and did the negotiating.
She’s pretty darn good at it. Her last vehicle was a Dodge Mini-Van, purchased brand new with 0% interest, lasting 13 years without issue.
We sold it to the scrap yard for a whopping $300 bucks and were sad to see it go, but it treated us well.
Buy A Second-Hand Vehicle
I bought a second-hand truck for $14k cash that I used for six years and sold for $7k cash, which I thought was great.
As we all know, vehicles depreciate as soon as they leave the dealer, so keep that in mind.
I’m not worried about our truck purchase as I know it will be well-serviced and taken care of.
Just be aware of what comes after you purchase a vehicle because that is what bleeds your money.
Reduce Online Shopping Habits
I would love to stop wasting money by online purchases; however, there are some fantastic deals.
Websites such as Rakuten or Great Canadian Savings allow buyers to save even more with discount codes. We love it.
I’m almost certain we did 80% of our Christmas shopping online to make the most of our money with end-of-season sales, deals, and discounts.
The problem starts when consumers buy too much online and have a reason for every purchase.
Even when shopping online, you must consider your budget and if you’re using a credit card.
If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it, end of the story.
Find out how much money you can spend so you’re not scrambling to pay your bills.
Don’t use credit cards to justify online spending, as you’re paying far more for an item you’re probably buying on sale.
Although, if you are a smart shopper and can pay your credit card bill in full and take advantage of rewards points, go for it.
Earn Extra Cash With Little Effort
I’ve written about how we earn extra cash, and perhaps now is a good time for others to tap into this free money.
The problem is yes, time is involved, and perhaps your time is worth money but only if you’re earning it.
I never dreamed I’d earn thousands of dollars a year blogging about my hobby ten years ago.
If I can do it, so can you, and although blogging takes time to learn, some bloggers have earned what I earn in months.
I started to write about my blogging journey on Canadian Budget Binder to help give you a head start.
Related: 8 Blogging Mistakes I Made That I Lost Money On
Your Budget Wants You To Save
A budget is meant for saving money and understanding where your money is going.
It’s not supposed to be set up for you to fail financially because that would defeat the purpose.
If you feel you need to stop wasting money, good for you because money is freedom.
Over the past ten years, I’ve blogged over 300 ways to save money on everything.
If you’re new here, read around the blog, and don’t forget to set up your free Canadian Budget Binder.
Print the Free Emergency Binder with the password you received when subscribed to the blog.
Subscribe To Canadian Budget Binder
Trust me; we’ve both come from nothing and worked our way up to be millionaires by the age of 40.
There’s no other way to tell Canadians to save money than telling you the truth from experience.
Your journey may take longer, but the purpose is to stop wasting money and start living the debt-free dream.
Nothing feels better than knowing you own what you have, and no one can take it away from you.
Discussion: What ways do you plan to stop wasting money in 2022?
Please leave me your comments below, as I’d love to read what you plan to do.
Be well,
Mr.CBB
Ps. Don’t Forget To Subscribe to get your Free Emergency Binder.
