Did you know September is National Coupon Month? While traditional coupon clipping is effective, it can be tedious and sometimes inconvenient. The great news is, there are so many ways to save money when you shop, some that you may not even be aware of. If you want to shop more and spend less, check out these tips.
Online Shopping Subscriptions
You may be reluctant to give out your email out of fear of filling your inbox with things you don’t need. However, giving one of your favorite shopping sites your email will open you up to a brand new world of savings that you would not be aware of otherwise. When you subscribe to a site, you will always be on top of the latest deals. Soon, your inbox will be filled with giveaway opportunities, exclusive coupon codes, and notifications of upcoming sales. Some will even offer you a discount on your next purchase just for signing up!
Stack up coupons with cash back deals
If you haven’t signed up for cash back, you are definitely missing out. Cash back works by giving you back a percentage of the money you spend when shopping online. When you combine cash back with coupon codes, you save even more on your online purchases. BeFrugal offers both online coupons and higher cash back rates than any other site.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Sign up for free – all you need is your email address.
2. Search for a store and find their cash back rate and what coupons they offer. Right now, you can get 3% back at Nordstrom Rack, 7% at Saks Fifth Avenue, 3% at Kate Spade, and 9% at PUMA. Those are only a few of over 5,000 stores that offer great cash back rates. You can combine the cash back you earn with any savings you get from a coupon.
3. Click “Shop Now” and a new window will open so you can shop at the online store as you normally would.
4. After you complete your purchase, check your BeFrugal account for cash back. You can request payment via check, PayPal or gift card. Credit Card Points
You can earn discounts on future purchases when you spend with your credit card. Many cards offer special rewards and cash back on things like airfare and hotels. You can even earn rewards towards beauty products. ULTA Beauty has a partnership with Master Card that gives you points for every dollar you spend on their products. Just make sure to keep an eye on your interest rates and pay off your bill in full each month if possible. No credit card? No problem. Check out this list of stores that offer rewards for frequent customers without any commitments.
Add these tips to your usual shopping routine and you are guaranteed to save money on even the priciest items!
Even if you’re not in a crunch for money, saving it is something that should always be in the back of your mind. We’ve rounded up some tips to help you and your family improve your financial situations. You won’t become a millionaire overnight, but you’ll definitely notice a difference overtime!
1. Plan all your meals: It’s crazy how much money you can save just by knowing what you’re going to eat that week. Sign-up to receive your local grocery store’s weekly coupons (all Metro & Loblaw groceries stores have them) and fliers so that you know what meat & produce is going to be on sale that week and revolve your grocery list around that. Planning your meals in advance will keep you within budget while your shopping & help you eat healthier. Check out our meals under $10, slow cooker meals and freezer meals to help you get started.
2. Bring your lunch, instead of buying it: Lunch is one of those expenses that add up over time unknowingly and depending on how often you eat out, bringing your lunch could easily save you a couple of hundred bucks a month. Include lunches in your weekly meal plan and take leftovers from dinner with you to work.
3. Invest in a coffee maker and travel mug: Like lunch, coffee is an expense that adds up over time. Invest in a coffee maker and travel mug – the savings might not be much, but it will be worth it in the long run.
4. Find your local buy & sell groups on Facebook: You know what they say, one man’s trash is another one’s treasure. Collect all of the old things you don’t want anymore and put them up for sale on Kijiji, Craigslist or a local buy & sell group on Facebook. Housewares (decorative pillows, furniture, old dishes, etc) do extremely well. You’d be surprised at what some people are willing to take off your hands! It’s also a great place to pick up new things for cheap.
5. Sell your old clothes: Clean out your closet and bring your gently used, season-appropriate clothing to your local consignment store. They’ll give you a percentage of what they’ll be selling the item for (typically 20-50%) or a store credit. Check out our list of consignment stores in Toronto here.
6. Sign-up for reward programs: Get an Air Miles reward card, a Shopper’s Optimum Card and switch your credit card over to one that allows you to receive rewards! The points take a while to rack up, but that free $10 will feel so good once you get it!
7. Have your friends over instead of going out: Alcohol has the highest markup in restaurants, so why not have your friends over for a potluck and drinks instead of spending a fortune at that fancy new restaurant?
8. Start or find a clothing swap: If you’re a shopaholic who needs a fix, start a clothing swap with your friends! It’s a great way to get new clothes & get rid of old stuff you don’t want. Your city probably has a clothing swap already in place if you’d like to expand your options. You can find monthly clothing swaps in Toronto here.
9. Watch your bank fees: Did you know that at most banks an e-transfer costs money to send? Or that you’re getting charged ATM fees from the ATM machine you pulled money out of and your bank?
10. Make a budget and know what you’re spending each month: Looking at your bank statements is scary, but totally necessary. Make a list of all your necessary expenses (food, rent, etc.) and rack-up every dollar you’ve spent in the past month. Knowing exactly what you’re spending your money on each month will make it easier for you to allocate funds for entertainment, clothing and savings.
11. Don’t fall into the trap of fast fashion: Stock up on all of your basics and invest in pieces you’ll wear more than a couple of times. Make fashion DIY websites like My Little Secrets or A Pair and a Spare your best friend.
12. Save money on your hydro bills: It may not save you much, but make sure to turn off lights in rooms when you’re not using them and to unplug electronics that aren’t in use. Watch your timing when you’re doing the laundry or running your dishwasher and make sure to only do them on off-peak electricity hours.
13. Do price comparisons: Especially if you’re shopping for big-ticket items like a new computer, vacuum, etc. You can use websites like CamelCamelCamel to find price drops on Amazon and PriceFinder.ca to find comparisons for electronics.
14. If something is broken, try fixing it yourself before paying someone else to do it: You’ll be surprised at how handy you actually are. My boyfriend recently broke the screen on his laptop and instead of paying $150 for someone just to take a look at it, he bought the replacement screen on Amazon and fixed it himself with a little help from YouTube. In total, it cost him $9 to fix his broken screen.
15. Be Wary of Factory and Outlet Stores: Although you think you’re getting a good deal, a lot of what is available in outlet & factory stores was made for those stores, so you’re not actually getting a good deal. Instead, sign-up for warehouse & sample sale lists, like ours, to shop your favourite brands at real discounts!
16. Try to limit how much you spend on gas, taxis and Ubers: With just a touch of a button, it’s easy to call a car to come pick you up and not realize how much it’s costing you. With flat fee’s starting at $4 in Toronto, cabs and Ubers can get expensive. If the weather permits, walk or ride a bike. You make get to your destination slower, but you’ll get exercise and save money. You can also get almost anywhere on the TTC, but do the math before committing to a TTC pass to see if it’s actually worth it.
17. But if you’re going to Uber…: Know that you always get your first ride for free! Find a friend that already uses Uber and ask them to give you their promo code. You’ll get up to $20 for free and they’ll get a $20 ride for free too. Once you’ve started riding, recruit your other friends and every time someone uses your Uber code, you’ll get $20 credit!
18. Make your own cleaning supplies: It’s not a huge money saver, but it’s still something. Plus, it’s good for the environment! See a list of homemade cleaning supplies here.
19. Sell off any gift cards you aren’t using: Get cash for gift cards you’ll never use and buy gift cards at your favourite stores for cheap on websites like CardSwap.ca.
20. Take advantage of all the free events in your city: Websites like BlogTO and Inside Toronto are a great resource for finding fun, free and family-friendly events in Toronto.
Image: Instagram/@celebratetoronto
21. If possible, consolidate your debt: Paying interest is like throwing money away. Look into consolidating your debt, so that you aren’t paying multiple interest rates across the board. You will thank yourself after seeing how much money you save on interest costs and paying your debt will be way less stressful.
22. Get rid of any services & memberships you don’t need or use: Take a look at your internet, phone and cable bills. Are there certain television channels you don’t need? Do you need cable at all? Are you still paying for a home phone when you only use your cellphone? Also, cancel any store memberships (like Costco) or gym memberships that you don’t use.
23. Get the Wifi password: We’re constantly on our emails, Instagram and Facebook, and it’s driving our cell phone bills way up! You can get free wifi almost anywhere now (restaurants, libraries, even the subway!), so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be using it instead of going over your data plan.
24. Create an email specifically for store newsletters & updates: Don’t check it often, as you might be tempted to go shopping, but stores will often send people on their email lists special discounts or promotions for when you do need to shop!
25. Don’t throw your food away: If you’re buying too many groceries and constantly throwing part of them away, it may be the time to rethink your grocery list. Before heading to the grocery store write down all products that you need for your meals and stick to your list.
Do you have any other tips or ways to save money? Share them with us below!
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With the maddening craze of planning Christmas parties, dinners, outfits and gifts, it’s almost easy to forget about New Year’s eve. We know how expensive the holiday season always is, but don’t let that stop you from starting out the new year with a bang or a bash! We’ve gathered some expert hosting tips on how to plan a New Year’s Bash on a Budget and because it’s the season of giving…we’ve decided to share it with you.
1. BYOA
Ditch the fancy dinner entrees and have your guests bring their own appetizers (BYOA!) Not only will you save on the cost of food, but also save on time since you won’t have to prepare everything yourself. If you’re stumped for recipes, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite holiday dishes for you here.
2. Make Champagne sangria
Champagne can be costly, especially if you plan on having a large gathering, so instead of drinking it straight –make it into sangria and replace the traditional wine in the mix with Champagne instead, that way people will still get their fix. We love this simple serving station and recipe by Something Turquoise.
3. Make your own photo booth – without the booth!
Dedicate a small section of your home (or even just a wall) for picture taking purposes. You can go to the dollar store and find props to make it even more entertaining or use our simple tips and make your own photo booth!
4. Skip the lavish décor and use what you have.
Black, White, Gold and Silver tend to be the popular colour choices for NYE parties so stick to a specific colour scheme and use whatever décor you already have. If you still have the glittering gold candles from Christmas dinner or the sparkling silver center pieces from previous birthday parties – bring them out!
Do you have any more tips on how to plan a New Year’s Eve bash on a budget? Share them with us in the comments below!
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Is your bank account already screaming in pain from all the awesome holiday goodies that are currently sitting pretty on store shelves? Yep, we thought so. Here are some great tips you can use to help survive the holiday season without breaking the bank:
1. No, you don’t need a new dress for that Christmas party. Those words probably just caused a stinging sensation to your eyes, didn’t they? New dresses, new shoes, new clothes, in general, are frivolous and completely unnecessary to splurge on especially since nobody even remembers what you wore to last year’s Christmas party. So put down that hanger and go dig something out of your closet.
2. Don’t say ‘yes’ to every single holiday function. We know it’s hard to resist all those awesome Christmas parties but think of all the expenses that you’ll have to incur. Whether bringing a bottle of wine, appetizers, hostess gift etc – these things all add up very quickly. So make a list and select a few parties that you want to attend and stick to the plan.
3. Work within a budget. Create a Christmas list for every person you’re planning to buy a gift for and set an amount for each person. This easy to-do Christmas planning will help keep you organized and stay on budget.
4. Consider DIY gifting ideas. There are tonnes of great DIY gift inspirations on the internet that you can make for the people closest to you. These gifts tend to have more sentiment attached to it so get online and scour Pinterest for ideas or check out our 7 DIY gift picks.
5. Use your reward points to buy gifts. Oh yeah, don’t forget about those points! You probably have a bunch racked up on a reward program card somewhere. We’re talking points from your credit cards (which have cool offerings like cameras, gift cards, clothing, and trips), programs like Shoppers Optimum or any of these reward programs.
6. Attend free holiday events in your city. The holiday season is usually the busiest when it comes to free events and activities: free light ceremonies, ice skating rinks, performances.. the list goes on. So be smart and don’t splurge on expensive concerts or restaurants. Explore your city’s event calendar and don’t miss out on great events.
What other tips do you know on how to survive the holiday season? Share them with us!
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Valentine’s Day. One of the only days that people actually put a price on love.
It’s easily one of the most expensive Hallmark Holidays of the year, with the National Retail Federation reporting that the average person celebrating spent nearly $147 in 2016. Yikes. I don’t know about you but I don’t have an extra $150 to blow on teddy bears and cinnamon hearts.
Luckily, for penny-pinchers like me or those looking for a unique gift that won’t cost an arm and a leg, Doritos is offering to send your loved one a bouquet of Doritos Ketchup roses… for free!
From now until February 14th, you can order a bouquet of Doritos Ketchup roses and get them delivered across Toronto. Each bouquet comes with 12 hand-crafted, tasty Doritos Ketchup “roses”. If at first you don’t succeed (they sell out fast!), check back often because although availability is limited, Doritos will be replenishing stock throughout the week.
Everyone knows that the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach so really, this is the perfect gift. Whether you’re celebrating with your significant other or bestie, a bouquet of Dorito roses is sure to please or at least, give a good laugh.
Order your bouquet of free Doritos Roses here.
Featured Image: Instagram/@sharan06
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With memories of $6 Uber Pool rides haunting us, our credit cards have taken a massive hit.
Sure, you could resort to taking transit or, dare we say it, using your feet to get you places, but sometimes summoning Uber is easier.
Luckily, we’ve figured out a way to get you a free $15 Uber ride so that you can keep some of your hard-earned cash right where it belongs… In your wallet.
Uber recently partnered with Google Maps and now, on Android and iOS devices, you can request an Uber directly through the app. First-time Uber x Google Maps users can get up to $15 free.
If you’ve never claimed the offer, you may be prompted to input your Uber account information. Afterwards an offer for a $15 credit will pop-up and voila! Free ride!