The Ways We Save 6

It's the little things we do differently that can really add up to big savings. Maria says:

My husband and I were expecting our first baby and we wanted a video camera to capture all those precious moments.  My husband is a loyal coffee buyer and he always prefers to use bills at the drive thru instead of change.  The change had already started accumulating in the car so I started to take the change from his coffee runs and store them in a tin can.  Within 6 months we had just over $650 and we were able to buy a really nice video camera.

The best part was that neither of us felt deprived and it was an easy and lazy way to save without feeling it.

Lana says: I google coupon codes for whatever online store I am shopping from (I rarely shop, but sometimes you just have to). The last item I bought I saved $25 (a 1/4 of the total cost) by using a code I found in just a few clicks of my mouse. The "savings," well, every penny that's left at the end of the month goes onto my debt repayment.

Lori says: Shop in your closet! Get in there, clean up the clutter and fix the items you have so that you don't need to spend more money on similar items. Then you can put that money towards debt or investments. I am trying to do this myself, to only buy necessary items or accessories to jazz up what I have already for the next year.

Kimberley says: I am a frugal person and try my best to stay within our budget and maximize our savings. One of my best money-savings tips is to get rid of a smartphone! I had a blackberry and was stuck in the middle of a 3 year contract, I called the phone company and told them my blackberry was broken and I would be switching back to my old (regular) cell phone. My monthly payments have decreased by 2/3.

I intend to cancel my cell phone contract once it is up for renewal, I will then simply have a pay-as-you-go plan and use it only for emergencies. My husband's cell contract was up, and he canceled it entirely as he has a work cell phone that he could use in emergency situations. We have filled the 'gap' by getting a landline in our home, which we 'bundle' with our tv package (the minimum, basic package) and internet (the cheapest option) – the bundling has saved us an additional 15% on our services.

Cell phones/ smart phones, cable, and internet often add a large monthly bill to households. It is an area that could easily be cut back without anyone's life being any less enjoyable (while reaping increased cash flow available to pay down debt or invest in savings)!

Sometimes to find the money to save you have to give up something you thought was important. But if you can find the right motivation, it's amazing what you can part with. Just ask Ivan:

We had around $10,000 of credit card debt left but we were not moving along as fast as we wanted. We had two cars that we were paying for, one of them was BMW which cost us $655/month plus insurance, repairs! So we decided to sell the car and manage to live with one car. Luckily we sold the car the next day it was listed, we broke even with what was owed on it, however we freed a lot of money to improve cash flow and attack the debt with vengeance.

Total we ended up saving just over $9,000 in one year!

Credit card debt is gone and now we are a full steam ahead with saving money for the house down payment. We have no debt now except condo and school loans (which are getting paid off much faster now).

And sometimes the thing you thought was important is too small to really make a difference, so you just don't bother. But you should. Ask Heather:

Love your show. Love your no-nonsense approach to money management. With your tips we will be out of debt in 10 months!

Saving Strategy: Frustrated by my husband's Tim Horton's habit, I decided to put that change to better use. He was given a small coffee maker and nice coffee for a Christmas present from my mother. January 1st of this year I started a

'Twoonie Tin'. My goal was to put a Twoonie away for the five work days he would have bought a coffee. My original goal was to save up $500 by the fall for our Christmas fund. In the past we had just juggled the money to come up with enough to cover the presents.

Savings So Far: As of last night (April 25,2011) we have saved $440 just in Twooines.

These Savings have not yet been spent. By the fall we should have around $1000 at the rate we are saving. This will cover all of the Christmas presents as well as a weekend family holiday.

This might be small potatoes compared to some people, but it is a huge leap for us. In the distant past we did not budget for the expense of the holidays. It is such a relief to have this covered without taking away from any other expenses.

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