5 best money-saving tips in Canada

Almost everything seems to be getting more and more expensive recently, but only your salary is slow to keep pace. The current inflation rate is at the peak point that it has been in 30 years and keeps going up till today. The central bank has increased interest rates 6 times this year to try to slow inflation. However, last month (September 2022), the Consumer Price Index still rose 6.9%. The most obvious side effect of inflation is that it really hurts your purchasing power. If you can’t buy the products or services as many and as good as you did before, your quality of living will eventually fall. Then how can we save money in the current high inflation trend? Here is 5 easy money saving tips for you if you are in Canada. Whether you follow all these tips or just a few, you can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars every year.

Money saving tips on Grocery 

We all know that one of the biggest parts of spending is groceries. If you follow this tip each time you go grocery shopping, you can easily save at least $200 a month. Canadians usually go to supermarkets (such as Metro, Walmart, or IGA if you are in Quebec) for their grocery shopping. But as you know, all those grocery stores have special deals every week. Therefore, we can plan our meals based on the discounted deals on their weekly flyers. It is not easy to collect all the flyers every week from all different stores, but one app helps you easily achieve that – Flipp. They have a web version but personally, I prefer the Flipp app version because it is much easier to use. You can simply enter your postal code on the setting, and it shows all the deals nearby your location.

There are all kinds of different deals, including food, pet supplies, appliances, and furniture. The search function also help you find the best price by price comparison. For example, if you search “Nutella”, it shows hundreds of quotes from different providers. There may be a smaller or lesser-known grocery store that offers exactly the same thing you wish to buy at a much lower price.

There is also one function which is really cool. The Flipp app also allows you to make a grocery list on the app. You may have heard a grocery list will save you money. Some research shows that having a grocery list with you can reduce your grocery spending by 25-30%. If you stick to your grocery list, you will not buy unnecessary stuff, which again helps you save more money.

Don’t forget to join the loyalty program. Most grocery stores in Canada have a loyalty program, such as PC Optimum, Air Miles, or some other way to earn points. You will be happy to receive a small reward after shopping for a while in those stores.

Money saving tips on Gas 

Every year, gasoline prices increased at a slower rate in every province. Year over year, gasoline prices in Canada rose 13.2% in September. Higher gas prices also leave less for Canadians to spend on other goods and services. Here I want to give one tip to save money on gas. If you go to fuel your car in a Costco gas station, you can easily save $5 to $12 each time base on the type of car your drive. Costco gas stations almost always provide the lowest price because they have the volume and financial power to sell gas at rock-bottom prices. Low gas price is a way of luring customers in to buy other merchandise in the Costco store. You should take advantage of it.

Or you can also download an app called gas buddy. Like Flipp, it will ask you to enter your postal code on the setting and it will automatically show you the lowest gas price near you. The GasBuddy app helps you save on gas much more and easier than any other app.

Another small reminder for you is that always check your tire pressure. Low air pressure can be a safety risk, but did you know it also affects fuel consumption? Moreover, misaligned wheels can make your car burn more gas and cause wear and tear on the tires. So always check your tire pressure and tire aliment to save on gas and avoid an accident.

Money saving tips for shopping 

Here I give you 3 steps to follow to maximize your saving on shopping.

1. Search products on Google shopping

The price comparison feature is newly added to Google Shopping, and it is very user-friendly. Google wants to compete with retail titan – Amazon and offer its users an easy intensive comparison experience. Google shopping displays a price bar showing the different prices provided by the different retailers. It helps the shoppers to choose the lowest price for the same products.

2. Check out with Rakuten

Okay then, if you have found the merchant you wish to purchase from with google shopping, it is time to get cashback from your purchase. I believe people in Canada or US are already familiar with Rakuten Cashback. Rakuten Cashback is charge free cashback website. Cashbacks can be redeemed by PayPal, Amazon gift card, and check every quarter. Personally, I like amazon gift cards because I am a big fan of Amazon. You can check on the search bar to see if the merchant has a cashback promotion on Rakuten. Imagine that making a purchase and getting 10% extra cash back is absolutely worth the one extra step before checking out.

3. Search for coupon codes on Google

In the end, before you check out on Rukatan directed link, let’s check one more time if we can find a coupon code that you can use. Coupon codes can save you extra dollars by simply applying them when you check out. Sometimes you may be surprised to find that you can get an extra 50% off. An easy way to search for coupon codes is simply typing in the site or brand name added by “coupon code” on the Google search bar. For example, if we search for “ shein coupon code”, we can see different websites provide tons of coupon codes. Like this, you can find thousands of coupons, promo codes, and discounts on Google. When you check out, copy and paste the coupon code into the coupon code section if there is any.

After all the processes, you will never imagine you can save so much on what you wanted to buy.

Money saving tips on Amazon 

So far, no online store can beat Amazon. Fast shipping, hassle-free return policy, and secure shopping are the most popular reasons for the online shopper to purchase via Amazon. Even though Amazon does not provide a price comparison feature like Google but there is one website that can help you check if the current price is a good price according to the history. On Camelcamelcamel.com, copy and paste the product link and click search.

Then you can see the price change history of the product. If the price is history-low, you can feel confident to check out. If the price is history-high, I recommend you wait a little bit because the price of Amazon products changes very frequently.

Don’t forget to use Dollarama

Discount retailers like Dollarama are winning over clients from expensive stores as Canadian shoppers trend to “trade down” to dollar stores for cheaper prices. Dollar stores can sell the same products as grocery stores for a cheaper price because they have class-B or C locations, so they pay much lower rent than the retailers in class-A locations. They also have small, low-wage employees, that’s usually only about 10 employees per location.

But do not assume that the product’s quality is low. Dollarama’s product quality is actually not that bad. All food and products sold in Canada go through a process of inspection, so nothing is toxic or bad at Dollarama

You can find many hidden gems in the Dollarama store. For example, for this make-up mirror with LED light, they only ask for $4.75. but even in an economical online shop- Shein sells it for over $30 for the same size mirror.

You can also find a lot of TikToker share their finds in Dollarama and their feedback is all positive.

Conclusion 

How do you feel about my 5 best money saving tips above? So, it is not difficult to save money on your daily saving. The hardest part is making the above-mentioned 5 best money saving tips become your shopping habit. It’s enjoyable to get products at a cheaper price and show off your findings to your friends. Watch your account balance grow with these tips, and they will accelerate the process of the financial freedom you long to have.