Who doesn’t love to save money and time over the holiday season? Each year, the holidays can quickly become all consuming. They can quickly rob us of our hard earn money and precious, limited time. Below, I’ve listed some of my favorite, simple ideas to help you save your hard earned dollars and precious time!
Shop online
Online shopping is great this time of year. Especially if you want to avoid crowds and if you know what you need to purchase. Online shopping is also great for those who find it difficult to find time to get to the stores. Here at Simply Frugal, I try my best to list the best holiday deals from retailers across Canada.
Search for discount codes
This goes together with the shopping online tip. Often, retail stores have discount codes available. They can range anywhere from dollars off to percentages off to free shipping. To find these discount codes, do a simple search here on Simply Frugal, Retail Me Not or google “‘business name’ coupon code”.
Ask for a Price Adjustment
Stores quite often have a 30 day price guarantee. So if something goes on sale within 30 days of you buying it, you can come in with your original receipt and receive the difference back! Each store is different, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you could save a pretty penny by doing it!
Follow your favourite businesses on Social Media
Use social media to your advantage. By following your favourite businesses on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you’ll be one of the first ones to know when they have a special promotion going on! On a related note, sign up to their email lists. I often find small businesses have special discounts or secret sales for subscribers.
Handmade Gifts
Sometimes handmade gifts are the ones that are loved the most. I’ve seen some pretty amazing gifts during my travels through the web! Pinterest is a gold mine of ideas. I even have a whole category of homemade gift ideas on Simply Frugal! I’ve often sewn my husband hooded sweat shirts to give as gifts because the store bought ones usually end up fitting him weirdly after a short amount of time. He loves them and loves the thought I put into making them for him!
Buy new accessories instead of a new outfit
If you’ve got a holiday party or two to attend this year, why not pull out one of your favourite outfits you already own and simply purchase new accessories to create a new look? Way less expensive than buying a whole new outfit!
Make your holiday get-togethers a pot-luck
Who says you have to spend all the money and time to put together a gathering? Make others bring along their favourites, and you’ll have a great selection of food! Or an appetizer party could be fun too! (Don’t we usually fill up on appetizers first anyways?)
For decorating, use nature to your advantage
Wander around your neighborhood and collect all the great looking sticks, cedar boughs, and pine cones. Then use your findings to create your own unique mantel displays, railing decor and wreaths! Use some metallic spray paint to inject a bit of shimmer.
Have a decoration swap with friends
Tired of putting up the same decorations year after year? Get together with some friends who are feeling the same way, and swap your goods! This also works with wrapping paper, if you’re thinking you’ll never get to the end of a roll!
Shop the after Christmas sales
I don’t suppose this need to be said, but this is how I get all my holiday bags, wrapping paper, ribbon and bows! Usually for a whopping 50% off or more. Holiday greeting cards are usually deeply discounted as well.
May you have fun, be frugal and enjoy the pleasures of the Christmas season! What are some of your best money and time saving tips for the holidays?
The dollar store is a great place to get many practical, quirky and fun things. Household goods, decorations, gifts, you name it, you can probably find it at a dollar store!
Because there is so much to find at dollar stores, it only makes sense that you can find some pretty great stocking stuffers too! Best of all, most things cost only $1.00!
Hand Sanitizer
Travel Size Tissue
Chewing Gum
Mini Notebook
Holiday Pencils
Holiday Erasers
Travel Size Lotion
Coloring Books
Candy Bars
Lip balm
Socks
Hair accessories
Nail Polish
Nail Files
Miniature Toy Cars
Playing Cards
Mini Washi Tape Rolls
Crayons
Chalk
Bubbles
Stickers
Key Chains
Snack Size Chips, Crackers, Cookies
Assorted Kid’s Craft Supplies
Night Lights
What are some other dollar store stocking stuffer ideas? Share them in the comments!
Sometimes, you CAN take money out of your RRSP without penalty. But you have to pay your RRSP back – or pay the tax.
This post is a sponsored post written by Sun Life Financial. See my disclosure policy here.
Are you looking at a major expense you didn’t see coming?
Short of available cash? Perhaps you’re thinking about tapping your registered
retirement savings plan (RRSP). It’s your money, after all, so why not?
Here are three good reasons why not.
1. You’ll owe tax
The first is the tax bill. Since you used
pre-tax income when you put money in your RRSP, you’ll have to pay tax when you
take it out. And while there’s no tax on investment growth inside your RRSP,
you’re taxed when it comes out. RRSPs make sense because you’ll typically cash
them in after you retire. That’s when your income and your tax bracket will
likely be lower. You’ll still pay tax, but you’ll pay less. If you take the
money now, while you’re working, you’ll face more in taxes.
2. You’ll miss out on investment growth
The second reason is lost investment
growth. Every dollar you take from your RRSP is a dollar less to build up
through compounding. So that little nibble from your plan today could mean a
big bite missing from your savings come retirement.
3. You’ll use up contribution room
And the third reason: When you take money
from your RRSP, putting it back generally uses up your contribution room.
What’s contribution room? Each year you can put as much as 18% of your
earned income from the previous year into
your RRSP, up to an annual
maximum. The difference between your limit and what you actually put in
your RRSP is the unused contribution room. You can carry that forward to use
another year. Unused contribution room plus your annual maximum becomes your total
contribution room. But whatever you put in your RRSP – replacing a temporary
withdrawal or making a brand-new contribution – can use up contribution room. Let’s
say you take $5,000 out of your RRSP this year and plan to pay your RRSP back
next year. That repayment will reduce your contribution room by $5,000.
There are two ways to avoid paying tax on RRSP withdrawals,
without using up contribution room:
Use your RRSP to help buy your first home, or
Use it to go back to school.
What’s the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)?
Are you a first-time homebuyer living in Canada? If so, you
can borrow up to $35,000 from your RRSP to put towards a down payment. If you
and your spouse are buying together, that’s $70,000 you could use for your
home.
The HBP lets you take out the money tax-free. But there’s a
catch: You have to pay it back in equal installments over 15 years. Any year
you don’t pay the full installment, you have to pay income tax on the
outstanding balance. You’ll also lose the chance for that money to grow within
your RRSP.
Thinking of using the HBP? When you’re crunching the
numbers, be sure to include the RRSP repayments along with your mortgage
payments.
What’s the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)?
This is another way to take tax-free money from your RRSP:
Take out up to $10,000 a year, for a total of $20,000.
You can spread those withdrawals over a maximum of four years.
Use that money for full-time education or training for yourself, your spouse or partner.
As with the HBP, you need to repay your RRSP or pay income tax on your withdrawal.
With the LLP, you have 10 years to repay your RRSP in equal installments.
What about the tax-free savings account (TFSA)?
You might need money for anything at all – not only buying a
home or going to school. An option is your TFSA. You don’t pay tax on TFSA
withdrawals for any purpose. You’ll still lose potential investment growth
while your money is out of the account. But your contribution limit will grow
back. Whatever you take out gets added to what you can put in the following
year. You can pay your TFSA back according to your own schedule.
I’ve got something fun planned for you all. I’d love for you to join me in the 10 Ways in 10 Days to Earn Money for the Holidays email series!
This time of year should be a time of celebration and happiness, not one that is dreaded! Trying to figure out how to come up with extra ways to earn money for this season can be difficult. Luckily, we can do it together!
Instead of blowing your budget or going into debt, 10 Ways in 10 Days will help you find new ways to stash away cash for your upcoming expenses.
You will receive 1 email per day for 10 days with a new idea each day, starting the day after you sign up.
If you know anyone else who could use help saving money for the holidays then share this page with them so they can join the challenge with you!
Happy October! Get ready for the quickest blog post ever that will save you a TON of money!
It's a new month and I'm trying something new for you guys. I thought it would be fun to create a calendar each month with a super easy money saving tip each day of the month.
So this month, you get the NEW Money Saving Calendar for October 2019!
Did you know that with just a little bit of prep work and an open mind you may have the possibility of cutting your grocery bill in half?
It's totally possible to eat better quality, healthy food while spending less on groceries. Here are some ways for you to cut your grocery bill without sacrificing taste or your health.
Plan Your Meals Ahead Of Time
I have many articles about meal planning, but this is because I can't stress enough how important meal planning is. Especially if you want to cut down your grocery bill.
There are two ways to go about meal planning. You can plan meals based on what you already have at home or plan based on what is on sale in the flyers at your local stores. The first option would be your cheapest option since you're using ingredients you have already purchased. It's still quite possible that you will have to fill in missing ingredients with a trip to the store.
If you go with the second option, you can then plan and base your meals on the sale items. Most of the sale items will be in season so your meals will be too. By planning your meals to match what’s on sale, you’ll be surprised at how much that will cut from your grocery budget.
Take Advantage Of Coupons
The great thing about coupons and couponing is that you'll never have to shop and pay full price for your groceries, it really becomes a fun game when you’re paying less than full price for your items. So, take advantage of all the coupons you can use to get discounts on grocery items.
You can start collecting coupons from your local newspaper or even from mobile phone apps. There are also websites like Simply Frugal that lists all the most recent Canadian coupons.
Purchase Generic Items
Name brand items can be really eye-catching but they can also have the ability to empty your pockets as well. Often the only difference between a grocery's brand-name product and a store-brand product is the packaging.
If you take a closer look at the list of ingredients, in most cases, you'll actually see that they are nearly identical. It's just the price that's different. So, before you take that name brand item off the shelf, do your research and you'll definitely be rewarded with the best deal.
Tip: Ingredients are listed in order of the amount in the item, so if sugar is the first ingredient in your cereal, you know there’s more sugar in it than anything else in the box. So, when checking ingredients between generic and brand name, be sure they are listed in the same order to ensure you’re getting the same “taste”. This is always a great way to determine which version is the more healthy version, if that is your goal with ingredients.
Buy In-Season Fruits And Veggies
Sometimes you just want to satisfy a craving with out of season fruits and veggies but to really make a dent in your grocery bill, you’ll want to purchase in season produce.
Out of season fruits and veggies will definitely be more expensive because they cost more and take more effort when they are not in season.
Buy frozen produce
Often times, buying frozen fruits and vegetables is more cost effective than buying fresh produce. Frozen vegetables are perfect for quick dinner sides and soups. Frozen fruit is perfect for smoothies, or fruit crumbles or even sprinkled over yogurt. I also like to freeze fresh cherries that we pick from a local orchard for $1.50 a pound each year.
Plant A Garden
Growing your own food is the best way to go when you really want to lower your expenses and save money on your grocery bill. A great example is having your own herb garden.
If you buy a bunch of herbs they can be expensive and you may only need them for a meal or two (this is again where meal planning can be helpful). But if you have some potted herbs in your garden or kitchen, you'll save a lot of money and have those herbs at your fingertips anytime you need them. Plus fresher always tastes better.
Cutting your grocery bill without sacrificing is definitely doable. It will just require you to make a few changes and find what works for you and your family. Taking control of how your money is spent and saved is a great feeling when you’re trying to stay within a budget.
What are your best tips for cutting your grocery bill? Please tell us in the comments below.
