Money can’t buy everything but still is an essential flavor to the curry of life. Most of the multi millionaires around the world often live a very frugal lifestyle. An important saying goes that the goal is not to look rich but become rich. Spending recklessly without giving a second thought can often land us in debt and force us to live a life of penury. Immigrating to a new country brings its own set of challenges. It’s like treading on a treacherous path. We are away from our family and social support system. Finding a job is also gruesome and in such scenarios some money saving hacks can help us not forever but for sometime. Here are few money saving hacks that I wish I knew when I first arrived in Canada:
- Don’t buy a car unless it is absolutely necessary: All the major cities in Canada have a good transit system . Unless it is absolutely necessary, say no to buying a car. Remember a car is a liability not an asset. A big chunk of money goes into maintenance of the car. There are monthly installments as well as hefty insurance that burns a hole in the pocket. I would personally prefer buying a used car rather than a brand new one.
- Spend less on a phone bill: Data is expensive in Canada. Don’t buy too much data in your phone plan. Get unlimited wi-fi at home. Going this route is less expensive than getting hugely bundled data on the phone. All the public places like restaurants, libraries have free wi-fi that can be accessed by signing in with your emails through captive portals.
- Buy groceries in bulk: Buying groceries still reminds me of roadside vendors that I used to have in my home country. Here millennia generally shop for groceries through big retail chains. When I hear word bulk I can’t stop thinking about retailers and wholesalers like Costco, Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart etc. All of us have often heard about the concept of economies of scale. When these big retailers sell more it reduces the overall price for everyone. All these retailers have different cashback/points card schemes. Real Canadian superstore’s PC Optimum offers some discount on crossing the threshold of a certain thousand points, Costco’s mastercard offers a cashback scheme on every purchase made inside the Costco store as well as outside. I always make it a point to buy a points card or cash back mastercard from the retailers where I shop regularly. Plus point is these cards are offered free of cost.
- There is a rage called Dollar store or Dollarama: Dollarama stores derive their name from the concept that all the articles sold inside their brick and mortar stores are not more than a few dollars. I have rarely seen anything in dollarama more than 4 dollars but the range of products offered by this chain includes household cleaning products, Food storage containers, seasonal decorations, Notebooks, Kitchen essentials and so on.
- Cook at home: Cooking is a life skill. Turn that into a hobby in Canada. Make your own coffee rather than buying it from outside. Cook healthy, delicious meals at home. It will help you spend time with yourself, will be channeled into a hobby and will help you save a lot of money.
