Tips!!!

[kittyc]

*bump*
Please give some tipsssssssssssss

[screamy]

I can think of a bunch of things, but not many of them will be "news" to this group.

The one that I find most helpful to me personally for entertaining is to invite a friend over for what I would normally call "stupidly expensive" gourmet pizza and hors d'oeuvres, etc. that I would buy at the grocery store, instead of going out for dinner. Sometimes we'll go out for coffee and cake afterwards, but more frequently I will have that at home too.

Spending $25 (without coupons, argh! ) on the pizza and munchies is much cheaper than going out for dinner, and is a lot easier on my ears, which is actually how this particular event got started. I can't really go out from Thursday to Saturday, because it's too crowded and therefore too loud for me....and the girlfriend with whom I most often have dinner loves it, because it's easier on her wallet, and she's saving for a house!

[kittyc]

I can think of a bunch of things, but not many of them will be "news" to this group.

The one that I find most helpful to me personally for entertaining is to invite a friend over for what I would normally call "stupidly expensive" gourmet pizza and hors d'oeuvres, etc. that I would buy at the grocery store, instead of going out for dinner. Sometimes we'll go out for coffee and cake afterwards, but more frequently I will have that at home too.

Spending $25 (without coupons, argh! ) on the pizza and munchies is much cheaper than going out for dinner, and is a lot easier on my ears, which is actually how this particular event got started. I can't really go out from Thursday to Saturday, because it's too crowded and therefore too loud for me....and the girlfriend with whom I most often have dinner loves it, because it's easier on her wallet, and she's saving for a house!

I do this too. I invite my friends over for birthdays /other gatherings. It's lot cheaper that way.

[Sunraven]

I do this too. I invite my friends over for birthdays /other gatherings. It's lot cheaper that way.

We are actual total homebodies... we love being at home, so we've worked pretty hard at creating an environment at home where we can just hang. Whether it's by ourselves or with friends. Like screamy said, it's cheaper, safer and just as much fun.

I am also a boardgame geek and quite enjoy playing many of the German boardgames like Settlers of Catan, Agricola, Ticket to Ride (Marklin) and so... sometimes I bribe my friends with veggie platters and chips to come over and play games with me. It's great, we have a fun filled evening where no one is bored and I get to wipe the floor with them.

And it's a lot better than trying to have a conversation in a very noisy bar or restaurant (I agree with screamy on the noise level issues).

[Sunraven]

Other tips:

1. Paper towels - ask yourself whether or not you will wash and reuse paper towels, if the answer is no then get the life brand towels... why pay 5X the price for something that you're not going to reuse? That said, I love the cute printed paper towels... so I always keep a roll or two of that at home for special occasions.

2. Buy a reuseable coffee filter for your coffee machine and stop paying for disposable filters.

3. If you're paying for hydro & gas OOP, open those curtains WIDE to let the sunshine and natural light in during the day. It'll warm up the home and reduce the number of lights you need to have on.

4. If you haven't bundled your cell, cable, internet, home phone, or whatever else you're paying through the teeth for, do it. Then ask if there's a corporate discount offered to employees from your work... call, ask, negotiate, there's always something that they can do.

5. Invest in a PVR, take your life back.

6. If you're in Toronto, you know by now that smart meters were introduced. Know your peak, mid-peak and off-peak rates... only use your washer/dryer/dishwasher/large appliances during off peak hours. Check your dishwasher, it likely has a time delay feature that will let you delay it for a few hours...

7. Regulate your thermostat such that it drops a degree or two overnight when you're asleep, you won't even notice it. If you sleep in on the weekends, set it to kick in later than you would on a work day.

8. Stop commercialism in it's tracks... the most awesome presents are the thoughtful ones created from the heart.

9. If you like to garden, get a rain barrel... it saves you a bundle during the summer months.

[Sunraven]

10. Get back to basics when it comes to food preparation and what you're consuming. Step away from the convenience foods, they are costly and not nutritious, not to mention more often than not they are loaded with sodium.

11. Reduce/Eliminate fees. Whether it be bank fees, credit card fees or any other type of service fees.

12. Know the income tax act. It's very likely your largest bill every year, know how it works, and know what you can do to reduce it. It's never too early for tax planning. The budget is released Feb/Mar of every year and sets the tone for what changes are effective that year, stay current, read about it, know how it affects you.

[kittyc]

Other tips:

1. Paper towels - ask yourself whether or not you will wash and reuse paper towels, if the answer is no then get the life brand towels... why pay 5X the price for something that you're not going to reuse? That said, I love the cute printed paper towels... so I always keep a roll or two of that at home for special occasions.

2. Buy a reuseable coffee filter for your coffee machine and stop paying for disposable filters.

3. If you're paying for hydro & gas OOP, open those curtains WIDE to let the sunshine and natural light in during the day. It'll warm up the home and reduce the number of lights you need to have on.

4. If you haven't bundled your cell, cable, internet, home phone, or whatever else you're paying through the teeth for, do it. Then ask if there's a corporate discount offered to employees from your work... call, ask, negotiate, there's always something that they can do.

5. Invest in a PVR, take your life back.

6. If you're in Toronto, you know by now that smart meters were introduced. Know your peak, mid-peak and off-peak rates... only use your washer/dryer/dishwasher/large appliances during off peak hours. Check your dishwasher, it likely has a time delay feature that will let you delay it for a few hours...

7. Regulate your thermostat such that it drops a degree or two overnight when you're asleep, you won't even notice it. If you sleep in on the weekends, set it to kick in later than you would on a work day.

8. Stop commercialism in it's tracks... the most awesome presents are the thoughtful ones created from the heart.

9. If you like to garden, get a rain barrel... it saves you a bundle during the summer months.

10. Get back to basics when it comes to food preparation and what you're consuming. Step away from the convenience foods, they are costly and not nutritious, not to mention more often than not they are loaded with sodium.

11. Reduce/Eliminate fees. Whether it be bank fees, credit card fees or any other type of service fees.

12. Know the income tax act. It's very likely your largest bill every year, know how it works, and know what you can do to reduce it. It's never too early for tax planning. The budget is released Feb/Mar of every year and sets the tone for what changes are effective that year, stay current, read about it, know how it affects you.

I can close off this thread now

[kittyc]

6. If you're in Toronto, you know by now that smart meters were introduced. Know your peak, mid-peak and off-peak rates... only use your washer/dryer/dishwasher/large appliances during off peak hours. Check your dishwasher, it likely has a time delay feature that will let you delay it for a few hours...

The price of hydro is actually 2x that what it used to because of the peak hours.

I now bake bread in the little toaster oven rather than the big oven. The big oven takes forever to pre-heat and it uses so much power. If you don't already own one, buy a small one. Most of the dishes I make I can use the toaster oven instead of the big oven.

I do the laundry over the weekend.

[peacestar]

Other tips:

9. If you like to garden, get a rain barrel... it saves you a bundle during the summer months.

This is something I really want to get this year.

[Sunraven]

13. Take responsiblity for your financial future. Rank your priorities. Know the difference between your wants and your needs. e.g. right now I want to visit Italy and France... but I know that at this point in my life, every single penny I put towards my retirement savings and my mortgage is a penny better spent.

One day I'm going to be too old to get myself hired and I'll still need to meet my basic needs of food, clothing and shelter.

Then one day when the mortgage is gone, I can travel to all the places I want to see before I die. I'm not suggesting this delayed enjoyment approach is necessarily for everyone, but you have to know your wants and needs and how they rank on your priority list. For me I want my mortgage gone first, travel later.

[Sunraven]

Ummm.... what else... oh, if you use brown sugar but you notice that it has the tendency to harden in the container, and you're too cheap to buy one of those clay softeners... add a slice of bread to the container... the sugar will soften right up.

If you're cooking and you've over salted your dish, peel a potato and drop it into the food while it simmers, it will draw the salt and you can discard it at the end.

Hmmm... what sort of tips was kitty asking for again? I forgot.

[Andit]

Sign up for the free loyalty programs out there. I`ve put together a couple of lists (if I`ve missed any, PLEASE let me know):

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/129559-...ograms-canada/

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/129621-...ograms-canada/

Pay for your monthly bills (phone, cable, internet, etc) with a credit card that has some sort of rewards program (AirMiles, cashback, PC Points, etc) - you have to pay the bill anyway, this gives you something for your efforts.

If you`re a fan of live theatre, many of the smaller theater (there are over 100 in Toronto) are in need of volunteers (you feel good helping out & you get to watch the play for free).

[kittyc]

Make your own coffee!

People don't think much when they are just spending 1/2 bucks on coffee. But do the math. 1.50 a day x 5= 7.5 a week, in a month it will be 30 bucks. And sometimes the line up is so long that you could have brew your own coffee at home/at work. 30 dollars can buy you lots and lots of ground coffee at home.

[screamy]

Take responsiblity for your financial future. Rank your priorities. Know the difference between your wants and your needs.

THIS.

You would be astonished at how your desire for delivered pizza / those cute new shoes that will only go with one outfit / yet another purse / the latest, greatest gadget when your current one works just fine....will evaporate when you realize that:

a) you need to gross up the cost of the delivery (etc.) by about 30% to get the amount of money you need to earn to pay for it - assuming you're paying cash, and not using a credit card and paying interest on the balance!!

b) if you have a mortgage - or worse, credit card debt - PLEASE do yourself a favour and sit down and crunch the numbers. Figure out what $100 applied to the principal of your debt will save you in future interest costs.

When I calculated that every additional $100 I paid down on my mortgage would save me $245 in interest over the amortization period, I almost had a heart attack. I made some changes - the first of which was to break my mortgage and refinance at a significantly lower rate - kept my principal payments the same and topped them up whenever I could. I have already shaved almost SIX YEARS off my mortgage. Sit back and ponder that one for a moment - that's 72 months, or in my case, 144 payments, since I pay bi-weekly, I don't have to make just because I re-worked some things and made a phone call to my bank.

When it hits you between the eyes that you will have 144 times whatever that amount of money is for you to do other stuff with....it is an awesome feeling. MUCH better than Swiss Chalet or a new purse.

[kittyc]

We are still working towards the down payment. We planned to save up at least 25% before we go buy a house.