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Cut costs, not corners. With inflation making it harder to balance the family budget, here are easy ways to save money on everyday bills and expenses.
Bills, bills, bills. From groceries to utilities, Canadians are paying a lot for necessities. The rising cost of living continues to be a source of stress for Canadians, but forget sacrificing little things that bring you joy, like your daily cappuccino.
“I want people to really look at their big expenses and see where they can cut, and not give up on small indulgences,” says Edmonton-based Kelley Keehn, founder of Money Wise Workplaces.
MoneySense asked the experts to share their painless saving tips to help you save money on bills for everything from food to gas to household expenses.
In October 2023, Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab released Canada’s Food Price Report, which revealed that more than 64% of Canadians have changed their grocery shopping habits to save money. Close to 80% of respondents said they signed up for loyalty programs, while more than half are taking advantage of deep discounts offered on about-to-expire food items through money-saving apps like Too Good to Go and Flash Food.
With Canada’s food inflation rate hovering at 10% according to the report, most Canadians are seeking ways to stretch their grocery dollars without sacrificing nutrition, says Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based registered dietitian and the director of food and nutrition at Medcan.
Take stock of the food you already have, and plan your weekly meals around those ingredients. “Plan weekly meals around foods and ingredients you already have in your pantry, fridge or freezer,” says Beck. And Leslie Gardner, a certified financial planner in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, suggests getting the whole family involved in meal planning. “Put a calendar on the fridge, have everybody fill in what they want to eat, and then build a grocery list from that,” she says. Plus, you will have less “But I don’t want to eat this” around the dinner table—hopefully!
If you’ve been paying for grocery delivery, start picking it up instead, suggests Lesley-Anne Scorgie, founder of MeVest, a financial education company. And that includes food delivery apps, too. If you want to eat from your favourite local restaurant, make an occasion of it. “Go back to making eating out a treat and not a regular occurrence; eating at home saves money,” adds Gardner.
“Buy frozen produce, especially when fresh is out of season. It’s flash frozen right after harvest at its peak in nutrient content, it’s convenient—no chopping or washing—and it’s much less expensive than imported produce,” says Beck.
Meat can be expensive, but you still need to eat protein. “Introduce plant-based meals into your diet using chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans and lentils,” says Beck. “They’re great additions to your diet because you can batch cook them: Make a big pot of vegetarian chili, a lentil soup or a chickpea salad and freeze portions for quick lunches and dinners.”
Scorgie has two young children and has started to use ChatGPT to help plan for affordable, nutritious meal plans. “This takes five minutes,” she says. “I even tell ChatGPT what foods my kids hate, and it’ll work around that, and produce a grocery list for me so I’m not impulse shopping,” says Scorgie.
Gardner says shopping online also curbs temptation because you’re not seeing end-of-the-aisle displays for food you probably don’t need.
As per the above tip, pick up your groceries to save a bit of dosh. But you can save even more. “Use coupons and shopping apps like Flipp to see what’s on sale in your area and cash-back credit cards to earn cash back on groceries and gas purchases,” she adds. And to double up on rewards, consider using a rewards credit card to earn points or cash back on groceries, too.
Reorganize your fridge, freezer and pantry with the most perishable items in the front, so you’ll use them up. “Practicing the first-in, first-out method helps prevent food waste,” says Beck. “Use foods in the order they were purchased—use older items first and newer items last.”
Store items properly so food lasts longer and doesn’t end up in the compost bin. I mean, how many of us have bought salad greens to toss them away a few days later? Try this: “If you’re buying greens, whether it’s lettuce or kale, don’t wash it right away; if it’s in the fridge and it’s a bit wet, it’s more likely to spoil faster,” explains Beck.
It’s still tough not to feel the pinch in the winter months when things like heating and electricity use go up. On top of that you have internet, streaming subscriptions and cell phone data to pay for. And hello inflation.
Real estate is expensive in Canada, but so are all the bills that come with owning a home (and renting, too, if utilities aren’t included).
You may want to get an energy audit done. Not only will you discover ways you can make your property more efficient, but you’ll also find out which government rebates you’re eligible for so you can make improvements to your windows or insulation, for example.
You already turn off the lights when you leave a room or turn down the thermostat at night, right? In addition to that, Barry Walker, residential business development manager for efficiencyns.ca, says to check lightbulb packaging for LED wattage: “For example, it may read seven watts LED and say it’s equivalent to 60 watts of an incandescent light. So you’re only using a fraction of the energy to get the same amount of light.” He says that can save you 25% of the cost of lighting on your electricity bill.
Other cheap and cheerful ways to save on lighting and other energy costs: Buy motion sensors, smart power bars and electrical timers. “These are small things, but they’re inexpensive and they will pay for themselves very, very quickly.”
The biggest cost on Candians’ electricity bills is home heating, and heat pumps are becoming popular among Canadians because of government incentives to help with the costs. Walker installed a heat pump 20 years ago to replace his oil and electric heating in his 60-plus-year-old home in Halifax. “I’m a good old Scotsman and I kept every bill—my total energy costs dropped 40%,” he says. “I use thermal storage for my backup, and that heat pump is paying for itself three-fold now.”
Plus, the heat pump can help save on the second biggest cost on your electricity: hot water. “Your payback will depend largely on the volume of hot water your household uses,” Walker says. “If you’ve got teenagers taking three showers a day, then the payback on that heat pump hot water tank will be fairly quick.” If a heat pump is too big of a commitment, you can opt for a more energy efficient hot water heater (even if you rent yours), says Walker.
Also, use cold water detergent to wash clothes and check for leaky taps. If you pay for municipal water, where you pay based on how much you use, that could be a sinkful of money a day going down the drain, he says.
Renegotiate or bundle internet and cable services, and examine your home insurance and auto insurance, suggests Scorgie. Also talk about usage, too. You might be in the wrong plan, as things have changed since 2020, and you might not need as much as you did during the lockdowns. Keehn says: “That’s hundreds of dollars a year. People may say, ‘But I’m going to have to sit on hold with the phone company for hours.’ Maybe you will, but just sit on hold while you’re watching Netflix,” she suggests. (Speaking of Netflix, here are the best streaming services in Canada.)
Check your phone bill: Has a signup bonus promotion expired because you forgot to renew it, resulting in higher fees? Are you paying for directory listings you don’t use? Those charges add up, notes Keehn. Also, look into family plans and getting rid of services you don’t use, like international calls for example. Also, in your settings, check for the apps that are running in the background, which can eat up a ton of data unknowingly when you’re out and about not connected to wifi.
We don’t need to tell you that owning a vehicle is expensive. There’s maintenance, gas and more.
Before you say this is about spending money, know that a well-running vehicle performs more efficiently and will last longer.
“Stay on top of oil changes and components as they wear, so your machine is running with as little as friction as possible—that’s the best way to save money,” says Josh Smythe, customer care manager and product specialist at the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA). A regular tune-up or an oil change can cost from $50 to $200, but skipping those can lead to a worst-case scenario, like engine failure, which can cost in the thousands.
A flat tire isn’t just an inconvenience, but low air means your car works harder, plus there’s more wear and tear on your tires. “Air pressure is super important for fuel economy,” says Smythe.. “Tire wear in the wintertime is not only effective for traction, but for saving fuel.”
How hard are you on your car? You can boost your fuel economy by driving less aggressively, not resting your left foot on the brake pedal and clearing out your trunk, Smythe adds.
“Part of the fuel your engine uses relates to the weight of the vehicle,” he explains. “The more you’re pushing around, the more fuel you’re going to use.” For example, removing a roof rack on the top of your car changes its aerodynamics and wind friction, which increases your fuel economy. “So, if you don’t have anything to carry, remove the roof rack.”
In addition to the above tips of looking at how much you’re spending on groceries, utilities, entertainment, car and more, there are other things you can do.
Don’t write “organize my finances” on your to-do list, warns Keehn. Instead, break it into chunks. “I’m not a spreadsheet person, and I don’t know where every dollar goes, but twice a year, my husband and I do what I call my ‘30-day anti-budget’,” she says.
Where to start? Using a notebook, a spreadsheet or a large sheet of paper on the kitchen wall, write down everything you purchase for 30 days.
“It’s just for awareness, not judgment, to see where your money’s going,” explains Keehn. “Then, you can see where you can ‘trim the fat’ without sacrifice, and how much of that can be used towards debt repayment, your RRSP contribution or a vacation. The most important thing is then taking that monthly amount and multiplying it by 12.” Did you know the RRSP contribution limit for 2023 is $30,780? If you’re like many Canadians, you have room left.
Think you have no extra money to pay down your consumer debt? Think again.
“If, for example, you have a $10,000 credit card at the typical 24.99% interest rate, and you did nothing more than pay your minimum payment, but you call your bank and got into their lowest rate product, which is probably 12% to 12.99%, you would save thousands of dollars in the life of paying down that credit card,” says Keehn. Also, she says to check what you’re paying for bank fees against your banking habits and see if you can get a better package.
Scorgie cites recent data from Forbes showing nearly 50% of people pay for subscriptions they don’t use. That includes streaming, apps, shopping and more. “So, comb through those subscriptions and every recurring payment—like streaming or a health membership—and then cancel what you’re not using,” she suggests.
North Americans have millions of dollars’ worth of gift cards or rewards points they’ve forgotten about. And some of those expire, there’s no reason to wait! “If you’re sitting on rewards points, make sure you’re using them,” says Scorgie. Gather up your gift cards and check the balances online or in-store so you can purchase what you need with “free money.”
New is nice but good-quality, previously-owned stuff can be even better if you save some cash. “The second-hand market, and ‘buy nothing’ community groups for swapping are on fire now, and there are so many financial benefits: I’m constantly putting our baby stuff up for sale,” says Scorgie. buynothingproject.org is one example.
“If all we’re doing is looking at cutting expenses, it can feel defeatist to even start,” says Keehn.
Keehn says to ask yourself the following questions:
Earning more money from a side hustle and looking for a second job could be an option. “Or maybe spend more money to get more money long-term by upgrading your skills and taking a program that, over the next three to five years, will bring in a lot more money. We get so focused on where we are right now that we don’t have these bigger conversations,” she says.
Saving money takes a bit of work, but in the end it does pay.
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