We must be totally transparent here. This isn’t a travel post. Really, this is a post on frugal living. But for us, whenever a dollar is saved, that is another dollar to use for our next vacation.
Personally, being at home and living a ‘regular’ life just consists of moments that happen in between traveling. Saving money and budgeting every single day allows us to travel more often. And it’s not about sacrificing anything. We’re still spending money, we just take our time to figure out how to make life less expensive.
I could honestly write a whole series on how to save money. I have found a way to save money in every aspect of life. If you love this post and find it helpful, let us know in the comments below! I would love to post a few more like this if people are enjoying it 😄
Money Saving Tips and Easy Budget Methods so You Can Travel More Often
Track Your Monthly Expenses With an Online Budget Calculator
If you really want to know how to save money, you need to figure out where you are spending it first. If you have never completed a budget before, it’s time. Use an online calculator to see exactly where your money is going each month.
Seeing how your daily expenditures add up over an entire month really opens your eyes and reveals areas you need to cut your spending. A few dollars a day for a coffee may seem insignificant, but when you see that can add up to over $150 per month, you may question that ‘Venti Iced Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato’.
Quicken has a great, comprehensive budget calculator that will get you off to a good start. Make sure you are being honest about your numbers. Cheating here will only hurt you in the end.
Seek Out Affordable Rent
Housing is the biggest chunk of money we spend each month. Depending on where you live, this can be a tricky area to reduce your spending.
A good thing to know is your personal housing affordability. How much can you afford based on how much you make? In general, it is suggested that you spend about 30% of your monthly gross income on your housing. There are plenty of factors that affect that number. But the closer you can get to 30%, the better off you are. Apartment Therapy has a great post covering this.
When we lived in Vancouver (which has some of the most expensive rent in the world), we were lucky to find an apartment at a pretty reasonable rate. This did not stop us from looking around at other apartments. We were fully prepared to move if we found something even cheaper. We figured, if we could save $2,500 or more a year, it would totally be worth the move. Don’t be afraid to look around for better deals.
How to Save Money on Your Car, Transportation and Insurance
One of the most impactful money saving tips for us has been to never buy a new car and to never get trapped in a lease. Unless money is of no issue to you, there is no reason to buy a brand new car.
A car is a poor investment. The value of a new vehicle can drop by more than 20 percent after the first year.
If you purchase a car that is known to be reliable, you can get away with buying something at least 10 years old.
And it is worth it to buy your car straight up without a lease or loan. You need to be patient, smart and save your money up every month. Then you can purchase an affordable, quality vehicle without any monthly payments. Think of the freedom. This will save you loads every month.
If you are in a big city you should consider not having a car at all. Take advantage of public transportation, biking, and walking. And if you ever need a car for travel or to transport large items, you can use a car-sharing network like ZipCar. This is an opportunity to save thousands a month. You not only save on the price of a car, but on maintenance, repairs, insurance, gas, and parking – it’s an enormous amount of money!
How to Decrease Your Car Insurance Payments
Car insurance is another place to save loads. Never get attached to the insurance company you are with. There are always deals to be found elsewhere.
Every year, when your insurance is about to expire, use an online quote service to find the best deals for you. It is so easy to do, you’d be a fool not to at least check it out.
There are tons of sites online that will compare rates for you like Compare.com and CarInsurance.com.
How to Save Money on Your Cable, Cell Phone and Internet Bills
How to Eliminate Your Cable Bill
I have never paid for cable in my life. I didn’t even have cable when I was growing up. So I just can’t justify spending $80+ a month for it.
We are so lucky to be living in the digital age. There are so many options now beyond traditional cable television. You can use much more affordable streaming options like Netflix or Hulu.
Or, even better, take advantage of Amazon Prime Video. Like Netflix and Hulu, Amazon also has it’s own video streaming service. It comes free with an Amazon Prime membership. If you are using Amazon regularly (and who isn’t these days), then having a Prime membership is so worth it. You get unlimited free two-day shipping and other great perks. You can try Amazon Prime with a 30-day free trial here.
In addition to video streaming services, we also use an android box. We have been using these for years. They are very simple. You purchase a box, hook it up to your tv, download any streaming app you want, and boom! You have free tv and movies in the comfort of your own living room.
Right now, we are using the EASYTONE Plus Android TV Box and we’re loving it. It’s reliable, fast and provides high-resolution video without issue.
The other fabulous part of having an android box is the ability to add live tv. With these live tv apps, you literally have no need for traditional cable. The best live tv streaming app available is
Tips on Decreasing Your Cell Phone and Internet Bill
The best thing to do here is to shop around. Don’t just go with the biggest and most well-known company because you assume they are better. Pretty much every company is using the same cell towers and internet lines. And you tend to get better customer service from smaller companies.
Do your research online and call around to get a few quotes. There are tons of cell phone and internet providers now, and where there is competition, there is an opportunity to save money.
And you don’t necessarily have to switch companies to save. If you have been with the same company for years, give them a call. Ask to speak to their loyalty department. Explain to them that you have been loyal to them for years and would like a better deal. Or compare your current plan to a less expensive plan you found elsewhere. I have even threatened to cancel with companies if they didn’t give me what I asked for.
These strategies work. Companies want to keep you. It’s worth the hassle, and if you don’t try it, you’re the real sucker.
How to Save Money on Food, Groceries and Alcohol
We redid our budget last year when we were living in Vancouver. And
It was our first time living in a big city and we were excited to explore it. This meant we went out for dinner, a lot. We were spending about $800 a month on eating out. Let’s just say, these dinners instantly came to a screeching halt!
Here’s how we fixed it:
We made it a routine to plan out our meals for the week and always cook three meals a day. And in order to keep things interesting, we tried new and exotic recipes every week.
In addition, we started meal prepping for breakfast and lunch. Meal prepping is fantastic because it saves you time and it helps you to maintain a healthy diet. It also makes your food convenient so you never have an excuse to eat out.
Our key to meal prep was to keep it simple. I prepped a smoothie for breakfast every day. All I had to do in the morning was add ice and blitz. And I would cook 5 lunches for the week every Sunday night.
The easiest way to meal prep for lunch or dinner is to use the biggest sheet pan you can find. Fill it up with seasoned meats, seafood, and veggies and bake it all at once. Make a big pot of rice or beans. Divide it all up into separate containers. Bam! You have all your lunches and dinners done for the week.
Get yourself some good quality meal prep containers. Freshware Meal Prep Containers are perfect for this. They have dividers so you can keep hot and cold items separate, they are reusable and dishwasher safe, and you can even freeze them.
Grocery Store Hacks
If you put a little extra effort into grocery shopping, you can save big.
The first thing I do every week is to check what deals are on at each grocery store. The easiest way to do this is with the Flipp App. This app has access to all weekly deals from every grocery store (and other retailers too). The Flipp App also has hundreds of coupons, an easy search function and the ability to make your grocery list. Use this app to see what is on sale first and then plan your weekly menu around that.
That is another great point. Make a menu every week and write out a thorough grocery list. If you show up to the grocery store with no list and nothing in mind, you are guaranteed to overspend, buy unnecessary items and waste food.
Try to buy in bulk whenever you can. If you have the storage space, take advantage of the savings you get from buying more at once. Be careful at Costco. Some things are cheaper, some aren’t. Check out The Krazy Coupon Lady for the best deals Costco has to offer (she also has tons of other great budget tips).
We also shop at bulk food stores (Bulk Barn is a big chain in Canada). When you take away the brand names and the fancy packaging, you save big.
Our last grocery store hack is to avoid buying brand name products. When you buy a brand name product, you aren’t paying for the product itself. You are paying for the development, marketing, packaging, product placement, brand image and a slew of other overhead costs. In reality, many generic brand products are made by the exact same company as the brand name products! You can save 30% or more on your grocery bill by choosing generic products. You can read more about this huge scam here.
How to Save Money on Alcohol
Alcohol is ridiculously overpriced. Especially here in Canada, where we need to refinance our homes to buy a case of beer.
Luckily, there are alternatives. Tons of businesses are popping up that allow you to make your own beer and wine. This is a fantastic alternative because you can choose the exact flavours you want, save money, and it’s way more fun.
Or, try making your own spirits at home. It’s simple. All you need is some sugar or fruit, malt and water. Oh yes and a distiller. You can get a relatively cheap distiller online. The Still Spirits Turbo Air Still is a great choice because it is compact and is as easy as turning on a kettle.
We have some fantastic news for you. You don’t even need to save that much money in order to travel. Want to know how? Check out all our posts on budget travel here:
- ‘How to Travel the World for Free’
- ‘How to Find Budget Accommodation and Lodging Anywhere in the World’
- ‘Things to do for Free While Traveling’
- ‘How to Maintain Your Food Budget While Traveling’
- ‘How Overland Travel Allows you to Travel for Months at a Time’
How to Cut Out Salon and Spa Expenses
I read a statistic that the average woman spends about $313 a month on her appearance 😲 Ladies! Let’s reel that in. We can’t keep doing this. I have been known to get carried away in the past with hair
How to Cut Your Own Hair at Home
I have left the hair salon disappointed so many times because the stylist just wasn’t listening to me. If you cut your own hair, you can guarantee your stylist will listen to your every word.
Youtube is full of haircutting tutorials. I have used this video to cut long front layers and this video to cut long layers throughout.
And it is even easier for men. Invest in a quality hair-cutting kit like the
How to Colour Your Own Hair at Home
I also
If you are into highlights, you can do this at home too! I did my own balyage highlights last year and it came out beautifully. And it was simple to do. I followed this tutorial on Youtube.
How to Give Yourself a DIY at Home Facial
Facials are probably the most expensive salon service on this list. And like all the others, there is no reason you can’t replicate a great facial on your own.
I’ve fiddled with products and techniques over the years and have landed on a pretty solid routine. This is my step-by-step process:
- I cleanse my skin really well with a natural bar of soap and a soft scrub brush.
- I use a toner to help cleanse my skin even further. My new
favourite toner is Ole Henrikson’s Glo2Oh. It helps to diminish dark spots, even out skin tone and reduce fine lines. - Now for the tools. Once my face is clean and my pores have been opened up, I use an extraction tool. I have the BESTOPE Extractor Tool which is exactly the type of tool they use in professional spas. You can use this tool to remove blackheads and whiteheads. And it’s pretty satisfying to do (does anyone else watch pimple extraction videos?? 😬).
- I use a
dermaplaning tool about once a week – the Schick Dermaplaning Tool is fantastic. Dermaplaning is a service that is now offered in many spas. This tool removes all your peachfuzz and exfoliates the skin really well by sloughing off dead skin cells. It leaves the skin baby soft and super smooth. - I also use a derma roller by Lolysenta once a week. This is similar to a microdermabrasion treatment you would receive in a spa. It helps your skin to produce collagen and elastin, which helps to reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and scars. It hurts a bit and makes me sneeze like crazy, but it’s very effective.
- Then I apply a hydrating mask. I’ll either make up a DIY mask with oatmeal, banana, honey, and avocado, or I use a sheet mask. Sheet masks are much cheaper to buy in bulk online. You can get a great package deal with DERMAL Collagen Sheet Mask.
- Since I usually do these facials at night, I will finish it off with my night creams. I use Cetaphil Rich Hydrating Night Cream, Ole Hendriksen Bright Eye Crème, and top it all off with Squalane Oil.
How to Wax at Home
How to do Your Own Gel Manicure
There was a moment there where I was getting my nails done every two weeks. I loved how my nails looked but I was spending almost $100 a month for gel manicures.
Needless to say, I quickly got sick of this and learned how to do my own gel manicures at home.
It is a really simple process and you get salon quality nails that last weeks, for a fraction of the cost.
I use the
I use Beetles Gel Nail Polish because they are professional quality and have tons of great
You will also need to use acetone to remove the gel polish, a regular nail polish remover won’t work. I use Beauty Secrets Pure Acetone, let it soak and scrap away.
Cut Out Your Gym Membership
I don’t know about you, but the average cost of a gym membership in my town is about $60 a month. Damn, really?
Honestly, unless you are a body builder, there is no need to spend this kind of money for a gym membership. Buy some simple fitness equipment for home: a yoga mat, a dumbbell set (Merax Dumbbells are great because it is one set of dumbbells that allows you to adjust the weight), some ankle weights, a set of therabands. You can replicate any gym exercise at home if you have a few pieces of equipment.
Or, just get outside! There are limitless ways to get a great full body workout outdoors. And it’s much more entertaining than the gym. Take a jog around your
Learn more about simple and fun ways to exercise in our post ‘The Ultimate Guide on How to Exercise While Traveling’.
Save Money and Still Have Fun!
Us humans
But in reality, there is plenty of fun to be had that is absolutely free. Open your mind up, get creative, and you will come up with hundreds of things to do. And in our opinion, these free activities are more fun and rewarding than other paid experiences.
For a complete list of fun and free activity ideas, check out our post ‘Things to do for Free While Traveling’.
Once you have saved up enough money for your next vacation, let us help make your next trip go smoothly with our travel planning posts:
- ‘Travel Planning Resources: How to Learn About Your Destination’
- ’10 Essential Items you Need for Long Travel Days’
- ‘How to Stay Safe While Traveling: 30 Tips That Could Save Your Life’
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