Tips to Make the Most of Your Money Daily

Canada is expensive! Yesterday, I went to the store and a pack of three whole chickens that generally run me about $30-$34 (Yes, I absolutely search for a package that weighs and costs a dollar or two less) cost $45 this grocery trip. It’s not that I am not aware of food prices escalating, but holy crap, that pulled me up short! On the way home, I decided to be more active and, of course, share with you some tips to make the most of your money daily.

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While shopping, it’s getting harder and harder to mentally stay on top of the general cost of my shopping cart. I like my sanity, so I’ve tried to do it less since I can’t remember when I got it right recently. With other types of shopping, sure. With groceries? The bill is definitely now always more than I think it will be. Now my family and I have to eat. I can’t decide not to buy groceries, but I can do other things to help.

1. Cash Back Credit Cards

If there ever was a time to appreciate getting some money back from the money you will spend anyway, it’s now. All my cards give cash back, mainly because when I got the card, why would I refuse to get money back? All sorts of credit cards give cash back. Some cards provide a higher percentage for certain purchases—for example, groceries, gas, or flights. Considering groceries prompted this blog, that is a good one to have. You are never not going to buy groceries, eh?

Different card providers also provide cash back differently. Some may allow you to add it to your bank account, credit card balance, send you a cheque or turn it into a certificate. Maybe they even have options. Some cards won’t give you actually money back, but will give you the next best thing—points that translate to money. That leads us to my next tip.

Black woman wearing long box braids smiling Canadian lifestyle blogger Shandean Reid sitting at a desk holding a reward card and using a laptop showing tips to make the most of your money

2. Reward Cards

Many stores these days have some kind of loyalty program. If your favourite grocery store has one, there is no reason you should not have a membership. I’ve never heard, “You have enough points to get $X off today,” and didn’t think ‘hell, yes’. In Jamaica, I loved my General Foods Supermarket card. In Canada, that’s my PC Optimum card.

3. Buy in Bulk

Most family shoppers already know things cost less when you buy more in one go. Bulk-buying doesn’t apply to everything, but certainly, those items that your family powers through faster, have a longer shelf life or can be frozen and still be fresh. For example, I buy toilet paper and paper towels twice a year because each case lasts us that long, despite heavy use. Buying in bulk even helps with saving money since you encounter the price increase once per period rather than multiple times. Maybe that’s a mental thing for me, but it sure helps me feel better about it.

4. Avoid Interest Payments

If you can’t buy it with your debit card, you can’t afford it on your credit card either. Buy only what you can afford to pay for, either immediately or in 3-4 weeks maximum. In the best of economic times (when that is, I don’t know), credit card interest rates are ridiculously high. Sure, having a credit card is a great stopgap when you need a few weeks to maybe get paid, but carrying a balance is NEVER a good thing (For you anyway; it’s great for the creditors when you are paying that interest). I’ve realized that some people carry a balance intentionally, thinking if they pay the minimum balance, it’s good.

NO!

If you have to carry a balance, you are in trouble. If you are voluntarily carrying a balance, you are living above your means and one unexpected occurrence away from carrying that balance out of necessity. Don’t do it.

5. Use a Budget

Making a budget is getting harder to do when prices are so unstable, but try as much as possible to keep your variable cost lower than you can afford. Your fixed cost won’t change; that is your rent, insurance, car payments, et cetera. Things that you can influence, like your grocery and power bill, you can try to minimize. Find a cheaper gas station for gas, find cheaper brands or substitute products for your household staples, be conscious of lights in rooms where no one is present, don’t run your A/C unit 24/7, and so on.

Make your money work for you picture of receipts on a table-shandels Reid canadian lifestyle blogger and communicator

6. Mindful Spending

Really think about purchases before you make them, especially if you love shopping recreationally. Many times, we buy things, and between letting go of our money and the ride home, our interest in the product has either decreased or disappeared altogether.

The return-the-product policies stores have are great for when you really don’t want something or the product is defective, but it has cultivated a culture of being loose with money. It makes it easier to spend without being sure you want or even like something in the first place. (I’m lazy, so I don’t want the work of returning anything, even when I should—so, it’s not an issue for me, haha.)

Try to be mindful before you spend, that way, you save both time and money—which is great because time is money when you’re trying to make your money work for you.

All in all…

If you want to make the most of your money, it’s the daily practices that add up to make your practices into a habit. Forming good money habits is crucial to make your personal finances and extension of you and your household.