Discussions

sfsports.ca said "Read the book The Richest Man in Babylon. It completely changes your way of thinking about money. "

I've read the Richest Man in Babylon, highly recommend. However what the book missed is that saving or even over spending isn't your problem. Its producing income that's your problem.  
 
I learned this From Grant Cardone. I highly recommend his book The 10X rule and Sell or Be Sold. Yes it's important to save but, saving money won't make you rich..  
 
Look at how many senors (no offence) saved their whole lives, thinking that they would retire pretty well off just to realize it wasn't enough. You need to make more money.  
 
Learn how to make more at your own job, get second job, .. or look at Multi-level Marketing (Enough the tax write-offs alone are enough to consider MLM)  
 
Just My food for thought.

there are a ton of things i do every day to save money, from making my own stuff, avoiding eating out or choosing wisely when i do, grocery hacks, washing only full loads of laundry ect but im not sure any of them really fit into the hack type thing the op was looking for  
 
basically to save money i am constantly looking for ways to do EVERYTHING cheaper, when you keep that in mind then they dont seem to be a hack but a way of life

Why is propane filling in Brandon such a rip off? Filling a BBQ tank at Canadian Tire in Winnipeg is $10 last I checked, pretty much the same as Costco.

I am a master at being frugal. I use coupons all the time, I also pair them with ad match so I get the best deal all at one store instead of driving around to multiple places. I also use an app on my iphone to get additional rebates on some items (zweet, snap and check out 51) I also garage sale, many people sell new still in the wrapper items, ebrandon. The biggest one is I check ebay and amazon for other items and I compare them to the stores here. Many stores will match the price of online as well. DOnt forget to check the flyers every week

At the grocery store always stick to the fruit, vegi and meat sections. Try not to purchase the prepackaged foods. Healthier and saves you money.  
 
If you want to save money. Set up a prepymt to automatically come out of your bank account into an investment. If you invest aprox 1000 in a year you will not only have $1,000 saved, you will save aprox $300.00 on your income tax bill.  
 
Also never purchase insurance for something that might not happen. With the exception of auto/house/fire insurance. Mostly I mean those little warranties that I have heard are hard to cash into anyway.  
 
Although I don't do this, I have also heard that going to strictly cash purchases can help decrease overspending.  
 
Just a few of my tips

Vacuum sealer  
We buy all our meats in full primal form at costco cut them into steaks, fillet, or chops, marinate or season them a bunch of different ways. Vac them up in dinner for # and freeze. Same with ground beef seafood chicken thighs or breasts etc.

Ihmc542 said "What are your money saving hacks/secrets?     I'm not talking anything in particular, but what do you do to save money little or big.     I just wondering if there is anything I am missing out on to save money.   I have heard of people putting a brick in their toilet to save on water for example. But I want to hear about anything and everything from groceries, to non necessities! "

My grocery bill used to be $500 every 2 weeks. By planning my meals out a month in advance, making a list according to that plan and only getting things on that list, i brought it down to $200 every 2 weeks. That $200.00 feeds 3 adults, company (if any) and used to feed the child i was lead to believe was mine prior to finding out he wasnt. If its not in the list, it means it wasnt important enough to get. And i never go on an empty stomach.  
 
Also, i have a seperate debit card strictly for groceries and thats the only card o take when grocery shopping. That way i cant go over budget

Looper said "    sfsports.ca said "Read the book The Richest Man in Babylon. It completely changes your way of thinking about money. " I've read the Richest Man in Babylon, highly recommend. However what the book missed is that saving or even over spending isn't your problem. Its producing income that's your problem.     I learned this From Grant Cardone. I highly recommend his book The 10X rule and Sell or Be Sold. Yes it's important to save but, saving money won't make you rich..     Look at how many senors (no offence) saved their whole lives, thinking that they would retire pretty well off just to realize it wasn't enough. You need to make more money.     Learn how to make more at your own job, get second job, .. or look at Multi-level Marketing (Enough the tax write-offs alone are enough to consider MLM)     Just My food for thought. "

I agree that saving and reducing spending isn't the only problem, and that increasing your ways of earning is just as important.  
 
The book does touch on this to an extent, in the form of ensuring your money is working for you to make more money, although without going into detail.  
 
Sell or be Sold is great, and I would recommend it along with books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad. Still The Richest Man in Babylon would be the one book I'd recommend universally to almost everyone. I just find it to be a short easy read that covers the basics.

Try putting 10% of ALL money that comes into your possesion into a saving account.  
10% of cash gifts  
10% of pay cheques  
etc. all goes straight into a no fee savings account.  

Imo! We get it! The kid isn't biologically yours! Way to bring it up in every thread though..

I have a PC Financial MasterCard and I pay for as much as I can with it - taxes, autopac, major expenditures, gas, meals, etc. I get lots of points that way, which I can use for free groceries.  
 
The trick is to make sure that you PAY it off EVERY month in FULL. You buy something, set aside the money in your chequing or savings account for your MasterCard bill. Paying interest on your MCard bill will more than offset the points earned.

I'm big into making things if I can or stretching things that don't need to be wasted.  
 
I make my own lip balm (much more natural and way smoother than the smoothest lip balm I ever bought),  
 
I use coconut oil for shaving, for makeup remover (and subsequently facial moisturizer), and as a base for moisturizing bath scrubs and my own cheap version of microdermabrasion (coconut oil & baking soda).  
 
I make my own laundry detergent and mix it half and half with commercial so it lasts forever and drastically reduces the price while not losing any quality. Sometimes I just use my own, but for my husband's heavy duty stuff and whites I like to have a good commercial detergent on hand.  
 
Also in the laundry department, I take a plastic container with a lid, and fill 2-3 parts water to 1 part liquid fabric softener and put those small dollar store sponges in it (I cut them in half). Then I just squeeze some liquid out of them and add them to the dryer. My fabric softener lasts soooo long now.  
 
Those refillable wall air fresheners can get pricy. I put essential oil in them and fill with water. Smells great and none of the weird chemicals from the commercial scents in my air.  
 
I buy my own hair dye and developer at Sally Beauty and save a bundle on colouring without using the crap boxed dies.  
 
Cooking is a LOT cheaper than buying food at restaurants (not that you didn't know that one already).  
 
I love to juice but it can be expensive so I peruse the nearly spoiled produce at Superstore and save a lot on their 50% bin. And now I'm growing a lot of my own produce, then I'll juice them individually and freeze the juice to use later.  
 
That's all the little tid bits I have for now off the top of my head.  

Another good way to save money in general is using the "Jar Method". I use digital jard online. Take the cost of something, ÷ by the number of pay periods you have per year and add 10% and thats what you do. So every time i get paid for example, I put $20.00 into an account specifically for "vehicle maintance". $35.00 into another account for gifts. That way when needed, i dont take that muvh of a financial hit

I love this threat!  
I put as much as possible dish in dishwasher before start washing them.  
I do not use dry button on the dishwasher. I cancel the dishwasher when dishes were washed and open the dishwasher door to get dry.  
I also do not put pot and pan in the dishwasher as they get so much space. I wash them by hand.  
I usually plan the vegetable for meals based on what vegetable is on sale. For meat , rice, pasta I buy them in large packages and buy them when on sale. For fruit of the week, I go with the fruit/ fruits that is on sale.  
I take lunch to work. I think the big money grabber are restaurants and ready foods if you get them regularly. I go to restaurants sometimes though as we all need some treat for ourselves.  
Gladly I never smoke, or drink. The second benefit other than being healthy is that you can save lot of money!  
 

Your bank may have an option for no fee account and no fee points credit card if you keep a min balance. Ask them. You could save on the fees and earn reward points plus maintaining the balance ensures an emergency fund.

I try to be very careful to buy the best quality of product I can, without any accessories or extras. Options especially on cars and appliances are generally not needed. I try to follow my dad's advice" do you need it or do you just want it".

Making your own cleaning products (dishwasher soap, laundry soap, tub scrub - vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap, etc.) is a huge money-saver. If you're not into all that, I would say that the biggest money-saver in those things that I just mentioned is the laundry detergent...It's like 1 or 2 bucks a year homemade and really easy to make. Here's an alternative to toothpaste that the kids and I have been using for years: 3 tablespoons of baking soda in a little glass dish with 10-15 drops of peppermint or cinnamon essential oil. That will last you a week or more and takes about 15 seconds to make and mix up. Pack snacks in your car so if you get really hungry you won't be tempted to eat out. Doing your own cooking saves a ton of money, as does buying things you use all the time in bulk. Meat included, if you have a freezer and eat beef, etc..buy a half a cow from a farmer...you'll be getting your steaks for the price of ground beef.