Managing Our Money

No Impact Man - 3 Tips to Save Money + Contribute To The Eco-Movement

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:04:00 +0000

We just finished watching the movie No Impact Man. The movie profiles an NYC urban family going full-on eco friendly - through incremental steps. I can't say we're interested in going to the lengths they did (we're NOT going to give up toilet paper!), however, there are a few really interesting ideas that we took away that will help us to reduce our spending and contribute to the eco-movement.

1. Use a Glass Jar as a Water Bottle - We really like this idea. It's better for you, considering you don't have to worry about nasty chemicals leaching out of the plastic, plus the water is colder and cleaner tasting. Check out this Harvard study for more information.

2. Buy Reusable Produce Bags - What a fabulous idea! I can't tell you how many times we've discovered rotten food in our fridge stored in a plastic bag from the supermarket. We're going to pick up some of these bags.

3. Use Natural Cleansers - we're going to mix our own household cleansers. Making your own products will save you money, make your household safer for your family and pets, and contribute to the eco-movement. If you want to do this too, make sure you do a lot of research first. Check out this site for more information.

Obviously we're not saving the world with these small tips but we think getting two benefits out of 1 small action is definitely worth it. Let us know about any documentaries, websites or tips that have inspired you to take action somehow and save money.

7 Ideas for Cost-Effective Fun

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Some of the worst spending decisions are made when people get bored. In the spirt of helping you save some money and your sanity, we've put together this list of cost-effective fun.

Low-key Activities

Grab some takeout - check which restaurants in your community offer takeout discounts or specials during the week. Make a theme night of it by serving a special drink and dessert to accompany the meal. Push the envelope by renting a themed movie to watch while eating your meal.

Take the day off - take a day off work and grab some 1/2 price movie tickets to an afternoon matinee or any other cultural activity you enjoy. Often the cost of afternoon admission is much less than nights or weekends.

Check out the local library - you'll find excellent videos you can borrow for free and many libraries allow you to sign out magazines. Let's face it, magazines are expensive and once you've read them they are headed for the recycling bin anyhow.

Take a drive - arrange to drive somewhere local that has a landmark or park you've always wanted to visit - we like to go for an hour to an hour and a half drive. Consider packing a picnic. If you aren't much into landmarks, search for the best cup of coffee around your planned destination.

Deluxe Ideas

Treat yourself at the grocery store - treat yourself to lobsters, crab legs, parisian potatoes and champagne. We like to do this once every few months. The cost is roughly half what you might pay in a restaurant.

Think about going to a Hammam style spa - this may seem indulgent but luxury can still be part of a household budget every now and then. Select a facility that offers steam rooms, hot tubs, cold dips and saunas. Often these types of facilities have a reasonable flat fee and allow you to stay all day if you like. Call ahead for prices and try to budget for this well in advance.

Book a weekend away - check out services like homeaway.com or vrbo.com, they offer a great selection of rental homes. Consider renting a home that will accommodate extra people so that you can invite your friends along - enjoy their company and split the cost too!

How Low Can We Go? - Pilot to Reduce Electricity Consumption

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:51:00 +0000

Image by daveknapik

Since moving from a condo a few months ago (where our utility bills were buried in a high monthly maintenance fee), we are much more aware of our electricity use. Lately, we've been considering how we could further reduce our monthly bill - we come up with an interesting pilot that we're employing for the next month. Here are the details;

Operate in the off-peak hours

We've adjusted our schedules to cook and clean in the off-peak hours. After examining how we measure up to the energy consumption of our neighbours (our utility company provides online access to plethora of charts) we've decided to try to lower our standing from the average category to below average.

Use timers

Timers are nifty little devices that plug into your lamp & outlet and control when the lights go on and off. Not only are they convenient, but they also allow you to change exactly when you want them to be activated.

Boycott the oven

After some research, we found a typical electric oven uses about 5,000 watts! We decided to purchase a convection toaster oven that would allow us to bake many meals (even rotisserie chicken!) and avoid using the oven as much as possible. The toaster oven we chose uses only 1,500 watts, and takes the same amount of time to cook similar dishes - and we got it for half off! In the end, we will cut our electricity usage by more than one third when it comes to baking - something we do a lot of.

Stay tuned, we'll provide you with all the details on how we did.

If you have any tips for us, please send em' our way!

Confessions of Grocery Bargain Hunters - 5 Essential Tips

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:54:00 +0000

In the past, I remember telling my partner that food is food and bargain hunting at the grocery store wouldn't impact our spending enough to make it worthwhile. Now that we've been shopping at the stores with the best sales and keeping track of our grocery bills, I know I was wrong. We've listed out the following tips that will help you save money without compromising on the foods you love.

1. Make a date with your flyers
Grab an international coffee moment and dig through those flyers before the sales start (Friday or Sat early AM). It's worth planning out some early morning shopping to a couple of stores in order to catch the best sales.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we fight to the death Sat AM to see who can take advantage of those door crasher specials before inventory runs out.

2. Make room for the good stuff
Make sure to have room in your fridge or freezer for the sale items so that you can purchase in bulk. In fact, consider buying a freezer to store and save any extra products you may not be able to use all at once. You might think this isn't worth the investment, but buying a freezer will save you money in the long run.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we once bought 15 chickens because they were 1/2 price. Sure, the cashier asked us how many kids we had because we filled the entire cart with chickens ;)

3. Check the unit price
Don't just compare price tags when you're shopping, since products are often sold in varying sizes. Always check the unit price (such as the price per 100 grams) - this information is usually listed on the shelf tag. It's the only way to know which product is actually the best deal - this applies to single products and mega sizes.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we bought a restaurant size jar of pickles in the past because of the fabulous savings - we obviously love pickles!

4. Reconsider what brands you buy
We've recently started buying the store brand products and found that we often like these products more than national brands.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - we love the local grocery store brand of frozen raspberries so much that we filled our freezer with them the last time they went on sale.

5. Make a list
It sounds like an old cliché, but it's true - make a list of the things you need and stick to it. There are far too many tempting items in the store to just meander down the aisles, picking up anything that looks good. When making your list, think about major meals and try to plan around sales.

Grocery Bargain Hunter Confession - Everytime we've gone shopping without a list, not only do we forget the basics, we come home with nothing but junk food.

Groceries are things we buy regularly and often. Changing your buying habits can have a huge impact on your household budget. Just remember, don't buy sale items for the sake of saving - make sure you still purchase the foods you like and will use. A wasted food item is money down the drain.

Saving on Beauty - Tip #2

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Image by minxlj

Selecting a new eyeshadow combination can be tough. I often have the problem of deciding between exciting colours (pink, purple, blue, green...) or a flexible neutral palette (grey, taupe, bronze, cream...). Here's a great cost-savings tip for whatever your mood.

Eyeshadow Palettes - Buying a palette will cost you much less than buying separates - average savings between $5-$15. You'll also benefit by having the essential base colours that blend together with either option. Simply select a palette that has a primer colour, crease and highlight colour.

Share your favorites with us!

Click here for more beauty tips.

Dumb Stuff We Bought

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:13:00 +0000

Image by litherland

I thought it might be worthwhile to publish an entry on all the crap we've purchased in the last few years. Recently, the both of us decided to work as contractors - this gives us a HUGE amount of freedom but means we have to stick to our household budget until we both generate steady income.

Rooting through some past purchases, I noticed that we used to buy A LOT of junk. Honestly, we have bought clothing, make up, shoes and food that we never even used, just for the sake of shopping. It was like we were afraid to leave the store without anything! It's really sad to think about all the wasted money.

In the past couple of weeks we've stopped doubling up on items that are not on sale, like groceries, and have challenged ourselves on all purchases. This has resulted in less spoiled food and smarter purchases - as an aside, I shopped around for a sale on dress shoes and ended up buying a pair of Rudsak boots (originally $275) for $115!

Our secret, ask yourself 1 question each time you shop Do I want to spend my hard-earned money on this? You'll find it interesting how many times you'll answer no.

Here's a reader challenge - Tell us about some of the bad purchases you've made. For each comment we receive, we'll post a write up and picture of something dumb we bought :)

Last Minute Vacation Savings

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:38:00 +0000

We're just wrapping up some loose ends before we hop on a plane for FLA. Some of the last minute details we needed to secure were:

- Renting a place to stay in our second location
- Securing a car rental
- Purchasing health insurance

In all three cases we were able to score some pretty nice deals and wanted to share our tips.

Renting a Place
As mentioned in our last entry, homeaway.com is a great resource, but make sure you look into cleaning fees and transaction charges that are passed through to the traveller. It was our experience that asking for a price reduction (especially if you aren't staying for a full week) was indeed possible.

Car Rental
If possible, try to book the car on a credit card that offers complimentary rental car insurance. This could save you hundreds of dollars in insurance. It's also important to note, credit card companies do not offer third-party insurance - this means you won't be covered for any damage to someone else's vehicle.

Health Insurance
Shop around for sure... but we found CAA offered a great policy for a reasonable price.

We feel good about finding a lot of deals to put together this trip. Now we will have a bit of extra money for some fun stuff on our journey.

Vacation Savings

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:37:00 +0000

We are planning a trip to Florida next month, and when we travel we always rent out a private home, which we feel is much better value over a hotel. Part of our trip will bring us to Fort Lauderdale. We searched and searched for the right home to rent out, but the prices were much higher than we wanted to pay. We decided to look outside of the Fort Lauderdale area and found a beautiful beach-front penthouse condo for less than half of what we would have paid to stay right in Fort Lauderdale.
So, in exchange for being 8 miles out of downtown, we will cut our accommodations budget by almost $1,000! We will keep most of that saved money in the bank, but now we have a little more to spend on day trips and attractions, like visiting the Everglades. Love the savings and cannot wait for some sunshine!

Unexpected Expense

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:29:00 +0000

Unfortunately, one week after replacing our clothing dryer (which died very unexpectedly) our washer broke down as well! We just bought the house, and 'inherited' the appliances, so I suppose there was no guarantee that either would last for any period of time.

After a ton of research, we decided to go with a lower costing top-loading washer. I know this isn't the sexy style most everyone else is after, but everything we read showed the top loader was a better choice financially - in the short and long term. Here's why:

It was several hundred dollars less than a comparable front loader.
It is energy efficient.
A trusted repair person told us it should last longer, and will cost less to fix if it does break down.

The washer was just delivered and we are really happy with our choice. Saving money always feels great, and the older we get, the more practical we seem to become.

We're going to have to consider these types of unexpected expenses as we put together our annual spend budget. This will definitely go into the Incidentals/ Emergency category.

Why Wal-Mart Doesn't Save Us Money

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:57:00 +0000

I imagine most money-conscious households shop at Wal-Mart. All those price roll-backs and affordable products, who could resist? WE CAN! I can't tell you how many times we've gone to Wal-Mart, gotten excited over a lower priced product and brought it home, only to be shocked at the poor quality. I am not exaggerating when I say we have yet to keep a single item purchased at this store. Every single thing we've bought at Wal-Mart has been promptly returned. After the last experience, which was a small bathroom cabinet that assembled so that the doors couldn't even open, we swore to one another we would never return.

I'm happy to say we've kept this promise, and feel good about our decision. Saving money is great, until you sacrifice quality or product enjoyment. Even a penny spent on a poor product is a penny wasted. We have learned it's better to spend a bit more and have something that will last.

What do you think? Any good experiences shopping at this store? We want to know!

Saving on Beauty - Tip #1

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:21:00 +0000

Image by ♥ Unlimited

Ever wonder where make up artists shop? Wonder no more - every week I'll be giving you the serious deets on where you should save, and where you should splurge.

Mascara - Never shop at the department store for this item. I know, I do love Dior Show and all the rest, but honestly, at almost $30 a pop, no way! Why spend when most of the ingredients in mascara are similar from brand to brand - the only difference is the brush. In my expert opinion (I am a make up artist), all you need is a great eyelash curler. Try experimenting with some drugstore brands. My faves include Loreal Voluminous Mascara or Cover Girl Last Blast. Both of these suggestions come at a much more affordable price - about $8. Hello, savings of 22 bucks!

Why We Love Loyalty Programs

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:34:00 +0000

It wasn't long ago that I wasn't interested in loyalty programs. I didn't want to fill out another form or carry another card - until I got the bug - the loyalty bug. As soon as I realized what I was missing out on by not participating, I decided to give it a go to see if it was really worth my while. So, I selected a few, choice rewards programs and used them as much as I could. My picks were Air Miles and PC Points - both of which I still enjoy very much.

Both my partner and I collect as many PC points as possible. We do this by using our President's Choice MasterCards often, but we never carry a balance. As soon as we receive our monthly statements, the balance is paid in full. This means we collect PC points without any penalty whatsoever. We choose to use our PC points against grocery purchases at any PC store. I wish I had tracked the amount of free groceries I have collected over the years, because I know you would be amazed. Using the credit cards wisely means we accumulate points fairly quickly - and applying the points to food purchase means we often get our bills cut in half, if not better.

My other favourite loyalty program is Air Miles. Although these points are not as widely awarded, over the years, we have still managed to cash in for some great merchandise. I used to put my Air Miles points towards movie tickets - these seemed to offer the most value for the points. Given the high cost of movie admission, we felt like bandits, seeing what we wanted for free! Most recently, I allowed my points to grow until I managed to redeem for some heftier household items. I was able to cash in for an awesome Muskoka chair, and a great microwave - with not a single dime out of pocket.

For the information you provide to these programs, the rewards they offer make it worth the exchange. The producst we have received as a result are all things we would have otherwise had to pay for, so in our eyes, loyalty programs have helped us have more without spending more.

Which loyalty programs do you like? Which pay more for every dollar you spend? Please share your ideas with us and our readers by posting a comment on this blog.

Creating a Household Spending Budget

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:20:00 +0000

One of the most important components of managing your money is planning how you spend it. Spending has to be proportionate to your income, or you'll never find yourself ahead. Understanding what you spend will reveal areas you can cut back on, to maximize savings and overall financial health.

This year is the first year my partner and I will create a household budget. We want to be methodical and thoughtful about it, because the more accurate our budget is, the more value we will get out of it. We thought we would start by identifying some spending categories. Once we're satisfied we've captured everything, we will begin putting some estimated numbers in each category, aiming to stay within our estimates for the year wherever possible.

Home expenses - this can have sub-categories for heat, electricity, hot water heater rental and gas. This category should include things like home maintenance, improvements, and repairs.
Food - will include weekly groceries and the occasional morning coffees.
Automobile - this can be sub-categorized into gasoline, maintenance and repairs.
Clothing.
Grooming - this will include haircuts and beauty products, such as shampoos, cleansers, creams, and the like.
Health - we need to account for any expenses not covered by any healthcare insurance we have. This may include partial costs for any medications, massages and other similar items.
Travel and entertainment - the will be a combined category to capture leisure travel and other fun things, such as the odd movie.
Pet - we have a dog who needs food, toys, grooming and vet visits.
Incidentals - this should really only include small items that may not fall into any other category.

Once we have assigned a dollar value to each category, there will be money left over, which we will have to put towards savings and investments, and the mortgage. While we like to make as many additional payments towards the mortgage as possible, we also feel better when we're able to have money stashed away in savings accounts, just in case we have an unexpected expense arise.

It will be interesting to see how accurate our budget turns out to be by the end of this year. We will use actual receipts from this past year to estimate our future spending.

A great resource for learning more about all aspects of everyday finance is GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca. This site has a section dedicated to budgeting, which is very helpful.

If you've created a household budget before, what were your most underestimated categories? We want to know, so leave your comments here.

Chop That Wardrobe Budget!

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:22:00 +0000

Photo by Sean's Camera

Lately we've been thinking about how much moola we used to spend on clothing. Everytime we shelled-out $30 for a t-shirt, or $150-200 for jeans we couldn't help but feel anxious for weeks. We tried so hard to justify the cost but we just couldn't cope with basically flushing that money down the toilet. Think about it, an extra $200 toward the mortgage IS money better spent!

So with that, we've come up with a quick list of stores that offer some fantastic basics that won't have you compromising on style or quality.

Old Navy - Solid inexpensive t-shirts (approx. $10-12) - think about pairing them with blazers in your wardrobe.
American Eagle - wonderful jeans (approx. $50), scarves and belts ($15-25) - they have various fits and washes... don't knock it till you've tried a pair on! We've actually stopped buying expensive designer jeans because we like these better. Now we can afford about 3-4 pairs for what we were previously spending on one. We also realized that buying one pair for now and waiting for new washes or styles gave us more variety in our wardrobe. American Eagle also has a loyalty program. We recommend joining their Facebook page for information on sales and discounts.
Mexx - when they have a sale... it's a serious sale.
Club Monaco - for evening wear or special occasions. Investing in their basics will prep your wardrobe for further mixing an matching - ultimately saving $ in the future.

With all these savings, we've been finding ourselves making more incremental payments toward the principle of our mortgage. Really we have the best of both worlds now - money in the bank and a healthy wardrobe.

Please share your favorite shopping spots with us!

ING Tax Free Savings Kick Start Account

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Photo by Joe Shlabotnik
Hurray, we both managed to get the maximum contribution ($5,000) into our ING tax free savings accounts (TFSA) by January 1st. This means we will get the full bonus from ING, who has something they call a Kick Start account. Anything put into a 2010 ING TSFA between October 1st and December 31st will receive bonus interest. This may seem like peanuts, but year after year, the extra dollars represent money you wouldn't have otherwise had, and when you're trying to maximize the return of your investments, looking for these offers adds up to increased savings. Last year, my TFSA account alone earned $84.74 in interest from ING. Part of this was the bonus interest I earned from the same Kick Start promotion.

ING has been a great option for us - the interest is higher than our primary banks offer, and these kinds of promotions have helped us make more out of what we have. We highly recommend investigating ING if you don't already have an account. If you decide to go ahead and save or invest with ING, use one of these Orange Keys, and not only will you earn a $13 bonus, so will we. Again, $13 more than you would have had otherwise.

Our ING Orange Keys:

15608905S1
30293960S1

With the year now over, we are going to create our first ever household spending budget. The budget will include our anticipated expenses, compared to actual expenses. We will have to review and update our budget monthly - we will share it with you on our blog.

Thanks for reading, and we hope you all have a very happy new year celebration.

Hello World! Here We Go!

noreply@blogger.com (About Us - The Penny Wise Couple) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:43:00 +0000

My partner and I are average people – both working very hard to make enough money, doing well so far, but wondering how we can keep up this pace for the next 30+ years until that golden age of 65, when most plan to retire.

We’ve decided there must be a better way – to be smarter about how we spend and what we save. So we’re starting down a path of less spending and more saving, maybe even some investing. We want to make more out of what we have, and we’ve discussed some very real and ambitious goals to help us achieve this plan.

We have agreed we will begin budgeting and measuring our goals with actual numbers. We want to understand where our money goes, and make a conscious effort to see our savings grow. Join us as we share our learnings, our insights, our tips and even our mistakes as we embark on our journey for early retirement.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!