Cutting Costs

This May, I had just moved into my first apartment, with my current boyfriend. This made for a lot of new responsibility as well as new financial challenges.

 We liked the area, and the price was right. As well as we were taking over the lease for his elderly father so it worked out well.

 We both work minimum wage, but I'm a cook, and took over the meal planning/budget.

 Most of our shopping is done at Costco, with the occasional offset of small purchases at Superstore. Costco offers large cuts of meat and small prices. I already knew how to break down meat into portions, but a quick YouTube video taught my boyfriend. It is worth the time you invest in chopping up those proteins, and if you have space for a deep freezer I am sure it would be even more profitable. As it is now, we just use the freezer in our refrigerator.

Toilet paper and frozen fruit are also dirt cheap here. Fresh produce isn't worth it unless you have a mormon sized family. The muffins freeze well, but can be made cheaper at home, also they mould super quickly if left unfrozen.

If you buy your gas at Superstore, you receive coupons for groceries. It's only a dollar or so each time we fill the tank, but it adds up, money is money after all!

 Laundry was our big change eater. $1.75 for a wash and $1.75x2 for a dry (the dryer is half the size and needs two runs). So I bought a drying rack. $10 and has saved us that within two weeks.
We never run the dryer anymore, and can even dry up all our bed sheets inside on a rainy day, if we run some twine throughout the house. Makes for a welcoming smell to come home to.

I cut out paper towel, but then I realized I was washing dish cloths so much I was paying the same as I would for paper towel. Problem solved: bucket of bleach and water under the sink. Cloths goes in there, after a week they get wrung out, rinsed out, and dried. No machines! No bacteria!

I started unplugging everything we didn't need plugged in 24/7. Unsure how much it saves. But it makes us think twice before using the microwave. I don't think I've used it in months. So that's a bonus. The microwave made us lazy, and we would buy quick frozen meals just to eat quickly. Having to turn on the stove meant we have to make meals from scratch, which is fun once you know what you are doing, and can play around with your spices.

 Cut the cord! No more Bell Aliant! Bought a desktop on sale and hooked it up to our living room tv. We stream, download and Netflix everything now. Also did the American Netflix hack (Canadian Netflix is sorta lame.) Sold our old laptops and his xbox360. We were paying $200 a month for tv before, and didn't enjoy it. Now we have shows we follow, more free time as no commercials and more gaming power! WoW runs ultra smooth. Good choice. Also no more commercials means no more in-your-face product-pressure.

 We got a kitten. Called around and found the cheapest vet, and started volunteering at the SPCA to receive more discounts. Also started fostering kittens, it's free, they pay for food and litter, and this way we didn't have to buy a second cat as a companion for our terribly hyper kitten. Win win. Since we started fostering she has calmed down, learned how hard she bites, and doesn't bite or claw during play anymore. I guess she was just socially awkward.

We were both buying snacks for the bus, and at work. Now I make snacks that fit it a 1 cup mason jar. Jello, homemade pudding (cheaper than the packaged stuff), applesauce, yogurt and fruit. Muffins in jars. Cookies. Whatever. It's easy for us to grab and go, limits the need for buying snacks all the time, allows us to eat healthier, and the jars are super easy to clean.

 I work the nightshift at work, which means I cannot always get the bus home, which also means I have to fork over $18 a cab ride. When I did the math, I realized it would be just as cost efficient for us to own a car, and more convenient to boot! We bought a used car, a 2011 Nissan Versa, which is super easy on gas and easy to park downtown. As well as we have something to trade in if we ever move to a different location and no longer need the vehicle.

 What ways have you found to cut costs out of your lifestyle?