Canadian Finance Blog

3 Recent Ways My Wife and I Saved Some Money

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:00 AM PDT

Sometimes life is all about the little things. While I don’t exactly find it worthwhile, from a financial perspective, to count every single penny that comes into or out of our household, I do believe that it is beneficial to make some relatively small changes that will result in a larger gain long term. There are a limited number of ways that one can vastly increase income, or decrease one’s expenses, but there are almost limitless ways to make small changes. So here are three small things we have done to save money.

Purchased A Groupon

We have discovered that going on dates is one of those things that vastly improves our life and our relationship. Taking the time to go out for a nice dinner or a funny movie ensures that we spend our time focused on each other, or at least together. Unfortunately, those things cost money. Therefore, we like to take advantage of Groupon (or Groupon-esque) websites to go out for dinner for a reasonable cost. Just this weekend my wife and I went out for lunch to a wonderful little restaurant. We got our meal for half off, we discovered a nice new place to eat, and were able to spend a couple of hours enjoying each others company.

Dug Through the Closet

I am so often amazed at the things that I purchase, put away, and end up completely forgetting about. We dug through our closet this weekend, and I was shocked to discover that I have four (4!) pairs of hiking boots. My job, at one point, required that I have a pair of hiking boots, and I guess as season’s changed and boots wore out, I put them in the closet and promptly forgot about them. I was just thinking about how I was going to get some boots for the summer, and lo and behold, I have a few pairs to choose from. Yes, they are worn out, but I am sure that I can get a few more hikes out of a pair or two. I ended up throwing one pair out, giving another pair away, and I still have two pairs to use for work boots or hiking boots. It’s like finding free money!

Ate Out of the Freezer

Seems like just yesterday we were eating our way through our freezer during our financial fast. Just a few months later and we already have a ton of leftover food filling up the freezer. Instead of cooking something new, or, heaven forbid, going out to eat, we choose to stay in, save ourselves a little time and energy, and eat out of the freezer. Freezer food + microwave = a quick, cheap meal.

Need some ideas about things that you can do to save a few bucks around the house? Have you installed a programmable thermostat yet? Can you call your cell phone company and inquire about a cheaper plan? Can you eat some cheaper meals this week? This month? Can you ride your bike to work tomorrow?

What small things have you done lately to save money?

3 Recent Ways My Wife and I Saved Some Money originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on April 13, 2011.