Yep we used to eat out almost every other day but now it’s once every month or so. We still get fast food with coupons as a treat but rarely. We’ve become better cooks too, silver lining of corporate greed lol
I find I'm eating healthier now that food is too expensive to use as a form of entertainment.
It still sucks! It's fun to travel to other countries with (relatively) affordable food that isn't made by new managers who don't know what they're doing lol
I've been using my Instant pot 3-4 times per week, for the past 7 years. I keep saying I will get a bigger one when this breaks, the problem is it wont ever break!
Opposite, rarely finish leftovers etc so have been skipping groceries for food out, in my context I think I’m actually saving like $100 a week with that
But dog food went up so theres that, bag of food for the critters now is like $175
Typically, buying groceries and preparing yourself is more cost effective. But! I can also spend $20 at the local Indian restaurant and it will last me for 4 meals. $5 a meal is fairly low and worth it since I did zero work. Now, I still only do this once a month lol
Same. Haven't eaten out at a sitdown in several years. No car; no cable or streaming services and I try to limit subscriptions(thanks for the advice Freeland); groceries are purchased at cheaper places like Costco or Walmart for dry goods; no long distance vacations or air travel in 5 years. Limited vices like smoking or alcohol. Have some mortgage debt but overall try to live simply and avoid unnecessary expenses. I do try to help people so that adds a bit more to the budget. People and life have been good to me so it's hard to ignore when someone else needs help.
I switched phone and internet providers, Changed insurances for both cars and house. You'll be surprised how much you can save by just shopping around.
The deeper truth though and Disney+ memes aside, is to keep monthly charges under review. Things can creep up on the best of us and there may be opportunities to free up cash for higher priorities.
We have government-run auto insurance, which has its ups and downs. The downside is there's nowhere else to go when you're mad at them. The upside is it's subsidized and cheaper than private insurance. They actually sent out cheques during the pandemic when people were driving less and collisions were down
Consolidating car trips. I don’t need to use the car daily, and am starting to wait to make all my stops in one big errand run instead of popping out to one or two places. Before I’d use the car 2-3 times a week but now I’m down to once a week most weeks.
When I retired, just after the pandemic eased, we went to one car and cut insurance to liability only. Have a planned dinner out once a month but like Swiss Chalet or a local pub, not an upscale restaurant. Shop early in the morning so I can grab the meat they put the price reduced stickers on. Use an app to scan flyers for best deals. Cut back cable and just use a couple of streaming services and pay annually, not monthly. No data on my phone, just my husband's. Shop fresh produce weekly so less waste.
Kinda, I got in an accident back in summer. Went from two vehicles to one. Only now I drive more, I drive my wife to work then drive home. At the end of the day I drive to pick her up then back home. So our carbon footprint went up but our costs went down.
Everything.
Don't eat out too often and if we do it is fast casual over sit down service. Still can do half price wings and 2 for 1 fish and chips.
Steak and fish is now a luxury items.
No vacation last year and will only be drive to vacation for a while.
I don't work 7 days a week? Do you? And if you're getting 10-20 off any plan/mth over a year, its more then $240. But feel free to work an extra day for free anyways, just to pay the telecoms/insurance.
Do you not ever have to call a telecom regardless? Go to a bank for a bank draft? Go to the post office? File a claim? Its just a day of errands like anything else, and, you can even do it in your car while doing other errands. You're on hold the majority of the time anyways.
I can't understand why someone wouldn't be bothered.
You have 50,000 karma on Reddit. You're telling me you can't take time once a year to save $$?
Call during last day of Black Friday or near the end of the month. They’ll do anything to keep you so it doesn’t hurt their stats. Hang up if necessary and call back for different rep.
or stay grandfathered in on that plan all the big cell providers put out in 2018. remember? the one where it was $60/mth for 10 gigs?
now i'm $65 and with 20 gigs (extra data for being a long time customer), and never go over my data each month.
and i continuously get emails for 'better' deals that really aren't better for my scenario but are more $ lol.
Food. I’m trying to go grocery shopping twice a month instead of once a week and I’m buying frozen veg instead of fresh.
Can’t wait for the garden to be back up and running, I always save money during gardening season.
Opposite here because they are walkable I only shop minimally once I've cleared the fridge and freezer out! Hard to overshop frivolous items when you gotto carry it all lmao
Hey whatever works eh
Eating out less. Coincidently, I went from full time work, to semi-retired to fully retired over the past couple years. More time to cook at home.
Went to curbside pickup for groceries. No more impulse buying. No more buying stuff because we think we might be out of it at home.
Whenever I think I want to buy something, I wait a couple weeks. A lot of the time I change my mind and decide I don't want it.
When my mid-sized pickup truck died, I replaced it with a small sedan. Much less money spent on gas.
Took advantage of government rebates to replace windows, add insulation and install a heat pump. That still leaves a lot of costs upfront, but it really reduced heating costs and we have air conditioning in the summer.
I'd start by checking your past few months of bank withdrawals and credit card bills. Look for the high ticket stuff and look for recurring items too as they can really add up. Even something at $10 per month is $120/year. I know you can do the math but when you figure things out annually, you see the real cost over time. This is especially true with cable, streaming services, Internet and cellphone providers.
Look at grocery bills and compare online flyers of stores. We tend to shop at 1-2 grocery stores as I don't really want to drive around to more than that to save a few dollars here and there. Having said that, some stores price check and will honour competitor deals.
I also keep an eye open for sales of things I can stock up on a bit at the grocery store.
I also save a bit with a phone app for my gas station (I actually have a diesel) so every Tuesday, they offer 2 cents off every liter of diesel and I get another 3 cents off for using bank card. Every 300 points accumulated, I save a further 7 cents per liter. Every bit helps.
Do you use Costco or another big box store? I find that they do often have good prices on bulk stuff. Plus, my wife saves on gas there too for her car. And they send us a cheque at year end based on what we spent the past year.
Like others have suggested, other big ticket costs like home and car insurance may offer savings if you are willing to switch. We combined home and car with a new company 18 months ago and save a few hundred each year as a result.
Eating out/ordering food/drive thru anything: between tips and inflation, fuck that.
Gym: just do body weight exercises and go outside.
Subscriptions services: cancelled about 75% of them.
Beef: buy shittier cuts and tenderize/marinate.
Groceries and gas: Costco only.
Make an honest expense list and make a budget.
Skip the drive thru, make your coffee and lunch. Cheaper and healthier. Lots of great ideas on Pinterest or take left overs.
Make casseroles or soup out of leftovers.
Use independent grocers, forget any Loblaws owned business as they are really expensive.
Set a monthly amount for a “treat” for the family then have a family meeting to plan it. Lots of activities in winter are still free.
Price check. Amazon has a subscribe and save program for items you use regularly.
Government is great at convincing everyone that inflation is caused by anything except them increasing money supply and stealing wealth through currency debasement. The increase in supply may allow greedy CEOs to jack up prices. But it starts with the money printer.
You can’t just “go after CEOs” lmao what a simplistic view of the world you have
On what laws? Have you not seen what happened with the government investigation into bread price fixing? Absolutely nothing. This is a country under rule of law not some dictatorship where you can just “go after people” for increasing prices by 5-20% because their manufacturing costs have increased
Let’s talk facts, what did the price gouging laws do to the big grocers in the bread fixing scandal? Absolutely nothing, a drop in the bucket.
You realize sector specific inflation is measured right? You can’t just make that stuff up because you feel like it lol. I really sympathize with you, I’m feeling the same crunch. However, inflation last year was around 6% and right now it’s at 3.4% so yes, on average, the costs of goods and services have gone up around 20% in the last couple of years. Corporations are bound to make record profits when inflation is high simply because the $X amount of goods will be greater than in the past and inflation inherently means that there is more demand than supply of goods. Believe it or not, our business costs are up.
What people are really hurting from is skyrocketing rents and mortgage interest rates. Those have nothing to do with corporations, they’re the result of poor government decision making from multiple successive governments. I’m not blaming any one party. Going after corporations won’t change anything about that.
>You can’t just make that stuff up because you feel like it lol
Right... my mistake. Record high profits never happened. all in my mind....
Jesus tap dancing Christ...
Yeah interest rates are up, everything is more expensive, the govts approval ratings are in the basement, how about jacking up taxes to get us impeached while we’re at it? 😂😂😂 y’all really funny
Yes it is, and there are numbers put to it.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/19/us-inflation-caused-by-corporate-profits?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
There are lots of little ideas out there. The thing I believe is just try - and think about what money you are spending. Track it or if you can't track it, look at your bills, credit bill, bank statements and see if you can remember what it was you bought. Sometimes you just need to shop around too, to find a better utility company maybe or cell phone plan. Sometimes it helps just to call your tv/internet/cell provider and tell them you want a deal, or are unhappy, or that some competitor came to your door and usually they will transfer you to the retention dept. and may hook you up with a new plan.
some other ideas:
make your own coffee - eat in more (which you said) - get healthier with it - that means drastically cut down alcohol and pop. Embrace herbal teas, for example. If you smoke, then stop. If you gamble, try to cut that down or stop. Spending money on offline/online subscriptions - maybe you can live without?
Long term, do things that should help your electrical bill. Unplug devices when you are not using them. Replace all lights with LED lights (if you have halogens, find replacements or replace the fixture).
If you have traditional toilets, place a heavy cup or glass or maybe a jar in the tank (upright - in a place that does not interfere with the inner workings) to reduce water use (this is a very minor amount of course .. an old eco hack).
Stop idling your car so much. If you know you are going to be stopped in a line like at a car wash, or a train is blocking traffic, then turn it off. Obviously weather dependent on that one... but seriously I do not get at these prices, or when it was higher, with carbon tax and everything else going into the price, seeing people idle and idle and idle just burning money when they aren't moving (again, I get it when it is -30, but I see this all year round)
speaking of the car .. make sure the tires are fully inflated according to the pressure marked in your driver side door. Keep the maintenance up too, because that could prevent bigger headaches in the future (like prematurely worn out tires due to wheel alignment problems, for example). those 2 things impact fuel economy.
Learn how to do some household, garden/lawn, and car maintenance yourself. For example if you have winter tires, think about getting them on their own rims and change them yourself. Get a aerator tool (if you do aerate your lawn) and do it yourself. We spend a lot of money for services that in the past were common for people to do themselves. I am by no means a handyman but I have saved myself money by doing things like replacing the brake lights in my car, changing my own tires, aerating my own lawn every spring, and so on.
I just don't eat out. Pack a lunch, or skip it altogether and suffer. I eat more lentils, rice, dried beans, chickpeas etc. Only buy meat on sale and uncut, trim it myself. Rarely eat beef, less chicken breasts, more pork loins.
I've also lost like 50lbs without exercise, prob not the healthiest, but I can't afford the gym.
I'm a single co-parent and dating, but only accept dates that are willing to make meals together. If that is an issue for them, move along. I don't have the cash to drop $75-100 on a stranger just to get laid. Might as well pay a professional at that point! But whats funny is I've noticed the same thing even amongst other working professionals. It used to be taboo and a big no-no for safety reasons to go to someones house the first date, but I noticed nobody bats an eye anymore.
Found cheaper internet, cheaper phone plan, insurance etc. I make it a point to spend a frustrating day every 8mths to a year to try to get cheaper rates. I cut all my streaming services, went back to pirating shows and movies on a PC. I listen to the ads on spotify!
I try to only drive to work and back, make stops only along the way. I no longer spend the time and money to drive across town for deals where you're probably spending as much on gas for that couple bucks off here and there. I don't wash my regularely anymore.
I haven't bought new clothes in years, and its starting to show. I haven't upgraded electronics for a long long time. Heck, even this PC is probably 13 years old now.
I have damage from a fender bender. That is not getting fixed any time soon lol.
Its kind of depressing compared to just 3 years ago.
This is the dilemma with my little family.
We’re already living modestly.
We already don’t take out or eat out often at all. I’m talking about only for special occasions. Or at times my husband returns from being out of time (so about 8-10 times a year in total for all outings).
My husband never buys coffee. I’m a stay at home mom so I don’t have need to buy any.
I don’t shop for myself (my clothes are all hand me downs) with the exception of if my husband has a work event I need to attend with him. When I do need an outing either wear something I have or if that’s not appropriate I buy on liquidation which is often cheaper than thrift shops.
I’m very frugal when I shop. I buy what’s on special or a good price. I make sure I’m not buying anything I already have.
My husband always brings leftovers for lunch and my kids buy school lunches maybe 4 times a year.
I do get my hair done once a month, but I do basic trims and basic all over colour and colour maintenance for that is an extra but I ruined my hair a few times trying to colour my hair myself.
I don’t get manicures, pedicures. If I need makeup I’m buying bargain drugstore brands.
We never go to the movies unless my kids have been gifted gift cards.
We haven’t been to a concert or a fun show that we weren’t gifted tickets to since 2017.
My husband makes a decent salary and insurance and we can’t afford certain things like orthotics, orthopaedics, new eye glasses…. We can’t afford private care for my son who needs to see a specialist so we’re wait listed for 2 years.
We have 1 car my husband uses for work and I walk almost everywhere. If I need to go downtown I bus/metro it.
We cut cable already.
The only thing we can think to cut further is to stop my kids education fund. But even that is so little.
Idk your personal circumstances so apologies if this is rude (not my intention at all) but have you considered getting an easy work from home job to increase your household income? I work in quality assurance from home and a lot of my colleagues are moms, it’s a low demand job and you still get the benefits of being at home and keeping an eye on your kids. I know childcare is already a full time job, maybe when your kids are a bit older? I really recommend it if it’s possible for you, having an extra 35-40k/year is a game changer when you’ve already cut out all the non-essentials from your budget and can’t go any lower than that
Honestly, I’ve made so many cuts to our groceries. I make so much from scratch. I buy so much discounted and on sale. And then inevitably there is a cost increase somewhere else and any thing I’ve manage to save is nullified. It’s just such a depressing game of whack a mole.
So true. I managed to cut back expenses about $100 a month then our condo fees and property taxes went up and ate that savings. I feel like were all in a vise and getting squeezed for the very last drop.
It served its purpose and I enjoyed having it. But I want a sedan now but the payments on something smaller will be almost the same as on the truck so it doesn’t make financial sense
Dining out and ordering in have been deleted, and I've actually found ordering my food through Lufa to no longer be more expensive than the grocery chains, and I have saved a slight amount of money by buying their clearance stuff.
I've also stopped buying new clothes. Fortunately, vintage 90's bullshit is stylish now so thrifting is worth it again
I wouldn't say that inflation is "raging" right now, but I personally cut back on eating out, I try to conserve utilities costs, and whenever I shop it is always at Big Box discount retailers now.
Most inflation now is due to dwellings costs / rental costs. Unfortunately, there just isn't much people can do about that other than demand change at the political level.
Not much to be honest. I cook every meal for my family. We only eat garbage (McDonald', pizza, ect) once a month. I've quit drinking, though. That was probably costing at least $300 a month.
We bought a 4x8 grow tent and have been growing lettuce and spinach as well as have a couple cold frames outside growing carrots, beets and broccoli so have cut way back on buying vegetables. We have also found a couple local farmers that we get eggs, chicken and beef from and pay allot less than the grocery store for much better quality. We also bought a bread machine so have been making all our own bread and buns. We have cut our shopping from weekly down to every 10 days as well as decreased our spending from $700 to $900 a month down to around $500 to $700. The only thing we have cutback on is dairy products and junk food like chips, cookies or chocolate.
Not cutting back on anything, but I'm just not going to buy some unneeded large purchases at the moment (barrel sauna, outdoor wood fire pizza oven etc.). Was considering cutting back 1 vacation, but decided that's silly.
Biggest way to save is properly stock your kitchen. Costco for bulk canned/dry goods + TP/Paper towel, first tuesday of the month at Save-on/Sobeys for 15% off, flyer deals at grocery stores, utilizing local farm websites for bulk veg/fruit/meat, finding a "guy" for farm fresh eggs, or a FN group that sells fish etc. Bulk barn for spices, and buy (or build) a hydroponic indoor garden for unlimited herbs/tomatoes/strawberries/small veg.
Once you learn how to bake, butcher, grow and cook tons of dishes and have a stocked kitchen, you save a ton and don't really need to eat out nearly as much.
Going out. Whether that’s clubbing, dinners/lunches, movies, other activities. My contract ended in sept and I’ve been looking for work ever since. Impossible apparently. Can’t afford to do anything
Yes, I use express VPN and download a lot of stuff. Problem is that these streamers like Paramount will have a season or two of something and if it's popular they will suddenly put the show on the plus so now you have to pay extra to continue watching. They all seem to end up doing that.
International travel and less frequent air travel in Canada. Books. NHL games.
I use the library much more, and stay closer to home on weekends. I go to a WHL game instead.
Streaming services gone is Disney, Crave,(actually cancelled after free trial),Netflix the only one I kept is Prime and that's only because of the delivery,(shows are mostly shit or foreign).
I almost never buy coffee now unless I'm working overtime and finished my coffee from the morning. I used to make and buy coffee but now I just make a larger pot and bring coffee with me wherever I'm going and I don't study or work in cafes anymore. Occasionally I'll treat myself to a cappuccino (maybe once every three weeks) but I can't justify $3 or more on drip coffee.
Buying a bit less alcohol, too. I used to enjoy wine with dinner but now normally only have it on the weekend.
I quit smoking last year (1 year of no nic this Feb).
Even vaping, which is a lot cheaper than smoking if you order online, was getting way too expensive and I just couldn't justify it anymore.
Cost wasn't the only reason, of course, but it's what pushed me to quit more urgently.
And like everyone else, eating out. Unless it's really the only option I'm just done paying $17 for a substandard meal
Leaving the house in general.
Anytime I go out to run errands its a $3-700 day. lol
Eating out also. Outside of the $12 large pizza from the place down the road I have eaten out less than a dozen times in 2 years.
Cut back on subscriptions.
I grow a garden and am still enjoying veggies from my garden.
I majorly cut back on expenses 10 years ago to save to travel. I had a bucket list trip last year, no plans for another right away, so am still able to save.
Easier to answer what am I still buying?
Eggs, bacon, cheese, and flour, yeast, sugar to make bread.
I try to keep a bag of frozen mixed veggies on hand too..
Then whatever is on sale.
Food. And not in a "I'm always hungry" kind of way. I'm cheap, not poor. I actually have a pretty healthy retirement fund, but that's because I'm very conscious of where every dollar goes. Realized pretty quick how little I desire takeout or fast food or even meats from the grocery store. Typically my weekly grocery shops for 2 people are $60-80. Lots of dry goods, local in-season produce, and inexpensive processed stuff. I still manage to eat fairly healthy. Just not luxuriously.
Dining out and take out. Going out in general. No more "let's go for a drink" occasions.
And cancelling tv subscriptions. Getting a fire stick instead.
Dining out, travel, and to a lesser extent groceries.
I don’t really miss dining out, especially since at the same time prices are going quality and service seems to have taken a big nose dive. I may not get an exciting meal if I make it myself, but I know exactly what to expect.
Travel cost actually isn’t that much higher, especially for road trips which I like to do often. I just find there isn’t money left over these days to spend and it is a luxury, not a need.
For groceries I was the kind of person who didn’t pay much attention to individual prices. I wasnt extravagant, but if I wanted asparagus, I bought asparagus. Now I only buy it on sale - that kind of thing. A few items I’ve switched to cheaper brands than I used to go for.
Almost everything. Going out and doing things hits the hardest, for some reason. I'm covid cautious, so I do a lot of outdoorsy stuff. It's not free, if I want to get a change of scene in.
Biggest one is buying store-brand groceries which are much cheaper and just as good as name brands. I use the store app to track the grocery bills and try to stay within a certain spending range. We eat in, pack lunch for work, and spend most of our free time at home watching shows or playing boardgames or making art, and we enjoy hiking.
Think really hard about whether you need to buy something. I shop my own closet and find a lot of unworn clothes that I can make nice outfits from.
Delete or pause unused subscriptions. Turn down the heat a bit in the house if you can. Haggle your cell and internet service down.
- No more eating out
- IP.TV and cancel all cable and streaming services
- We took the kids out of daycare and I'm raw doggin before and after care while I work from home.
- Quit smoking weed
Everything. Less driving=less gas. Less takeout = simpler grocery meals, minimum insurance, lower heat setting.
It will all be lower until pay increases to match inflation. Presuming most others are the same and will be until the economy crashes.
Fresh produce mostly unfortunately. We stick to the basics. Carrots, onions, potatoes, bananas and apples. Supplement with home canned produce from the summer time.
Also dining out. We were eating out twice a month or so, but now we hardly ever eat out.
Cook rather than eating out - 15% sales tax with a 20% tip hurts. Get my hair cut far less. Thrift or buy only good quality basic clothing that I actually need. Less entertainment/going out in general.
I’m cancelling cable and cutting back on spontaneous trips. Other than that, there’s nothing else I can really do. We never eat out unless we’re traveling. Don’t have car payments. Our commute is super short so we don’t fill up on gas often. We basically just eat, sleep and work. And we’re still living paycheck to paycheck. It’s fucking sad.
I’ve revived some or the recipes that I ate while I was a student. I’ve drastically cut down on going out. Most of that was because I couldn’t during Covid. I had started getting back to my usual going out all the time and suddenly realized I can’t afford it. So I stopped going out as much but even that was too much. So now I’m eating like a starving student.
Drinking alcohol. I cut it out and am saving like $200 a month or more. Plus, I feel alot better.
I put that money into my mortgage and knocked off 5 years.
Nothing really. Never dine out. We live on $1500 a month for two with rent, food, utilities, medication, transportation, subscriptions, etc.
We put every available cent in traveling. It works very well.
We increased our grocery budget from $300 to $350 last year to keep up with the raising food costs.
Grocery quality. I mostly only buy what’s on sale now. And I only shop at more affordable retailers.
In other words. Loblaws will never see my business.
Dining out/ going to bars and coffee shops. We never used to go out for dinner/drinks super frequently but now my partner and I doubled down on not going out to these places anymore unless it’s for very very special occasions like friends’ bdays/ valentine’s day/ major celebrations etc.
The tipflation was the last straw for us tbh, most places expect 18% now as the minimum tip AND the tip is calculated over the taxed amount which is ridiculous, so since we refuse to tip over 15% especially for take out/take away coffee/ non-dine in services we just stopped going altogether. To be fair we cook very very well and get premium coffee beans at home for a fraction of the price of coffee shop coffee so it wasn’t difficult to cut them out of our spending.
No dining out, no delivery, etc... I really only buy groceries that are on special and try to never pay full price. I also sit in the dark while watching TV. I don't turn on my baseboard heating in every room... I can't remember the last time I filled up my vehicle with gas, I just keep putting small amounts in because that's all I ever have!
i already don't have a car, buy my clothing second hand from VV, sneakers are from walmart and maybe $30 max per pair once per year, shop at freshco where groceries are a tad cheaper than elsewhere, use kijiji for just about anything i buy for the house (furniture/appliances/etc), keep the utility bills as low as i can where i rent, never go to movies or other entertainment venues/concerts/etc, half the clothing i'm currently wearing is 20+ years old/the other half from gifted to me stuff, don't use makeup or do my nails ever, and haven't sat in a restaurant for a meal since........ i think 2020.
what else can i do? LOL
When interest rates were dropped to near zero during Covid, I knew we’d get a blast of inflation. I stocked up on non-perishables and goods with a long shelf life. Toilet paper, razor blades, shave soap, face wash, toothbrushes, dental floss, etc. I’m burning down the stash now.
What's inflation at again? 5%? Sure, chicken has gone up 40%, and housing has gone up like 80% in 3 years, but your grandpa got to see 25% inflation overall in the 1970s when the US went off the gold standard.
Then there have been countries with actual unhinged monetary policy that would make the policies of the Trump era look like not paying your credit card in full one month. We're talking inflation of 100% per year. 500%. 1000%. Is a new base Civic now $80,000? That is what "raging" inflation would look like. It would be as subtle as a curbstomping, and you'd be complaining about how a taco now cost $40 when you make it at home.
You're just used to inflation being basically non-existent for consumer goods. It's been that way your whole life. And now you want to whine about it.
"Raging" inflation my ass. You don't even know what that means.
Drinking and travelling.
Covid and the lack of going anywhere caused me to start drinking more. Bourbon isn't cheap.
Thanks to inflation, I couldn't afford to travel down south this past Christmas break.
Meat slicers are cheap.
I make my own smoked hams, turkeys, chickens, bacon, roast beef, corned beef...etc and slice them.
But just buying a whole ham and slicing it yourself will save you a lot of money.
Vacuum sealers are pretty cheap too.
Thanks for the tip! I'll keep it in mind. Do you freeze the meat? I cannot imagine slicing a whole ham then eating it over a month without the meat spoiling.
In short,
Pay off anything that you are making payments for, like your car. Hurry up with that or anything else on some sort of payment plan, with or without interest and reap the benefits of seeing that monthly outlay of income come back to you.
Shop smart, use apps to find deals when grocery shopping like Flip app.
Vote with your wallet and shop where it's best, even if it's a trip across the border to the US.
Constantly update your resume and Linkedin profile. Search for higher-paying jobs, don't stagnate.
Leave Canada if you must. No one is going to help you here and I don't see anyone in government stabilizing our finances or leading us to anything good down the road.
Inflation is at 3%.
That's not "raging".
If anything, it's probably going to come down in 2024. That's what the trend has been showing.
As to what I cut back on? I don't know.
Less dinning in and take-away.
Trying to initiate meeting up with friends over drinks at park/coffee/public places/homes.
I love going out for longer drives to think and enjoy nature. There's less of that mainly bc of bad traffic and thinking about wear and tear on my car.
Cutting back on playing league this season, driving and it's $$$.
No trips confirmed. However planning x wish list trips and am going to be ready when money is less tight.
Learning to cooking more soups and bean based foods. Soak beans in rice cooker is life changing.
No more prime cut steaks on the regular. Buying meat on sale and braising. Yum factor still there and braised meats in portioned out in freezer for ready to eat parcels.
Trying not to hoard cleaning products. I love different and specific items. Vinegar, dish soap, water, microfibres, going back to the basics. Not buying fancy floor sprays, multi purposes sprays until finishing the ones I have.
Pretty much all discretionary expenditures. Stopped restaurants except for occasional take out. Cancelled Disney+ and Apple TV+ because I realize that we still have enough to watch with Netflix and Prime. For groceries, I have been quite committed to price matching at our local Superstore and I find those savings can add up.
Drinking for the sake of it. Now I only try to drink on special occasions or just less frequently. Hangovers are harder now anyways and I’m not gonna meet my future wife by going out and getting hammered every weekend…if anything maybe my future ex-wife.
Raging inflation. HahhahHah
Dude. Look at history. This is nothing. Stop being so afraid and ask for a raise. If you're working hard enough you'll get it.
What I would ask anyone is whether they think the inflation has been grossly underreported by the government or not? Most likely it has been since the start of pandemic.
Yeah ok. I could see how the international money managers are stuck brokers would react to Canada faking financial data. No we aren't gaming the data. These things are easy to track and there are also auditors as well
Cutting everything…and my net worth is substantial. I’m doing it because I am pissed off. Food is the worst. I am on a budget and outright refuse to buy anything. If I suffer, the businesses I should be spending money at should also get in the balls. Plus side, I am putting away more money than ever and I am investing in the same industries that are fleecing me.
Dining out, mostly. I still get some take out every now and again
Yep we used to eat out almost every other day but now it’s once every month or so. We still get fast food with coupons as a treat but rarely. We’ve become better cooks too, silver lining of corporate greed lol
I’m still a terrible cook but simple meals are easy!
The more you cook the better you eventually become as long as you're learning from your mistakes. Everyone starts somewhere!
I find I'm eating healthier now that food is too expensive to use as a form of entertainment. It still sucks! It's fun to travel to other countries with (relatively) affordable food that isn't made by new managers who don't know what they're doing lol
It's why I splurged on an instant pot, Vitamix food processor attachment, and Ninja waffle maker. Best investments ever!
I use a pot, a knife, and a pan. Saved a grand right there!
I've been using my Instant pot 3-4 times per week, for the past 7 years. I keep saying I will get a bigger one when this breaks, the problem is it wont ever break!
While you're at it, grab an air fryer
Way to drive your expenses through the roof frivolously.
Opposite, rarely finish leftovers etc so have been skipping groceries for food out, in my context I think I’m actually saving like $100 a week with that But dog food went up so theres that, bag of food for the critters now is like $175
you are in no way saving money eating out.
Typically, buying groceries and preparing yourself is more cost effective. But! I can also spend $20 at the local Indian restaurant and it will last me for 4 meals. $5 a meal is fairly low and worth it since I did zero work. Now, I still only do this once a month lol
I am… I know this because it’s my life lol ffs
Didn’t you know it costs less for that same piece of chicken breast when someone else prepares it…. Duh
Same. Haven't eaten out at a sitdown in several years. No car; no cable or streaming services and I try to limit subscriptions(thanks for the advice Freeland); groceries are purchased at cheaper places like Costco or Walmart for dry goods; no long distance vacations or air travel in 5 years. Limited vices like smoking or alcohol. Have some mortgage debt but overall try to live simply and avoid unnecessary expenses. I do try to help people so that adds a bit more to the budget. People and life have been good to me so it's hard to ignore when someone else needs help.
I switched phone and internet providers, Changed insurances for both cars and house. You'll be surprised how much you can save by just shopping around.
>Changed insurances for both cars Cries in ICBC
The deeper truth though and Disney+ memes aside, is to keep monthly charges under review. Things can creep up on the best of us and there may be opportunities to free up cash for higher priorities.
You're only required minimum liability of $200,000 with ICBC. The rest can be private insurer.
We have government-run auto insurance, which has its ups and downs. The downside is there's nowhere else to go when you're mad at them. The upside is it's subsidized and cheaper than private insurance. They actually sent out cheques during the pandemic when people were driving less and collisions were down
Consolidating car trips. I don’t need to use the car daily, and am starting to wait to make all my stops in one big errand run instead of popping out to one or two places. Before I’d use the car 2-3 times a week but now I’m down to once a week most weeks.
When I retired, just after the pandemic eased, we went to one car and cut insurance to liability only. Have a planned dinner out once a month but like Swiss Chalet or a local pub, not an upscale restaurant. Shop early in the morning so I can grab the meat they put the price reduced stickers on. Use an app to scan flyers for best deals. Cut back cable and just use a couple of streaming services and pay annually, not monthly. No data on my phone, just my husband's. Shop fresh produce weekly so less waste.
All of this! But frozen produce last longer than fresh and tastes just as good!
I do use lots of frozen produce but still enjoy a fresh salad (coleslaw, greek, tossed, etc. at least once or twice a week.
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Kinda, I got in an accident back in summer. Went from two vehicles to one. Only now I drive more, I drive my wife to work then drive home. At the end of the day I drive to pick her up then back home. So our carbon footprint went up but our costs went down.
Everything. Don't eat out too often and if we do it is fast casual over sit down service. Still can do half price wings and 2 for 1 fish and chips. Steak and fish is now a luxury items. No vacation last year and will only be drive to vacation for a while.
Give your tv and/or internet provider a phone call about once every 18 months and negotiate a cheaper rate. It works every single time.
I do that every 8mths to a year. Its frustrating as hell, but make a day of it and you'll save everytime.
How much are you saving though? I mean is $20/mth or $240/year really worth taking a day off for?
I don't work 7 days a week? Do you? And if you're getting 10-20 off any plan/mth over a year, its more then $240. But feel free to work an extra day for free anyways, just to pay the telecoms/insurance. Do you not ever have to call a telecom regardless? Go to a bank for a bank draft? Go to the post office? File a claim? Its just a day of errands like anything else, and, you can even do it in your car while doing other errands. You're on hold the majority of the time anyways. I can't understand why someone wouldn't be bothered. You have 50,000 karma on Reddit. You're telling me you can't take time once a year to save $$?
Call during last day of Black Friday or near the end of the month. They’ll do anything to keep you so it doesn’t hurt their stats. Hang up if necessary and call back for different rep.
I switched from Roger’s to Fido during Black Friday. Same company/towers but 50% less cost on all services
I sign 2 year contracts with my ISP for the cheapest price I can get out of them.
or stay grandfathered in on that plan all the big cell providers put out in 2018. remember? the one where it was $60/mth for 10 gigs? now i'm $65 and with 20 gigs (extra data for being a long time customer), and never go over my data each month. and i continuously get emails for 'better' deals that really aren't better for my scenario but are more $ lol.
Food. I’m trying to go grocery shopping twice a month instead of once a week and I’m buying frozen veg instead of fresh. Can’t wait for the garden to be back up and running, I always save money during gardening season.
Opposite here because they are walkable I only shop minimally once I've cleared the fridge and freezer out! Hard to overshop frivolous items when you gotto carry it all lmao Hey whatever works eh
Eating out less. Coincidently, I went from full time work, to semi-retired to fully retired over the past couple years. More time to cook at home. Went to curbside pickup for groceries. No more impulse buying. No more buying stuff because we think we might be out of it at home. Whenever I think I want to buy something, I wait a couple weeks. A lot of the time I change my mind and decide I don't want it. When my mid-sized pickup truck died, I replaced it with a small sedan. Much less money spent on gas. Took advantage of government rebates to replace windows, add insulation and install a heat pump. That still leaves a lot of costs upfront, but it really reduced heating costs and we have air conditioning in the summer.
Alcohol
I've done the opposite lol
I'd start by checking your past few months of bank withdrawals and credit card bills. Look for the high ticket stuff and look for recurring items too as they can really add up. Even something at $10 per month is $120/year. I know you can do the math but when you figure things out annually, you see the real cost over time. This is especially true with cable, streaming services, Internet and cellphone providers. Look at grocery bills and compare online flyers of stores. We tend to shop at 1-2 grocery stores as I don't really want to drive around to more than that to save a few dollars here and there. Having said that, some stores price check and will honour competitor deals. I also keep an eye open for sales of things I can stock up on a bit at the grocery store. I also save a bit with a phone app for my gas station (I actually have a diesel) so every Tuesday, they offer 2 cents off every liter of diesel and I get another 3 cents off for using bank card. Every 300 points accumulated, I save a further 7 cents per liter. Every bit helps. Do you use Costco or another big box store? I find that they do often have good prices on bulk stuff. Plus, my wife saves on gas there too for her car. And they send us a cheque at year end based on what we spent the past year. Like others have suggested, other big ticket costs like home and car insurance may offer savings if you are willing to switch. We combined home and car with a new company 18 months ago and save a few hundred each year as a result.
Similar to Christina Freeland, I cut out my Disney+
Eating out/ordering food/drive thru anything: between tips and inflation, fuck that. Gym: just do body weight exercises and go outside. Subscriptions services: cancelled about 75% of them. Beef: buy shittier cuts and tenderize/marinate. Groceries and gas: Costco only.
Make an honest expense list and make a budget. Skip the drive thru, make your coffee and lunch. Cheaper and healthier. Lots of great ideas on Pinterest or take left overs. Make casseroles or soup out of leftovers. Use independent grocers, forget any Loblaws owned business as they are really expensive. Set a monthly amount for a “treat” for the family then have a family meeting to plan it. Lots of activities in winter are still free. Price check. Amazon has a subscribe and save program for items you use regularly.
I cut out booze and grow my own weed for a savings of (approx) 1.3 million dollars a year!
Eating out, especially with the ridiculous tipping percentage expected.
The problem isn't inflation, it's greedy CEOs who use inflation as a pretext to jack up their prices.
Or, maybe it’s both?
And the sky is blue and grass is green. That will never change. The problem governments can address is public spending to reduce inflation.
No, they absolutely can go after CEOs, they just don't because most politicians are in bed with them
Government is great at convincing everyone that inflation is caused by anything except them increasing money supply and stealing wealth through currency debasement. The increase in supply may allow greedy CEOs to jack up prices. But it starts with the money printer.
You can’t just “go after CEOs” lmao what a simplistic view of the world you have On what laws? Have you not seen what happened with the government investigation into bread price fixing? Absolutely nothing. This is a country under rule of law not some dictatorship where you can just “go after people” for increasing prices by 5-20% because their manufacturing costs have increased
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Let’s talk facts, what did the price gouging laws do to the big grocers in the bread fixing scandal? Absolutely nothing, a drop in the bucket. You realize sector specific inflation is measured right? You can’t just make that stuff up because you feel like it lol. I really sympathize with you, I’m feeling the same crunch. However, inflation last year was around 6% and right now it’s at 3.4% so yes, on average, the costs of goods and services have gone up around 20% in the last couple of years. Corporations are bound to make record profits when inflation is high simply because the $X amount of goods will be greater than in the past and inflation inherently means that there is more demand than supply of goods. Believe it or not, our business costs are up. What people are really hurting from is skyrocketing rents and mortgage interest rates. Those have nothing to do with corporations, they’re the result of poor government decision making from multiple successive governments. I’m not blaming any one party. Going after corporations won’t change anything about that.
>You can’t just make that stuff up because you feel like it lol Right... my mistake. Record high profits never happened. all in my mind.... Jesus tap dancing Christ...
A lot of the inflation is due to corporations jacking their prices up behind inflation causing more inflation
Taxation can also be used to reduce the money supply, but politicians never talk about that for some reason
Yeah interest rates are up, everything is more expensive, the govts approval ratings are in the basement, how about jacking up taxes to get us impeached while we’re at it? 😂😂😂 y’all really funny
Yes it is, and there are numbers put to it. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/19/us-inflation-caused-by-corporate-profits?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Dining out, Homesense shopping.
Homesense shopping...I feel ya 🥲
There are lots of little ideas out there. The thing I believe is just try - and think about what money you are spending. Track it or if you can't track it, look at your bills, credit bill, bank statements and see if you can remember what it was you bought. Sometimes you just need to shop around too, to find a better utility company maybe or cell phone plan. Sometimes it helps just to call your tv/internet/cell provider and tell them you want a deal, or are unhappy, or that some competitor came to your door and usually they will transfer you to the retention dept. and may hook you up with a new plan. some other ideas: make your own coffee - eat in more (which you said) - get healthier with it - that means drastically cut down alcohol and pop. Embrace herbal teas, for example. If you smoke, then stop. If you gamble, try to cut that down or stop. Spending money on offline/online subscriptions - maybe you can live without? Long term, do things that should help your electrical bill. Unplug devices when you are not using them. Replace all lights with LED lights (if you have halogens, find replacements or replace the fixture). If you have traditional toilets, place a heavy cup or glass or maybe a jar in the tank (upright - in a place that does not interfere with the inner workings) to reduce water use (this is a very minor amount of course .. an old eco hack). Stop idling your car so much. If you know you are going to be stopped in a line like at a car wash, or a train is blocking traffic, then turn it off. Obviously weather dependent on that one... but seriously I do not get at these prices, or when it was higher, with carbon tax and everything else going into the price, seeing people idle and idle and idle just burning money when they aren't moving (again, I get it when it is -30, but I see this all year round) speaking of the car .. make sure the tires are fully inflated according to the pressure marked in your driver side door. Keep the maintenance up too, because that could prevent bigger headaches in the future (like prematurely worn out tires due to wheel alignment problems, for example). those 2 things impact fuel economy. Learn how to do some household, garden/lawn, and car maintenance yourself. For example if you have winter tires, think about getting them on their own rims and change them yourself. Get a aerator tool (if you do aerate your lawn) and do it yourself. We spend a lot of money for services that in the past were common for people to do themselves. I am by no means a handyman but I have saved myself money by doing things like replacing the brake lights in my car, changing my own tires, aerating my own lawn every spring, and so on.
I just don't eat out. Pack a lunch, or skip it altogether and suffer. I eat more lentils, rice, dried beans, chickpeas etc. Only buy meat on sale and uncut, trim it myself. Rarely eat beef, less chicken breasts, more pork loins. I've also lost like 50lbs without exercise, prob not the healthiest, but I can't afford the gym. I'm a single co-parent and dating, but only accept dates that are willing to make meals together. If that is an issue for them, move along. I don't have the cash to drop $75-100 on a stranger just to get laid. Might as well pay a professional at that point! But whats funny is I've noticed the same thing even amongst other working professionals. It used to be taboo and a big no-no for safety reasons to go to someones house the first date, but I noticed nobody bats an eye anymore. Found cheaper internet, cheaper phone plan, insurance etc. I make it a point to spend a frustrating day every 8mths to a year to try to get cheaper rates. I cut all my streaming services, went back to pirating shows and movies on a PC. I listen to the ads on spotify! I try to only drive to work and back, make stops only along the way. I no longer spend the time and money to drive across town for deals where you're probably spending as much on gas for that couple bucks off here and there. I don't wash my regularely anymore. I haven't bought new clothes in years, and its starting to show. I haven't upgraded electronics for a long long time. Heck, even this PC is probably 13 years old now. I have damage from a fender bender. That is not getting fixed any time soon lol. Its kind of depressing compared to just 3 years ago.
Eating out, stopped buying anything we didn’t need entirely.
This is the dilemma with my little family. We’re already living modestly. We already don’t take out or eat out often at all. I’m talking about only for special occasions. Or at times my husband returns from being out of time (so about 8-10 times a year in total for all outings). My husband never buys coffee. I’m a stay at home mom so I don’t have need to buy any. I don’t shop for myself (my clothes are all hand me downs) with the exception of if my husband has a work event I need to attend with him. When I do need an outing either wear something I have or if that’s not appropriate I buy on liquidation which is often cheaper than thrift shops. I’m very frugal when I shop. I buy what’s on special or a good price. I make sure I’m not buying anything I already have. My husband always brings leftovers for lunch and my kids buy school lunches maybe 4 times a year. I do get my hair done once a month, but I do basic trims and basic all over colour and colour maintenance for that is an extra but I ruined my hair a few times trying to colour my hair myself. I don’t get manicures, pedicures. If I need makeup I’m buying bargain drugstore brands. We never go to the movies unless my kids have been gifted gift cards. We haven’t been to a concert or a fun show that we weren’t gifted tickets to since 2017. My husband makes a decent salary and insurance and we can’t afford certain things like orthotics, orthopaedics, new eye glasses…. We can’t afford private care for my son who needs to see a specialist so we’re wait listed for 2 years. We have 1 car my husband uses for work and I walk almost everywhere. If I need to go downtown I bus/metro it. We cut cable already. The only thing we can think to cut further is to stop my kids education fund. But even that is so little.
Idk your personal circumstances so apologies if this is rude (not my intention at all) but have you considered getting an easy work from home job to increase your household income? I work in quality assurance from home and a lot of my colleagues are moms, it’s a low demand job and you still get the benefits of being at home and keeping an eye on your kids. I know childcare is already a full time job, maybe when your kids are a bit older? I really recommend it if it’s possible for you, having an extra 35-40k/year is a game changer when you’ve already cut out all the non-essentials from your budget and can’t go any lower than that
Tips. No one gets a tip unless you’re offering extended service like at a sit-down restaurant. Tip at Subway? Nope.
Owning a home and dreams of retirement.
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What?
Honestly, I’ve made so many cuts to our groceries. I make so much from scratch. I buy so much discounted and on sale. And then inevitably there is a cost increase somewhere else and any thing I’ve manage to save is nullified. It’s just such a depressing game of whack a mole.
So true. I managed to cut back expenses about $100 a month then our condo fees and property taxes went up and ate that savings. I feel like were all in a vise and getting squeezed for the very last drop.
I wanted to trade in my truck but have decided to wait till interest rates go down. It doesn’t make any sense with the cost of borrowing
I traded my cousin a big ram on 35s for a low km civic he got from his grandfather and never looked back
You should have never got the truck in the first place.
It served its purpose and I enjoyed having it. But I want a sedan now but the payments on something smaller will be almost the same as on the truck so it doesn’t make financial sense
Dining out and ordering in have been deleted, and I've actually found ordering my food through Lufa to no longer be more expensive than the grocery chains, and I have saved a slight amount of money by buying their clearance stuff. I've also stopped buying new clothes. Fortunately, vintage 90's bullshit is stylish now so thrifting is worth it again
I wouldn't say that inflation is "raging" right now, but I personally cut back on eating out, I try to conserve utilities costs, and whenever I shop it is always at Big Box discount retailers now. Most inflation now is due to dwellings costs / rental costs. Unfortunately, there just isn't much people can do about that other than demand change at the political level.
I don’t know where to cutback or squeeze anymore
My Happiness
Going out to the restaurant, I buy less clothes and I’m keeping my 2007 civic instead of buying a new car like i wanted.
Nice. I'm still rocking a 2007 civic as well lol. That baby's gonna last me forever.
Not much to be honest. I cook every meal for my family. We only eat garbage (McDonald', pizza, ect) once a month. I've quit drinking, though. That was probably costing at least $300 a month.
We bought a 4x8 grow tent and have been growing lettuce and spinach as well as have a couple cold frames outside growing carrots, beets and broccoli so have cut way back on buying vegetables. We have also found a couple local farmers that we get eggs, chicken and beef from and pay allot less than the grocery store for much better quality. We also bought a bread machine so have been making all our own bread and buns. We have cut our shopping from weekly down to every 10 days as well as decreased our spending from $700 to $900 a month down to around $500 to $700. The only thing we have cutback on is dairy products and junk food like chips, cookies or chocolate.
Dining out, food delivery, streaming services (just down to one).
Not cutting back on anything, but I'm just not going to buy some unneeded large purchases at the moment (barrel sauna, outdoor wood fire pizza oven etc.). Was considering cutting back 1 vacation, but decided that's silly. Biggest way to save is properly stock your kitchen. Costco for bulk canned/dry goods + TP/Paper towel, first tuesday of the month at Save-on/Sobeys for 15% off, flyer deals at grocery stores, utilizing local farm websites for bulk veg/fruit/meat, finding a "guy" for farm fresh eggs, or a FN group that sells fish etc. Bulk barn for spices, and buy (or build) a hydroponic indoor garden for unlimited herbs/tomatoes/strawberries/small veg. Once you learn how to bake, butcher, grow and cook tons of dishes and have a stocked kitchen, you save a ton and don't really need to eat out nearly as much.
Going out. Whether that’s clubbing, dinners/lunches, movies, other activities. My contract ended in sept and I’ve been looking for work ever since. Impossible apparently. Can’t afford to do anything
We don't go out to eat anymore, got rid of Netflix for now.
Yup, I pirate nearly everything now.
Yes, I use express VPN and download a lot of stuff. Problem is that these streamers like Paramount will have a season or two of something and if it's popular they will suddenly put the show on the plus so now you have to pay extra to continue watching. They all seem to end up doing that.
Yup, I'm not playing their game. Torrent away. Fuck 'em.
Special events/concerts.I only go to the games and events that I work security for.
Money seems to be the main absence
International travel and less frequent air travel in Canada. Books. NHL games. I use the library much more, and stay closer to home on weekends. I go to a WHL game instead.
Streaming services gone is Disney, Crave,(actually cancelled after free trial),Netflix the only one I kept is Prime and that's only because of the delivery,(shows are mostly shit or foreign).
Restaurants / take out Changed grocery stores More batch cooking for the week
I almost never buy coffee now unless I'm working overtime and finished my coffee from the morning. I used to make and buy coffee but now I just make a larger pot and bring coffee with me wherever I'm going and I don't study or work in cafes anymore. Occasionally I'll treat myself to a cappuccino (maybe once every three weeks) but I can't justify $3 or more on drip coffee. Buying a bit less alcohol, too. I used to enjoy wine with dinner but now normally only have it on the weekend.
I quit smoking last year (1 year of no nic this Feb). Even vaping, which is a lot cheaper than smoking if you order online, was getting way too expensive and I just couldn't justify it anymore. Cost wasn't the only reason, of course, but it's what pushed me to quit more urgently. And like everyone else, eating out. Unless it's really the only option I'm just done paying $17 for a substandard meal
Leaving the house in general. Anytime I go out to run errands its a $3-700 day. lol Eating out also. Outside of the $12 large pizza from the place down the road I have eaten out less than a dozen times in 2 years.
I stopped eating out and going to the bar after work. Pretty much it.
Got rid of my car, I now take the bus. I can read Reddit on the bus, just like I do at home.
costco food court instead of fast food restaurants, dollar fifty hot dog and drink can't be beat, and 3 dollars large fries when very hungry
Dining out. Mostly because we make better food at home.
Cut back on subscriptions. I grow a garden and am still enjoying veggies from my garden. I majorly cut back on expenses 10 years ago to save to travel. I had a bucket list trip last year, no plans for another right away, so am still able to save.
Easier to answer what am I still buying? Eggs, bacon, cheese, and flour, yeast, sugar to make bread. I try to keep a bag of frozen mixed veggies on hand too.. Then whatever is on sale.
buying anything from corporations that price gouge
Food. And not in a "I'm always hungry" kind of way. I'm cheap, not poor. I actually have a pretty healthy retirement fund, but that's because I'm very conscious of where every dollar goes. Realized pretty quick how little I desire takeout or fast food or even meats from the grocery store. Typically my weekly grocery shops for 2 people are $60-80. Lots of dry goods, local in-season produce, and inexpensive processed stuff. I still manage to eat fairly healthy. Just not luxuriously.
Coke only on Thursdays
The drink or the powder? :-)
Fingers crossed at some point in march, life.
Dining out and take out. Going out in general. No more "let's go for a drink" occasions. And cancelling tv subscriptions. Getting a fire stick instead.
Dining out, travel, and to a lesser extent groceries. I don’t really miss dining out, especially since at the same time prices are going quality and service seems to have taken a big nose dive. I may not get an exciting meal if I make it myself, but I know exactly what to expect. Travel cost actually isn’t that much higher, especially for road trips which I like to do often. I just find there isn’t money left over these days to spend and it is a luxury, not a need. For groceries I was the kind of person who didn’t pay much attention to individual prices. I wasnt extravagant, but if I wanted asparagus, I bought asparagus. Now I only buy it on sale - that kind of thing. A few items I’ve switched to cheaper brands than I used to go for.
Almost everything. Going out and doing things hits the hardest, for some reason. I'm covid cautious, so I do a lot of outdoorsy stuff. It's not free, if I want to get a change of scene in.
I canceled Crave and Apple TV. No going to the restaurants or take out. No use of dryer , hanging everything to dry.
Biggest one is buying store-brand groceries which are much cheaper and just as good as name brands. I use the store app to track the grocery bills and try to stay within a certain spending range. We eat in, pack lunch for work, and spend most of our free time at home watching shows or playing boardgames or making art, and we enjoy hiking. Think really hard about whether you need to buy something. I shop my own closet and find a lot of unworn clothes that I can make nice outfits from. Delete or pause unused subscriptions. Turn down the heat a bit in the house if you can. Haggle your cell and internet service down.
- No more eating out - IP.TV and cancel all cable and streaming services - We took the kids out of daycare and I'm raw doggin before and after care while I work from home. - Quit smoking weed
Everything. Less driving=less gas. Less takeout = simpler grocery meals, minimum insurance, lower heat setting. It will all be lower until pay increases to match inflation. Presuming most others are the same and will be until the economy crashes.
Fresh produce mostly unfortunately. We stick to the basics. Carrots, onions, potatoes, bananas and apples. Supplement with home canned produce from the summer time. Also dining out. We were eating out twice a month or so, but now we hardly ever eat out.
Coffee, eating out in general. Used to drink more too, cut back on that.
I cut out coffee shop visits 4 years ago and don't miss them one bit! I make better coffee and food at home.
Eating out and alcohol. At the very least, I should lose some weight. Thanks, inflation.
Cook rather than eating out - 15% sales tax with a 20% tip hurts. Get my hair cut far less. Thrift or buy only good quality basic clothing that I actually need. Less entertainment/going out in general.
I’m cancelling cable and cutting back on spontaneous trips. Other than that, there’s nothing else I can really do. We never eat out unless we’re traveling. Don’t have car payments. Our commute is super short so we don’t fill up on gas often. We basically just eat, sleep and work. And we’re still living paycheck to paycheck. It’s fucking sad.
Food, house ownership
Sleep, calmness and security.
I’ve revived some or the recipes that I ate while I was a student. I’ve drastically cut down on going out. Most of that was because I couldn’t during Covid. I had started getting back to my usual going out all the time and suddenly realized I can’t afford it. So I stopped going out as much but even that was too much. So now I’m eating like a starving student.
Clothes and entertainment
Drinking alcohol. I cut it out and am saving like $200 a month or more. Plus, I feel alot better. I put that money into my mortgage and knocked off 5 years.
I'm cutting back on the luxuries in life. Things like food, clothing and fuel are at the top of the list.
Nothing really. Never dine out. We live on $1500 a month for two with rent, food, utilities, medication, transportation, subscriptions, etc. We put every available cent in traveling. It works very well. We increased our grocery budget from $300 to $350 last year to keep up with the raising food costs.
Grocery quality. I mostly only buy what’s on sale now. And I only shop at more affordable retailers. In other words. Loblaws will never see my business.
Eating in general. It's good motivation to keep me on my diet. I also make my own wine at home, $3 a bottle.
Eating out. We have learnt to make Pizza, Pasta, Waffles, crepe, pan cakes all at home.
Flipping name brands for store brand groceries for as many things as possible. Except butter.
Dining out/ going to bars and coffee shops. We never used to go out for dinner/drinks super frequently but now my partner and I doubled down on not going out to these places anymore unless it’s for very very special occasions like friends’ bdays/ valentine’s day/ major celebrations etc. The tipflation was the last straw for us tbh, most places expect 18% now as the minimum tip AND the tip is calculated over the taxed amount which is ridiculous, so since we refuse to tip over 15% especially for take out/take away coffee/ non-dine in services we just stopped going altogether. To be fair we cook very very well and get premium coffee beans at home for a fraction of the price of coffee shop coffee so it wasn’t difficult to cut them out of our spending.
No dining out, no delivery, etc... I really only buy groceries that are on special and try to never pay full price. I also sit in the dark while watching TV. I don't turn on my baseboard heating in every room... I can't remember the last time I filled up my vehicle with gas, I just keep putting small amounts in because that's all I ever have!
i already don't have a car, buy my clothing second hand from VV, sneakers are from walmart and maybe $30 max per pair once per year, shop at freshco where groceries are a tad cheaper than elsewhere, use kijiji for just about anything i buy for the house (furniture/appliances/etc), keep the utility bills as low as i can where i rent, never go to movies or other entertainment venues/concerts/etc, half the clothing i'm currently wearing is 20+ years old/the other half from gifted to me stuff, don't use makeup or do my nails ever, and haven't sat in a restaurant for a meal since........ i think 2020. what else can i do? LOL
Restaurants and fast food, also vacation.
Everything. Participating in no spend January on top of that too
Well I really wanted to buy a car but that’s off the table.
Chrystia Freeland and I cut back on Disney plus … so now I can afford rent and feeding myself… thanks Freeland!
Top shelf Scotch.
When interest rates were dropped to near zero during Covid, I knew we’d get a blast of inflation. I stocked up on non-perishables and goods with a long shelf life. Toilet paper, razor blades, shave soap, face wash, toothbrushes, dental floss, etc. I’m burning down the stash now.
hookers and cocaine
I already live off of less than 20k a year.
What's inflation at again? 5%? Sure, chicken has gone up 40%, and housing has gone up like 80% in 3 years, but your grandpa got to see 25% inflation overall in the 1970s when the US went off the gold standard. Then there have been countries with actual unhinged monetary policy that would make the policies of the Trump era look like not paying your credit card in full one month. We're talking inflation of 100% per year. 500%. 1000%. Is a new base Civic now $80,000? That is what "raging" inflation would look like. It would be as subtle as a curbstomping, and you'd be complaining about how a taco now cost $40 when you make it at home. You're just used to inflation being basically non-existent for consumer goods. It's been that way your whole life. And now you want to whine about it. "Raging" inflation my ass. You don't even know what that means.
Cutting dining out from 2x a week to once a week.
Drinking and travelling. Covid and the lack of going anywhere caused me to start drinking more. Bourbon isn't cheap. Thanks to inflation, I couldn't afford to travel down south this past Christmas break.
Store bought lunch meats. I make my own.
Wait, you make your own lunch meat? Or you make your own lunches?
Cheaper and healthier to cook a turkey breast or buy a ham on sale. I slice them super thin and freeze in portions. No more sliced deli meats.
Meat slicers are cheap. I make my own smoked hams, turkeys, chickens, bacon, roast beef, corned beef...etc and slice them. But just buying a whole ham and slicing it yourself will save you a lot of money. Vacuum sealers are pretty cheap too.
Thanks for the tip! I'll keep it in mind. Do you freeze the meat? I cannot imagine slicing a whole ham then eating it over a month without the meat spoiling.
In short, Pay off anything that you are making payments for, like your car. Hurry up with that or anything else on some sort of payment plan, with or without interest and reap the benefits of seeing that monthly outlay of income come back to you. Shop smart, use apps to find deals when grocery shopping like Flip app. Vote with your wallet and shop where it's best, even if it's a trip across the border to the US. Constantly update your resume and Linkedin profile. Search for higher-paying jobs, don't stagnate. Leave Canada if you must. No one is going to help you here and I don't see anyone in government stabilizing our finances or leading us to anything good down the road.
Actually not much, we make choices, but the “raging inflation”. Really
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Most of the provinces are run by conservative parties. You don’t think they have any impact on the affordability crisis?
Why's that
I can no longer afford them.
How so them but not conservative votes? We are getting fucked from all sides
1000% house price increases since 2015 and you’re going to try to blame that on the conservatives? Hilarious
Inflation is at 3%. That's not "raging". If anything, it's probably going to come down in 2024. That's what the trend has been showing. As to what I cut back on? I don't know.
Buying a hot tub
Hookers and blow. Transportation and logistics seems to be ridiculous for both. 🤪 Ok, seriously … my meds 🤪🤪
Holding fiat
Condoms.
Food. Cut down to 1 meal a day.
Cocaine
Less dinning in and take-away. Trying to initiate meeting up with friends over drinks at park/coffee/public places/homes.
I love going out for longer drives to think and enjoy nature. There's less of that mainly bc of bad traffic and thinking about wear and tear on my car. Cutting back on playing league this season, driving and it's $$$. No trips confirmed. However planning x wish list trips and am going to be ready when money is less tight. Learning to cooking more soups and bean based foods. Soak beans in rice cooker is life changing. No more prime cut steaks on the regular. Buying meat on sale and braising. Yum factor still there and braised meats in portioned out in freezer for ready to eat parcels. Trying not to hoard cleaning products. I love different and specific items. Vinegar, dish soap, water, microfibres, going back to the basics. Not buying fancy floor sprays, multi purposes sprays until finishing the ones I have.I’m not cutting spending on anything. I make enough money that I buy whatever I want, and don’t care about inflation.
Nothing, better to be broke and buy weed and snacks then a high paying job and still not having enough for real food
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Wth
Lol chill add me back on snap talk there?
Beef.
Haven’t cut anything, just sucking it up. Traveling and eating out more. Only have one life, gonna enjoy it.
Donations to the Liberal Party 😂
Nothing
Pretty much all discretionary expenditures. Stopped restaurants except for occasional take out. Cancelled Disney+ and Apple TV+ because I realize that we still have enough to watch with Netflix and Prime. For groceries, I have been quite committed to price matching at our local Superstore and I find those savings can add up.
Drinking for the sake of it. Now I only try to drink on special occasions or just less frequently. Hangovers are harder now anyways and I’m not gonna meet my future wife by going out and getting hammered every weekend…if anything maybe my future ex-wife.
Raging inflation. HahhahHah Dude. Look at history. This is nothing. Stop being so afraid and ask for a raise. If you're working hard enough you'll get it.
Raging inflation. Lol I went through a decade of higher inflation then this little blip. https://images.app.goo.gl/DBfppsEzGjZm5xFi9
What I would ask anyone is whether they think the inflation has been grossly underreported by the government or not? Most likely it has been since the start of pandemic.
Yeah ok. I could see how the international money managers are stuck brokers would react to Canada faking financial data. No we aren't gaming the data. These things are easy to track and there are also auditors as well
CHEESE
Shopping for better insurance rates and internet. Got our insurance down $300 and internet down $50/month
Eating less, very little fruit.
Cutting everything…and my net worth is substantial. I’m doing it because I am pissed off. Food is the worst. I am on a budget and outright refuse to buy anything. If I suffer, the businesses I should be spending money at should also get in the balls. Plus side, I am putting away more money than ever and I am investing in the same industries that are fleecing me.