Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
I just quoted you for this idea, and wanted to talk about it a little. i get the idea of being frugal and looking for deals and such, so I wouldn't say that I'm against that. But, to look to make all parts of your spending and finances as efficient as possible and that kind of thing just seems so soul-crushing. I won't deny that I like nice things and while I look for deals or try to be efficient on some things, you also need to live a little. of course spending zero dollars on something today, and saving and investing that would put you in a much spot say 20 years from now. But there has to be a balance between decades of austerity and enjoying your life.
I don't know, but when I hear the story of someone who dies at say 80 years old and they had millions in the bank and lived like a complete pauper to make that happen, I don't really think of that as a successful outcome. To each their own, of course, but that sounds like the other side of spending everything and living paycheque to paycheque.
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I'm definitely not the sort of person who wants to live on bread and water while squirreling away money, but I also have learned that I can have nice enough things without the exorbitant price tag if I buy smarter. I'll provide some of my own examples.
- cut unnecessary streaming services and online stuff like Prime, Netflix, etc...
I only have Prime Video because it's free with Prime, everything else I cut. I have Tivimate at $58/year for streaming IPTV and Plex-n-Chill for $15 USD a month. Grey market. I was perfectly content to pay for streaming services when it was under $10-$12 a month. Now that everyone has their own and everything got fragmented, it's just more expensive cable plus on-demand. Screw that.
- maybe cut non-essential memberships (unless they are of exceptional value to you such as physical/mental health)
I cut my gym membership down to just the location I'm actually going to use (this is an option!). My condo doesn't have a gym, but I'm also not gallivanting around Calgary using their other locations, so why would I buy the all-inclusive membership? Traveling? I only stay at Marriott family properties and they all have gyms.
- do better on your TV/Phone/Internet - it's a tight market and relatively easy to get big discounts for relatively little effort.
I switched from Shawgers to TekSavvy, and next step might be to give QWave or Lightspeed internet a try when TekSavvy expires if the rates are lower. Also reconsidered if I
really needed 1Gbps service or not (narrator: he didn't) and that saved a good chunk of change too.
- Use GasBuddy
This is one I haven't bothered with consistently; I run Shell 93 in both cars and it is usually the same price all over the city. I don't drive a lot and I live off 17 Ave, so I hit the Shell's Angels location to fill up. I'm not driving all the way to Shawnessy on the off chance I'll save maybe ten cents a litre (I'm not even certain that location has 93).
- find ways to spend less on vehicle(s), housing (electricity/gas)
I am shrewd when buying my vehicles (I scored pretty stellar deals on both) and since I don't commute with them, I'm at least able to put both cars on pleasure insurance rather than all-purpose. I also get parts way cheaper than the dealer network will ever provide. As for housing, electric is really the only one I'm investigating right now as I'm currently with Enmax EasyMax which is
not by any stretch a cheap option.
- clothing you need - so much on Marketplace and ValueVillage and Goodwill
I shredded down a ton this year and Marketplace has been hit or miss. But there are some great men's consignment places in Inglewood and on Macleod Trail that I had success with, for both selling my old stuff to plus getting some new pieces. Also, for second-hand premium goods, online sellers from Japan are the way to go.
- other "stuff" - so much on Marketplace/Kijiji
We're doing that with furniture, specifically trying to get a credenza for the dining room and a floating entertainment shelf for the living room. It's more time consuming since so many people suck at listing stuff... seriously, only 25% of listings seem to include the bloody DIMENSIONS.
- avoid buying new or latest-and-greatest
I had the battery changed in my iPhone 15 Pro for $130 instead of buying an iPhone 17 Pro for an extra $42/month for twenty-four months.
Just some of my examples. I definitely don't feel like I'm living any less enjoyably as a result of it.