The "Ways To Save Money" Thread

[Locke]

Originally Posted by sergei_makarov

I learned this at a young age from the parents and they've done very well for themselves since retiring and we enjoyed lots of the extras as a family growing up because they planned things so well.

I remember going to the basement as a child to get things for mom and it would look like a grocery store down there! Dad made a bunch of shelving units in aisles and we'd have 20-30 bottles of dish detergent lined up on the shelves, along with other items suitable for storage like canned tomatoes, canned beans, etc.

At what age did you help your daddy build his bomb shelter and learn to shoot Zombies and Mormons?

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by username

The best and pretty much only way to really save money is take 10% of your pay cheque and put it away. You do that for your entire life and you'll retire rich.

If you learn to live within 90% of your income and then you also get bonuses and stock options you can use that money for vacations, cars, stocks, and paying down mortgages.

It's actually really simple.

I guess it depends on what you mean by retiring rich. For example, if I was 20 years old today and wanted a retirement income of $100,000 at age 65 (Which won't be a whole lot of money in 45 years time), I would have to stash away $16,000 dollars a year until I reach the age of 65.

Most people don't make $160,000 a year so they are going to have to make some huge sacrifices if they want to get rich through savings only.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Morozee

I have a friend working up there right now. His plan was to work there for 2 years, save a pile of money and move back to Winnipeg. Well that was 7 years ago! He makes stupid amounts of money, and his living expenses are also covered. Now he can't justify leaving and going back to earning half the money he is currently making.

Thats a pretty common story, but a lot of my co-workers still live all over Canada and commute home every 2 weeks.

[Antithesis]

My wife and I shop at Superstore. I know it isn't for everyone, but we go in the morning on a Saturday and it's rarely packed then, or huge swaths of "Out of Stock" items - the two complaints about it I see most frequently.

We also buy no-name/store brand items where possible, though if we actually prefer the 'name brand' items, we spend the extra money on those.

I put all of our purchases on a credit card and pay off the balance every month. Sure, it's a couple hundred bucks worth of rewards every year, but it's a couple hundred I wouldn't have if I didn't do this.

Related to above: don't carry credit card balances. If you do, they need to be paid off.

Whenever you get a raise at work, try not to increase your 'standard of living' to match your new salary. Try to maintain the same level of spending as you had before, and pocket the difference.

Look through your expenses every month and see if there isn't some thing here or there that you could get rid of, or that you could get for cheaper. The tech talk forum has an awesome thread (I think it's Shaw vs. Telus TV or something) where people give you clear instructions on how to reduce Shaw bills. I've seen people drop theirs by $70 a month in that thread. Finding even $40 a month in expenses that are unnecessary leads to big savings on a yearly basis.

Any time I want to buy something that is, say, over $100, I stop and think on it for a day or two, to see if I really need it.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

It depends on what you do. I dont think there are very many people making less than $75k a year.

For journeyman tradespersons you'd have to think the low end starts at $100,000 in Fort Mac and goes up from there based on OT worked.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Doing what, welding, electrician?

I'd recommend Power Engineering. If you're unfamiliar with the term, your next question will probably be: What do they do?

To put it rather bluntly, watch Homer Simpson at work. Obviously remove the comedy and ineptness, but that's basically what it is. 2 years of schooling vs 4 years of school/work off and on. Also, you're likely to be hired for the main company you're at (ie Shell, Suncor, Imperial, Nexen, CNRL, etc.) as opposed to hiring on with a contract company that works at the same site, as in most trades. That may or may not be a perk I guess, depending what you're looking for, I guess.

Originally Posted by Locke

Caveat: Only if you stay away from the blow and the booze. Bring a book or something, it can get pretty boring.

Depends where you are and what trade you're in IMO. Some of the camps are decent. We've got a gym, rink, theater, weight room at our site. TV's & net connection in the rooms so I get some time for the PS3 in there too.
And honestly, if you're doing 12 hour days, it makes it easier to stay out of trouble.

[edmontonice]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

I'd recommend Power Engineering. If you're unfamiliar with the term, your next question will probably be: What do they do?

To put it rather bluntly, watch Homer Simpson at work. Obviously remove the comedy and ineptness, but that's basically what it is. 2 years of schooling vs 4 years of school/work off and on. Also, you're likely to be hired for the main company you're at (ie Shell, Suncor, Imperial, Nexen, CNRL, etc.) as opposed to hiring on with a contract company that works at the same site, as in most trades. That may or may not be a perk I guess, depending what you're looking for, I guess.


Depends where you are and what trade you're in IMO. Some of the camps are decent. We've got a gym, rink, theater, weight room at our site. TV's & net connection in the rooms so I get some time for the PS3 in there too.
And honestly, if you're doing 12 hour days, it makes it easier to stay out of trouble.

Sounds like Firebag to me....good recommendation (Power Engineering) too.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

You should be able to parlay that into a construction position of some kind and not necessarily one working outside. What kind of drafting have you been doing??

Structural Steel Detailing and working with 3D modelling programs for the past 12 years, although my experience with the popular Tekla Structures was only for one year.

[troutman]

Saving is nice,
And saving can stop you,
From doing all the things in life you'd like to

[Locke]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Depends where you are and what trade you're in IMO. Some of the camps are decent. We've got a gym, rink, theater, weight room at our site. TV's & net connection in the rooms so I get some time for the PS3 in there too.
And honestly, if you're doing 12 hour days, it makes it easier to stay out of trouble.

Fair enough. I had a journeyman Welder come in and after working up there for a year or two he set himself up as a sole proprietor and raked in over $500K after expenses.

You can make more money by not limiting your employers.

As for Sergei, I'm totally just busting your chops man.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Structural Steel Detailing and working with 3D modelling programs for the past 12 years, although my experience with the popular Tekla Structures was only for one year.

Depending where you're living I'd apply at some EPC and Fab shops, get some experience, and try to transfer into a construction coordination or quantity surveying position. You could also go back and do process piping courses which pays well enough and isnt being outsourced quite as heavily. Unfortunately there isnt much in the way of drafting up in fort mac.

[MacGruber]

10% of my pay is used for stock options before I even touch it. Another 20% of my pay is transferred by my bank to a savings account. So without really thinking about it I force myself to save 30% of every pay cheque.

[troutman]

BYOB at the restaurant. Some places have free corkage on certain nights.

[flamesfever]

Originally Posted by sergei_makarov

I learned this at a young age from the parents and they've done very well for themselves since retiring and we enjoyed lots of the extras as a family growing up because they planned things so well.

I remember going to the basement as a child to get things for mom and it would look like a grocery store down there! Dad made a bunch of shelving units in aisles and we'd have 20-30 bottles of dish detergent lined up on the shelves, along with other items suitable for storage like canned tomatoes, canned beans, etc.

With all the crazy things going on around the world these days, including food shortages, potential inflation, etc., I'm beginning to think it's not a bad idea to have a few extra things stored in the basement for emergency. It wouldn't hurt, and could certainly end up saving some money...especially if you had a large family.

Then again, I'm from the early days, living in Rosscarock, when we were set up to travel to Marysville, BC, in case of a nuclear attack.

[Dion]

There is something perverse about more than enough. When we have more, it is never enough. It is always somewhere out there, just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes. –Unknown

You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

[sergei_makarov]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

With all the crazy things going on around the world these days, including food shortages, potential inflation, etc., I'm beginning to think it's not a bad idea to have a few extra things stored in the basement for emergency. It wouldn't hurt, and could certainly end up saving some money...especially if you had a large family.

Then again, I'm from the early days, living in Rosscarock, when we were set up to travel to Marysville, BC, in case of a nuclear attack.

Well, the goal wasn't to have supplies in the case of a nuclear attack! It was purely to save money by buying things in bulk when they went on sale. Same reason why I do it now. It's also nice to almost always have things in the basement when you need it rather than have to run out and buy it.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by sergei_makarov

Well, the goal wasn't to have supplies in the case of a nuclear attack! It was purely to save money by buying things in bulk when they went on sale. Same reason why I do it now. It's also nice to almost always have things in the basement when you need it rather than have to run out and buy it.

Of course not.

__________________________________________________ ___________

Okay. now that Sergei's stopped reading, in case of Nuclear attack everyone meet at Sergei's house, hes got tons of supplies!

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Depending where you're living I'd apply at some EPC and Fab shops, get some experience, and try to transfer into a construction coordination or quantity surveying position. You could also go back and do process piping courses which pays well enough and isnt being outsourced quite as heavily. Unfortunately there isnt much in the way of drafting up in fort mac.

Yeah, drafting in Fort mac isn't an option, nor should it be. They can have the work done in Calgary or Edmonton for half the cost which is what most of the Energy companies do, than the contractors get theirs done in Manilla or Mumbai for a 10th of the cost of what local labour would be. Won't be long unitl piping does the same thing.

I could do co-ordination...but I've been told that if they find you to be a useful draftsman they'll never let you into that line of work because they still want a couple capable draftsman on staff they just don't want to pay you anything.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Doing what, welding, electrician?

I'm a draftsman, and to be frank...it's at a point where it's been a waste of 15 years of my life. I can't imagine a more difficult job that pays less, and has worse future prospects.

Simply put I feel like I should have been an electrician or welder because I'd be making at least $10 an hour more, and wouldn't be outsourced to the point where I have to slit my own throat to stay employed for 5 more months all the time.

I need to change careers now, but at my age...it's crucial I don't fata it up and pick a bad one....like I did for the past 15 years.

Become a lawyer. If you are a draftsman, you are used to paying attention to details, and the boring minutae of the grind. It will take advantage of the skills you have and you will make 2-3X more money.
I'm only half-joking... maybe not joking at all.

BTW, I second the earlier post re MBNA Platinum Plus cash-back card - we use it just for gas and groceries. Again, you have to pay the balance every month.

[troutman]

Critical illness and disability insurance can be a kind of forced savings - if you remain healthy, your premiums are largely returned.