We Saved $10,000/year Working on a Minimum Wage in Canada
Yes, it's possible!
We are a married couple(24 & 27) living in Toronto, Canada. Here’s how we saved $10,000 in 2019 working for $14/hr.
All the amounts are in Canadian Dollars.
Before getting started, you must know our combined monthly expenses.
Rent: $1500/month for a double bedroom basement with utilities and Wi-Fi
Phone: $100/month
Food: $300/month
Transportation: Monthly Car payments, Insurance and Gas — $700/month
Miscellaneous: $100/month
1.Cancelled our Costco Membership
Costco can be a very tricky place where we end up spending on unnecessary things just because they’re on sale. Whenever we tried to save on groceries, we ended up spending double the amount than usual (Impulse purchases, buying in bulk to save money but end up wasting food) at Costco. In 2019, we cancelled our Costco Membership and started grocery shopping at Freshco, a very affordable store.
2. Bought Unisex items
Do you know, things in pink will cost you more than others just because girls are attracted to pink and end up buying it? We started purchasing Unisex St.Ives products instead of Bath & Body Works products separately for me and my husband. Honestly, I don’t see any point in splurging on a shower gel, a moisturizer or a shampoo that smells like roses yet the fragrance doesn’t even last long. Furthermore, we started sharing our hoodies, T-shirts and shoes. Since then I never bought a pink hoodie.
3. Hairstyling at Home
I watched a ton of tutorials on Youtube and tried styling my husband’s and my hair which turned out well. I have invested $60 in an amazing Revlon hairbrush and $25 on Revlon Equave conditioner(bottle lasted about a year), made my hair soft.
4. No more Coffee on the Go!
It is not just about that designer Starbucks coffee we splurge on, it’s all about avoiding those coffee shop visits altogether. I didn’t want to buy a bagel or hashbrowns on the side instead of just getting a coffee. We bought a Black & Decker coffee maker for $20 and that was such a great investment.
5.Frugal travelling
We travelled quite a bit in 2019. We went on a road trip to the states, it was the cheapest way to travel for us as we have visited our cousins. The stay was free. All we had to spend on was the food(had few homemade meals during our stay) and gas which weren’t too much. We visited 11 US states and spent about $3000 in total.
6. Cooking at Home
I know, I know, you’ve heard this a million times already but this is the key to save money. My husband loves cooking and we enjoy the process of cooking at home. We don’t like to be hard on ourselves by avoiding outside food completely. Sometimes, we order takeouts at various inexpensive restaurants around us.
7. Entertainment
Instead of partying on weekends, we take a trip every 3–4 months. However, we enjoy our weekends by exploring free places around Toronto and go on inexpensive road trips within the province. When it comes to subscription services, thanks to our friend who gifted us his Netflix and Amazon prime credentials for our wedding, funny right? and Hey! Youtube is FREE.
Everyone are frugal in their way. I hope my journey helps you in some way to save money.
