Money in your pocket

4. Basic supplies

Dig discount shopping
A pair of department store socks or underwear can easily cost $7.99. Similar quality at a bargain store: $2.99.
Savings: That's $5 saved on each. Buy one pair of underwear and a pair of socks a month at a bargain store, and you save $10.

Buy generic or watch for sales
You can also save a bundle on everyday items, such as soap, shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer. Name-brand shampoo or conditioner, regularly priced at $6.49 a bottle at the drugstore, can be found on sale for $1.99. Good quality soap can cost $1 a bar or as little as $2.99 for a pack of eight or 37 cents a bar.
Savings: Assuming you buy a bottle of shampoo, conditioner and use four bars of soap a month, the savings are $11.50.

5. Home, car, banking

Invest in some basics to save cash
Save on utilites: "The biggest bang for your buck would be energy-efficient showerheads," says Walter Matias, manager of residential energy efficiency programs at Enbridge Consumers Gas.
Savings: If you have one bathroom, your combined savings on energy, water and sewage are $50 per year. A programmable thermostat, which lowers the temperature at night and brings it up again in the morning before you wake, should easily save $50 per year on your heating bill. Together, the two items cost about $100 but would pay for themselves in the first year. After that, you'd save $8.33 per month.

Pump your own gas
After a few times you'll feel comfortable doing it, and self-serve gas is two or three cents cheaper per litre.
Savings: If you use a tank a week, you save about $6 per month.

Get the best banking transaction package
Better to spend $5 per month for 25 transactions than take a $3 package of 15 and pay 50 cents each for 10 transactions that you failed to anticipate -- for an extra $3 in service charges. And, yes, it is worth looking for your own bank machine. Doing so once a week could save another $5 per month.
Savings: On banking and credit cards fees, $10 per month.



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