5 Ideas to Save More Money for Your Investments

February 7, 2023 FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Online Funding / Investing Campaigns, Personal Finance No comments

Guest Post | Feb 7, 2023

Image: Freepik/jcomp

You know that the secret to growing your wealth is investing. Investments are the key to unlocking compound growth that can surpass anything you could do by simply setting aside part of your income. But with inflation persistently high, rent and mortgage costs skyrocketing across Canada, and the general cost of living taking a bigger and bigger bite out of your income, it’s getting harder to set anything aside for investing.

When your goal is to save as quickly and aggressively as possible, now may be the time to get innovative with your ideas for saving money.

#1 Head to the Discount Grocery Store

In Canada, the major grocery store companies typically have both high-end and discount chains. You can get many of the same products and produce you’re used to at a lower price by heading to a more budget-friendly grocery store.

While a few cents or dollars may not seem like much on each individual grocery item, it adds up at the end of the week, and you don’t have to change the foods you’re used to getting.

#2 Buy Your Technology Used

Electronics are no longer a luxury in most cases. You need them for work, life, getting your own business off the ground, and even getting around.

However, you can save hundreds by buying used electronics like smartphones and computers used.

There’s another great trick to save even more every month: look for unlocked phones in Canada. That way, you can get any phone you want and have the freedom to get a plan from the cheapest carrier.

#3 Downsize Your Apartment

When work-from-home took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people took the opportunity to move. Some left the city while others upgraded their space, investing in places with an extra bedroom to serve as a home office. Now that the push to get back to the office is in full swing, it may be easier to downsize your apartment.

The move back to the office doesn’t have to be a buzzkill. Many companies are focusing on fostering a better workplace culture and creating more collaborative environments to maximize the benefits of the office.

#4 Get a Roommate

If you don’t want to move, you can also give up that home office by getting a roommate instead. Splitting shelter costs with another person can put hundreds of dollars back in your pocket every month.

#5 Debt vs Investments

Finance experts often suggest paying down your debt to cut down your monthly expenses. That’s a good point, but it may be more complicated.

It always makes more sense to pay down debt than invest if your interest rates are higher than your real investment returns. For example, if you have student loans that you don’t owe any interest on, it can make more sense to invest the extra money.

See: How to get into angel investing with ‘no’ money

However, if you have 20% interest credit card debt, that’s likely costing you more than the returns you get on today’s volatile stock market.

Saving more can be a challenge, but these ideas should make more room in your budget for you to get back to investing.

NCFA Jan 2018 resize - 5 Ideas to Save More Money for Your Investments The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org