The boring, foolproof, non-financial financial advice everyone overlooks

Apologies for the clickbait title but rest assured, there’s no scam here. I’ve come up with a list of time-tested, foolproof ways to save money that are infinitely more reliable than whatever investment scheme you’re cooking up. And speaking of cooking:Learn to cookDoordash, ubereats, skip-the-dishes, delete them from your phone. Learn to cook rice, vegetables and inexpensive proteins like beans, chicken, pork, tofu, chickpeas etc. Does your food need more flavour? Buy some salt, pepper and garlic. That’s all it takes to start. Is your food over/under done? But a meat thermometer. Stop buying $10 lunches and $3 coffees. I used to buy $3 coffee every day. That’s $60 a month ($90 if weekends are included) On COFFEE. I bought a $50 coffee maker and it paid itself off in 2 months. Now I’ve owned it for 3 years.Take care of your teethBrush twice a day. Try to do the same with flossing, but no one ever does it, so try to start once a week. You know why dentists make so much money? You know why they see your mouth as a goldmine? Because you won’t be able to put up with your painful, busted ass teeth for your whole life and you’re going to need them fixed. Taking care of your teeth cuts down on the amount of times over your life that you’ll wake up in the morning going “ow, my tooth hurts, wonder why” and then suddenly you’re out $500… or $2000…Prioritize the importance of your physical belongings and take care of them accordinglyDo you need a flashy, expensive (or even mid-range car) to impress clients at your job? No? Then it’s OK to drive a beater. Do you need a suit for work? No? Then it’s OK to buy your daily workwear from somewhere like Costco or Walmart. Those are your low-priority items. If you rip a hole in your $10 work shirt, you can probably afford to throw it out.However, the flip side of that is, if you need to have a suit or nice car on-hand… TAKE CARE OF THEM. Don’t wear your nice suit and dress shoes out in a snowstorm… don’t skip the oil change on the car. If you’re tech savvy, you can keep your beater smartphone or laptop meeting your needs for a long time. Do you need a top-of-the-line gaming rig? If so, spend the money on long-lasting parts (I.e. CPU), and take care of your rig; clean it regularly, watch the temps, try not to get malware. I’m still wearing a jacket I bought 10 years ago.Other tips and tricksBuy long-lasting footwear – it’s insanely easy to spend a lot of money on cheaply-made, branded (and completely awful) footwear. I’m looking at you, Jordan’s. Buy some decent sneakers and hiking boots and rotate them around accordinglyGet away from Instagram/FB if you’re in circles where people try to promote their belongings, flex or look like they can afford a lifestyle they probably can’t. Way too many people go into debt trying to look fresh on Instagram. Don’t get sucked in. Speaking of debt…Pay off your credit cards – Credit card companies make their money off you not realizing how much 20% interest really isEdit Wow thanks for the feedback folks! Some really great tips in the comments too (esp. liked the one about taking care of your KIDS teeth, in addition to your own!)And to clarify re #3, I’m definitely not saying “don’t spend money on luxuries that make you happy”. What I am saying is, if (when) you spend money on luxuries, TAKE CARE OF THEM!Bought some fancy-ass dress shoes you like? Realize you’re wearing $700 on your feet and walking through puddles isn’t a great idea. Bought the new $2000 MacBook Air? Maybe keep your un-covered drinks away from it. Finally saved up for that Lexus? Slap some snow tires on that baby and make sure you have some decent insurance. Nice new phone? Yeah? Buy the case! If you decide to go all out, don’t skimp out, just spend your money where it creates (or protects) the most value.Edit 2 Obligatory “I am not a financial advisor” but here’s some other tips to address some complaints from offended individuals that this isn’t real financial advice:You likely don’t need balance protection insurance on your credit card – It’s notoriously difficult to successfully file a claim and the coverages are much narrower in scope than they are sold asIf your bank waives account fees for carrying a minimum balance, look into getting the best account you can (e.g. a “TD all inclusive” account provides free cheques, money orders, safety deposit box etc. And is free if you maintain a $5,000 minimum balance)You only need overdraft protection if you regularly dip into overdraft (e.g. if it’s unavoidable based on your income cycle). If it only happens once in a while, the individual ding is likely still cheaper than total cost of the protection.When shopping for a mortgage, don’t overlook credit unions. A massive component of a lot of credit unions’ business is lending, especially residential mortgage and small business lending. Credit unions can offer rates far more competitive than banks, even to non-membersIf you’re thinking about investing and can stomach some short-term volatility, look into Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) – bundles of diversified securities issued by major financial institutions. Many sector-specific ETFs (including Oil/Gas, Real Estate and Finance) still haven’t recovered from COVID and it might be worth your while to look into them. COVID recession aside though, ETFs can be reliable, income-generating instrumentsFinancing can be a reasonable option if you’re trying to manage cashflow, but generally speaking it is better to outright buy something you can currently afford rather than finance it. Cars especially.Edit – Last one, I promiseProtect your credit score! It’s not just a number, it’s your key to reliable, low-interest credit (which you’re going to need if you ever want to buy a house, or even just open a line of credit). Tanking your credit score and limiting yourself to alternative lending “solutions” is a very dangerous, slippery slope. via /r/PersonalFinanceCanada https://ift.tt/3cAe2FA