How much time do you spend thinking about your long-term savings plans? Or better yet, how often are you putting money into it? We understand that it’s been a rough few months for almost everyone and the end is still not in sight. We are adjusting to a new normal way of life, slowly going back to jobs or looking for new ones or working on a plan to get our business back on its feet. It’s hard. We get it.

Even when times are tough though, it’s important that we still continue to think about saving money. Having a savings account, no matter the size, is so crucial. Many people have a few different savings accounts; some for long term, some for trips and everyone should have an emergency fund. 

But how do you go about continuing to save money when you’ve lost your job, taken a cut in hours or had to close up shop until further notice? We’ve got some really great tips that allow you to still save money each month even when things are uncertain. 

Everyday Personal Life Changes to Save Money

This is always hard and so many people don’t want to admit that changes are needed in order to continue adding to their savings accounts. Have you ever tallied up the cost of your morning coffee run? Have you ever actually calculated what your family spends on eating out each month? What about all the small costs like the internet, subscriptions, gas etc…Do you know what you spend on those things monthly?

How can you spend less money each week to add more into savings? 

• Bring coffee to work each morning, skip the drive through
• Make your meals at home and give yourself a budget that allows you to eat out twice a month. 
• Look at all your subscriptions and consider getting rid of some that don’t get used often.
• Shop around for things like car insurance, internet/cable and cell phone plans. 
• Take advantage of free activities in the community.
• Spend more time outside and less time in stores, malls and movie theatres.
• Meal plan each week, buy only the ingredients you need and use coupons.
• Consider switching brands for clothing, food, footwear etc. You’d be surprised at the quality of some cheaper brands. 
• Plan your errands and make a list of what you need to get. This eliminates extra driving around and helps lower gas costs.

These are just some very simple and easy ways that you can lower your monthly spending to allow yourself to save money. Oftentimes we feel like at the end of a pay day, bills and groceries, there is nothing left to save. But with a few daily changes, there is still plenty left over to start building a good savings account. Every little bit makes a difference, $100 a month into your account is better than $0 a month. 

Money Saving Tips For Your Business

Switching up your spending habits for your everyday personal life and spending is pretty easy for the most part and just requires a bit of discipline. But what about saving money as a business owner? Small business owners are among those who are suffering the most right now during COVID-19. However, as a business owner there are things you can do to also cut down monthly expenses and allow you to continue saving money. 

• Ask for a break from suppliers. Perhaps they can offer a discount price for the time being instead of you needing to cancel all together. 
• Send employees home to work, this will cut down on the costs associated with having the office open and running (heat, power etc).
• Offer product discounts to your customers. Sounds counterproductive, but everyone loves a sale so you’ll spark more buyers interest, leading to more products leaving your shelves.
• What tools are you using monthly? Subscription software, mail service? Where can you cut back on these small costs?
• Can you lower costs on things like benefit packages, or insurance?

There is a bit of beauty in the world’s current situation and it’s that EVERYONE is going through it together! This is not just affecting a select few people who are left to their own devices to stay afloat. Everyone, everywhere is feeling the effects of COVID-19, which also means that everyone is doing what they can to help others.

Banks are giving mortgage deferrals and car payment deferrals, the government is offering funding to those who need it (including business owners) and so on. What does this mean for your business? It means that most of the people you work with like your bank, suppliers and insurance companies are probably willing to help out your business and lower your cost somewhere. 

A great example of businesses helping businesses is the action that the Chamber Plan Group Benefits (offered by BP Group Solutions) took for those who hold their benefit packages. They understood that their clients were unable to use certain services like massages, therapies, or chiropractors over the past few months, so they lowered some of their benefit costs. This in turn allowed their clients to lower their monthly spending while things were slow.

Whether it’s for your personal account or business account, saving money is essential and it doesn’t have to be hard. If you have questions about new benefit packages, retirement plans or just need some financial advice about your savings plan, our knowledgeable team is here to help. Call our Cold Lake or Fort McMurray team at any time, we are standing by.