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This video really shocked me. It's a family in the worst case scenario for the unnecessary expense of eating out. They eat out for literally every meal, ever day. The video shows that they'd been spending $1000 per week on food. That's absolutely insane! Their reasoning for this was convenience, a pretty common explanation amongst people guilty of the most common waste of money. With some help they were able to start buying groceries and home cooking every meal for a cost of $303 per week, which is still on the expensive side of things. This netted them a savings around $700 per week,  thats $36,400 per year that they're now saving! This really goes to show how much money it's possible to waste on our number one unnecessary expense, eating out.

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Here's a video where the cost of living in Toronto is discussed. It suggests that to buy even a basic condo in the city demands a six figure income, not an easy feat for a new grad! A large portion of those who live in the Greater Toronto Area work in the big city. Living a short walk from work can be convenient, but at the current housing rates in Toronto it seems almost unobtainable to purchase property in the city on a standard income. An easy solution here is to secure a property further out of the city and commute. Paying so much more to live conveniently close to Toronto is very unnecessary when it's a quick train ride into the city, and you can have a much nicer property for much less money if you choose to live even just half an hour away.

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$100,000 salary needed to afford Toronto condo, says report

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Here's a video about how much Canadians are spending on Valentines day. The numbers were pretty shocking at an average of $164 per person, with the males at an average of over $200. This is a huge unnecessary expense as a lot of people's significant others will agree that a well thought out gesture is much more meaningful than how much you spent on that necklace. Putting some thought into a nice card and a home cooked meal could not only win you a more pleased reaction on this holiday, but save you some money as well.

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How much are Canadians spending on Valentine's Day? - 680 NEWS

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680 NEWS senior business editor Mike Eppel with the day's top business headlines.

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In this era of technology it seems a lot of us are opting to have the best of the best when it comes to internet, cellular data and TV packages. The new Gigabit internet package pictured below is a great example of this, many young people are thrilled about this and shelling out upwards of $150 per month to have the obscene download speed of one Gigabit per second. While this is a really impressive number to say, it's seriously unlikely that you'll ever use it to its capacity or anywhere close. While already spending this huge amount of money on internet, people are spending equally as much on massive data plans for their phones. Why have so much data when you can just connect to the WiFi that's seemingly everywhere these days for free? A great way to save here is to go with a more basic package and perhaps if you're feeling brave, put down the cell phone and go interact with other people in a non-digital environment. It's free!

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This one might come as a surprise to some as we've all had our home phones for as long as we remember. Just ten years ago home phones were an absolute necessity, with cell phones having expensive calling rates and most of the teenage community not having a cell phone it made sense. Cell phones used to uncommon and an "in case of emergency" item. These days even kids have cell phones. In a lifestyle where having a cellphone is the norm. (most of which include unlimited calling) It really doesn't make sense to shell out up to $60 per month extra on a home phone that has less functionality and only works in a fixed location. The picture below shows how old landline phone technology is. If you haven't cut your home phone provider already, it may be the time to do so if you like saving money.

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Coffee has got to be one of the easiest ways to overspend without realising it. I chose a Tim Hortons cup as my picture because as Canadians, it's our trademark coffee and easily the most common choice for a quick cup due to its familiarity. Many people may see this as a small expense, seeing as one coffee is around $2, it's so insignificant that you'll never notice the money is gone. The reality is quite the opposite. For example an avid coffee enthusiast may buy a coffee on the way to work, on break, and on the way home. Lets assume a standard fifty weeks per year worked, five days a week, at three visits a day. $2 X 3 visits X 5 days X 50 weeks = $1500 in one year, just on coffee at work. Think of the things you could do with an extra $1500!

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Here is an article listing ten great ways to reduce your monthly expenses by cutting out bills you might not even need. It highlights a lot of monthly subscriptions that may seem like habit to have but are just not that important in modern times. These include cable, home phone and magazine subscriptions. There are so many TV streaming apps online now like Netflix that it doesn't make sense to pay $60+ per month for cable, and with most people having a cell phone it seems unnecessary to have a separate phone number just for at home. The savings from these could combine to something huge.

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You've heard all about it, but you had your doubts. How is it possible? How can you live like that?

Haters beware: it's true. You can live without cable TV. Or a home phone, a gym subscription, and a slew of other pricey household expenses.

Don't get me wrong - there's nothing inherently bad about these things, but if you need to buckle down and reduce your household spending, cutting down on those little luxuries can lead to some big savings.

So for this week's Ways to Save Wednesday, we're leaving no stone unturned to find out where you can save money every month - check out these ten unnecessary household expenses you can cut today.

There's an entire movement based around this one, and it has some pretty fervent followers. They're called cord cutters, and they've vowed to stop paying increasingly ridiculous prices for cable (and satellite) TV.

In fact, last year the Huffington Post Canada reported that, for the first time ever, the number of Canadian households paying for TV has actually shrunk. The cord cutting movement may have finally caught on this side of the border, and for good reason - a typical digital or satellite TV package can cost $60, $80, or $100+ a month.

To cut your own cable cords and rack up some huge savings, all you need is an Internet connection, and a way to connect it to your TV (via an adapter, Internet-connected gaming console, or streaming Internet player like Roku) and you're good to go. If there was ever a time to go cordless, it's now there's more ways to watch TV now than ever before with the likes of Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu+, and more.

Here in Canada, we treat our fur-babies like family, and we've got the bills to prove it. Last year, Canadian pet owners spent a whopping $6.6 billion to keep their furry friends happy. Premium pet foods, luxury grooming services, and top-notch toys are making holes in Canadian wallets faster than Scruffy chewing through your favourite pair of shoes.

Again, while there's nothing wrong with spending so much on our pets, when times get tough everyone needs to make sacrifices - including Scruffy. Instead of taking him to the doggy spa every month, why not invest in a good dog brush and treat him to a bubble bath yourself?

And as for all that premium pet food, our furry friends aren't that picky. To Scruffy, a decent kibble made with real meat tastes just as good as super-pricey premium fare.

Can't remember the last time you used your home phone instead of your mobile?

If you make most of your phone calls from your smartphone instead of your landline, why not get rid of that home phone altogether? Many home phone plans cost $40-$50 a month - that's hundreds of dollars a year for a landline you don't even use. Stick to your smartphone and you'll see some serious savings.

If you haven't jumped on the smartphone bandwagon just yet, try using Skype instead. You probably already use it to chat with other Skype users, but you can call home or mobile phones worldwide using Skype Credits, too.

There are hundreds of products out there that aim to de-grime, de-grease, and disinfect. But if you're buying a different cleaning product for every room, appliance, and surface in your home, you're cleaning out your wallet, too.

The truth is, grandma had the right idea when she suggested good ol' fashion baking soda and vinegar. With this handy combination, you can clean countertops, kitchen sinks, tubs and toilets, unclog your drains in a pinch, and get rid of carpet stains, for a fraction of the price. Not only is it easy on the wallet, it's better for the environment too.

You saw this one coming, didn't you?

But in all seriousness, if you're paying hundreds of dollars every month to insure your ride, you owe it to yourself to at least compare car insurance quotes online. It only takes a few minutes, and can shave a decent chunk off of your yearly bill.

Just take a look at how much one of our other bloggers, Nelson, managed to save - "with just one ten minute phone call and five minutes of clicking before that, I dropped my car insurance bill from $145 per month to just $105. That's a savings of 28% annually, and all for doing just 15 minutes worth of work."

Even better, our auto insurance comparison tool takes just three minutes!

It's no secret that the beauty industry is big business, and just like any other big business, they need you to keep buying their products.

You really don't need that $50 rejuvenating face cream - a $4 bottle of moisturizer will do the trick. In fact, anything with the word "cellulite" on it is a sham. There's no cream in the word that can get rid of cellulite, and if you don't believe me, talk to .

To keep your skin healthy, all you need to do is keep it moisturized, and protected from the sun. A solid moisturizer with SPF will work just fine!

Unless you just can't work out by yourself, there's really no reason you can't do the same exercises right in the comfort of your own home - and for much less money.

A typical gym membership can cost around $500 - $1000+ a year, and if you're looking for somewhere to cut costs, it may be worth setting up a home gym instead of spending big big bucks at Goodlife.

To bring the gym home, all you need is a room of your own, and some time to yourself. You don't even need pricey props, either - squats, push-ups, lunges, crunches and even yoga are great ways to get a full body workout, sans any equipment whatsoever.

The reality is, most people just don't have $10,000 extra dollars lying around to spend on a pristine, landscaped lawn.

With a little bit of hard work, and much less money, you can turn a dreary lawn into a work of art yourself.

Fill your lawn with some nice, low-maintenance plants to add vibrancy and colour, and use rocks and logs found at the beach or anywhere, really, to add your own decorative touch. Check for sales at the Walmart garden center and snag some colourful flowers and trees to add to your DIY lawn. Your beautiful budget lawn may even make the Joneses jealous!

We've talked about this before, but it hasn't gotten any less relevant. If you're already paying big bucks on bills, there's no reason you should be dishing out even more money because you simply forgot to pay them.

There are tons of ways to stay on top of your bill payments these days, from Google or Outlook Calendar reminders to full-fledged money management apps. The Mint app for Apple and Android, for example, will not only remind you when your bill's due, but lets you pay them all on the go, from the palm of your hand.

Really, there's no excuse!

I love my magazines as much as the next avid reader, but all those subscriptions can end up costing a bundle.

Take inventory of all the magazines you're subscribed to, and figure out which ones you're no longer even reading. Unsubscribe to the ones you haven't been keeping up with, and watch your savings grow.

If you can't bear to part with your subscriptions, but don't mind reading from a screen, give Next Issue a shot. Unlimited access to 100+ worldwide magazines for $9.99 a month? Now that's a deal.

You're in the know!

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10 Monthly Household Expenses You Can Cut for Big Savings

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You've heard all about it, but you had your doubts. How is it possible? How can you live like that? Haters beware: it's true. You can live without cable TV. Or a home phone, a gym subscription, and a slew of other pricey household expenses.

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This article highlights the actual numbers relating to how much we Canadians spend on eating out, ordering takeout and other unnecessary food. An alarming 72 percent of Canadians admitted to eating out several times per month, and 71 percent of Canadians ordering takeout several times monthly as well. The majority of this is being done by Millennials, and when asked about it we said that it was more about convenience than to treat ourselves. Over half of Canadians are spending over $50 per month on eating out which is a huge expense that could easily be removed.

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Grabbing takeout for dinner can seem like a relatively small indulgence, but a new study suggests that Canadians are giving in to "guilty pleasures" quite often - and it's adding up.

A survey conducted by the Angus Reid Forum and Capital One found that most Canadians admit to spending money on things they don't really need each month.
READ MORE: Over half of Canadians are $200 or less away from not being able to pay bills
The most popular indulgence was food, with 72 per cent saying they dine out several times a month and 71 per cent admitting to regularly ordering takeout. Half of Canadians buy daily coffees.

The report indicates that millennials are more likely to order takeout and buy coffee. Two-in-five say they order takeout at least once a week, compared to one-in-five Canadians over 55.

When it comes to how much money they spend on food, 52 per cent of Canadians said they shell out less than $50 a month on takeout food, additionally, 38 per cent said they spend between $50 and $99 a month on eating out.
WATCH: How to get out of credit card debt
Most respondents said they spend on food and coffee to treat themselves, but millennials were more likely to cite convenience as the reason.

Other common monthly indulgences Canadians admitted to included online shopping (44 per cent), buying clothes (33 per cent), and spending on beauty services (23 per cent).
WATCH: Canadian consumer debt climbs higher
The survey highlights that while giving in to guilty pleasures occasionally is OK, some Canadians may be doing it too often.

And one-third of Canadians admit they don't put anything into their savings on a monthly basis.

"It's easier than ever to order in, hail a ride and shop online without ever opening your wallet, but you can lose sight of where your money is going if you're not careful," Capital One Canada CEO Brent Reynolds said in a news release.
READ MORE: 3 things you probably didn't know about your credit score
The company explains that striking the right balance between spending and saving is key, and in some ways, millennials are beating out older Canadians.

Millennials were more likely take budget-friendly actions such as use coupons, sell possessions, cancel unnecessary subscriptions. Nineteen per cent of millennials said they would get a second job if needed.

Budgeting tips

Canadians looking to cut out some unnecessary expenses should set monthly goals and consistently track them, Capital One explained.

Making a budget that fits unique needs should be based on three aspects: your net income, a list of living expenses, and other things you spend money on.
READ MORE: How to make a budget that fits your needs
Credit Canada, a non-for-profit that advises Canadians on how to manage money, says putting a budget in writing is important.

It advises Canadians to be smart, but also realistic about how much they will end up spending. Then, set up short-term goals such as saving for a trip, medium-term goals such as saving for a car, and long-term goals such as retirement.
WATCH: Avoid Christmas stress by budgeting early
Along with cutting out unnecessary expenses, and setting savings goals, Canadians should also have an emergency fund to cover up to six months of living expenses in case of unexpected events.
This survey was completed by 1,510 Canadian adults by Capital One Canada and the Angus Reid Forum, between Aug. 17-21. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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Canadians are splurging on 'guilty pleasures,' and it's adding up: survey

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Grabbing takeout for dinner can seem like a relatively small indulgence, but a new study suggests that Canadians are giving in to "guilty pleasures" quite often - and it's adding up. A survey conducted by the Angus Reid Forum and Capital One found that most Canadians admit to spending money on things they don't really need each month.

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Here is a link to the Government of Canada's website. The section is called "Reduce unnecessary spending" and is part of an online budgeting strategy they have published. It lists some unnecessary expenses that may completely slip our minds such as buying bottled water or spa days. The website also includes a built in calculator with tonnes of ideas of things to cut down on. This is a great resource as it gives you a real number to see that you could easily be saving.

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1.3.4 Reduce unnecessary spending - Canada.ca

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There's nothing wrong with spending on "extras"-if you can afford it. But if you have trouble paying your bills, or finding enough money to save for the future, you may need to reduce your spending until you get your finances back on track.

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In this Padlet I'll be investigating the most common spending habits of Canadians and which of those expenses are needs or wants. The intent of this wall is to help readers identify some of their bad spending habits and ultimately lead to better budgeting skills in the future. After reading this you should be able to identify whether a purchase is a need or a want, and whether it's really worth it when being the latter.

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by Chris Smedley