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Saving money on household items
With Back-To-School slowly approaching, this time of year can become quite expensive. So, to help, we want to assist Canadian parents to save money on school essentials.
Finding the right Canadian influencers to follow can be challenging. They have to be relatable, have practical solutions, and be obsessed with money-saving strategies. So, we reached out to one of the best in the field, Jessie Lopez, to give her insider information on how to save money at home.
Whether you want to save money on affordable groceries or cut back on your monthly shopping bill, Jessie can help you take your money goals to the next level.
Who Is Jessie Lopez?
Jessie Lopez is a Calgary-based Canadian mother who specializes in household management with a focus on saving money. She offers advice on grocery shopping, creating meal plans, and inexpensive cooking ideas.
She uses her blog – simplefrugalbasic to share how she feeds her family of four on a variety of home groceries for as little as $150 per week with the use of her love for coupons.
We asked Jessie to share with us her favorite ways of saving money and how you can incorporate these into your daily life too!
What are your tips to save more on back to school?
I have been couponing since my boys were in diapers, and once I got what I considered was good at it, I wanted to share it with friends and family. I learned that not everyone was thrilled with having pictures of pretty piles of toilet paper and the aforementioned diapers pop up on their feed, so I made a separate hobby account to post my deals.
I posted sporadically over the years, but when we moved to our new home mid pandemic I started posting with more purpose, sharing not just my groceries but how I manage my household with what I buy, including how I cook. This has grown into a website, eBook, and other social media accounts and is helping me support my family while helping others support theirs.
What do you want people to know about you?
I learn just as much -if not more- from people who follow me than they learn from me. Sharing even just a portion of your life with the general public is exactly as most imagine, an outstanding privilege and a weighty responsibility, I genuinely care about the people who follow me and my family and I try my best to humbly and realistically portray our way of doing things, not because I think it’s the best, it’s simply what works for us and by sharing my hope is that it will be helpful to others in someway. I genuinely think of my account like a sister, and you share all your best learnings, advice and shortfalls with a trusted sister.
What are your favorite apps?
Moola of course! I love that it’s such a simple way to save right from your phone on things you are buying anyways. The PC optimum program and their app and points program is a total game changer too.
What are your favorite ways of saving money?
Anything simple and basic! I shy away from things that are complicated and time wasters, so anything I can do easily to stack rewards/ points/savings is my favourite. Also, part of our simple lifestyle is not buying things we don’t need, but maximizing the dollars we do spend.
Do you have any advice for moms?
Don’t compare. It’s extremely rare to meet a mother who doesn’t love her kids with all her heart and desperately just wants to do her best by them. That best looks different for every mom and every child, so don’t compare, just love.
What are your tips to saving more money on back to school?
I like to use back to school shopping as the motivation at the end of my back to school-schedule-routine home overhaul. So first I reorganize my home, declutter and take inventory. No deal is a good deal if you don’t really need it, and having more than we need isn’t just a financial burden, it eats away at your time and it adds stress and anxiety- at least for me it does.
Once I’ve taken stock, I make a list of what is truly needed, then make a budget. I’m starting to give my boys more freedom in this area in the hope of teaching them the lessons of keeping life simple and sticking to a budget. Then I try to shop with them somewhere that will not only offers us good quality and value, but I also try to get as much as I can for the dollars I will spend. That’s what I like about Moola, I have the flexibility to shop at so many stores that I use anyway and get extra discounts just by using the app! Win win!
Save on groceries for back to school
Preparing for your child’s return to school can be costly. Plan ahead and find strategies to help you save more on school essentials.
Check out our blog “12 Healthy Recipes For School Lunch Boxes” and find delicious recipes for back-to-school lunches that are both easy and affordable!
Using money-saving apps like Moola to save on other everyday essentials, like groceries, clothing, and more, also helps life cost less.
