Saving money is hard to do nowadays, especially if you’re in university. With tuition rates skyrocketing and the cost of living rising just as fast, it’s obvious that any little bit saved translates into that much more safety in the future. Apartments in Toronto are in higher demand than ever, and in order to live an awesome, comfortable life in one of the best cities in the world, consider how much your technology might be weighing down your finances!
If you’ve gotta save cash, consider downsizing your tech! Here’s how to do it and get that budget under control:
1) Ditch your landline and cable
Why the hell do you still have either of these? In this day and age, everyone is glued to their smartphone. All voice messages, texts, calls and whatever else you may need are instantly transported into a device that’s never more than a foot away from you. Landlines are a flat-out waste of money at this point. Cable? Ever since Netflix and every other streaming service (even YouTube fits the bill if you don’t want to pay that monthly cost) has come on to the scene, traditional broadcasting has been left in the lurch. Speaking of Netflix…
2) Leverage free/cheap entertainment
Netflix/Shomi/CraveTV/etc. are the saviours everyone has been looking for ever since young renters were first bored. For a low monthly cost, you have access to unlimited entertainment (which, of course, you can get an app for and watch on your phone) that will keep you entertained for much longer than the monthly cost would ever be able to get you with old-school forms of TV and movie subscriptions.
What if you don’t watch much media? The principle is the same: use Project Gutenberg if you love to read books (also on your phone, ‘natch). Use the Library if you want to pick up a paper book. Go out on the town and keep in touch with local events – you’ll inevitably find something happening. Toronto apartments are never far away from everything, thanks in part to the TTC. Be creative and say goodbye to paying $17 plus for movie tickets for good.
3) Consider downsizing your plans
Canadian cell phone plans are painfully expensive, especially relative to what other countries pay. Honestly though, your phone bill shouldn’t cost $150 a month, unless you’re a power-employee who’s working 60-hour weeks.
Internet as well – it’s tempting to get the newest episode of Orange is the New Black in 5 minutes flat, but what if you spent $15 less a month and got that same episode in 7 or 8 minutes by downgrading your connection speed?
The point here isn’t that top-of-the-line phone or an internet connection aren’t essentials and can be easily skimped on. Reconsider whether you really need a Canada-wide talk and text plan, and is it really essential to have US calling included? Would you actually save money by removing these add-ons from your plan, and making long-distance calls less often? Can you back off from your data usage and instead use the Wifi you already have at home, at university and at work?
Renting in Toronto will only get more expensive in the years to come, so why not leverage as tech as efficiently as you can today?