5 Ways I'm Saving Money Right Now Living In One Of Canada's Most Expensive Provinces

This Opinion article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

People warned me, telling tales of wild gas prices, eye-watering rental costs and $10 coffee, but I ignored them all and still moved to Canada's most expensive province (aka British Columbia) a year ago. Since then, it's only gotten more pricey.

It's not a secret that the cost of living is rising in Canada and across the world, so I've had to get real about trying new ways to save money while living in B.C.

Wherever you are though, using these tips and tricks to save a couple of bucks is not a bad idea.

Get those points, seriously!

I always knew getting a credit card that lets you collect points was smart, but honestly I was just too lazy to actually go in and do it. As soon as we moved to B.C., though, my partner and I got the Aeroplan Visa – and I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. It literally let us take whole flights for free, so our travel budget is way cheaper.

You can also get credit cards to give you points for more practical stuff like groceries. But since we fly back to the East Coast a lot to visit our family, cheap flights made the most sense.

Hit up Dollarama

To the old me, Dollarama was for cheap birthday cards and decorations, but there's a whole world of cheap stuff in the aisles of Dollarama that I was missing out on.

It's so worth going to the store every now and then to stock up on things like almond milk, canned goods and household items.

Use coupons

Groceries are wildly expensive in Canada right now, so anything that can help is welcome.

Try checking out the Flipp App, which lets you see coupons in your area. I've only used this a few times, but this app is pretty handy. It's a great thing to look at while you're meal prepping for the week, so you can plan your grocery haul based on the deals and discounts out there.

Roommates

The biggest way to save money while living in Vancouver, or anywhere for that matter, is by getting some roomies. We're able to get way more bang for our buck when it comes to living because we have two roommates. Rent is a huge expense, so this is a big help!

Kick the subscriptions

I am so guilty of getting random app subscriptions that I never use. Since we started budgeting more seriously, I've been going through them about once a month and cancelling anything I don't absolutely need. You'd be surprised how much you're getting charged every month without knowing it!