Here’s how to chop that grocery bill down to size

Inflation is said to be slowing down, but the high cost of groceries is still a hot topic at the golf course and around the table after line dancing class.

Save with SPP decided to scour the Interweb to find out what others are doing to cut their food costs.

At The Penny Hoarder blog, one suggestion is to “create a grocery budget.”

“The first step to saving money on food is to think like a Boy Scout (i.e., “Be Prepared”). Setting up a monthly or weekly grocery budget will help you stay on track and keep your spending in check,” the blog suggests.

We like this one – instead of grumbling that everything on your list costs more, you bring a set amount of money, say $100, and come home with that amount of groceries. Interesting!

Other ideas from this blog are to develop a meal plan – so that you know exactly what you need to buy, item by item – and the classic advice to clip/save/find coupons and make good use of them.

The Daily Hive offers up some additional thoughts.

Skip pre-cut fruit and veggies, the blog advises. “Since there’s an added labour cost to these items, it’s often cheaper to buy the larger item and cut it up yourself, especially if it’s a low-cost product like squash or watermelon,” the blog adds.

A second thought – don’t just plan your meals, plan your snacks too, the blog suggests.

“One top trick to see lower grocery receipts is to plan your meals and snacks for the week,” The Daily Hive reports.

“By crafting each meal ahead of time, you know exactly what to shop for and can avoid unnecessary or impulsive buys,” the blog continues.

A USA Today article via Yahoo! provides a few more ideas.

“Shop your pantry” before going out to buy ingredients for meals – maybe you have some of the things already, the newspaper advises.

“Use your grocery store’s app to carefully plan your shopping trip from the comfort of your own home and check all available coupons. Utilizing your grocery store’s app is one of the best ways to stay on budget and save time when you shop,” the article adds.

Another idea from USA Today is to buy things that are in season. “When purchasing produce, choose produce that’s in-season. Out-of-season produce tends to be more expensive than its in-season counterparts,” the newspaper notes.

The Victoria Times-Colonist provides a few more tips.

One interesting idea is to avoid going to the grocery store altogether. Huh?

“If you tend to wander off your grocery list because every time you go to the store you buy things you don’t need, shopping online and picking up curbside is a good workaround,” the article suggests. This can also save time if you are buying groceries from multiple locations, the article adds.

As well, a sort of further idea to the “grocery budget” plan is to keep your previous grocery bills so that you can “track what you are already spending,” the article reports.

“Start by reviewing how much you have spent on the last few times you’ve gone grocery shopping,” states David Brindley, deputy editor for AARP Bulletin, in the article.

“If you don’t keep receipts from past grocery runs, try looking at your bank account statement and adding up the grocery charges. Once you know how much you spend on groceries, set a goal, for example, staying within a specific budget or reducing your spending,” he adds.

These are all good ideas. If there’s a common theme, it is to spend more consciously on groceries rather than just tossing stuff into the shopping cart and then complaining about the cost.

A couple of things we’ve learned to do to save on shopping is to work with a fairly empty fridge – don’t pile it full to the brim. Why? If you can see everything in your fridge, you won’t buy the same things twice, or throw out stuff that’s been shoved to the back behind something else and has gone “off.”

Having an extra stream of income will also help out your grocery shopping in retirement. If you aren’t covered by a retirement program at your workplace, have a look at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. With SPP, you decide how much you want to save, and we do the rest – investing your savings over time in a low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund. You can make contributions in many ways – through pre-authorized contributions from your bank account, via online banking (SPP can be set up as a bill), by credit card or by mailing us a cheque.

Get SPP working for you today!

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Traditional retirement “an outdated concept,” younger Canadians say

Working away until age 65, getting the gold watch and the retirement party, and then travelling and having fun – a Boomer view of life after work – is seen as an “outdated concept” by younger people, reports The Daily Hive.

“A Leger survey commissioned by Canadian investment service Wealthsimple found that nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of Canadians between the ages of 25 and 44 feel the conventional approach to retirement — to stop working at 65 years old to then enjoy travelling, leisure and time with family and friends — is an outdated concept,” the publication reports.

Instead, The Daily Hive reports, younger Canadians surveyed revealed “an ambition among millennials and Gen Z Canadians for `a modern form of retirement’ that lets them pursue personal and professional passions throughout their adult lives.”

Say that again?

“Essentially, the path to retirement is no longer linear, but a mix of work, travel, volunteering and entrepreneurial pursuits,” the publication explains.

“It’s a new perspective on the future driven by younger generations. They are looking for flexibility, personalization and control over their future, rather than feeling controlled by conventional wisdom,” states Wealthsimple CEO Mike Katchen in the article.

The other interesting thing in this new “non-linear” approach is that it calls for early retirement, too.

“The survey also found that early retirement (before the age of 55) has emerged as the go-to plan among 25 to 44-year-olds so they can start their own business, work at not-for-profits, or pursue a passion project — basically, not live to work for someone else,” The Daily Hive article notes.

While factors like “soaring inflation” and the high cost of home ownership are cited as obstacles in the article, more than half of those surveyed plan “self-directed investment options to support their long-term financial goals.”

And, the article concludes, more than half of the 1,500 younger Canadians surveyed “feel that investing has given them more flexibility and choice.”

It’s not surprising to see the traditional path to retirement being questioned by the younger folks. As Boomers, we watched our parents work away at long-term jobs with good pensions, all the while paying down the mortgage on their more affordable homes, and then retiring at 65.

Not as easy for those of us of Boomer age to retire debt and mortgage-free – so you see more Boomers hanging onto their jobs longer, hoping to make the math work for living on less. Many choose part-time or contract work in retirement.

If the survey results hold true, the younger folks plan to save and invest at a greater rate than their parents, and then move out of traditional work earlier – sounds like a good plan to us!

If you’ve got money squirrelled away in a bunch of different registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may offer you a way to consolidate your nest egg. With SPP, you can transfer in any RRSP amount from other accounts. Once your funds are in SPP, which is a provincially run, not-for-profit retirement program, they will be professionally managed at a low fee, and your choices at retirement will include a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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Daily Hive asks if big-city retirement is possible in Canada

An article in The Daily Hive took a look at how possible it is to retire in a big Canadian city at age 65.

The results of their research are a little depressing.

“Living in a major Canadian city is already expensive, and in recent years, food and housing costs have skyrocketed. Those looking to buy a home are intimidated by substantial down payments and high mortgages with bloated interest rates. Others are dealing with soaring rent,” The Daily Hive reports.

Citing research from Swedish firm Sambla, the publication notes that in a ranking of the most expensive countries to retire in, Canada “placed pretty high at number six.”

And, the article continues, Sambla’s conclusion was that “with an average retirement age of 60 and an average life expectancy of 83, Canadians would need to save around $300,500 to retire.”

When asked about the possibility of retiring at 65 in a large Canadian city, Reddit users painted a pretty bleak picture, The Daily Hive notes.

“Most responses ranged from worrying to, well, really, really depressing. It’s clear that retirement, as our parents knew it, no longer exists in Canada,” the article notes.

Here are some of the Reddit comments, from The Daily Hive article, on whether or not retirement at 65 is possible in big-city Canada:

• “Is retirement even a word in Canada anymore? Prices just keep going up and wages stay the same; it just doesn’t make sense.”
• “I’m 42. At my current trajectory, I can expect to retire comfortably at age 275.”
• “I’ll be lucky if I can retire at age 95.”
• “Yes, as long as I die by the age of 64.”
• “I will work until I die. Not by choice.”

Another Reddit post, the article notes, suggested that retirement is only possible “for those who have inheritances when their parents or other family members die.”

The article goes on to note that Canadians are, according to Statistics Canada, working longer and retiring later.

“Statistics Canada data shows that Canadians are, on average, working for longer periods before retiring. In 1998, the average age of retirement for public sector, private sector, and self-employed workers was 60.9 years. Now, it is 65.1 years,” The Daily Hive reports.

It’s a little concerning to see how some people feel about retirement. We sometimes hear similar stories from those who are buried under debt – that they’ll never get out from under it.

It’s important to have some sort of retirement savings plan to help fund your future. If you’re in a pension plan or retirement program at work, that’s a huge help. If you don’t have a plan, and are trying to save on your own for retirement, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan may be just what you’ve been looking for.

SPP will take your hard-saved dollars and will invest them in a low-cost, professionally managed, pooled fund. When it’s time to turn your investments into income, you can choose to receive monthly lifetime annuity payment, or SPP’s Variable Benefit, where you decide how much to take in income, and when.

Check out SPP today!

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There are two kinds of saving – the kind where you put away a little money before you spend it, and the kind when you spend a little less (and thus, create a few extra bucks to save).

Groceries remain expensive here in the fall of 2023, so Save with SPP took a look around the Interweb to find out if people have any suggestions on how we all can save at the checkout.

According to the Narcity blog, the art of “couponing” is one way to go about it.

Narcity spoke to “well-known couponer” Kathleen Cassidy for her top tips. She tells the blog that it is important to “shop the flyers,” and find out “what is on sale this week… what is a great stock-up price.”

If there’s a great deal on something like sausages, then “buy a couple of packs… throw them in the freezer. The next time they’re not on sale, you’re prepared for that.”

Shop with a list, she advises. “I feel like a lot of Canadians just kind of blindly go into the grocery store every week,” she tells Narcity. “Especially if you go when hungry, you’re just throwing stuff into your cart.”

Other tips include price matching – if you know an item is on sale elsewhere, the store you’re shopping at will no doubt match it, the article explains. Finally, the article advises grocery shoppers to take advantage of any loyalty programs or points offered by the grocer.

The CBC offers up a few more ideas.

“Reconsider beef,” the broadcaster advises. Currently, beef “has seen some of the biggest price increases in the grocery store.” Chicken and pork cost less these days, so consider switching some meals to these other sources of protein, the article suggests.

The article says that some fresh items have had little price impact from inflation – you can get good prices on grapes, cantaloupes, avocadoes and potatoes, and in fact all of these items have dropped in price of late, the article adds.

By comparison, canned goods are up “by double digits” in the last year, the CBC notes.

On the salad side, while lettuce is up in price, “cabbage remains a bargain,” and cucumbers are not going up either. Consider “switching up” your salads by adding cukes and tomatoes, which also have not shot up in cost.

Bulk shopping is always a way to cut costs, reports The Daily Hive. Toiletries, and “pantry items” such as “pasta, canned products, granola bars and cereal” can be bought in bulk and store well, the article notes.

Meat, milk, cheese and butter can be bought in bulk when on sale, and they all freeze well, the article notes.

And of course, the article adds, be sure to watch for coupons, save them, and have them handy at the grocery store.

Another article from The Daily Hive provides a list of the best types of credit cards to buy groceries with.

Some cash-back credit cards, the article notes, will pay you two per cent in cash for every dollar you spend on groceries. We have friends who have credit and banking cards that award them points every time they buy groceries – and the points can be redeemed for, what else, free groceries. Check to see if your credit cards offer any such deals.

By leaving a few loonies in your purse via any or all of these methods, you are not only spending less on groceries, but creating a little pool of money that could go elsewhere.

Why not to your retirement piggy bank? If you are saving on your own for retirement, take a look at the Saskatchewan Pension Plan which has been building retirement security for Canadians for over 35 years. SPP will invest the grocery money you save for you in a pooled fund that is professionally managed at a low cost. And when life after work begins, SPP can turn those saved and invested dollars into retirement income, including the chance of a lifetime monthly annuity payment. After all, who knows what groceries will cost 10, 20 or 30 years from now?

Great news! SPP’s flexible Variable Benefit option is no longer limited to those members living within the borders of Saskatchewan. Now all retiring SPP members across the country can take advantage of this provision, which puts you in control of how much income you want to withdraw, and when you want to withdraw it. You can also transfer in additional savings from other unlocked registered sources. For full details see SaskPension.com.

Check out SPP today!

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Handy tool takes some of the guesswork out of retirement planning

There are some tricky obstacles facing us when it’s time to figure out how to live on our retirement savings.

The Daily Hive recently reported on a new calculator put in place by the federal government to help Canadians better understand the multiple streams of money that may make up their future retirement income.

“The Retirement Hub provides a clearer picture of your options and how to plan for them,” the publication reports.

“The hub features a retirement income calculator, which includes the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits. The calculator takes you through several steps to determine everything” The Daily Hive tells us.

“First, you must enter your gender, birthday, and annual income from all sources before tax. Then you’ll be asked to set an annual retirement goal income (before tax) in today’s dollars,” the publication advises.

The folks at The Daily Hive tried plugging in numbers for someone who is age 31, and making $60,000.

That person would receive a future retirement income of $27,000 to $46,000 by age 70, the article notes.

The calculated amount factors in things like your personal savings, any workplace pension plan you may belong to, money in a registered retirement savings plan, and so on.

It also blends in your future CPP and OAS benefits (and, if application Quebec Pension Plan benefits) into the overall retirement income picture, the publication adds.

“If you’re not sure if you’re ready for retirement or want extra assistance with planning, there’s also a quiz you can take, which provides a checklist of tips to help you with your plan,” the Daily Hive concludes.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan also has some built in tools to help you with retirement planning.

The Wealth Calculator provides a nice, fast estimate of where your SPP will be when you are ready to collect. Have a look at your latest balance, via your statement or through MySPP, then estimate how much you plan to add to the plan until you retire. You can estimate how much you think your savings will grow, and then voila — there’s a rough estimate of what you’ll have when it’s time to collect.

MySPP is also a great resource. You can sign up by clicking here. Once you are in, you can easily see your contributions to date and any investment returns applied each month. You can print off your contribution receipts, and upon retirement, your income tax documents, as well as view your statements — and you can keep your contact information up to date.

These tools help you to demystify retirement — if you have a pretty good idea of what you will be receiving as income, that’s half the battle. The other half is figuring out what your future living costs will be.

Check out SPP today — if you don’t have a pension plan through work, or don’t want to invest on your own for retirement, SPP offers the expertise you need. We’ll grow your savings into future income via a low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund, and your income options will include the possibility of guaranteed monthly income through SPP’s line of annuities.

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Expensive housing costs has a growing number of adult kids living with their folks

The current high rate of inflation is driving up borrowing costs, making today’s costly houses even more out of reach for first-time homebuyers.

And that’s leading to a growing number of young people having to live at home with the folks, even into their 30s, reports The Daily Hive.

Writer Sarah Anderson notes that “close to a million households in 2021 were `composed of multiple generations of a family.” That represents seven per cent of Canada’s total population, the article reports.

A significant number of young people live with their parents, the article continues.

Citing Statistics Canada information, the article notes that “the share of young adults aged 20 to 34 living in the same household with at least one of their parents was unchanged from 2016 to 2021,” and is 35 per cent.

What’s different is that the “kids” living at home are getting older, the article reports. “Forty six per cent of young adults who lived with their parents (in 2021) were aged 25 to 34, compared to 38 per cent in 2001,” The Daily Hive reports.

The article lists six programs the feds are offering to try and make it easier for younger folks to get into the housing market, including a new tax-free savings account for prospective home buyers.

The article also mentions a new program that provides up to $7,500 in tax credits for those making their homes “multi-generational,” but makes it clear that this is most likely designed for younger homeowners who want to create a living space for their parents in their home, rather than the other way around.

Daniel Foch of the Canadian Investor Podcast is quoted at the end of the article as saying more needs to be done to get young people into their own homes.

“Canada could ultimately be heading for a low-ownership housing model as more people are marginalized out of ownership. This really signals that we’re starting to see the end of the Canadian dream of homeownership unless something changes,” he tells The Daily Hive.

Saving up for a down payment is a big priority for many young people. But putting aside a little money for retirement as well is never a bad idea. In these days of higher inflation, where groceries and gas seem to cost a small fortune, it may be a little tougher to find those dollars to save. But you can always start small.

The Saskatchewan Pension Plan, open to any Canadian with registered retirement savings plan room, lets you make tax-deductible contributions at any level you choose (up to $7,200 annually), either by setting up SPP as a bill for online banking or by using a credit card. If money’s tight, keep contributions small — you can always ramp them up later! Check out SPP today!

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