If you don’t, then do not read my hub. I like to save money because I don't have a lot of it.

 I work full time but my salary is quite modest. So, I am trying to save all the time even in my sleep. When I sleep I usually use just half of my bed (just kidding).

Nowadays I keep stumbling everywhere upon a phrase that extremely irritates me. It's called "latte factor". It assumes that if I stop wasting my money on indulgencies, I would save a lot. Give me a break guys, what "latte"? I do not even go to fast food places! $1.50 a day worth of coffee means $45 a month wasted and it's a pair of shoes or a modest cable bill paid. You have to chose and if you add a muffin or doughnut to that coffee, you are not only wasting your money but your health too, because nutritional value of a donut, well, I do not even want to go there.

I should not condemn those places though, as they do serve their purpose. For example, so many teenagers and new immigrants who can speak some English can find a job there and make a modest living. I used to work at Tim Horton's myself. It does not require a lot of skills, you just have to be quick, polite and pay attention, though sometimes it’s very demanding physically and mentally, especially during rush hours, and not much of a pay but imagine not having a place like that.

Some tired truck driver comes after crazy night of driving non-stop; a fast-food joint for him is just a blessing. He can have some food, use a washroom, have some sheltered rest from his driving.

Of course we should not go to the fast food restaurant often, like every day for lunch for example. All that greasy oiled fast food is not what growing body of a child needs. Human beings are not supposed to work on grease. It needs plenty of fresh unprocessed food and no cooking oil in it. My mother used to cook with a lot of grease in it, mainly animal fat and butter. I was rather skinny as a child. I never forget those plates of porridge loaded with butter and strawberry jam in it. I was punished when I refused to eat that and I would throw up if I did. Not much of a choice. My thin body rejected all that fat and sugar rather violently.

Here in Canada we have lots of different kinds of food and it’s all about choice. Unfortunately not all food is created equal and not all is accessible on a small budget. But good thing is we do not have to spend a lot to buy simple grains, potatoes, and local vegetables especially seasonal. Right now for example, a basket of nice peaches costs $2.49-$2.99 in Toronto and plenty of new crop potatoes. If you do not have cooking skills it is hard to make a bargain with your food consumption. 2-3 dollars for a slice of pizza doesn’t look like too much, but if you add it up in a month it is not a bargain any more.

Talking about some other things and bargains. Usually I do not like to buy stuff at second hand stores. I’ll give you my reason. Nowadays the quality of a mass-produced garment is not that high. If you buy a dress, pants, shoes that already have been worn for a while, how long do you think you'll be able to wear them? Recently I bought a pair of summer shoes at Payless Shoe Source. It's a chain in Toronto that specializes in selling inexpensive brands. I wore it for a month and it just fell apart, I cannot even repair or return it, because they gave me just 2 weeks for that. And I tried to repair them but because of high platform the man at repairs shop could not sew it up.. I had to go and buy another pair.

Much better bargain is to buy some stuff at regular stores at the end of a season. Watch for deep sales in some stores that are just opened or closing forever.

That’s why it is a good thing to go sometimes to the Mall to do window-shopping without buying anything. When some big sales are planned stores usually advertise it beforehand. You can even ask a salesperson about it. Recently at one boutique on a Mall with opening store sales I managed to buy two blouses for $10 and now they are selling them for $15-$25 each. It is a good bargain.

Certain things you can buy much cheaper on February or at the beginning of March: like scarves and hats and mittens (boots too). August, September – summer dresses, light tops, swimming suits, sandals. Sales will be everywhere; at least it is how it is in Canada.

I heard that in US everything is cheaper, so may be sales are not that important there, but in Canada you can save a lot just by paying attention to the seasonal sales, even if you do not have a lot of time to do that.

“Value Village” is a very important second hand store in Toronto. www.valuevillage.ca Value village used to have very convenient prices on everything, but right now with our economy, as it is VV puts quite high prices on a new stuff.

It often takes more sense just to buy it at a regular store, so you can be sure it 's indeed a new and not outdated and not broken thing or anything.

Talking about the bargains. I have to mention Dollar Stores, as there are things you should not buy at a dollar store at all: batteries, watches, simple gadgets that's suppose to work (like a can opener for example), telephones, players, antennae etc.

You cannot buy cleaning liquids, shampoos (your hair will look like an old mop and you’ll be scratching it like a cat with flees), cookies, juices, cosmetics and fragrances (unless you want to scare somebody away inviting him/her for a cup of tea from a dollar store smelling like ... something else).

Of course there are sometimes some exceptions but I just do not want you to waste your money and being a cheapskate myself, I tried that all, it's not going to work, believe me.

You can buy soap, bathroom and kitchen towels, plastic buckets and baskets, cheap plates and cups, mops and rugs (you have to change them often anyway), toys for small kids (they want something new all the time and do not question the quality).

Try to buy for a teenager a thing from a dollar store or VV! Kids of running around age require a lot of scarves and hats and mittens because they tend to loose that stuff. You can buy those things at a dollar sore, they will last, until...they last. I know with my kids we saved a lot by using dollar store stuff a lot. Kids break things, they loose them and you do not have to hustle them and yourself about that.

No one should be stressed about small things; there are plenty of big things to be stressed about. If you need something really reliable you should go to a regular store like Best Buy or Sears or Home Depot (in Canada I should say) and if you are looking for a bargain wait for a big sale or promotion or something there. www.bestbuy.ca

When I was a teenager (in a high school I think), my uncle who at that time hold a very good position in sales and marketing department and could get a lot of good stuff through his connections, brought me a present: a nice white blouse made in Japan. It was made from some kind of synthetic material; I did not remember exactly what, it did not matter.

Important thing is that I had been wearing that blouse for almost 20(!) years non-stop because I liked it I could easely wash it and dry in half an hour without any dryer. Before my emigration I sold it to my friend for some trifle amount, just because I kind of tired of it. After 20 years of wearing it was still good. It did not loose color or buttons or anything. I did not know how much my uncle had paid for it and I never had anything like that ever before or after. That’s a quality, that’s a bargain. All things should be like that but they are not. Why? Go figure it out.