Bottled water is a real luxury. Most of us just stop in at the store, grab a bottle and go on – we never stop to think about how expensive it can be when we do it every day. The important thing is that we get water into our bodies and we’re healthy, right? Of course. But we can also protect our wallets (not to mention the environment) a little bit at the same time.

Here are a couple of options that can help you kick the bottled water habit and save some money at the same time:

The re-usable bottle: Yes, it’s lean, mean and even green. Not to mention with all the trendy designs, it’s becoming a fashion accessory. It’s also vastly cheaper to use your own personal bottle to tote your water than it is to purchase a plastic bottle of water at the convenience store. If you purchased a $1.50 bottle of water every day for a year it would cost you roughly $540. A single re-usable bottle costs around $5-$15 depending on how nice you want it to be.

If you’re worried about the quality of your tap water and want to make sure your water is as pure as possible, you can purchase a water filter, or a filtration system for your home. This can run anywhere between $15 to $100 depending on the type of filtration you want. So, if you wanted to plug the leak in your wallet permanently, you’d be looking at between $30 and $115. Compared to over $500 for the convenience of purchasing pre-bottled water.

Do keep in mind though, this cost does not include replacement filters, so before you buy make sure you understand what the long term expense of the filters is – that way you aren’t simply replacing one money leak with another!

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The madness is over! The kids are back in school and you finally have some time to catch your breath! We think you all deserve to relax a bit so we’re giving away a spa retreat to one lucky person.

You can win a $150 gift certificate to your local spa and enjoy any treatment on us. All you have to do is let us know how you relax without spending more than $20 by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook wall!

The contest closes on September 14, 2010 @ 11:59pm EST. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on September 15,2010. The winner will be contacted by e-mail or private Facebook message. The contest is only open to Canadian residents, excluding Quebec.

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Our friend Dan just called Shaw to tell them about Telus’ new promo for internet and home phone ($30/month combined for a year). They reduced his internet from $50/month to $10/month for the next year. He saved $480 in 5 mins!

Another friend also called Shaw and got her  TV and internet bundle price reduced from $100 to $50 a month for the next year.  Way to go for stopping the pain of overspending!

Do you have a savings story like this to share? Just leave a comment below and we’ll share it with the Mogo savings community!

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My husband and I have driven used cars our entire lives. We choose to do this because it is cheaper. We save the car payment, and save on the insurance. When you are driving a used vehicle (or even a new one really) it’s best to remember that regular, preventative car maintenance can save you a bundle of money in the long run.

Taking the time and the money to change your oil, rotate your tires, check your brakes etc. will prevent some seriously costly repairs in the future. It’s a lot cheaper to rotate your tires than it is to buy new ones. Likewise, keeping your brakes in good shape prevents the damage and possible injury that faulty brakes eventually cause.

But how do you do that, really? If you never feel like you have enough money to go around, the logical thing to do is to put off that oil change as long as possible. Here’s the inside secret:

Every time you get paid stick $20 into an envelope marked “Car maintenance”. Hide the envelope so that the money doesn’t get used for other things. Then, grab a calendar and schedule the maintenance. It only takes a few minutes and a very small financial sacrifice to take care of your car and prevent much bigger, more expensive problems down the road.

It took my husband and I a long time to learn this and I’m ashamed to admit we went through several vehicles before we learned that pro-active maintenance pays off, big time. Do this for your family and you get to be the hero – the one who is “on top” of everything and looking out for the safety of your family. It feels good, it’s cheap and it will give you confidence in yourself and your car. At least, it did for us!

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If sending the kids back to school is causing you a ton of stress worrying about all those school expenses, then here are some ideas to help you prepare for the expenses and save yourself some money in the process.

1)     The school envelope – Grab an envelope and start stashing money in it. This is your emergency backup for the times that you forget to pack a lunch or withdraw the lunch money. It’s also a life-saver when your child appears the morning of a field trip with a permission slip and a need for cash.

2)     Ask the school about financial assistance programs – Ok, so it can be a bit embarrassing to ask for reduced tuition, lunch waivers or fee waivers, but if you qualify, why not do it? Use the money that you save to provide for your family in other ways – rather than padding your pride. Been there, done that.

3)     Talk to your child’s teachers – Ask them what expenses to plan for. How many field trips will your child take this year? What opportunities will be available to your child later in the year? Teachers plan for these things well in advance and they can give you the inside scoop if you are willing to ask.

4)     Free tutoring programs – Most schools offer free tutoring programs where the older children help the younger ones. If your child is showing signs of trouble (or even if they aren’t) make sure to take advantage of all the help you can get them.

5)     Pick up a few hours at the school – See if you can volunteer to help out with activities in return for a discount on some of the more expensive opportunities that are available.

6)     Musical Instruments – If your child wants to learn to play an instrument, contact your school’s music director and see what they can dig up for you. They may have something sitting around that you can purchase cheaply. You can also check Craigslist, your local paper and your network of friends to get used instruments cheaply.

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