Toronto mom shares how she saves up to $2,000 a year

Now more than ever, being resourceful with spending and getting creative with how you save money is top of mind.

Simple as it may seem, discovering new ways to get the most of your paycheque can be gruelling — especially if it involves changing your day-to-day or doing less of the things you love.

Applying tips and tricks that fit within your current lifestyle is paramount when it comes to finding effective ways to economize.

Recently we caught up with long time AIR MILES Collector Dayris Rodriguez to get the full scoop on how the reward program helps fuel her lifestyle.

AIR MILES Canada/Brayden Swire

After immigrating to Canada 11 years ago with her husband at her side and firstborn on her hip, she immediately began looking for ways to be spend-savvy.

She even recalls, with vivid detail, getting her first AIR MILES Card. Curious about the blue overhead signs at her local grocer in Victoria, she inquired to the cashier and excitedly returned home to do her research.

Right away something clicked. “To me, [it made] complete sense,” says Rodriguez.

Since then, life has unfolded in a myriad of different ways, including an expanding family and a cross-country move to Toronto, where Rodriguez and her family are currently settled. Throughout the major life milestones, she cites the ability to adapt her AIR MILES Reward Miles to suit her ever-evolving life as being crucial.

AIR MILES Canada/Brayden Swire

“[The] diversity of the program is something that is very, very catchy to us as a family,” she says. 

Indeed, with the ability to get Miles at thousands of locations, as well as online through airmilesshops.ca, she continues to turn everyday purchases she would normally make into exciting moments of reward that simultaneously move her towards her goals.

As a busy homemaker with two children and an entire household to manage, Rodriguez likes to use her Miles in a way that makes sense for her and her family. From this, family traditions, like annual memberships for Canada’s Wonderland and hotel rooms for ski trips up north, have come to fruition.

AIR MILES Canada/Brayden Swire

That’s not to say she doesn’t treat herself too. For her birthday, Rodriguez recently gifted herself a premium hairdryer and brush using her Miles.

Rodriguez explains that how she uses her Miles is constantly shifting and adapting to whatever she’s looking to gain from them. Instant Cash Miles and Bonus Miles can be used towards getting groceries for her family or fuelling up the car on road trips, whereas Dream Miles can be used on big-ticket items you’d usually save up for — like a Dyson vacuum, which she recently purchased using her Miles.

On this subject, Rodriguez offers, “Whatever is happening in your life, you can take advantage of your Miles and they will move along with you into your plans.”

In the decade since becoming Collector, she estimates having saved between $1,000 to $2,000 a year by using her Miles that, over the years, have been put towards groceries, vacations, activities, and other little things she wants.

AIR MILES Canada/Brayden Swire

When it comes to maximizing savings, she positions downloading the AIR MILES App as a total no-brainer. “Download the app and always check the offers,” she says in reference to the deals of the week, which allow you to download personalized offers right to your account.

AIR MILES is always looking for ways to reward everyday Canadians for everyday purchases in a way that accommodates their ever-evolving lives and needs.

Learn more about all the ways AIR MILES can bring you closer to the moments that matter — for less — at airmiles.ca.