Inflation-Be Budget Smart
You can’t get away from the talk about inflation. How high will it go and how long it will last? Whatever the answer, bottom line is that goods and services cost more and therefore you have less money to spend on other things like maybe a vacation or putting money aside for that rainy day fund.
Being budget smart is always about ways to get around obstacles, especially money related ones, so here are some tips to help take the sting off of inflation-
Think Ahead
Right now I’m trying to think one year, even two years ahead and figure out what I’ll need. Next question, is the product likely to go up in price? If the answer is yes, and if you have the money right now ( and without going into debt with credit cards), then it might be a good move to buy it now. Also, ask yourself is it likely to be in short supply…we’re hearing more about that too. Low supplies mean higher prices so do some research because it pays off big time.
Think Services Too
It’s not just products that might cost more in the future but services too. Is there something that needs fixing around the house or maybe your car needs something new installed? Once again, don’t break the bank or get into debt but it might be cheaper to fix it this year rather than next.
Learn New Skills
This is sort of related to the above. Is there a new skill you could learn that will allow you to fix something yourself?
Buy in Bulk
I’m a great believer in having a well stocked pantry and one way I’ve found to shave some pennies off of doing that is to buy in bulk. Yes, the initial outlay is more but per unit pricing is usually cheaper. And if money’s tight, how about sharing the cost with someone else.
Learn to Grow Food
If you already know how to grow your own food, that’s great, if not, take some classes, read some books. Even pair up with some other people who like you want to save money on their grocery bill.
Learn to Preserve
Can you can? Do you know how to dehydrate food? Do you have a chest freezer to store extra food that you’ve purchased on sale? There are lots of tutorials online to teach you how to can and look for a budget buy on a chest freezer and start filling it with all that homegrown food.
One Item at a Time
If you want to start building on your food stockpile but don’t have extra money, try buying one item each time you shop or however much you can afford in extra groceries. Look for sales and end of aisle specials on things like canned vegetables, soups, and tomatoes. You can use items like these in just about every recipe so they never go to waste.
You’ll find lots of other budget related posts similar to this one in the archives of Budget Smart Girl so check them out.
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