The Sunday Mail
It is no secret that inflation has battered a lot of bank accounts in the last year.
Prices of some goods, including gas, have been going down of late. On the other hand, prices of other goods, for example, food, are still rising.
If you want to save money, here are some tips on how to achieve this.
Travel
Convenience costs more when it comes to virtually any purchase you make. It is especially costly when you are travelling.
John Shrewsbury, a financial adviser and co-owner of GenWealth Financial Advisors in Bryant, Arkansas, often goes on business trips and says that he has observed what many of us mayc have: “Convenience comes at a significant price.”
He says staying at a hotel near your destination is often costlier than staying a bit further away.
“Most airlines charge for luggage, so packing efficiently could save US$30 to US$50 bucks,” Shrewsbury says.
“And, on that rental car, pumping your own gas to fill up right before you return will save several dollars over letting the rental company fill it and charge you.”
He has other examples.
“Eating at the hotel is likely to be more expensive than at a nearby restaurant. Also, food at the airport is usually more expensive because they have a captive audience, so if possible, eat before you leave for the plane.”
Granted, plenty of travellers are willing to pay more for the convenience, and if you are, that is fine. But it is something to remember, if you are thinking of saving money on travel.
If you are willing to be a little inconvenienced, you can probably go farther for less.
Groceries
Inflation-fighting tip: Shop strategically for your food.
That may not sound like much of a tip. We all know that we need to shop strategically, don’t we? Still, we can always use a pep talk. It is not easy shopping strategically for food. We may not be hunting and gathering in the way our ancestors did, but you still have to bargain hunt and scour the landscape for deals. It can be mind-numbing and stressful.
But Andrea Woroch, a US news contributor and shopping consultant based out of Bakersfield, California, has a lot of good ideas. For starters, go to the store with a list, having planned as many meals as you can between now and your next grocery trip.
You should also be strategic in your meal planning.
“When choosing recipes, look for those that use overlapping ingredients and review local circulars to figure out which stores have the lowest prices for the goods on your shopping list,” Woroch says.
She says if you look for fresh foods that are close to the expiration date, it is possible to save around 70 percent. Just make sure to consume those items as soon as you can, so those savings do not end up in your trash bin.
“Finally, shop at a grocery store that offers a fuel reward programme since you can redeem points for savings at the pump,” Woroch says. “For example, Kroger Fuel Reward Programmes offer 1 point for every $1 spent on food and you can redeem those points at participating Shell stations.”
Woroch says even online grocery shopping, with its delivery fees, can be cheaper than going to the store because it can help you avoid impulse food buying.
She further says there are coupons available at deal aggregators like www.CouponCabin.com offering savings such as US$20 off at Vons.com, US$5 off US$25 at Safeway and US$30 off US$100 at Stop & Shop.
It is a lot of work to shop for food and consistently find deals, and if you feel your time is too valuable to get in trouble, that is a reasonable feeling. But you will save more on your supermarket trips doing it Woroch’s way.
This is admittedly not ground-breaking advice, says Fabio Fernandes, head of communications at the Consumer Choice Centre, a consumer advocacy group and non-profit organisation.
“Unfortunately, gas prices are still high in many parts of the United States, and there are very few things car-dependent consumers can do to minimise their impact on the household budget,” he says. Still, he suggests planning your drives before you run errands, so you can figure out the shortest path from Point A to Point B.
Of course, you may not have to plan your drive too much. If you have an app on your phone that can tell you the fastest route, use it. If you are planning ahead, you may want to talk to a family member, friend or neighbour about carpooling errands. For instance, you alternate on grocery store trips, with your friend driving in one week and you driving in the next week. That may only shave off a little bit of money but it could be a more enjoyable way to shop.
“Another obvious suggestion is driving less,” Fernandes says.
“The work-from-home trend is stronger than ever, and if your job allows, ask your employer to stay at home a couple of days a week.”
Utilities
Inflation-fighting tip: Don’t get complacent with your utilities.
We tend to not compare shops for utilities because often, there’s only one utility you’re going to work with. But that’s not always the case, Fernandes points out, and even if there is a choice, it’s easy to fall into a routine where you completely forget that you might have other options.
“Consumers who have been using the same providers for electricity, gas, and especially broadband tend to get too comfortable,” Fernandes says. “If you live in an area with multiple providers for any of those services, don’t hesitate to call them and listen to their offers. New customers enjoy special prices and perks that old clients don’t, so looking at the competition might be a money saver.”
Another area of complacency that can cost consumers is forgetting to change how you use your appliances, Fernandes says.
“When it comes to inflation on household items, the greatest villains are utilities,” he says. “Consumers can save energy by reducing the number of times they do laundry or run the dishwasher, or even by changing a couple of degrees the thermostat.”
Inflation-fighting tip: Review those insurance bills.
Spend a day analysing your insurance premiums. “You can lower your insurance premiums by 5 percent to 20 percent by bundling services, increasing deductibles and paying upfront,” Woroch says.
You can also, of course, compare shops for cheaper insurance plans, too. Woroch says that we should all analyse all of our bills during these inflationary times.
“Look for opportunities to save by cancelling unnecessary services, add-ons or unused subscriptions. You can even put memberships on pause that you don’t really need right now,” she says.
Entertainment
This is always a tricky one. You’re human. Whether it’s TV or music or movies or books or video games, entertainment brings joy. And what some people view as frivolous, others may see it as very important, says Brian Walsh, a certified financial planner with SoFi.com, an online bank.
“Early in my career I was working on a financial plan for a client getting ready to retire. He has a golf membership that I classified as discretionary in his retirement projection,” Walsh says. “He quickly corrected me that this was his primary source of enjoyment and relaxation. He explained that he would rather retire years later than go without this expense. After that, I realized that what I may view as discretionary is essential to another person because we all have different priorities.”
In other words, if you go to the movies a couple times a month and love doing it, keep going. If you play golf or tennis, even better, since that’s good exercise that will probably help you a lot in the long run. Find somewhere else in the budget to cut.
But if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can’t hurt to scrutinize your entertainment expenses. Are there streaming services that you added but now rarely watch? Do you have a habit of buying books when you’d fare just as well checking out books for free at the library? Actually, there are a lot of free things you can often check out at libraries, from movies to music to video games. If you’re looking to be entertained on the cheap, the library should be a regular place for you to visit.
If you and your friends go to expensive restaurants and bars, you could try going to cheaper alternatives, or perhaps during happy hour or other deals during the week. If you scrutinize your budget enough, there should be some areas in your budget that you can trim in terms of entertainment.
The Bottom Line on Fighting Inflation
You can really get stressed out over trying to save money, and you can definitely go too far in your quest to lower costs.
“Driving an extra half hour to save a few cents a gallon on gas likely does not make sense. The same could be said for buying low quality or nearly expired grocery items that you are likely to toss before eating,” Walsh says.
At the same time, you shouldn’t think you’re powerless against inflation and not do anything to cut down on your spending. That middle ground between driving a half hour to save a few cents on gas and not bothering to save money at all is probably where you want to be. — moneyusnews.com
