Whether it’s refilling your petrol tank or paying at the supermarket checkout, the higher cost of living is hitting every household hard.
Across the world, everyday essentials are surging in price, up 7.2% year on year across the OECD. Unfortunately, experts predict that prices will keep rising for at least the rest of the year.
What can you do to try to keep up with the increasing cost of living? Here are our 12 top tips:
Look for ways to earn more
Grow your business’s profitability (talk to us about improving your profits) or ask for a pay rise.
Take in a boarder or flatmate.
Sell your unwanted items online.
Cut back where you can
Prepare more meals at home and spend less at cafés and restaurants. You would be surprised by how much you spend on bits and pieces.
Keep ingredients to make lunches at work (if the fridge is big enough).
Create a budget and keep your spending under control. We can help with that too.
Reduce the amount of takeaways you buy.
Do a 4-week spending detox. Don’t buy anything except the necessities and use the extra money to pay down any credit card debt so you don’t have to pay the interest
Find ways to use your car less.
Wrap your credit cards in paper and use an elastic band to secure the paper. Then, if you want to use it, you have to unwrap it. This will remind you to use it less.
Review all your ongoing expenses like utilities, insurance and subscriptions – cancel, switch providers or get better deals.
Invest in your future
Start a new business, launch a new product or service, or try a side hustle. I used to work as a secretary or accounts person during the day, then worked in pubs a couple of nights a week. I loved it! I got exercise, I met fantastic people, heard some great bands and got paid for it.
Teach yourself about money and finances using free tools online and books from the library. Better money management will help you make the most of what you’ve got.
If prices rise by 7% this year, it won’t be easy to increase your income by the same amount. But if you can increase your income by 5%, then make up the rest through savings, while also investing for the future, you can still come out on top once inflation settles down and prices stabilise.
Worried about money? Talk to us. We have years of experience through many economic cycles, including previous periods of high inflation – and we’re always here to help.
Book a Complimentary Chat today.
This post was originally written by BOMA and has been updated to make it more personal.
