If you’re looking to stabilize your rising costs, you’re going to have to think a bit differently about the way you shop. Here are some savings tips to help you fight price inflation on everyday purchases.
- Shop Your Pantry
Before you go grocery shopping, make a habit of checking the shelves of your pantry first. Canned goods, pasta and other pantry staples have a tendency to get forgotten in dark corners.
By taking inventory of what you already have at home, you’ll avoid mistakenly buying multiples of the same item. You might be able to shorten your grocery list (and spend less). You’ll also reduce the chance of food going bad before you remember to eat it.
- Do Meal Prep
Planning out your meals and making grocery lists based on a meal plan means you’ll be less likely to waste money on something that looks good in the store but you never get around to eating.
- Buy in Bulk
While you’ll pay more money upfront for stuff in larger quantities, it’s actually a smart move to buy in bulk. Typically, you’ll pay less per item.
If you don’t need a three-box bundle of cereal or 10 pounds of macaroni noodles, you could always split your shopping haul with a friend or family member. Or you could just use this as an excuse to do less grocery shopping throughout the month.
- Cut Back on Meat
Cutting back on meat will have a significant impact on your grocery bill, because beef and pork and chicken tend to be some of the more expensive items in the store — inflation or not.
Going meatless a day or two a week and turning to cheaper alternatives, like beans and lentils, can help you cut costs.
- Buy Reusable Instead of Disposable
Which is better: Buying something for $5 that you use once and throw away, or purchasing something similar for $10 but that you can reuse over and over again?
Reusable products cost more upfront than their disposable counterparts, but they’re usually a better deal because they last much longer. Being better for the environment is an added plus.
- Save Money on Gas
The price at the pump keeps going up and up. But you still have places to go — which means gas is an essential.
Carpooling to the office can help you cut costs. So can signing up for fuel reward programs or using fuel comparison apps to find the lowest gas prices around. This article on how to save on gas has additional advice to lower your spending even as prices rise.
- Share Tools and Equipment
Splitting the cost of something you’ll only use occasionally is a better deal than paying full price for something that’ll end up collecting dust most of the time.
Consider sharing pricy tools and equipment — like a stand mixer or a leaf blower — with a neighbor or nearby friend or family member.
- Learn to Barter
You can also fight price inflation by choosing to barter with a friend or family member, rather than paying full price for goods and services.
Perhaps a friend has extra lumber from a home renovation that you can use in exchange for doing free graphic design work for their small business. Or maybe you can dog sit for a family member while they’re out of town in exchange for a few free meals.
- Get Free Things from a Buy-Nothing Group
Getting free items from a local Buy Nothing Group, means you can bypass high prices at a store — and you don’t even have to offer up anything in exchange. These groups focus on donations rather than trading or bartering.
This commentary was originally posted by Nicole Dow Jan 12 2022
Source: https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/save-money/fight-price-inflation/
**Disclaimer: This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.