Hey everyone- Are you tired of trying to make your money stretch because of the high prices of goods or are you in a jam because you can no longer to keep up with the rising of goods and services? Well guess what! Inflation is REAL, and we are all crying!
Everything has gone up- Gas prices, groceries, hydro prices, transportation cost and even interest rates. And guess what-the numbers on our pay checks are not moving!
Not to fear-I have a plan! I have some pointers which can help with keeping your expenses at bay. These small tips may save your budget and help keep your head above water.
1.Take advantage of all Air Miles rewards, points, coupons to reduce cost. Let’s be honest- Everywhere we pull out our wallet to make a payment we get one of these questions “would you like to sign up to receive points and rewards for every purchase that we make- or we’re asked for our email address to receive some sort of promotional items.
Well guess what- now is the time to redeem those points! Either get discounts on goods that we purchased or items. I can think of a dozen places where they offer a points system- Shoppers, tire store, kids store, some gas stations etc etc.
Don’t forget those coupons- I have heard about people who have reduced their shopping bill by 90% by using coupons and if they can do it- so can you!
2.Use your Employees discounts. If you work in one of the big corporations- chances are your company is affiliated with external companies where there is an arrangement in place to provide discounts to their employees.
Use it! Stop pretending that you can afford everything in the world even if you make a good salary. Uncle Inflation doesn’t care how much money you make!
Have a look at your employee discounts catalogue at work, determine what you need and head to these companies which provides those discounts- trust me it will make a huge difference in your wallet.
3. Use your Rewards from work: Do you get points at work for doing a good job? Or maybe it was Employee Appreciation Day and management decided to reward all staffs for their hard works by offering some type of reward. It may be a gift card; it may be to purchase an item and have it expensed.
Regardless of what it is- find a way to use to help you stay afloat. We cannot and I repeat- we cannot let Inflation take us down, take our houses from us, stave our children and leave us with nothing!
4.Put a hold on spending on wants. I know I know- this one is a little hard to do, especially after 2 years of insolation from Covid and working hard.
Some of us feel that there is a need to spoil ourselves- And I completely agree- However stop and think for a moment and ask yourself- Do I prefer to buy clothes and jewelries which I already have plenty of anyways or do I prefer to use this money to feeds the kids and keep the roof over our heads.
So, think about whether we can hold off on indulging on wants for just a little while longer just so we can survive this phase.
5.Use the free stuffs– Have you ever heard the saying that the best things in life are for free! At this point it couldn’t be said any better than this. Think about it- If you want to take your kids to a summer activity- Use the free water parks and parks that are all over the country.
If you want to watch a movie- Use the library to rent out a few movies. If your kids are into Vidor games- once again check out the library. If you are in the mood for a sunny vacation where you can relax by a beach- There a few beaches across the country where you can do just that- there is no need to pay thousands of dollars to relax by a beach.
If you love working out- Forget about the hefty gym membership fees and use the sidewalk. Go for long walks, jog when the sun is not up, look at YouTube videos- I’m sure you get the idea.
So there you have it– 5 Simple things that you can go to beat Inflation, and keep use your money where it is needed. If you do have any other simple tips- drop me a line in the comment section.
You will either tell your money what to do, or the lack of it will always manage you
Dave Ramsey
