Inflation means that our dollars can buy less, and here at Fire Financial we want our dollars to last a long time. Here are some ways to put the beat down on inflation:
1.) There are many online coupon sites that help consumers find coupons for purchases they make. For example, joinhoney.com is a chrome extension you can add to your browser that automatically finds discounts for you as you shop online.
2.) With gasoline increasing 38% over the past 12 months, it’s important to minimize this necessary expense. I find that planning your day to minimize miles driven can go a long way in reducing gasoline expenses. This could look like going to the grocery store near your place of business before heading home.
3.) I’m not just a financial advisor, I am an energy trader and have insight into the energy space. Fuel prices are highly cyclical, and supply of fuel can change very quickly. If you are planning a vacation, then consider planning further out and buying plane tickets at a future date. International plane tickets are much higher right now than they have been due to high fuel prices. Something I like to do, which is not for everybody is to use a website like skyscanner.com. With this website, I can choose a date range and then click an option to “go anywhere”. Skyscanner will find the cheapest flights for that time range, and you can normally find flights for $100 round trip in the United States. I went to Orlando just this last month for $87 round trip.
4.) Food expenses, which tend to be the third biggest monthly expense behind home and car expenses have risen on average 7.9%. Of course, a great way to cut down on food costs is to eat at home. Beyond that… we see that meat (which is generally a more expensive grocery item) has increased by 13% over the past 12 months, while fruits, veggies, dairy and bread have only increased about 6.9% on average. So, adopting more of a veggie and dairy based diet can really help cut down on grocery bills. I have personally started substituting some of my meat consumption with Greek yogurt, which is high in protein and low in fat.
5.) There is a computer chip shortage, which has caused new car inventory to be 75% lower than March 2020 inventories. New and used cars are going for sometimes thousands of dollars more than they were worth in 2020. Consider waiting to buy a new car to wait if your current car is still reliable.
Comments