In case you missed it, good and services have gotten quite expensive as of late. This is often referred to as inflation, and it’s been in the news quite recently. Additionally, I imagine you’ve personally felt inflation, I know I have. Suddenly everything seems more expensive. Groceries which you to cost $100 each trip are now a little higher, maybe around $120. Gas always seems high, but going out to eat suddenly feels a few dollars more expensive, things we buy in stores, things we buy online, all a bit higher. Have you felt it? Have you noticed it in your everyday life?

Inflation is something around 7%, meaning what used to cost (on average) $1 now costs $1.07. Eek. That also means if you have $1 sitting in the bank, it’s now only really worth $0.93. Oh cool though you might say, I’m earning interest with that money in the bank. Unless your bank is paying >7% interest, unfortunately your money is losing value.

Inflation I’m afraid is here and will be here for a while. Early on the word was that inflation was going to be transitory, meaning that it would fade away after the summer, after the new year, yet it’s still here and honestly I’m feeling it more than before. Hopefully things will somewhat calm down but until then, we’re going to have to find a way to deal with it. Although I don’t have all the answers, here’s what I’m personally doing in my on life to try to handle inflation.

1. Ask for a raise

If you’re not getting a raise at work, you’re essentially getting paid 7% less than you were last year. Even if you got a modest raise; 1, 3 or 5%, unfortunately you’re still not keeping up with inflation and will start feeling the effects of it, almost like you’re falling behind. The good news is that the labor market is extremely tight right now, so assuming you’re gainfully employed and not a bad employee, your employer likely wants to keep you around. When I drop BabyMoneyFinance and SegundoMoneyFinance off at daycare, I drive by a few fast food joints (which are typically considered low wage jobs). They are all advertising $11-$14 starting pay. Many places I frequent have ‘now hiring’ signs.

All that to say, if you haven’t gotten a 7% raise or more at work, you really should have a candid conversation with your employer. It’s never a fun conversation to ask for a raise, it’ll likely be uncomfortable or awkward. That’s probably because your employer knows things are tight and probably doesn’t want to just hand out raises to anyone and everyone. If you’re not getting a raise at work, at least do yourself a favor and do a little light job browsing. I know that looking for a job isn’t easy or fun, but inflation is real and it’s important to take steps to protect yourself.

I had a tough conversation at work with my boss, even to the point of calling out the 7% inflation and asking for money on top of that. Thankfully my employer stepped up and I got a decent raise at the turn of the year!

2. Shop around on groceries

We spend so much money on groceries in our house. Sure we’ve got a family of 4 mouths to feed but it still feels like a lot. I used to love going to Publix. Their tagline is, ‘where shopping is a pleasure’, and it truly is. They’ve got friendly associates, a clean store and a good selection. Unfortunately paying more for groceries isn’t a pleasure and so I started shopping around. The real problem is that I’m also short on time, so going to several grocery stores to save money isn’t super feasible. I have recently discovered Lidl (similar to Aldi) and although it’s a 15 minute drive compared to the 5 min drive to Publix, I find I can save $20/trip. That’s real money saved. Additionally, as time is short with our larger family, I’ve also tried online grocery delivery. I get a free Walmart+ membership through one of my credit cards ($12.95/month) and have been ordering groceries from there. I actually find Walmart a bit pricier compared to Lidl but doorstop delivery (with tip of course is nice) is hard to beat.

If you’re looking to save money in your budget, rethinking your grocery store might be a good place to start.

3. Eat out less

This is normally good advice for anyone on a budget looking to save money, but as much as I’m trying to get back to enjoying a meal out as Covid is winding down (or it is ramping up, it seems to always change), it’s an expensive proposition. Even as much as I enjoy not having dishes, eating out eats up more in my monthly budget than I’d prefer it to. With inflation I’ve noticed it too, lunch spots that were $8-$10 now feel $12-14, dinner out is also feeling more expensive too. Of course eating out less means more spending on groceries but hopefully recommendation 2 will help with that.

I’m also torn as I know a lot of restaurants are small businesses and they’ve been especially hurt during the pandemic. So I haven’t cut eating out completely, I’ve just been a lot more thoughtful about how often and how nice of a restaurant we go out to.

4. Have a heart to heart with your subscriptions

I don’t know about you, but I picked up a lot of subscriptions during COVID. We all had to get creative in terms of entertainment and options while spending more time at home, and that came in the form of new music, movies, TV, gaming subscriptions. Hopefully you’ve been able to get out of the house (safely) a little more and with that it might be time for a heart to heart with your subscriptions.

I saw one blogger recommending hitting pause on all subscriptions and re-evaluating for a month. That’s not the worst idea but that feels like a hassle that I’d like to think I can avoid going through pausing/cancelling/restarting to figure out what I need vs can live without. I am however trying to take a hard look at places where we’re spending money. Do you still need that online gym training program if you’re back at the gym? There are a lot of TV/movie options out there; perhaps you could do without a few? Also it’s worth doing research to see if you can reduce the price or even get them for free. Mrs. Money gets Apple Music through her family Verizon plan (ironically nearly a decade into marriage we’re both still on our original family plans), and also got Disney+ free for a year. Many times services offer family plans and they loosely define what makes up a family, perhaps you and a few friends could jump on the same plan? At least ask around and do a little research online.

You don’t have to cut all subscriptions out but there could be savings here and there!

5. Take a few minutes to shop around

I do a lot of online shopping. I didn’t like going to stores prior to COVID, and during COVID definitely shifted more of my in-store shopping (what little was there) to online. When you go to checkout you’ll likely see a box that says coupon/discount code. Unless I’m pushed for time, I almost always take 5 minutes to google, “insert store/website name coupon”. I almost always find a few coupons to try and although they don’t always work, sometimes they do and that’s real money saved.

I also like to price compare at a few different sites. Amazon despite being so easy and so reliable and so quick to deliver isn’t always the cheapest. Many stores offer free shipping over a certain dollar threshold so shopping around can’t hurt. You might be surprised to find a cheaper option out there at another reputable site.  

6. Find a side hustle

Finally, if you’ve tried all of the above (or hopefully at least some of them) and are still struggling, it might be time to look for a side hustle. In our family Mrs. Money and I both are hustling. This blog is a small side hustle for me, and Mrs. Money (she’s in the education field) does online teacher coaching for 2 hours each week. You don’t have to drive for Uber, Lyft or food delivery (who always seem to be advertising for workers) if you’re uncomfortable with that idea or aren’t able to work that into your schedule. There are lots of online opportunities (i.e. being a virtual admin or picking up odd jobs on Fiverr). Or maybe your employer has additional shifts or opportunities for you. Ask around, do a little research and you’d be surprised (hopefully) in what you can find to supplement your income a little bit.

Inflation is real and inflation is affecting more and more of our daily lives. It’s important to protect your financial standing and continue working to grow. I hope a few of my ideas are helpful in either helping you cut back on spending or bring more money in!