Inflation – it’s no surprise to most Americans. It’s been on the horizon and has smacked us all in the face with full force this year. The cost of everything is rising due to various factors: COVID, government legislation, supply and demand shortages across every industry, and, you know, the entire world shutting down. Now in the fall of 2022, is absolutely the worst time to buy anything – as compared to any previous time in history. It’s expensive for anyone to buy their first house, first car, food, clothes, or really anything in this economy.

Here are various statistics referred to as the CPI (Consumer Price Index) provided by the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) – a government entity:

This information is tracked from June 2021-June 2022.

• Food has risen 10.4%
• Energy has risen a grand total of 41.6%
• The most annoying one to many: Motor fuel (this includes gasoline, of all types) has increased a whopping 60.2%
• New vehicles cost 11.4% more
• Used vehicles are up 7.1% (still a mind blowing phenomenon here)
• Household furnishings and supplies are up 10.2%

Enough of the facts, let’s jump in to the practical things that we all can do to save money in this perfect storm of economics.

1. Why Shop Name Brand?

Listen, name brand products have their place and there is a reason that they got their fame as being a “name brand.” Yeti makes great products, their coolers and mugs are fantastic products. However, the fact of the matter is that if you are paying for a Yeti product then part of that cost is higher simply because of the Yeti name. This increase goes back into their massive company – distributed throughout share holders, execs, marketing, advertisements, paying employees, etc. This extra price hike is not usually the case with cheaper products that most consider “knock-offs.”

Here’s a great example:

2. Become a Great Cook

Who says you can’t have gourmet food, like eating out at a fancy restaurant that you love? Teach yourself through YouTube, Food Network or even good old fashioned cook books (like gramma used) to become a fantastic chef. With simple ingredients you can buy at any grocery store you may be the next master chef.

One of the greatest things is that you don’t even have to tip anyone for their service! Unless you’d like to tip yourself, I guess? Oh! And pants are totally optional.

3. Check Your Subscriptions

According to the Motley Fool, the average American spends $219/month on entertainment subscription services. I think it goes without saying – that is a lot of money to most people! Let’s be honest, do you really need to keep up with 20 separate TV series at the same time? Do you even really have the time in the month to watch Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, Disney Plus, Apple TV, Paramount +, HBO Max? The crazy thing is the list goes on, that was just scratching the surface of subscriptions available. I think you get the picture. Or if you cancel all of these to save money – you won’t.

Easily replace some of your entertainment watch time with a new hobby, taking a walk, or spending more time with your kids/animals. These few ideas can distract your mind from always wanting to keep up with the newest hit TV series that keep taking your money and help you live a fuller life anyway.

4. Make Coffee at Home or Work

Did you know that the Starbucks corporation pulled in almost $32 billion in annual revenue last fiscal year? No, I’m not joking. This is a number that most of us literally can’t fathom. Here are some of those numbers for your viewing pleasure:

There’s a reason that coffee is such a global phenomenon … not many people can get wonderful, relaxing sleep anymore. We are all over-stimulated throughout the day with the constant buzzing of our smart phones and the over-stimulation from the chaos of the modern world. We never allow ourselves to truly rest and our tanks run on empty on the daily. This drives us to search out the next “hit” of energy so we can make it through another work day, PTA meeting, school play, or client meeting – lucky for us, at only $8 a coffee, Starbucks has us covered.

Next time, make your coffee at home in the morning. Put the coffee pod in while you are getting ready first thing in the morning. It takes mere minutes – less than the time it takes you to sit in the drive through while the fancy baristas make your overpriced Iced Caramel Macchiato. Or, even better, take advantage of that dusty Keurig in the corner of the office kitchen and make it for “free” at work. There’s no excuse.

5. What’s a Library?

Many people might not realize that there is a thing in society called a library. You might remember this from back in grade school, when you were forced to go check out a book for your English report. Yes, libraries do still exist – even in this digital age of Kindles, iPads, and smart phones. Drop by your local library and see if they have a few books that interest you. In the process, you’ll save tons on each book that you would have bought online or at a fancy Barnes and Noble. You can read for free from the library’s wonderful collection, and can take it home for two weeks – FOR FREE – for your viewing pleasure.

Also, another thing to note is that libraries are not just a thing of the past when we wrote on stone tablets and gathered around camp fires in caves. They also have high-speed internet connections, top of the line computers, cutting edge data resources, and more – that you can use – FOR FREE. Printers are also available for small fees that you can use as well. Many libraries even offer free internet hotspots that you can take home to use with your own devices. All you need is a library card – which is, you guessed it, also FREE!

6. Start Carrying Cash!

Yes, start carrying cash. Go by the local branch of your bank and withdraw a few hundred for restaurants, gas, and shopping for the month. Chances are that many of the places you visit on a daily basis will offer a cash discount, I’ve seen this as high as 8% at a local restaurant. If you visit your local luxury store – I mean gas station – then you will see on the gas price board that there is both a cash and credit price per gallon. According to NACS (the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing), credit card processing fees at gas stations average about 2.5% of the total transaction price. See here.

Let’s do some quick math and see why this is worth it! Per AAA, the nation’s average gas price is currently $3.70 as I am writing this blog in September 2022. If you take 2.5% of $3.70, that’s a small savings total of 9 cents per gallon. But if you multiply this out, you’ll realize some actual savings. As an example, let’s say you have a 20 gallon gas tank, and 20 times 9 cents equals $1.80 that you could have saved on your single fill-up. Sure that seems like such an insignificant number, but the savings truly can add up.

Let’s look at the savings over the span of a year:

So we can safely assume that we fill up close to 50 times a year, at the savings rate of $1.80 (shown in above paragraph) equals out to savings of $90/year by paying cash instead of with a card. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Another HUGE area for saving money is by taking advantage of the cash discount at the register. Next time you go out to eat (if you aren’t on the beans and rice diet by Dave Ramsey) check the bottom of your receipt. Most likely, there’s a line that says something like this:

7. Pay Less for Groceries

Sure, there’s a stigma in society about shopping at health food stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joes for only the best in organic products. The honest truth is that you can still eat healthy, and even have certain dietary restrictions, even with your goal of saving money on groceries. My personal favorite grocery is Aldi; they pride themselves on some of the cheapest prices around, while also maintaining quality. Aldi goes a step further with their products – promising no certified synthetic colors, added MSG, or partially hydrogenated oils.

Another one of the low cost contenders is Wal-Mart. My girlfriend’s least favorite store on planet Earth. Here’s why: the downside with shopping at Wal-Mart is that you must be resilient with your spending. You can easily get lost in their hundreds of aisles and end up with everything from a new rug, to shoes, to groceries all in one visit. It can be a trap – don’t overspend here! But, if you stick to your grocery list, Wal-Mart does offer considerable savings on every day staples compared to regional grocery stores like Publix, Ingles, Menards, or the like.

8. Insurance Isn’t a Scam

Have you been with the same insurance company for years? Whether it’s home, auto, boat, RV (Hey! That’s us) or life insurance, there are plenty of companies competing for your money. It never hurts every few months to shop around at multiple insurance companies to find the best rate and coverage options. You never know what you could be saving, potentially hundreds of dollars per year. A pro-tip here is to make sure you work directly with a high quality insurance broker. Working directly with a broker allows you to get educated in each type of insurance, what certain coverages are and whether you even need them, which companies best match your needs, and also allows you to shop around multiple insurance companies for rates.

I also want to mention that many people believe insurance is a scam, which is difficult for me to disagree with a majority of the time (ha!). However, what ends up being more expensive is when you actually get into an accident and it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. When these major life events occur, insurance is able to take the cost and reduce it tremendously. Over time it just makes more financial sense to pay smaller amounts monthly into the plan vs. losing everything as a result of what would have been a covered claim. Insurance can save you money and heartache in these extremely painstaking circumstances.

9. Ditch Your Debt

Debt. A uncomfortable topic commonly avoided by the majority of people. Whether you find yourself owing student loans, car loans, credit cards, or store cards, it all is a burden. The cruel honest truth is that if you have debt, you are inevitably paying more for something than you should. Debt allows you to have something now, pay more for it later.

If you have “extra” money hiding under your mattress, are willing to work a plan to get out of debt, or are down to work a side hustle – let today be the starting point. Check out Financial Peace University by Ramsey Solutions, as it’s one of the most well-known financial plans out there that can work for anyone – as long as you follow it! The sooner you get your butt in gear by working an extra job, staying on a budget, and being intentional, is the sooner that you can be saving thousands in debt charges and be on the path to financial freedom.

10. Have a Yard Sale

Do you have a garage attached on your house that’s slap full of junk … I mean old books, clothes, workout equipment, tools, and other things you haven’t used since last spring? Or are your attic rafters falling through your ceiling with too many holiday decorations that you no longer have the willpower to put up and take down every year? Anything can be sold – at the right price. Have a garage sale with any thing that you haven’t used in the last six months. If it doesn’t spark an emotion in you (like joy or peace) then it doesn’t need to be living in your house rent free. It’s spring cleaning time, baby! We all know how the saying goes, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” You could end up with hundreds of bucks in one weekend! Ca-ching! AND your house will be a less cluttered home for you to enjoy the things you do keep.

Bonus #11: BE RESILIENT!

It’s Saturday afternoon and you find yourself in the car again driving through downtown, glancing at all of the shopping you could do. Retail therapy is the name, and shopping is your game. If you are trying to save money, don’t let this be you. I will even take this a step further and say that if you are shopping to cope with being sad or depressed, talk to your doctor or seek out a therapist immediately. I did. Stuff can never replace real human connection or “make” you feel better. So stop buying more of it to fill the void. You will save tremendous amounts of money in the long run by solving your underlying problem today. Get the help you need ASAP so that you can enjoy shopping, within your means, and not rely on it as an unhelpful and damaging coping mechanism. Your future self will thank you!

In Closing:

Desperate times call for desperate measures – in the midst of 2022 following a global pandemic, we are all trying our best to combat economic inflation. The good news is that you don’t have to be all that desperate or alter your life tremendously to save money. After this read, you can walk away knowing that you have a better handle on what to do next. The future is in your hands now.

The best way that you can be prepared for bad financial times is to:
take control of your finances, find ways to save money each day, get on a budget, and to continue educating yourself on the matter. Ready to dig deeper? Check out some other money tips in the articles below:

Similar Reads:

Can Money Truly Buy Happiness?

by No Place Like Gone October 28, 2021

Money Is a Tool – Not a Curse

by No Place Like Gone December 23, 2021

Budgeting 101

by No Place Like Gone March 10, 2022

We’re Having a Sale!

by No Place Like Gone January 4, 2022

Things Aren’t Enough

by No Place Like Gone June 6, 2022