As history has dictated, prices inevitably rise. They go up on many of our essential items, such as clothing, food, and gas, as well as other expenses. This can create tight budgets and ever-increasing anxiety as people worry about whether they can make ends meet each month. Although we wish we could elect an official who would never allow for inflation again, the reality is that we will experience high prices in the future.
Just because this is something we can't control doesn't mean we have to survive it merely. As Christians, we can survive anything with Christ’s love. We rely on God for our daily bread. We can survive any rising costs, even as inflation reaches unprecedented levels. Here are four ways to thrive during inflation:
Buy Only What You Need
Although this is not a popular opinion, we may be surprised at how much we buy that we don't need. The most common place we find this issue is in food. Because food is a necessity, we sometimes overspend on our weekly food budget. This is because we are trained to believe that we need everything in our shopping cart. However, take a moment to assess how much food we need to feed our bodies, and how much we buy that is just for novelty or fun.
For example, if we shopped around the perimeter of our grocery store, we would find the majority of what we need. By avoiding the middle aisles, we're avoiding a lot of junk that contains dyes and artificial preservatives that not only can shorten our lives but also make us sick to the point where doctors' bills are added to our rising costs. As we eat junk food, our brains are trained to crave that food again.
Therefore, it is easy to go up and down those aisles, getting everything our brains tell us we need. We don't need half as much as we buy.
Create a shopping list and stick to it. Buy only what you need, including only the necessities. Don't buy novelty foods like junk food, cereal, crackers, or other snack foods we're used to eating but don't really need. You may significantly cut your food budget by eliminating all unnecessary food. You'll also be surprised at how much a family can actually eat, using up all that was cooked rather than throwing out extra leftovers.
Skimp on Holidays
Holidays are a time when we buy for others. Christmas, for example, can siphon money from our budget as we try to buy the perfect gift for every member of our family. However, this is often a tradition, not necessarily within our budget. This year, take an honest assessment of how much you can afford to buy for other family members. Do you need to limit your budget to only a quarter of what you spend? For example, if you limited each person's gift to twenty dollars or less, how much would you save each year on holiday shopping?
Many people buy simply because they don't want the stigma of being the ones who get the lesser-priced gift for the holidays. When people compete to see who can buy the best gift for their loved one, they, in some way, believe that buying the best gift communicates how much they love them. However, this is not the case. You cannot buy someone's love. If you buy only what you can afford and make gifts from the heart, not only will they be treasured more deeply, but they may be appreciated even more than the big, extravagant gifts you are used to buying.
Sell Clothes
Clothes can be among the largest number of items in a person's home. Many people buy extra clothes because they can or because they like to look fashionable. However, by simply changing our overall habits, we may reuse garments more often and get more use out of them than those we swap out during the week. For example, on Sunday, we often want to look our best for church. However, we don't always need the most expensive top or pair of jeans to do that. By simply buying a few pairs of jeans and a few tops that we will reuse, more than likely, people will not notice that we are using the same top more than once.
Additionally, sell the clothes you have. You'll be amazed at how many pieces of clothing you have in your closet that you love but never wear. Clothes are easy to accumulate because they are a necessity. In fact, you may find that you have more clothes than you have weeks to wear them. Pare down the amount of clothes you wear to only those you need and love the most. Get rid of the rest and see how much mental clutter you can remove from your life simply by paring down your clothes closet.
Do a Staycation
Many people like to splurge on vacations during the summer or year-round to relax and unwind from their busy work schedules. While it's always important to take time off to recharge after pushing your body to the limit, you don't necessarily need to take an expensive vacation to do so. There are many ways to have a good time and see the sights without spending much money. Although it's nice to see the sights of places you have never been to before, save those times for milestones. For example, save expensive trips for graduations, birthdays, or other special occasions with which you want to celebrate. In the off years when there's not much to celebrate, try to do a staycation. This means doing activities around your home or even within your state.
How much do you really know about your state? Have you been to all the museums, art galleries, libraries, and other places your state has to offer? Your state may have many attractions you've never visited. Do a search in your state or even your region to see what you can find. There are great places to visit on a smaller budget than you had in previous years.
Take the money you would have spent on a larger vacation and save it for a big vacation next year. Although there is no guarantee that prices will go down by next year, it is not only good to have that money as a cushion in case you need it, but it is also nice to have. You can appreciate vacations more when they're celebrated on big milestones you choose to remember.
We are given the same number of hours per day; it is what we do with them that counts. While many people quickly run out of money, others may have money left to spare. This is how they choose to spend their money.
However, by observing these suggestions above, you may have more money than you have days left in the week. When you do this, not only will you feel you have accomplished something in your finances, but you may also cut out unnecessary spending and be a wiser steward of what God has entrusted to you.
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