You can’t escape it. It’s all over the news. And even if it weren’t, your pocketbook is telling you. The cost of many things is going up, most notably food and gas. And of course, these are the things we need to buy on a regular basis. What’s a consumer to do? Well, if there were ever a time to adopt a frugal lifestyle, it might as well be now. Let’s go over some things that you can be doing to counteract this purchasing inflation. Food is the number one culprit, and luckily there are many things you can be doing to lower your food bill. You can start with how you approach food buying in the first place. What you should not be doing is planning your meals and then shopping for the ingredients. To save money on your food bill, you should be doing exactly the opposite. The most frugal approach to food shopping is to buy what’s on sale. Every supermarket advertises a few “loss leaders” in their circular to get you in the door. Buy these sale items. Stock up on them if they are perishable. Also keep your pantry well stocked with cheap meal ingredients. Pasta, rice (and other grains), oatmeal, beans, lentils, split peas, barley, canned tomatoes, etc.) Keep your freezer stocked with frozen veggies and fruits (bought when on sale). I buy them or grow my own and freeze them during the summer months when they are in season. But you can still buy them cheaply throughout the year, especially when there is a sale or in bulk size. If you eat meat, buy it when it is on sale, and then either freeze it or make your meal out of it and freeze (the whole meal, or a portion of it) to eat another time. Also stick to more reasonable products, like chicken, or ground beef. The less meat you can get by with, the better off you will be when it comes to food costs (not to mention your health!). This same concept goes for dairy products as well (another costly part of your food budget). The more you can stay away from pre-made, prepackaged, and processed food the better off you will be. The more you can plan your meals and snacks based on simple whole ingredients the less you will spend. Better for your wallet and your waistline! Try to stay away from these kind of boxed, highly processed foods as much as you can Your shopping cart should look more like this! As for drinks, the less you can buy of these the better too. Drink water! (From the tap). Sugary drinks are expensive and not good for your teeth anyway. This would be the perfect time to try and wean your family off them if you can. And least try to reduce the amount that you buy and drink. (This includes “100% fruit juice drinks”, just as unhealthy, unfortunately, and even more expensive!) When you approach food shopping this way, you will always have the “fixin’s” for an affordable and healthy meal at home, and you will notice an immediate drop in your weekly grocery bill. And hopefully, this will keep you out of restaurants and from picking up a quick (but expensive) take out meal on the way home. For more tips on grocery savings see: money-saving-grocery-tips-from-your-auntie-victoria.html The other quicky rising cost is gas (and this includes heating gas and oil). To combat this, try to eliminate unnecessary driving. Consolidate your errands as much as possible. Carpool if you can. Stay home when you can. When you do stay home, do not overheat your house. Stop drafts as much as you can. Wear sweaters. Use blankets. Use your wood burning stove if you have one. Don’t heat rooms you are not using. Maybe (safely!) use a space heater if you are only going to be in one room for a while. I always turn my heat completely off at night when we are sleeping. We just wear warm PJ’s and socks and cuddle under lots of blankets. It’s cozy. And I think probably better for your health. None of this is rocket science, of course. It’s just frugal. It’s the way people lived back in “the day”. It worked back then, and it can work for you through these expensive times too. Give it a try. You might like it! You may even decide to adopt this way of life permanently. Why live more expensively than you have to, right? I love this frugal life and I can’t help but spouting its virtues to anyone and everyone who will listen. I hope you will come to like it as much as I do! Wishing you all a bright and frugal future! ☀️
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