7 Helpful Tips for Handling the Rising Cost of Living

There’s no navigating around it, things are tough right now. With the unparalleled levels of inflation that Australia has been experiencing over the last few years, people are struggling. Even high-earning wages like MBA salaries in Australia are stagnating. The difficulty of paying for life is simply overwhelming a lot of people, to the point where the rising cost of living has become a bit of a meme.

However, despite early signals of optimistic times ahead, it’s still probably going to be a while before we see any significant change to the inflation rate, especially when concerned with wage growth. So to help you make the most of your income during this time, here are seven tips from us on how to mitigate the impact of the cost of living.

Tip 1 – Shop and Cook Seasonally

People often decide what they’re going to cook or eat based on what specific food they feel like, rather than letting the available food determine what they will prepare. There are many advantages to cooking and shopping based on seasonal produce. What this means is that certain fruits and vegetables grow according to the seasons. When you buy seasonal produce, you’re buying the produce that grows according to the time of the year. 

This has many benefits. Fruit and veg bought seasonally contain far more nutritional content than non-seasonal fruit and veg. This is because produce has its most nutritional density at its peak ripeness, which it reaches only when it is in season. For the same reason, seasonal produce also has better flavour, but most importantly; it’s cheaper.

Seasonal produce is in the fastest stage of its reproduction cycle, meaning that there is always a ready and available supply, and due to its better flavour and freshness, it is in higher demand. What this means is that seasonal fruit and vegetables are almost always on special, and therefore a more economical choice

Tip 2 – Batch Cooking

To continue from our cooking mentality, this is just a question of efficiency. A lot of work in the kitchen is mitigated by ensuring that you’ve set yourself up well. Taking out and arranging the requisite ingredients and equipment is a common practice known to save time in the kitchen. Well, now we’ve got a tip to help you save money – batch cooking.

Meals that do well in large portions, like casseroles, pasta, bakes, salads and more, are all really good ways of saving money. You don’t just get one meal out of them, you get several. Simply cook large batches, then portion them off in tupperware containers to freeze or refrigerate them depending on what you’re planning on eating. This saves money by allowing you to buy relatively less compared to the output that you get. 

Tip 3 – Save Energy

In the current climate crisis, there’s perhaps no better way to save money than by conserving your energy usage. There are lots of easy, accessible ways to reduce energy usage, and some of the simplest things can save up to 20% off your energy consumption and bills. Not only will this help you save money, but it will help the world heal from the global warming emergency it’s facing.

Tip 4 – Switch Banks

Not only is remaining with your bank out of ease or loyalty not money-smart, it’s costing you money. Banks rely on the sense of loyalty in their clientele to maintain low interest rates on your savings and charge higher fees. They know that you feel loyal to them (after all they’ve been trustworthy with your money thus far, right?) and that you won’t want to go through the hassle of switching banks (which is now far more streamlined and easier).

Switching bank accounts is as easy as researching, opening the new account, transferring your debits, and closing your old account; and at the end of it you get an infinitely better

Tip 5 – Switch Everything

The trick that banks use isn’t just limited to them, all companies do it. That means every aspect of your life is being billed to give less return on your investment. During a time of an exponentially rising cost of living, this translates to massive overspend. In 2015, the Queensland University of Technology found that 50% of households that switched providers saved $1000 a year, while 30% saved $2000. That seems a worthwhile saving.

Tip 6 – Reviewing Your Budget

We’ve all been there. We think everything is fiscally hunky dory, then a bill comes along and BOOM! – there’s that subscription we made months ago that we forgot to cancel. There’s that free trial we used once then forgot about. There’s the spike from that party we had.

Reviewing your budget is perhaps the most basic step in money management, and for this reason it’s often the last considered, or the most often forgot. It’s good to regularly go over your budget. Take a look at your income, and compare your bank statements. See what money is going where and how frequently. Is there anything you can afford to let go of? Any costs that can be consolidated with something else?

Tip 7 – The Side Hustle

While it can feel something like a capitalist hellscape to consider working outside your job, the harsh truth is that a lot of people are using side hustles to supplement their income.

Finding a side hustle can be something as simple as monetising a hobby, but there are a lot of people who don’t want to do that, and we get it. Turning something into a job can take a lot of the fun or magic out of it. Yet, there are a myriad of activities that can earn people a significant additional income. Yes, it takes extra work, but the rewards can really be worth it, and potentially even lead to a new (possibly higher paying) career.

Time are harsh, we sympathise. Although there are some minor signs of things picking up in our favour, however, to think that these times are right around the corner is perhaps a little too optimistic. To make it in the current economic climate, people are going to have to adjust and adapt. We hope that these seven tips can help you out.

//SPONSORED CONTENT