By- Jason Artman
When "inflation" becomes one of the biggest buzz words in the financial world, there's probably a pretty good chance that those of us living on ordinary salaries are not going to have a lot of fun in the immediate future. You've already seen the signs over the past year – you're spending more money than ever on ordinary things, and you're getting less for your money than ever.
There are only two ways to maintain the best possible quality of life until a period of inflation ends. You can get a raise, or you can reduce your expenses. Increasing earnings is never particularly easy to do, so the next best option is to find ways of getting more for your money and leaving more in your pocket at the end of the day. That's where this article is going to help. Even during a time of rampant inflation, it's likely that you overspend on many of your daily expenses. We're going to explain what you could be spending your money on instead. You'll wish you knew about these money-saving life hacks years ago.
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If you're a cigarette smoker, you're well aware of how expensive tobacco is – and cigarettes only become more costly each year thanks to constant tax increases. The fact is that, in many regions, it's barely even possible to be a pack-a-day smoker on a middle-class income. The obvious solution, of course, is to quit smoking – but there's a good chance that you've already tried to do that and weren't successful.
Track your expenses meticulously and deduct those expenses at tax time. | Unsplash
What you need is an alternative that allows you to continue consuming nicotine in a way that's still completely satisfying and doesn't leave you spending your entire day wishing you could have a cigarette. A new vape kit from a company like Pure E-Liquids is the alternative you need. Vaping means that you're inhaling your nicotine instead of waiting forever for the nicotine to absorb through your mouth or skin, as is the case with traditional nicotine replacement products. Most importantly, though, switching from smoking to vaping will help you save an enormous amount of money. If you can't quit, it's the next best option.
During the past couple of years, the gig economy has emerged as one of the best ways to earn a living when traditional employment isn't readily available or to supplement an existing income. If you've ever tried your hand at a freelance gig like web design or taxi driving, though, you probably received a bit of a nasty surprise when it was time to file your tax return the following year. When you work on a freelance basis, all of the money that you earn is considered self-employment income in many nations. The effective tax rate on self-employment income may be nearly double that of standard income. That can be a bitter pill to swallow when a part-time gig typically gives you low wages and no benefits.
Here's the good news: As a self-employed individual, you don't need to choose between itemized and standard deductions when reporting the income earned from your business. You can deduct all of the expenses related to your business, even if you take the standard deduction on your personal income. Business-related deductions can potentially include computer equipment, online services, phone and Internet services, fuel, clothing, food and more. Track your expenses meticulously and be ruthless about deducting those expenses at tax time. You'll find that your tax burden becomes much more reasonable as a result of that effort.
A reward credit card returns a certain percentage of the money you spend each month. | Unsplash
Are you the type of person who uses cash or a debit card for most purchases? If you only use a credit card when buying bigger-ticket items, you may not be managing your spending in the most effective way. Do you have a reward credit card that returns a certain percentage of the money you spend each month? If you do, you can earn rewards for virtually all of the things you buy simply by putting those purchases on the credit card instead of paying cash or using a debit card. As long as you pay off your purchases in full as soon as they appear on your balance, you can enjoy the rewards without paying interest fees.
This financial life hack may not be for everyone because it requires you to have a credit rating sufficient to be given a reward credit card and the self-control to pay off your balance in full before it begins to accrue interest. Accruing interest on a large credit card balance for even one month will quickly outweigh any rewards that you may have earned on those purchases. If you have the discipline to spend only what you can afford to repay immediately, though, this can be an excellent way to effectively reduce the cost of almost everything you buy by a few percentage points.
Food is one of the daily expenses that has endured the largest price increases during the current period of inflation. There are several factors contributing to those price increases, ranging from difficulty in finding seasonal labor to higher costs for things like fertilizer, fuel and shipping. Supermarkets, meanwhile, have had difficulty finding people to work on the front lines and have had to increase wages as a result. All of those factors contribute to much higher retail prices for everything ranging from processed meals and snacks to produce and dairy products.
You can buy them from local farmers instead of getting them from the supermarket. | Unsplash
Apart from buying in bulk, there isn't a lot that you can do about the prices for processed foods and snacks. There is, however, an easy way to save money on fruits and vegetables: You can buy them from local farmers instead of getting them from the supermarket. Many farmers sell Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes to the public each week. The price for a CSA box will be a fraction of what you'd pay for those same items at the supermarket – and since the food won't have come from the other side of the world, it'll also be fresher and tastier. The only catch is that you usually can't choose exactly what a CSA box will contain. You'll get whatever is currently in season and plentiful.
If you're willing to experiment with fruits and vegetables that may be different from what you'd normally buy, you'll find that buying a weekly CSA box is a great way to have some new culinary adventures while saving a ton of money. It's also a great way to support your local farmers during trying times.
(Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article and includes some commercial links.)