Budgeting During The Cost of Living Crisis

Budgeting has always been important for many people, however in recent months with the cost of living crisis impacting more and more individuals and families, more people are looking at their current budgets. From ensuring you have enough to cover your gas and electric bills to shopping smarter, people are looking for ways to make their budget stretch further to ensure they are still seeing some enjoyment out of their wages.

Any budget should be affordable and manageable and created on the basis of working to live and not living to work. Even the smallest savings or changes could see the amount of money staying in your pocket increasing. Keep reading below to find out some of our top budgeting techniques and how you could get help with your finances.

Ways To Budget

When it comes to your budget there are a number of things you could do to help ensure you are shopping smarter and cutting back on the things you no longer need. We have put our heads together to come up with some of the top ways to help you improve your current monthly budgeting, some of which are:

• Expenditure – Firstly, you need to write down all of your current expenditure on a monthly basis. This will help to give you a clear view of what you are spending your money on and what adjustments you can make. You might find you have subscriptions you don’t use that could be cancelled, such as streaming services or the gym, or you might be able to make cutbacks in other places.
• Food – Many of us are guilty for opting for brands or ready meals, as they are well-known or quick and easy to cook, however you are usually paying more as a result. Swapping to home cooked meals and using leftovers for lunch or other meals could prove more cost-effective and save you some money. But one of the biggest money savers is dropping some of the brands you purchase, whilst we understand not everything stacks up things can pasta, rice, cereal, bread and other essentials can easily be swapped for supermarket own brand and you could soon see your shopping bill reduce.
• Contracts – If you are in any contracts, be it a phone, internet, insurance or something else, check when it ends and what your cancellation terms are. You might find you could haggle a lower price for an early renewal or you could swap to an alternative provider for a cheaper cost.
• Power Consumption – Gas and electric is a tough one at the minute, if you are already locked in to a price, then you are likely in a good place. However, if you aren’t then you need to weigh up the costs between locking in now and if prices do reduce in the future how it would affect you. However, if you own a home then you could look at things such as solar panels or new boilers (there are lots of grants and schemes out there), these could help you to make better use of the gas and electricity in your home, helping to reduce your overall bills in the long run. Also, if you use any appliances such as phones, tablets or laptops, ensure they are fully charged when you’re at work, so you’re only using the battery life at home.
• Fuel – Finally, fuel consumption is something many of us worry about, whilst petrol and diesel prices are finally starting to drop, with all of the additional rising costs, you could look at reducing your overall fuel consumption. Considering how you travel to work, could you car share? Or ride a bike? Or it might be the short journeys you make, could you walk instead or take a bus. The smallest changes in your driving habits could see your tank go that bit further, many of us are used to just driving to the shop around the corner because it’s convenient when walking would probably just be as quick and it’s also much healthier for the body as well.

Getting Help To Improve Your Finances

If you’re looking for assistance and are wanting to improve your finances, whether it’s how you currently manage your money or a way to increase your current monthly income, then we can help. At The Lost Coin Financial Planning Ltd, we offer tailored financial planning services and advice to help you make the most out of your money. For more information be sure to get in touch with us today. One of our team is always on hand to answer questions and deal with enquiries.

Categorised in: Investments, Savings, Tax

This post was written by duodigitaluk@gmail.com