Late March 2022. Summer really is on its way. Everything is building up to that time of the year when we see new growth. Yet decay is never far away. With a war being driven by the Russians, the worlds media biased beyond comprehension, inflation slowly reduces the value of our money.
The ONS reports that inflation is 6.5% (February) and for most of us that figure does reflect the truth, with fuel prices up 80% since the first lockdown and groceries hitting at least 10% based on my spending. There is no chance of wages catching up. Home and business energy prices are seemingly out of control. For me I think Martin Lewis is right, this is going to be a crisis for many.
I don’t any any answers for you here, but as the summer is coming, moving your payments to pay as you go instead of direct debit would seem to make some sense. Summer is the time when you use less energy and this should create a breathing space at least for a couple of months.
Meanwhile what to do?
There are going to be no simple answers here. But there are some things you can do in order to makes things a bit easier.
Basic stuff like, learning how to prepare and use leftover food. Entertaining without spending and learning new skills instead of sitting in the pub, will all help.
Learning how to use your own mind, making sure you know how to meditate, how to stay calm and also working out what skills your boss needs will all push you in the right direction. This situation will pass and you need to be ready for when it does.
Between then and now. Check all of your bills, make sure you switch and save where you can. Slow down the spend where possible, review all of that you can. Sure, the usual like insurances and the like but also mortgages and other expenditure. Review all debt with a view to getting rid of that. Do a line by line on your bank statement, see where the money goes.
Then check benefits and taxation, make sure these are correct. In a normal year these would all be important, but even more so now when things are increasing greatly. Others to consider are batch cooking and less take-aways. It might seem boring, but making sure you survive the coming year is going to be important.
Don’t forget that 1% off your shopping bill every week is 10% every ten weeks. 1% reduction in one of your insurances is 12% over the next year. And these all add up. It is a competitive world out there means you should be able to do this quite easily. Try allocating an hour every week to some of this and you will find the time and money.
Learn some new skills – increase your value to your employer, this can be a quick win. It is often easier to earn more than reduce spending. Also, reducing spending is finite. You can’t reduce your costs to nil, but you can always earn more by learning new skills, be more valuable.
When you are ready to get a shimmy on with some of this, or you would like a Money Workshop in your place of work. Then please get in touch .