17 Ways To Save Money During Inflation

Everything is getting more expensive. We’re seeing inflation of 8.5% this year in 2022, the highest in the last 40 years.

According to this article from CNBC, 64% of Americans live paycheque to paycheque. In such a high-income country, this figure is for sure shocking.

So what can we do about it? Here are 17 ways to save money during inflation.

Table of Contents

1. Bulk buy necessities when it’s on sale

Things such as pasta, rice, toothpaste, canned meat, and canned corn are some of the most common food that we always need to have in our cupboards and fridge so it makes sense that when it’s on sale, you should buy in bulk and stock up.

The reason you need to stock up is so that when the price inevitably rises again, you can rest assured you won’t be directly impacted for at least a while until you have to shop again.

Here are some items you can bulk buy when it’s on sale or before the price inflate further:

Rice
Pasta
Toothpaste
Canned meat
Canned corn
Sugar
Flour
Coffee
Milk (you can freeze it for later)
Cereal
Frozen veggies
Toothbrush
Soap
Shampoo
Hair conditioner
Toilet paper
Lotion

2. Use those coupons

Stores sometimes give out coupons and you should use them. If you were already going to purchase it anyway, why not use coupons for it?

You can visit sites such as groupon.com to find more coupons.

It’s also worth checking out Facebook groups in your local area that focuses on sharing coupon codes.

You may also find them in the most unexpected places such as in different forums. In fact, that is where I found the 20% off coupon code from Shein.

It’s been about a year since I found the coupon code and it still works! If you want to know the code, maybe I’ll send it to y’all via the mailing list. Hint. Hint. Make sure you subscribe to the mailing list in the footer below! 🙂

3. Install Honey extension

Honey saved me a lot of money over the years. I installed it on my web browser (I use chrome) and I just sort of forgot that it’s there.

When I’m purchasing something on Amazon or elsewhere, for instance, it’ll automatically alert me that there are coupons available to try.

The system will run through several coupons to find you the best deal.

The best part is that Honey is free. Try it out here.

4. Try cheaper alternatives

You don’t have to buy the best of everything, especially during inflation peaks. You may want to opt for an off-brand product that offers the same benefits.

Trying cheaper alternatives can save you money and you may realize that it still gets the job done.

Private labeling occurs when you slap different logos on the same product. It’s the same thing but different companies may charge drastically different prices for it.

It’s the reason why every microwave is essentially the “same”. Only the outer shells are different. The interior is identical and are all produced in the same factory in China.

You’ll realize that cheaper doesn’t always mean lower quality. In the name of saving money, you should really consider trying out cheaper options.

5. Move out of the city

Here’s something you can do, move out of the city! I know, not many of us are a fan of moving plus you may love your city but let’s face it, city living is expensive as heck!

The average price of a one bedroom in New York is $3695.

If you are already working from home, you should for sure consider living somewhere less expensive if you can.

A lot of companies including Twitter have announced a permanent work-from-home working model which basically allows their employees to work from anywhere in the world — maybe somewhere outside of the expensive city.

The food, rent, transportation, etc are all cheaper in the suburbs than in the city. All the more ways to save money.

6. Cut down on the snacks

You don’t really need that bag of chips, put that down. Now move along with your shopping cart.

I know this hurt but you have to do it for your wallet and your artery.

Do you really need that many snacks? Probably not.

Cutting down on the snacking can save you a lot of money believe it or not and it’ll be great for your physical health as well.

All that mindless snacking sure isn’t good for you.

7. Only grocery shop whatever is on sale

Here’s another buying guide while you’re at the grocery store — buy whatever it’s on sale!

Items that are on sale aren’t necessarily lower in quality but some supermarkets deliberately price certain items so low to the point of them losing money so they can retain their loyal customers.

Some customers go shop at Walmart rather than Target because their butter is usually cheaper. While you’re at Walmart getting butter, why not get some bread, some laundry detergent, and some yoga pants?

Do you see my point?

Things on sale are often the same quality as when it wasn’t on sale. It’s merely a marketing ploy to get customers in their stores so you might as well take advantage of the sale.

8. Only buy fruits and vegetables that are in season

Another reason why you want to buy fruits and vegetables that are in season is that it’s usually cheaper when you buy in season.

Of course, if the price is the same year-round, just get it even if it isn’t in season.

9. Take public transit instead of Uber or drive

Owning a car is quite expensive. It’s one of the biggest expenses for people aside from housing.

If you live in the city or anywhere with a good public transit system, you want to consider opting for public transit instead.

In fact, don’t even Uber. Uber is definitely more expensive than buses or subways although it’ll take you more time to get from A to B.

10. Get your groceries delivered to you

Now, here me out. I know this point sounds weird and you may wonder whether I mistyped it, no I didn’t.

If you don’t own a car, you may actually save money by getting things delivered to you.

Walmart has a grocery delivery system that allows customers to order anything above $30 and have someone deliver it to you for a small fee of $7.95 or $9.95. Or, you can get unlimited deliveries for $100 a year.

That delivery fee isn’t too much if you consider the fact that you’d save time on waiting for public transit, plus you get to bulk buy a whole month’s worth of food so you don’t have to pay for the transit fee.

For instance, when I was in college, I had a do my grocery shopping every week by bus, the bus fare was roughly $3. As long as you get on the return bus within a 2 hours window from the time you got on, you don’t have to pay another $3. Bus fares should be between $3 — $5 in most places.

It’d cost someone $12+ to do their grocery shopping if they grocery shop once per week.

You may as well pay someone $10 to have a whole month’s worth of groceries delivered to you so you can save money on transit plus you can save time and energy as well.

Unless you live close to the bus stop, that return trip would make you think you’re training for the Olympics

(I made the mistake of renting a place uphill from the bus stop in my first year of university. Thankfully I found another bus route that allowed me to walk downhill instead).

11. Move in with your parents temporarily

I know this isn’t ideal but more and more millennials and older Gen Z are moving back in with their parents to save money.

This new wave was fueled by job loss during the pandemic and later on, people realized how much money they could save by living with their parents, and even when they got a full-time job, they still do move back in with their parents.

Just remember to share the cost of grocery bills and electricity bills or even pay a small fee in rent to your parents so you don’t pose too much of a burden to your family.

If your rent, utility fee, and food cost you $3000 per month, you’d be saving $36,000 per month by living with your parents temporarily! That would surely speed up the time to home ownership.

12. Get a roommate

This is not ideal as well. I like having my own space. I don’t want to have a roommate. I enjoy my privacy very much and I know you do too.

Unless it’s someone grew up with, in a relationship with, married to, or gave birth to, I just really don’t want to live with anyone else.

However, if you don’t mind having a roommate (or can tolerate it), I’d suggest you get a roommate to offset the cost of housing.

13. Rent out a spare bedroom on Airbnb

Got a spare bedroom? Why not rent it out on Airbnb?

You can easily make a few hundred if not thousands per month from a few days a month of Airbnb guests.

All you have to do is to offer a comfortable place for them to stay and clean up for them afterward.

14. Stick to your budget and review spending every day

You’ll want to stick to your budget and review your spending every day if you want to save more money.

You can create a budget for everything including:

Rent ($2000)
Food ($500)
Transportation ($1000)
Entertainment ($200)
Other ($200)

*This isn’t my budget. I’m just giving an example. You can adjust according to your wishes and personal lifestyle

Then, you’ll want to review your spending to make sure you’re sticking to your budget and not overspending.

Paying via credit card can help build your credit score but if you aren’t good at keeping up with your spending, you can always pay by cash so you can know how much you have left to spend each month.

Take out some money from the ATM and group them into different categories (entertainment, food, rent, etc) and use a clipper or rubber band to keep each category separate. When you’re paying, make sure you grab the right category of cash.

This strategy would work best for those who struggle to keep track of their total spending every day.

15. Invest in bonds

Read this article on what are bonds and should you invest in bonds.

Bonds are typically low risk (although some are higher risk) and at times of high inflation, it does offer some peace of mind.

Study the type of bonds you want to purchase, some are riskier and some are used to fund government projects so you can rest assured that you will most likely get your investment back plus more.

16. Try some Depression-era cooking

Check out this channel called “Great Depression Cooking”.

It’s a collection of depression-era cooking recipes. It’s not hard to make the meals on screen and all the ingredients are generally cheap as well.

I’d say they all look pretty tasty.

Give it a go and you may realize just how easy it is to eat cheap and healthy. It’s for sure healthier than your takeout.

17. Consider starting a side hustle

You should consider starting a side hustle to fund the extra expense that you’ll incur as a result of inflation.

Check out the ‘make money’ section on HelloMoneyTree to get an idea of what side hustle you should start but here are a few good ones to start:

Final thought

So what do you think? Are there any strategies you are implementing to get yourself through the inflation? Comment down below!

Anyways, have a great day. Cheers!

17 Ways To Save Money During Inflation