I must admit I haven’t been the most responsible adult this far, apart from buying everything on cash and not credit, it’s at least the one thing I can be proud of. Before I wouldn’t necessarily look twice at a product’s price in the store, but lately with inflation everything has been going up and now I need to occasionally compare prices before just taking and swiping at the till point.

 

Yearly impact

Inflation has hit us once again, well I can’t say I’ve experienced prior inflation rates, maybe I haven’t been a financially cautious person myself either.

 

Defining Inflation 

Inflation in short is when the general increase in prices occurs and when there is a fall in the purchasing value of money. Where a loaf of bread cost R14,79 in 2021 now costs almost R20,00.

 

Consumer Tips 

As a consumer, you might feel stressed out when you notice that your salary does not carry you throughout the month. You can’t even afford to save up for rainy days, that’s all because of inflation. There are clear signs of inflation increasing in South Africa, and you might have to start practicing some tips to survive the hard punches.

Read below some personal methods I have tried to minimize the impact of ridiculously high prices:

 

Loyalty cards

I have not been very good at this method as I sometime would forget some of my loyalty cards at home. However, most food stores have a loyal card program that tries to give you back value for money. When you have your Pick n Pay, Woolworths, or Checkers loyalty card on you and you use it with your purchase it allows you to access the discounts a non-loyalty card member would not have, loyalty cards also accumulate certain points that you can later use to purchase from the store.

This is a perfect method and avoids you to buy over-priced items. It’s much better to buy 3 or 4 items at a special price than buying single products and they cost you more.

Purchase items that you need and that will allow you to stretch out over the month will help you to save some money.

Rent

When I started being idependent and standing on my own feet, having to pay bills like rent, it was a stressful process at first. I would always be afraid of not having enough money left after debit orders etc. That’s when I started paying rent in advance, especially when I have certain months where I made a bit more money for that month.

Paying rent in advance if your landlord allows you to, not only can save you a lot of money, and save you from stressful situations but it can also help you to save.

The next month that your salary reflects you will be more at ease, now you can buy things you need or even save for rainy days.

Buying in bulk

My siblings and I have learned a valuable lesson from our mom, and that was to always buy things in bulk where it allows. Sometimes it’s difficult to do that with food, as food can go off and you end up wasting more than saving. Foods that have a longer expiry date would be good to buy in bulk where it allows.

Buying essential things and toiletries in bulk can also help you to safe, as months could usually pass before soap or toothpaste etc finish up, which gives you a breather from month to month.

Petrol

On the radio, I heard a conversation on how there are two types of drivers, one who always just fill up with R150, R200 and wait till the petrol finish until they can fill up again. Another person would fill their tank.

It’s advised to rather fill up your tank, as it’s safer for your vehicle, small fill-ups can be dangerous to your car engine.

On a full tank, if you can plan your routes and avoid driving up and down, you should save a bit and where you would go to the petrol station every second day, it can now be an occasional trip.

Car maintenance

There is a believe that cars cost a lot of money, it really does. I had to experience it myself to believe it. What I have started doing to save my pocket is to do things like wheel rotation myself instead of going to the tire workshop which might charge me an arm and a leg. You can also look into doing your car service yourself, there are many youtube videos online that can teach you, step by step how to change oil, plugs and petrol filters ect.

If you do the small things yourself you can save up more money for things like clutch which can be left to your car workshops to fix.

 

By doing these small things you can save a lot of money and avoid feeling financially stressed during these inflation times.

Read more on helpful tips: Online Security Tips and Buying your first car Guide 

 

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