Saving Money / Savings Advice
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One of the common approaches for fighting inflation and rising cost-of-living expenses is to use clever techniques that help cut costs. Certain expenses may be negotiated or entirely cut out of budgets while savvy shoppers can use budgeting techniques to find extra savings and deals. In the GOBankingRates infographic below, you’ll find examples of painless ways to cut back on the cost of essentials — and then keep reading for further details.
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Cancel Underused Monthly Subscriptions
It’s possible that you may be subscribing to more subscription services, including movies and TV, music and gaming, than you realize.
Jacquie Kearns, chief brand and strategy officer at Affinity Federal Credit Union, said many individuals signed up for an extraordinary amount of streaming services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kearns said that in many cases, households that stream now pay more for streaming services than they did when they cut the cord on their cable provider. Take a moment to review your existing subscriptions, see which services you use the most and determine which services may be kept or canceled in your streaming bundle.
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Make a Weekly Meal Plan
One place inflation has hit hard is the grocery store. Savvy shoppers are using several budgeting strategies to stretch their dollars at the grocery store and ensure everyone in the family enjoys a delicious meal.
Some of these popular strategies are included in our infographic, like meal planning for the week, shopping sales and buying in bulk at warehouse clubs. There are even more grocery shopping secrets that shoppers have previously shared with GOBankingRates. Keep more money in your wallet by arriving at the store armed with a list to curb impulse buys, buying store brands, shopping for in-season produce and using any credit cards that offer points or cash back on grocery store purchases.
Price Compare
Shop around! You can do this by scanning ads in store circulators, checking coupons and downloading apps that allow you to find additional coupons and deals at stores in your area. Comparison shop by comparing prices on similar items at different stores to determine which store is offering the best deals.
Program Your Thermostat
If you don’t already …….