Because of the war in Ukraine, gas and food prices are rising internationally. In some parts of Africa, there are widespread famines taking place as you read this, due to Ukraine’s inability to export wheat. Things were already hard because of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy and they don’t seem to be getting any easier.
If you are struggling financially, then you don’t need to. It is entirely possible to live comfortably even throughout the current economic crisis, as long as you live frugally. This post will tell you how you can do that:
Fast Food
If you live alone, fast food is a very effective way of eating and saving money. You can live very comfortably eating only fast food. If you have a family, then this might not be a suitable option. Fast food can also be very healthy, depending on the menu item and its ingredients of course. Make sure that you try to purchase the healthiest items if you are going to survive off of fast food. You should also bear in mind that when you are surviving on fast food, you can get it delivered to your house for a low price. It is a lot cheaper to go and collect your own meals, though. Make sure that you check with a restaurant whether or not it’s safe to reheat their meals once they have been brought home.
Create Budget
You need to create a budget if you want to live comfortably. The most effective way of creating a budget is to download an expense tracking app, which will be able to tell you how much of your money you spend on useless things. Once the app has told you what you spend money on unnecessary, then you can go ahead and begin eliminating these things from your life. Make sure that you are realistic when working out your budget. A lot of people are far too strict on themselves when creating budgets, which results in them creating a budget that’s impossible to follow.
Plan Meals
A good way to live frugally is to work out monthly meal plans, and then purchase the groceries in bulk. Make sure that you buy fresh ingredients, because they are nearly always cheaper than pre-prepared or processed ones, not to mention healthier. When you are planning out meals, invite other members of your household to sit down with you and give you suggestions. Planning meals in advance allow you to cut down on the number of groceries that you buy, in addition to swapping out expensive ingredients for ones that aren’t. You can freeze anything that you aren’t going to use immediately.
Bulk Cooking
In addition to buying groceries in bulk rather than purchasing them individually each day, you should cook your meals for the week in bulk. This will allow you to save money. You can save money cooking your meals in bulk because instead of having to buy new ingredients each day (or new ingredients for each meal), you can cook one or two recipes for the entire week, and then freeze them. Make sure that you properly cool down and freeze your meals so that they don’t expire. Ideally, you should let your food cool to just above room temperature before you breeze it.
Green Energy
A good way to save money is to switch your energy supplier to one that offers green energy. One of the main reasons that gas is so expensive right now is because there is a shortage of it and global gas prices are rising. If you switch to a supplier that offers green electricity, then you can power your home on that. You do need to bear in mind that in order to power your home with green electricity, you may have to switch your appliances (like your boiler) to electric versions. An old gas boiler can’t be powered by electricity.
Second-hand
Lastly, when you are buying new things like clothes or even electrical appliances, buy them second-hand. You can get some very good deals on second-hand things online, using e-commerce websites. Before buying anything second-hand, make sure that you check out the seller’s reviews and previous selling history, just so that you can confirm they are a seller worth dealing with. Unfortunately, the internet’s overrun with scammers, con artists, and dodgy sellers. Make sure that you also buy items from a site that offers a money-back guarantee if one’s items don’t live up to expectations.
If you want to live comfortably while remaining frugal, then you need to follow this post’s guidance. If you don’t know what you are doing and don’t have a plan, then it can be very difficult to live a comfortable life while trying to save money.
