None of us are immune from the rise in prices on everything from gas to groceries. That's why we wanted to give tips on how to save and budget during this inflation.
"Well, consumers are really feeling higher prices across the board, but especially on everyday items," said Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert with NerdWallet.
She talked about what we can do to save day-to-day.
"The first thing to do is to look at your budget and see if there are places that you can cut. If you can reduce some of those entertainment costs, going out for restaurant meals, those kinds of variable expenses, are the first place to look when you're trying to cut back," said Palmer.
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She also says store and restaurant loyalty programs are a great way to cut down costs.
Using apps has replaced using coupons, as Palmer says.
"For example, the Flipp App, it's a grocery store savings app. It pulls in all of the circulars for grocery stores in your area. So you just enter your ZIP code and it actually tells you where the deals are, and it might even change what you're buying, which grocery store you're going to."
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For those that mostly shop online, there are programs that help you save via your online browser.
"I also really like the Honey Browser Extension, and that basically is just working in the background when you're doing your online shopping. It lets you know if there are lower prices elsewhere. It automatically applies coupon codes, so that is extremely helpful as well."
These apps and browser extensions usually gather your personal information and you may get a number of texts and/or email ads every month.
"If you're comfortable with that, the benefits can be really helpful because it does help you save money," Palmer explained.
For big-ticket items, you can monitor prices online or by checking store circulars. It may help to wait for holiday sales.
"You want to try to time that to when the sales are. So if you have the flexibility for the summer sales in July or even Black Friday in November," Palmer says to wait.
We still have the urge to splurge in getting that latte or visiting the restaurant with great photo ops for social media. But when it comes to splurging, Palmer says, "Right now splurging is all about doing so in moderation."
