How to Beat High Cost of Living

What is defined by the cost of living?

Cost of living is a sum of cost that is liable by an individual or family to fulfill the needs of someone which includes a place to stay, clothes, food, water and many more for the sake of life necessities and survival.

The increase in the cost of living will have a huge impact on a person's life and it is not something new among most of us, especially the poor. The high cost of living occurs mainly due to the increase in the price of necessities as stated above.


As time goes by, the price nowadays will not be similar to in the 19th century. Those people who are living in the cities will mostly be affected by this situation since the price of goods in the city is much higher compared to the countryside.

Of course, a lot of us will complain about the high cost of living and will find ways how to overcome this problem. However, not a lot of us know the ways around it and to be honest, there are a few ways how you can actually save a lot of money.

1. Buy During Sales or Wholesale

The sale is probably the best time to get all your needs and save big bucks on expenditure. There will be discounts, and promotions like B1F1 and you can definitely make the best out of this promotion to get 2 for the price of 1. Clearance sale is always useful when it comes to getting your needs at a very cheap price.


This can simply be said at the end of the year when most shops will want to get rid of the old items to replace them with fresh new ones. You can take this opportunity to get them at a discounted price but be sure to not overspend and only buy the things that you actually need.

Festivals can sometimes be beneficial for your purchases as most stores will compete with each other to make the best promotions out there and you can definitely grab this opportunity to save some extra cash.

2. Homecooked Meal

It's never too late to learn something new and cooking can be one of them. Eating out can be rather costly especially if you always go to fine-dining restaurants. According to The Simple Dollars, an average American household spends roughly $4,049 on food at home and $3,154 on food away from home annually.

Of course, this is just a rough estimate and the numbers can vary greatly depending on how often you eat and the type of food that you eat. But, you get the idea. Therefore, in order to save on that huge spending, you can always learn how to cook for a start.

It can always be as simple as cooking steamed fish to fried chicken. The good thing is that it does not just save you a lot of money but it is also very healthy. You decided yourself how much salt and seasoning to put into your own food and what a great way to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Who knows that someday you might also become a great chef like Gordon Ramsay. 

3. Make a Comparison in Prices First

It's always a good idea to make a comparison of the prices of the things we want to buy at different shops. Some shops tend to be much pricier than others and in a world where information can be accessed through your fingertips, it makes life much easier to do it.

Based on The Droid Guy, there are 7 apps that can be used for you to make that comparison. One example will be Instacart which lets you pick the cheapest product that you would like to purchase with over 150 to choose from. 

On top of that, the app also lets you compare the prices of groceries around where you live so that you can instantly make that purchase on the go without going the extra mile. With this method, you can definitely not just save money but also save time from going too far places.

4. Use Credit Card Wisely

A lot of millennials love to spend big bucks with their credit cards without thinking about paying it later. This has caused problems in which most of them ended up being broke and bankrupt. Regardless of that, credit cards still have their perks when you know how to use them properly.

Before you apply for a credit card, always check first the charges and other benefits that come along with the credit card. Try to use the ones which offer rebated and cashback so that you can always save some money when making any purchases. 

Some credit card gives 5% cash rebates. For instance, when you made a purchase of $100, you will get in return $5 at the end of the month.

Aside from this, there are also some credit cards that give you points when you spend. Those points can then be used to make a redemption of any sort of reward offered by the credit card. However, using a credit card blatantly without knowing how much you spend in a month will get you into trouble in the future. 

Always pay the amount that you used on time or else you will end up paying even more with the interest rate. This is definitely something that you want to end up with.

5. Reduce The Usage of Your Car

Public transport is convenient when you are talking about the traffic and the price you have to pay. Trains, monorails, trams, buses, taxis, and Ubers, you name it. There are a bunch of public transport that can be used and if there is one close to your home, then you are in luck.

You can always use public transport to commute to work and only uses your car during the weekends. Certain public transport also offers to possess where you can purchase on a monthly basis which can save you a lot of money.

If you compare the cost of buying those passes with the amount of money used on your car, the difference is rather large. Because when you drive a car, you have to pay for the fuel, tolls, and sometimes even parking space. Using public transport also means that you will avoid the hectic traffic early in the morning.

Carpooling is also one of the options but it is only useful if most of your friends or colleagues leave nearby you. However, it will still save you a lot of money on sharing a car to go to work or college. This will also cause fewer cars to be on the road and ultimately fewer traffic jams. 

All your struggles in saving money can be reduced with these tips and also remember to always save money for the rainy day.

Source: AIA

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