Inflation can take a bite out of our budget, so every little bit of savings can help. Here are a few tips to help save you money.
Save Money on Prescriptions
There are many prescriptions that can impact your budget in a big way. Make sure to comparison shop to see if you can get a better deal. A great place to check is www.costplusdrugs.com which cuts out the middleman to provide discounts and they keep adding new medications to their list. Additionally, if you are on Medicare, review your plan during this open enrollment period (Oct 15. – Dec 7.) to ensure you have the best plan for your needs.
Take Advantage of your Library Card!
With a library card, you not only have access to your local library, but you can also take advantage of apps such as Libby www.overdrive.com/apps/libby and Hoopla www.hoopladigital.com. Through these apps, you can borrow e-books, audio books, movies, shows, and music for free!
Cash Back Apps
While being mindful of our spending is very important, and we wouldn’t encourage purchases just for cash back, there are purchases that are necessary so you may as well look for the best deals and cash back available. In addition to the cash back from credit cards (which is only worth it if you pay the balance at the end of each month), there are also apps such as Rakuten www.rakuten.com and Honey by PayPal www.joinhoney.com that can be checked for any cash back available before making a purchase.
Review your Subscriptions!
Everything seems to be offered on a subscription basis these days and many of us may be paying for things we aren’t using. Review your monthly charges to see if there is anything that you no longer use and can cancel. You can also try to get better deals on the subscriptions you want to keep. Try calling your cable service company to see if they have any cheaper options, switch to a less expensive music or streaming service, etc.
High-Yield Savings Account
Are you keeping your savings at a traditional bank getting less than 1% interest on your savings? Time to take advantage of these Fed interest rate hikes and move your savings to a high yield online savings account, most of which are yielding over 2%.
Series I Savings Bonds
If you have some longer term savings that you don’t plan on touching for at least a year, but don’t want to take risks with it, you can buy Series I Savings Bonds from the US Treasury at www.treasurydirect.gov. The yield on these bonds will adjust with inflation, so they can be viewed as a bit of an inflation hedge. They do have a maximum purchase amount of $10k per year per person and must be held for at least one year. Additionally, if they are sold before five years, you lose the last three months of interest. They are currently paying a robust 9.62%. You need to purchase them before November to lock in this rate for 6 months.
Invest
Although it can be difficult to do, we all know market downturns have historically been the best time to invest, as you are buying investments at a cheaper price. While prices can certainly go lower before we see a recovery, investing has been the best way to stay ahead of inflation in the long run.
