How to Combat Inflation at Home and Save for a Home

Each and every Canadian is facing the effects of inflation to some degree. 

Gas, food, and energy costs are up across the board, and when you add in the duty of saving for a downpayment, things can seem overwhelming. 

However, we have some tips on How to Combat Inflation in Canada and Save for a Home.

Inflation Has Surpassed Original Estimates

In April, annual inflation rose to 6.8%, which significantly surpassed the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 2%. Unfortunately, the experts are expecting that inflation will rise a bit more before subsiding, so this means we need to recalibrate our habits and our households.

Change Your Coffee and TV Habits

How many budget-busting expenses do you incur on a monthly basis? If you can’t identify that number, it’s time to revisit your bank statements and get tough on yourself. Food is a necessity to live, but eating out at a restaurant multiple times a week is not! Coffee in the morning makes your day better, but dropping $5 a day at your favorite coffee shop may be killing your budget!

There are countless Canadians whose daily coffee habits are costing them upwards of $1200 a year! Now consider this when it comes to even bigger expenses like cable TV. Once you add the sports package you need or a few network tv stations, your bill can climb easily into the $120 territory.

Readjust and settle for streaming services and a solid internet package and you could yet again be saving thousands of dollars per year.

Shop in Bulk

Another quite obvious tactic to combat inflation is to hold your dollar’s value in products. Both Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary have talked about this tactic very deeply, and as a matter of fact, Mr. Wonderful posted a story just last week explaining the value he gets from Bounty Paper Towels compared to other brands.

Cuban’s approach is interesting as he states that by buying toothpaste in bulk when it’s on sale, he retains the value of his dollar because he won’t have to purchase the same product again at a higher price for quite some time.

Costco memberships can go a very long way right now, and by limiting single trips to the grocery store, you will also prevent yourself from making impulse buys.

Increase Your Income

There are a bunch of ways to go about increasing your income right now. You could pick up a job in the gig economy for a driving service like Uber or Lyft, or you can use the leverage that so many workers have in their industries right now.

Many places of work are still looking for more employees, so there’s a chance your workload has increased. With a rising cost of living and the opportunity for more work on your plate, asking for a raise might never have been more realistic than now!

Work With a Mortgage Professional

There are so many ways we can combat the impacts of rising inflation, it just takes some hard work and planning. If you are curious about what kind of home you can afford or want to learn more about what you need to get there, give Sherwood a call at 1 - (877) - 241 - 6001!