Pick any country of your choice, from the U.S to Canada, Pakistan, or Germany, and you’ll find that its citizens are currently battling an infuriating monster known as inflation. Perhaps as an aftermath of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, inflation has somehow managed to hold the entire world at ransom at the same time, just like the virus did.
Many experts have blamed the ongoing global inflation on the ongoing mismatch between supply and demand, caused by workers having to stay at home during the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. Problems with the supply chain alongside the rising demand for goods and services all over the world have continued to inflate the prices of food, rent fuel, and other basic human needs.
Ontario Canada, for instance, is currently experiencing one of the worst cases of housing crisis in the world. The city experienced a population growth of over a million people in the past 5 years and somehow has not been able to build enough houses in recent years to accommodate its new migrants. This of course means that the few houses available have become incredibly hard to afford. According to Mortgage Brokers Store, a team of Private Mortgage Lenders in Ontario, “Many Canadians lack sufficient savings to cover an expense of a few thousand dollars while maintaining regular bill and mortgage payments.” As a result, in recent times, many people in the province have ended up moving away to nearby towns in search of cheaper accommodations.
However, running away from one city, province, or country to another may not always be the best solution to this ongoing inflation problem because it is a global problem. Here are a couple of tips that can help you survive the high costs of goods and services in today’s markets.
Postpone Big Spending
Knowing how to protect your assets and wealth is one of the first tips for surviving inflation. Prices may be a bit crazy right now but they won’t always remain this way, so hold out on making some major expenses with the hopes that the prices may come down. Not everything will remain this expensive in the long run, so if you’re planning to buy a house, don’t do it right now. The same goes for if you’re planning a family vacation with the current fare prices.
As a snowball effect of the ongoing pandemic, maybe industries are experiencing a temporary price increase. The global car industry is currently experiencing a chip shortage which has driven up the price of both brand new and used cars. However, this chip shortage is expected to be taken care of soon as more people return to work, meaning that cars will become more affordable sometime soon.
Likewise the building supplies industry. A lot of people had some free time on their hands during the Covid-19 lockdown and many ventured into home remodeling projects. The increased demand for building supplies coupled with its weak supply, caused prices to skyrocket. However, these prices are gradually coming down as demand reduces.
For these reasons, you should wait out any major family expenses and see if the prices reduce as supply improves, especially since most countries have eased off on Covid-19 restrictions, allowing citizens to return to work.
Ask for a Raise
There’s no better time to ask for a raise. Many employers are aware of how bad the inflation has gotten but not many are willing to give a commensurate pay raise, at least without a little nudge. According to a January 2022 survey published in the New York Times, only 17% of workers reported that they received wages that have matched the rate of inflation in recent years. A few of the workers surveyed, reported receiving pay cuts rather than raises despite the inflation.
If you find that you’re having a hard time keeping your head above water when it comes to taking care of your monthly expenses, then it’s time to ask for a raise. However, before you ask for a wage increase to take care of inflation, be sure to check that your company hasn’t already included such raises in your salary.
Draw Up a Budget and a Saving Plan
This is not the best time to splurge on all your heart desires, rather an inflation period is a time to stick to a tight budget and save for the rainy day. Inflation always impacts the cost of daily living, so review your budget regularly to keep up with new prices of goods and services. This way you can continuously decide what expenses to keep and which ones are no longer worth the cost. Your budget should focus on important expenses such as utilities, gas, rent, and food; everything left after these important expenses should be saved for emergencies.
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