The price of gas is unforgettable. Here on the East Coast it is $4.99 and on the West Coast even higher. Inflation is ripping through every grocery aisle. Not to mention almost everything else we need has increased in cost and hit our wallets with a crash. What is one to do?
Though it is not officially mid-year, at the end of the month it will be. This is the time to revisit your spending goals and plans for the year with the rising costs of basics in mind. For example, if you are saving for the holidays monthly, you may want to save a few dollars less each month to cover the increasing costs you did not anticipate in January. If you are planning a vacation, save some money by staying fewer nights at the resort or combining time closer to home with some road trips.
While you are looking over your spending plan for the year, remember that the incidentals add up. Those expenses that come annually or even periodically that seem hard to predict but are ever present in everyone’s life. Consider setting some money aside for the inevitable now so that you won’t be surprised by:
• Annual Furnace Cleaning
• New/Used Sporting Equipment purchases
• Medical Bills and deductibles
• Repairs to lawn mowers, appliances and vehicles.
Festive events seem to come all at once, straining the best of financial plans. Start looking at the year ahead so that friends and family special occasions will not be a surprise. These days even $50 a month on a special dinner or gift can through a wrench in your spending. Don’t let a lack of cash flow dampen the fun in your life.
Previous to 2020, inflation had not been over 3% since 2007. Easy for us to get complacent and forget that the decade of the Seventies had the longest period of sustained inflation. US Inflation Rate by Year: 1929-2023 (thebalance.com)
If nothing else, this six month change in 2022 has taught us to always leave a bit of wiggle room in a spending plan for future years. Inflation does happen. Lest us not forget to start to plan for it as a fact of our financial life.