How to keep the wolf from the door?
For many Canadians, life has been good – until now. The rising cost of living is slowly forcing trade-offs, and needs start taking precedence over wants. Sometimes change happens overnight when life throws a curve ball. More often than not, though, it is the slow erosion of purchasing power that finally causes a breaking point. Adopting new strategies can make a difference and help turn things around.
The Facts
- Many people living near the poverty line are experts at making ends meet
- Others are just now experiencing a financial reality that requires adopting new strategies
- Food is a big expenses in most households
- The kitchen offers many options to save money without sacrificing nutrition or taste
Many people considered ‘poor’ have superior budgeting skills
Most people who have been living on a very low income for a while have acquired outstanding budgeting skills. By necessity, they have to be extremely frugal to make ends meet. There usually is very little left to cut. In the kitchen, though, there might still be room to lighten the mood:
- Discover a few new recipes
- Introduce new flavours
- Add a bit more nutrition by rotating and switching ingredients
- Grow a few herbs on the window sill
- Become a “foodie” and make cooking fun and adventurous, even on the smallest budget
The internet is full of free recipes for every taste and budget. Social media content creators show off new cooking techniques, and cooks from around the world share their flavour profiles. It’s easy to look up the nutrition of various low-cost staples and switch things up to cover the whole range of vitamins and minerals.
Faced with a new financial reality many households adapt new strategies
As the rising cost of living takes bigger and bigger bites out of disposable incomes, many people evaluate old habits to see where cuts can be made without causing too much pain. Knowing where money has been spent helps planning what to spend it on, in the future. Just sticking to the plan and eliminating impulse purchases can already make a significant difference in every budget category.
Food is a big expense in many budgets. Fortunately, this is also a category that can be trimmed with a few proven strategies.
- The easiest change is to reduce waste, which saves money without sacrificing anything
- A close second is replacing more expensive ingredients with lower-cost alternatives
- Planning meals around what’s on hand in pantry, fridge and freezer squeezes the most value out of money that has already been spent.
- Shopping with a list makes it easier to stay within budget
- Cooking rather than ordering meals in can drastically reduce expenses. The fees for a single fast-food delivery could cover a home-cooked dinner for an entire family!
