Budgeting is extremely difficult to do at the best of times. This is especially the case when inflation is going above and beyond its normal levels. It makes it very difficult to set your budget but also to save up any kind of investment. However, fortunately, we are here to help you. Both in terms of where to invest your spare funds, but also some tips on how to make your budget go a little bit further.
How to increase your budget?
While not too many people know what causes inflation, it’s safe to say that a lot of people understand exactly what the effects of inflation are. Many people get hit hard by inflation, which causes costs for general products to increase, which in turn increases the cost of living. That’s why there are a few things that you can do in order to mitigate those increases.
The first thing you should look into doing is finding the best grocery shopping deals. This can either be shopping at a budget supermarket or using coupons on a regular basis. You can significantly decrease your grocery costs if you use coupons in a sensible manner. This will allow you to mitigate some of the costs that are associated with inflation.
On top of this, it’s important to shop around when it comes to necessities. You can get better deals if you use comparison websites, which will allow you to make sure that your budget goes a little bit further. If you’re able to do this, then it will allow you to allocate more funds to use for investments.
Why invest and save during inflation?
To put it simply, saving your money when inflation is high is counterproductive. Banks will rarely offer interest rates higher than inflation, which means that your money will be worth less if you choose to save it. This is why investment is the best way to get the most from your funds. However, it can be difficult to choose the best investments. That’s why we’ve covered the most sensible areas for you to invest into and how you can try to beat inflation.
Saving and investments: Trading stocks and shares
This is the most common method that people use to try to challenge inflation. However, investing in stocks and shares isn’t an easy thing to do. It requires a high level of knowledge of the business world in order to do it successfully, as well as a sprinkling of luck. There are a few things that you can do in order to increase your chances of success though.
Firstly, if you look for a company that pays out regular dividends, then it means you will get payments as long as the company is successful. This will allow you to add to your income streams without losing any of your initial investment. From here you can use the additional money you receive from the dividends as a way to offset the impact of inflation. As you still own the shares that you bought, it means that you won’t be losing any of your investment either, unless you intend to sell them off at some point, but this should be a long-term investment.
The second way is a little bit riskier, but it does offer the opportunity for higher returns. Here you invest in lower value stocks in the hope that they will increase in value above inflation further down the line. With a company such as Tesla, this has been a successful way to invest for many people in the past. However, the trick is working out which company will be the next Tesla.
Saving and investments: Crypto trading
Crypto is obviously a method of investment that has had some ups and downs over the last year. However, it’s an option that you should look into. The main reason for this is that crypto is generally an extremely low-cost method of investment. Some cryptos have incredibly low levels of cost involved with investing in them. This means that people can easily invest without having to spend a huge amount.
Some cryptos also offer interest on their investment as well. Ethereum for example allows investors to earn additional ETH on top of what they have already bought. This, combined with the potential for price increases, is what makes crypto an excellent way to beat inflation with an investment. The potential for high profits is still there with crypto.