Inflation is high, and I can feel it. Food costs more, going out to restaurants costs more, and the cost of housing is going through the roof. Many of my friends are nervous and unhappy, and most of them are looking for solutions to cut costs.
Cutting costs is easy: you buy the bare minimum and only buy things that are on special, and you deprive yourself of this or the other thing, but there is a limit to how much you can cut cost. The solution has to be on the other side of the equation. Instead of looking for ways to cut costs, you could be asking yourselves, how can you earn more? There is no limit to how much you can earn, so if you look for solutions, you might find them.
A big part of inflation is the cost of labor. This means that if you are part of the labor force, you need to find a way to get paid more. If you are an employee, this is a good time to ask for a raise or switch to another company that will pay you more.
It’s a lot easier to make more money, ask for a salary increase, that it’s to cut more expenses. In fact, you should be asking for a salary increase every year or looking for another company to work for.
If you are an entrepreneur, this is a good time to increase your prices.
Also, if you are an investor, you have no reason to complain. Inflation is currently about 3%, while if you are invested in any broad-based index fund or ETF, your returns are well above 10%. The S&P 500 is up 17% so far this year and 24% over the past 12 months. You should be celebrating.
In conclusion, try to find a way in which inflation is working for you and not against you.