THE upcoming huge fuel price hike is going to hit us all very hard.
Susan Steward, marketing manager of Budget Insurance, said: “When the petrol price increases hit, it’s easy to neglect our budgeting goals. It’s important to avoid using credit to survive.”
Financial survival tips
- Create, maintain and revise your budget. If you don’t have a monthly budget, start one. There are many blank plans and smartphone apps on the internet to help you budget your money.
- Bank and invest wisely. Check your bank fees carefully. Compare your account with others where you can earn more interest or pay less in fees.
- The 10% saving rule: Saving money every month is a hard habit but it needs to be a priority. Start saving at least 10% of your salary every month.
Be careful what you cut. When money is tight, there are expenses people tend to cut first. These are called grudge payments because people don’t get a tangible reward from paying money to them. Insurance is the first grudge payment to get chopped from the list.
You may be tempted to end your vehicle, life or home insurance cover but this is a big risk. Rather research how much you can save with different insurers.
- Revise your spending. Look at your grocery bill and see if there are ways to improve your spending behind the trolley? Try creating a weekly meal plan, buying in bulk and stocking up on discounted items to save.
- Be flexible. When life throws an unexpected problem at you, you should be able to adjust and revise your budget plans to cope with the change.
Your budget and savings goals will be impacted by events out of your control so it’s a good idea to pay a little more into an emergency fund so the surprise is not so financially devastating.
- Reap your rewards. If you reach your financial goal, you may be tempted to ignore it and keep the money but it’s better to spend the money in the way you planned because you earned it.
If you saved enough for a good suit or holiday, you deserve it.
- Make some changes behind the wheel. There’s nothing we can do about the rising fuel price but you can take action to make the petrol in the tank go a bit further.
