We're Still Facing Inflation - Here Are 4 Tips To Help

For many Americans, keeping up with the rising cost of living has become almost second nature at this point in time. But that does not make it any easier, especially when you are trying to put food on the table on a daily basis.

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Despite the fact that inflation has slowed down substantially, grocery prices remain high-and food giant Nestlé has reportedly predicted that prices will continue to rise in the coming months.

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In these trying economic times, it's never too late to seek financial advice that can help you lessen the strain on your wallet. To get some relief from still high prices, Trade Algo spoke with budget food blogger Toni Okamoto and other personal finance experts about some moves you might consider taking to get some relief from the current high prices.

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1. Ensure your grocery shopping is affordable by sticking to these 5 ‘must-buy ingredients’

In Okamoto's book "Plant-Based on a Budget: Quick and Easy," she gives tips on how to buy the five “must-buy ingredients” that are affordable to buy and can be used in different cooking styles: bouillon cubes, beans, potatoes, onions, and canned chopped tomatoes or sauces.

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Using these five staples, Okamoto suggests making black bean chili, sweet potato stuffed with black beans, vegetable, and garbanzo bean foil packets, and other dishes with these five staples.

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It's not always necessary to buy the cheapest ingredients at the grocery store. You can also take several steps at the grocery store to make your shopping a little less expensive. A few tips on how to shop for groceries on a budget are provided below, including some advice from Okamoto himself:

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• Take a look inside the aisles: Oftentimes, supermarkets will display what's on sale at the end of aisles, but Okamoto points out that in many cases there are even better prices on the shelves of the aisle you're looking at. "Also, they position the more expensive options at eye level, since many people don't take the time to look up or down to see what's cheaper," she explains. The cheapest beans are on the bottom shelf; you only have to look down there to find them! ”

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• Check out what's available in bulk: In some grocery stores, bulk bins are available for storing items. “It's especially cost-effective when shopping for spices when you're using these bins," Okamoto says. “It is also possible to find dried beans in the bulk section.”

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• Make sure you check the price per ounce, not the price per unit: Even though two cans of tomato sauce may have the same price, one may be larger. Okamoto recommends comparing prices per ounce instead of unit prices, which are often displayed on price tags in supermarkets.

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• Make sure you only buy what you need: You don't have to fill your refrigerator with everything you buy when going grocery shopping (especially if you are hungry) as it is easy to go overboard. In order to avoid this, Okamoto suggests making a meal plan before you go shopping and buying only what you intend to use.

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Paying with a credit card that rewards your spending on groceries is another way to take the sting out of your higher grocery bill. As an example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers cardholders 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on purchases up to $6,000 per year (after that, 1% cash back). When you earn cash back, you receive it in the form of Reward Dollars, which can then be redeemed as a statement credit to pay off your credit card bill. As a bonus, new cardholders can earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases within the first six months of the card's usage. That means that you have to spend at least $500 per month within the first six months of the card's use, which can be hard to achieve during these times when prices are still high. There is no annual fee for the first year of the card, after that, you will have to pay a modest $95 fee; you can find out more about the rates and fees here. There are some terms and conditions that apply to this offer.

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The Chase Freedom FlexSM card is an option that you may want to consider if you are looking to greatly reduce your monthly grocery bill and aren't sure that you will meet the spending requirements of the Blue Cash Preferred Card to earn the welcome bonus. Cardholders who open their account and spend at least $500 on purchases within the first three months of their account opening will receive $200 cash back on their purchases, which amounts to about $167 per month on groceries for a new cardholder. There are often grocery stores included as a category in the Freedom Flex cash-back card that gives you 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories each quarter when you activate it.

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2. Savings accounts and bonds with high yields are good choices

“Outpacing inflation or at least keeping up with it is the best way to beat inflation,” Shon Anderson, CFP and president at Anderson Financial Strategies, tells Trade Algo.

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There is no doubt that investing your money is the best way to protect it from inflation since the long-term returns on investments will generally outpace the rise in prices in the short term. There is no guarantee that the results of the S&P 500 will continue to be the same in the future, as past performance is no guarantee of future outcomes. Investing at this time is one of the best decisions you can make in your life, says Bola Sokunbi, a certified financial education instructor, the founder of Clever Girl Finance, as well as the author of "Choosing to Prosper."

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There is no better place to store the cash you need at a moment's notice than a high-yield savings account. With an annual percentage yield of up to 4.55%, the UFB Preferred Savings currently offers one of the highest interest rates available in the industry.

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Even with today's high-interest rates, these accounts cannot keep up with the rising cost of living today, even with today's high rates. This is why short-term bonds have generated a great deal of interest over the past few years. A savings vehicle such as this is less likely to be affected if interest rates rise quickly and can be reinvested at a higher interest rate as soon as it reaches maturity. Short-term Treasury bonds are a good option for investors since they're issued by the federal government and are therefore considered to be low-risk investments.

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Andrew Meadows, who is a senior vice president at Ubiquity Retirement + Savings, has a particular interest in I bonds because they are designed to combat inflation. The U.S. Treasury Department establishes a fixed rate of return on I bonds, which is based on the Consumer Price Index, while the inflation-adjusted variable rate return, which is based on the Consumer Price Index, changes every six months based on the Consumer Price Index. There is currently an interest rate of 6.89% on I bonds through the month of April.

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Meadows has also pointed out that if you are enrolled in your employer's 401(k) and have the automatic escalation feature enabled, it will help you to keep up with inflation over time while you are also building wealth for your future. Using automatic escalation, you can set your contribution amount so that it will automatically increase on a yearly basis until you reach a certain limit, taking care of your retirement savings for you automatically.

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Meadows said that more and more people are signing up for this feature as time goes on. “The idea here is that when we live in a time of high inflation like we are experiencing today, the 'time value of money' becomes a real reality. Over time, if you take steps to increase your retirement savings, you can keep up with the cost of living when you retire.”

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3. Make some cuts to your spending

Spending less is a good idea whenever you want to improve your finances, but especially when money is tight. Check your credit or debit card statements to see how your spending is broken down by category.

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"I have had to do this in my home as well, which meant doing a better job of tracking what we are spending our money on," Meadows says. Meadows believes that this exercise helped him and his partner fine-tune and separate their "must-haves" from "nice-to-haves" and "things they can do without" from their "nice-to-haves.".

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“When it comes to saving money, it can be extremely challenging unless you have a good idea of how you are managing your money at the moment,” says Diahann Lassus, CFP, senior managing director and managing principal at Peapack Private Wealth Management.

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Moreover, we become accustomed to spending money on things that may no longer be of use or interest to us. "Most of the time, we spend money on things that don't improve our lives, for a long enough period of time that it becomes a habit," Ivory Johnson, CFP and founder of Delancey Wealth Management, told Trade Algo. This can be demonstrated by paying for a recurring expense that you never use, such as paying for a gym membership or streaming service that you don't use, or any other recurring expense that you don't really need.

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Other "low-hanging fruit" actions Johnson recommends to save money are not paying for cable, making lunch at home instead of eating out, buying a cheaper brand of something, or DIY rather than paying someone else to do the work in your home. There is no doubt that Lassus agrees with this advice, adding that you should consider doing some tasks that you would normally outsource, such as doing the housekeeping or the lawn care.

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4. You can save more money by scaling back your lifestyle

A battle against high prices can be accompanied by hard choices.

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“Every now and then, you have to cut back on your lifestyle, whether it's where you vacation, how often you buy cars, or where your children attend school,” Johnson says. “If you're worried about how it looks, don't be. Chances are you're not the only one affected by higher prices on your block.”

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Beyond those big-ticket purchases, smaller everyday decisions can also have a significant impact on your life. “The one area I try to keep an eye on is eating out," Lassus says. Restaurants have passed on the higher prices of food to their customers as a result of the increase in food prices. In her opinion, cooking at home instead of dining out on a regular basis can have a significant impact on your monthly spending, especially in the long run.