How are you dealing with inflation regarding everyday enjoyment?
I was wondering how people are currently dealing with inflation in everyday life. Since quite a while now, I found that I have fallen into a habit of excessively looking for discount deals for pretty much everything I buy. I feel pressured every day because prices have ballooned so much.
At first, I only refrained from buying "unnecessary" goods like unhealthy snacks, and instead just go for basic staples and vitamin-rich vegetables. Then I started to cut down on meat consumption due to the high prices, and forced myself to only buy meat that is put on discount at the end of the day as it's about to spoil. And now, I even do the same thing for regular staples like rice or potatoes. It feels imprisoning, distracting and depressing.
So I'm wondering, how are you dealing with inflation? Are you affected in a different way? Or not at all? Any advice on how I could realistically get out of this seemingly endlessly depressing spiral?
In case anyone's interested why I decided to post today: I saw McDonald's popping up in the news these days, as apparently customers don't go there anyone due to their price increases far beyond inflation since 2019. Then, I passed a McDonald's billboard today thst advertised 2 Big Mac Menus + a happy meal for a whopping 30 EUR. The regular prices used to be a fraction of that... Now it's apparently a good deal...
Me and my friends switched to "free" activities, such as taking advantage of the many sports facilities around our area. Instead of going to the pub, we might just play some games of tennis, then head off to someone's house to have afternoon tea or drink cheaper, store-bought alcohol.
I myself was never a huge red meat eater, but I switched to basically only chicken (well, due to inflation and environmental reasons) as beef is simply not sustainable anymore. Eating out in general has become a luxury, I decided to cook at home more, and went from maybe one restaurant meal every two weeks to once every couple of months.
Most we can do is take advantage of subsidised services/facilities around us, I've been going to libraries more, practicing sports more, and using all the benefits that came with my job. Nevertheless, there are some apps such as Olio and Too Good to Go that offer free or heavily discounted items that would be thrown away anyway.
Conversely, inflation has led me to spend more on quality, "buy-it-for-life" products. For example, in the past I would buy the cheapest chair possible, but now, since said chair will break sooner than later, accompanied by a significant rise in said chair's price, it makes more sense to buy the expensive one that'll last me two decades.
I've noticed that often premium brands / products are slower to react to inflation. I'm thinking that this might be because they operate with a larger margin so they can afford to take time to "find the right price"
These are great examples. I've also found myself starting to go for free and fun activities when going out with friends. Though some of them only want to go for expensive drinks at the bar, plenty are open to outdoor activities that don't cost much like trekking, walking, playing board games while eating home cooked meals and so on.
I've lived well in poverty, I feel, by taking on an approach of being completely uncompromising on specific things and cheap as hell on others. A good example is coffee. I drink coffee in the morning, every morning. That needs to be good. I will buy a shittier version of something else to make sure I can get that good coffee, because getting an involuntary reminder shit sucks in the morning is an awful way to start the day. If it's not possible to do that then so be it, but at least in my experience it's been pretty rare I've been that cash strapped. If I have any advice, it's that you should pick out which specific things are the most enjoyable to you, and reallocate to make sure those are good and go cheap on the rest. I don't know your situation so of course, judge it yourself and decide whether it's doable, but this approach is what helped me not feel like shit while I was poor for years on end, and it was easy to adapt to an improved situation with rising costs.
This reminds me of a Lifehacker article I read years ago, and it really stuck with me. The basic idea is that you should spend money where you spend the most time. So if you spend your days at a desk working, you should allocate funds appropriately so that experience is as comfortable as possible. The article also provides some example math that divides the cost of items by the total hours of benefit. That really helped me wrap my mind around the "unit cost" of the comfort provided. Definitely a good read for those struggling to decide where to spend limited funds.
Everyone should take this logic and apply it to their sleeping arrangement. Get a good bed frame, mattress, etc.
Regardless of your views on economy, I feel it's not really beneficial to look at numbers alone. A healthier way is to look at your PP(P) or your purchasing power (parity, for comparing it to other countries, there's a neat wiki article about this). What you're experiencing is the loss of said purchasing power and yes, that sucks a ton.
My best tip is to look at your bosses and negotiate an inflation corrected salary. Unions are especially good for this because you have the force of a large group of workers to demand these things.
truth be told, not noticing the inflation that much.
I'm playing games I want, reading books new/second hand/from the library and I'm doing a lot of sport climbing outdoor & indoor.
Sure when I do groceries I'm thinking, oh that's def more expensive.
But overall... my life just keeps on going.
Now I must say I'm not a huge party/drinking person anymore. maybe that has also to do with my view?
Same, not really noticed anything. I do go out drinking, but that’s more of a weekend thing, so if cocktails went from 10-15 dollars to 15-20, is what it is.
Yea I rarely go out for dinner and do most of my grocery shopping ‘from the perimeter’ so truth be told I haven’t noticed too much sticker shock apart from meat which I just eat less of or get cheaper cuts.
I live in a country that swings to 100% inflation and beyond once every 20 years.
90% of our diet is pasta/rice/bread and grains. Chicken maybe once a week, 0.5-1 kilo or less red meat in a month. Eating out is only for special occasions or when abusing online ordering sales.
Rents are insane (could be +50% of your wage), people tend to live with their parents so less economic mobility inside the country.
Vacationing or touristic travel is non-existent for many.
Money is invested into foreign currencies, real estate and cars.
But since everything will be cheaper than tomorrow some people abuse credit cards and overspend, essentially living shackled to debt.
To give more context, the current economic crisis is caused due to past horrible mismanagement (lowering credit rates when inflation was going up), a major earthquake that has happened a year ago and a self-fulfilling inflation cycle. The current minimum wage is so much below the poverty line where you would not be able to feed yourself without going to debt.
The only saving grace is that interest rates has been getting hiked recently but it is still below both the official(~70%) and unofficial(124%) inflation numbers. Still, it is estimated that it'll take years for the economy to recover.
It's not horrible if you are a university student though. State/Public Universities provide much cheaper food and housing(if you're accepted to the dorms). I've even heard a 40yo adult enroll in university again for this.
When do you consider the beginning of the current economic crisis to be? YTL and the dropping of six zeros happened less than 20 years ago.
I wouldn't have called it a crisis back then but I'd say around 2018. It got especially worse after a month where the currency had a huge drop post-covid however.
Staying home and just sitting at the computer, either watching YouTube, a torrented movie/anime, or playing video games.
I'm doing well enough even though inflation hurts. I'm trying to save money to be able to put a down payment on a house some dayshould the market ever correct. While my current living situation still affords me the ability to save I'm trying to take advantage of it for my future. Either I can maybe own some land and/or a house or I have a nice "oh shit" fund.
Something I've been doing for quite a number of years is buying a farm share (CSA) each fall. It cuts out the middle-man, so the farmers get more money - and importantly, they get that money up front, before the growing season, so they have money for their expenses and don't need to borrow from banks. As the crops come in, I get a certain share of it. If the harvest is good, I get extra stuff; and if the harvest isn't as good, well, things would have been expensive at the grocery store anyway.
It cuts out the middle-man on the other end, as well: the stuff I get from my farm share was picked the previous day, at the peak of ripeness, instead of being picked earlier, shipped to a sorter, sorted graded and re-sorted, packaged, sent to a chain warehouse, sent to a store, and then put out for sale. The food that I get has more flavor, tends to last longer, and you usually get versions of things you often don't see in stores - heirloom or unusual varieties of produce. One CSA grew 14 different varieties of basil, another had 7 different types of corn (including popcorn-on-the-cob).
My current CSA is $375 for ten large boxes of veggies during a 24-week growing season. I'd estimate the boxes to be a little under a bushel each, and I choose the weeks I want a box. It also comes with pick-your-own access for higher-manpower crops (for example, I might get 3 pints of strawberries, with a PYO option to pick 3 more pints), or for stuff that they have in large abundance (I usually stock up on peppers and tomatoes at the end of the summer). They also have PYO herbs. I probably get about 15-18 bushels of high-quality veggies for my money, so less than $25 for a really big box of veggies. Sometimes there are extras included outside the box as well - watermelons, pumpkins, canteloupe, honey, dried heirloom beans, etc.
I get my farm share on Thursdays and Thursday night I sit in front of the tv, chopping, slicing, dicing, etc, put everything into storage containers. I also figure out what I want to do with the food. Friday night I go shopping for whatever bits and pieces I need for my recipes. Saturday morning, I spend an hour or two cooking large amounts of a couple meals - eggplant parmesan, 7-layer casserole, french onion soup, stuffed peppers and stuffed tomatoes, zucchini boats, etc, etc. Those get split into serving-sized portions, half of which are frozen (I usually have ~40 servings of 12-15 meals in the freezer at any given time), and the other half are eaten during the week.
Sunday night, I sit down and make ten salads - one for lunch and dinner each day of the week. I'll vary the salads, so they're not all the same. Maybe I'll make a couple sweeter ones by including a little fruit (from a fruit cup, or dried fruit, or cutting up an apple) and using a sweeter dressing, maybe I'll make some a bit fiery with extra peppers and radishes and a more robust dressing, etc. Veggies go on the bottom, lettuce on the top so it doesn't get crushed, dressing in an old pill bottle on the side, and anything crispy like croutons or tortilla strips in a re-usable ziploc on the side.
My goal with each box is to use up everything in those first few days. I don't always manage to include everything in a specific dish, so I do other things: I'll make strawberry preserves and stick them on the shelf, I'll make blueberry muffins or pancakes and freeze them, I'll pickle green beans and cabbage and beets and giardinieri, I'll make marinara or salsa and can it, I'll cook tomatoes down into cubes of tomato paste and freeze them, I'll slice/dice/mince onions, carrots, celery, garlic, etc, etc, and freeze them to be used as ingredients in future dishes.
Once you get the hang of things, it doesn't take "much" time at all: I do all my prep work and package the salads in front of the tv, so I don't really count those as work time; cooking itself is usually 1-2 hours on Saturday and it results in almost all the meals I'll eat for the next couple weeks, specially designed around my tastes (don't want carrots in your pot pies? don't include them!), plus more for the winter. It also means that the meals I'm eating don't have all the extra chemicals and stuff they include in store-bought food, plus I'm not spending a bunch of money on, say, a pot pie that turns out to be 50% pie shell and 40% carrots and potatoes and gravy.
When I look at it directly, yes, $375 is a lot for veggies. But it guarantees the farmers a sustainable income, provides me with a range of high-quality produce with more variety than I might otherwise eat, and gives me the base material for a range of home-cooked meals and snacks that I can eat throughout the year.
I'm seconding CSAs as hard as I can!!! They are awesome!
Getting the box each week feels like Christmas. What odd assortment of things am I getting this week. What interesting meals will I learn to cook. What on earth is a Cucamelon or Kolrabi? Guess I'm finding out!!! I have learned more about cooking a cuisine from getting a farm box than any number of cooking classes or cook books (minus the 6 Seasons Cookbook). We even got absolutely screaming deals when they were available like 12 artichokes for $20. I mean that is unbeatable and they were absolutely monstrous, delicious artichokes. I liked it so much I even bought a hat!
The group we were buying from didn't deliver to our area when we moved, so I started going back to the farmers market and now it's hard to go back because I love the ritual of shopping there on Mondays and Fridays. But the upfront payments to the farmers is a huge thing and those extra deals were incredible. In any case support your local growers!!!
Edit: There are also CSAs for fishers too! Check out your local options!
Yay for more CSA lovers! If the concept interests anyone, check around your local area. I'm really fortunate that where I live (in the Northeast US), there are CSA's for produce, but also meat, eggs / dairy, grains, apples, and mushrooms! [TBH, I've only done the grains, apples, and mushrooms, but I've really enjoyed the variety!]
I wish I could get access to a CSA but there are none in my area. Even farmers markets are kind of inconvenient; most of them are only open during my work hours or are very far away. The best option if I want farm fresh is a local agricultural college, and they have very limited options and are relatively expensive. The price is very worth it though; their oranges are the best food of any sort I have had in my entire life.
The next time you're there, you might try asking the people at the farmer's market (the head farmers behind their stands, and the market people at the info desk) if they know of any CSAs either in the area, or that deliver to the area - there are CSAs that deliver shares to local farm markets, or that have pick-up locations farther out from the farm.
I haven't shifted too much. And in the ways that I have, it's been pretty recent. Like I don't buy as much junk food at the grocery store as I used to, unless things are on sale. So instead of buying 2-3 bags of chips for $6 each, I'll only buy one. Or I'll substitute for the store's brand that's $3 a bag.
I'm also trying not to eat out as much. I rarely cook, so it's a bit of a struggle at times. Still, when every trip to McDonald's or wherever is $15+, that adds up quickly. As an example, for Easter, I ordered some Chinese; for two orders of combination fried rice, two orders of Singapore Mei Fun noodles, and a few Egg Rolls, it was nearly $80. And that's with me picking it up, to save on delivery fees and tip. A few years ago, that would've been more like $40-50. So I don't order take out very often anymore. I rarely use the delivery apps these days, too.
I'm also trying to reduce my travel. I did a lot of personal trips the last couple of years. But hotels are expensive, flights are expensive, food as I mentioned is expensive, so I'm just cutting back. It sucks because I enjoy traveling, but it's just costly.
I've been lucky that I've been getting >5% raises each year since 2021. My salary has been keeping apace with the stated inflation. But prices have gone up faster than inflation, so yeah.
Travel is one of those areas where I'll still splurge. I see it this way: experiences stay with us. Meals on travel are part of the experience. Meals out, at home, not so much.
This is a really big one. I've been spending money buying a season subscription for the local live theater and it's been a fantastic experience, especially when seeing stuff I wouldn't have paid for otherwise.
Check with your theatre. Some places do volunteer ushering, where you show up an hour or so beforehand, show people to their seats, then sit and watch the play. Occasionally there's a little extra work, like putting a "Cast Substitutions" note into the playbill beforehand, or picking up spare playbills afterward, but it's a really affordable way to see a bunch of plays at theatres who do this sort of thing.
For sure. I went to San Diego with my brother back in February for 4 nights, and I definitely splurged. No fast food at all. I think all my meals + drinks personally ran me $50-$100 each.
I guess the reduction in travel is less about inflation and more about saving money. I'm trying to build my emergency fund. I'm also supposed to be moving Soon™, so I'm trying not to reduce expenses in preparation for that. Travel is an easy one to target because it's rarely cheap. Unfortunately, that means I missed out on trips to Japan and the Philippines over the last several months =/
I know we're all in different cities/countries and prices aren't the same everywhere, but my God, almost $80 for a simple Chinese takeout is just too much! I can't imagine what people spend on takeout who order food more frequently. That's gotta be hundreds of dollars a week for takeout.
Yeah it's crazy, and I don't even live in a HCOL area; I'm in the Midwest! At first I thought it was just this restaurant -- but there's a couple different Thai places I patronize and the their prices are pretty much the same.
On the plus side, my Chinese place doesn't skimp. Shinkflation is also happening all around, and I've seen it at other local restaurants, but these guys are still completely filling the styrofoam containers. And I was able to make that order last 4-5 days, ha!
Though I was still able to do that when it $40-50 for the order, so maybe not exactly a win...
Eating/ordering out a lot less and cooking a lot more.
Also I've gotten pretty good at cooking Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese at home these past two years.
I miss pizza. It's a pain in the ass to make, particularly gluten free. The dough is sticky AF so hard to work with. OTOH, no kneading.
Restaurants have gotten too expensive since greedflation has hit everything including ingredients for restaurants! It's not as though restaurants are getting-rich schemes (except perhaps at the high end and only wildly successful ones). But everything else? Ingredients? Pay (because a living wage is higher now for staff!) Delivery? Ow.
I've changed nothing about my behavior but I bitch about prices more.
Ha! This is probably 95% of people!
I haven't been noticing it as much at the grocery store, but I have cut out eating out so I can do what I like with groceries. I don't get too hung up on comparing current prices to prices of 5 years ago because that is a big part of what makes people feel unhappy about inflation.
Instead of thinking about what you can't do anymore, think about what new things you can enjoy that make better use of your money. This is a good opportunity to be forced out of our comfort zone and think about how we want to spend our time and money. Chances are we were probably not all being as efficient with our finances as we could have in the past.
Despite the inflation I haven't adjusted much on everyday costs aside from quitting drinking. Instead, I am saving by learning to DIY pretty much everything in my house because I can't afford to have anything fixed by the proper professionals anymore. I've built my own workbench, mounted TVs, installed electrical sockets and sconces, repaired drywall holes, installed decorative trim molding, built various floating shelves and closet shelving all around the house. Also been learning to work on cars... changing my own oil, filters, belts, blower motor, liftgate supports, etc. As someone who's never had to do any of this before, I'm actually finding it to be incredibly satisfying. The next project is going to be renting a sod cutter and tearing up the lawn to replace it with a more maintenance-free ground cover (considering Creeping Thyme)
Almost forgot to mention: groceries!
My produce now almost exclusively comes by way of Asian/Latino grocery stores. Somehow, they manage to get their produce far more cheaply sourced and pass on that savings.
Green onion and cilantro bundles for $0.50.
Beets, turnips, and carrots for between $1-2 a pound.
Cabbage for same.
Potatoes and onions: that's still Costco.
Dried beans cooked in a pressure cooker. Far more bang for the buck than canned. Also far more control over the texture! I didn't know you could make beans where the skin still has just a little snap left in it!
Less fake-meats or only at Costco where they're steeply discounted. I cook with them less.
Less frozen foods or only when on sale, bought in large quantities, and stored in the basement freezer for many months. Amy's brand has gotten crazy expensive since 2020!
Also, can you tell I'm vegan? 😉😂
I used to shop at Whole Foods for a lot of my groceries. They were never cheap but now they're just out of control. Now I only use them for my Oatly and JustEgg. Otherwise: hell, no!
I have noticed that a lot of grocery stores seem to be trying to pretend that produce is a luxury good. As if improving the lighting and presentation of the produce section somehow justifies increasing the prices. Sadly that doesn't correlate to quality. In some cases they have the worst quality produce. But heck, if I can get higher quality food at lower prices while supporting smaller and generally more ethical businesses, it's a win on every front.
By the way both Oatly and JustEgg are very easily made at home. JustEgg in particular is easy because you can just soak some mung beans and blend it with some water and oil, then spice it to flavor it how you prefer.
Wait, what?!
UPDATE: ok, I found this. It admits it's not quite the same. Maybe worth a try though.
This is missing one crucial ingredient that I am told adds the sulfuric flavor of eggs (which I haven't tried). I think it's called kala malek or something like that. It's an indian smoked black salt.
But then again I wouldn't noramlly eat these simply because diet is oil-free, and I can't see it being what I want without it.
Home-made seitan is probably the biggest budget-changer for me! I do this recipe. I make it pretty blandly so taste-wise it's okay, but for effort, time, and food cost it's pretty life-changing.
Oh, yeah! I used to as well until my wife was diagnosed celiac. The powder gets everywhere.
Apologies to your wife. Gluten is one of life's greatest pleasures! On the bright side, people with celiac's have told me that the "gluten-free" hype train has significantly helped them out.
It's still tough. I've learned to cook well GF but it's harder and more expensive. There's a GF tax for GF products.
I was one of those people that used to eat out once a day (on average). Since the pandemic, I’ve been slowly cutting down and am now in the once a week to once every two weeks range, usually eating out as a social thing, either with family or friends.
Outside of that change, the rise in prices has (luckily) not hit me too hard. Possibly because of privilege, possibly because it turns out I really didn’t do much, outside of eating out, that cost cost me money. When I hang out with friends, we buy drinks at local stores and have them at my place (due to being the most central and being the one with the most “hosting” space). When I visit with family everyone brings a portion of the meal and we typically meet at one of our places. We normally either stay indoors and play board games or head out back and throw frisbee or just talk. On my own, I regularly hike, usually with my dog, and that is typically free.
I’ve noticed the biggest portion of my circle (of friends and family) that are experiencing the rising prices the hardest are the ones with kids. Going out to eat is basically a no-go, as a basic meal will run them $50+ at even a fast food place, and any location that requires membership is impossible unless it offers a family pass of some sort. I think this is mostly due to the fact that their “free” money to spend on things that are not essential is now being tied up in the constant need for food, clothes, rent/mortgage, and the irregular bill (like a car issue, doctor visit, or home repair) which has seen significant cost increases.
None of my group is struggling, per se, but they are definitely cutting back on anything that has a cost in the first place when it comes to socializing. If it can’t be done online or if it can’t be hosted at someone’s home then it’s too expensive since they need to set aside that money for the inevitable bill coming up. Most of which are close to twice the price they were just pre-2020.
I haven't been to a McDonalds since I was an early teen ( I haven't eaten meat since then ). I was shocked when a friend told me about the new prices. McDonalds is supposed to be eating out for the poor.
I used to drive to multiple grocery stores to get the cheapest prices on everything, not so much anymore.
I try to minimize restaurant food and prepared foods.
Have you seen Taco Bell lately? Bye bye Value Menu and hello to $10+ meals.
At that point, just get a Chipotle bowl. It costs a little more and is better for you!
I'm not trying to shill or anything but you can get a meal box from them for $6 by ordering online. It's a main item (I go for the crunchwrap supreme, which is like $5.50 on its own), a smaller item (usually a selection of burritos), a side (chips and cheese for me) and a drink. An absolutely screaming deal for the amount of food you get.
I still remember being able to buy 3 bean, cheese and onion burritos and a drink for same from them.
And I see that this combo deal isn't so bad. But can't customize the Crunchwrap. 😬
EDIT: Oh, wait, I can. Not bad!
Yes absolutely. Especially considering how all I usually want is a crunchwrap anyway. It's hard to beat that combo.
One thing I was disappointed to realize is that the Baja Blast is caffeinated. That doesn't make sense for food you're supposed to order at 10pm while drunk or high.
I was late in the game getting introduced to Taco Bell.
A few months after buying their stuff at refreshingly low prices they jacked their prices up.
Burritos are amazingly easy to make, and the ingredients are easy to store for when I am in the mood for them.
I will be using Taco Bell less.
Bingo. Buy dried pinto beans.
Use this recipe. Make it easy by using powdered spices. Only prep is onion and fresh jalapeño (worth it). Easy peasy.
My wife has celiac anyway to the Bell is only at all good for me anyway. Tofayan makes some damn fine GF "tortillas" that brown up something wonderful in the pan (due to tapioca starch, I imagine).
In fact, I think I'll make some of these beans today. They're a great side, on taco salads, or burritos. Thanks!
Time to run to my cheap local grocer!
I usually get 2 bean and cheese burritos and it's usually like $1.80 each? I don't think that's too bad considering nearly 20 years ago they were $1.25 each. It's definitely up, but not to a degree I've ever questioned getting one and still under $4.00 for a whole meal for me. Personal opinion though.
They've done a lot to try and shed that image/market, even disregarding the increased pricing (which inevitably came as a result of their target market changes). They renovated all of their buildings to be "fancier", started offering fancy drinks, fresh non-frozen beef for the quarter pounder, etc. Some of the other fast food chains like Taco Bell, Hardees, Subway, etc seem to still be targeting the lower-end of the fast food market.
Taco Bell? Have you seen their prices lately? The food isn't any better but the prices are out of control!
I haven't. I don't eat fast food but I sometimes see commercials about some box that they sell for like $6 or something.
My brain. I first read "I don't eat food." Brief moment of 🤔 here. 😅😂
Did you take into account gas prices? I would guess increased fuel usage would offset the cheaper groceries gains.
Yes, and it didn't.
Some of the cheaper grocery stores I drove to also had significantly cheaper gas stations next to them.
I also drive a fuel efficient non-SUV vehicle. If not that and if not cheaper gas I didn't use up that much gas ( just time I could not covert into money ) for the trips.
I've always been pretty frugal with everyday stuff to begin with, which I learned in college and just stuck with through adulthood. I buy in bulk to reduce per-unit costs, prepare all of my own food, use grocery store sales to determine what I'm going to cook that week, buy generic brands, and eat out very rarely. It still shocks me how so many people eat out all the time and then complain about the cost of living. Maybe it was just how I grew up, where eating out was a special occasion / luxury, and not a daily way to live.
I've always done my own home repairs and renovations. It's very rare that I hire something out. I've also always shopped around for the best balance between price and quality.
I can't think of many ways I've changed my spending habits over the past 5 years. My wife cuts my hair (I just keep it short with electric clippers), which started during COVID and has continued. I'm more likely to shop for insurance during renewals every year to combat the price increases. I've held onto my vehicles for longer than I used to. I guess I buy less "stuff" than I used to, but that's more of a side effect of changing my life priorities as opposed to costs.
My income has kept up with or exceeded inflation in the US so it really hasn't impacted me in any meaningful way.
I think like most folks in this thread I'm focusing my purchasing more. My big purchases are mostly directed towards local/family owned businesses. (i.e. buying food from farmers markets, getting paint from the local hardware store instead of home depot, local bakery over safeway, etc...) I'm also just buying less. I eat less meat than I used to, I'm servicing my things (bike, car, etc) myself, I'm learning to make/craft more so I can still have my needs and big wants.
I'm also getting older which might be solving some of this for me. It means less time at bars and restaurants, and more time swimming in the ocean (free), biking on local trains (free), and cooking at home (not free but cheaper than out and about). During the pandemic I was unemployed for a stint and I started doing a lot of no cost hobbies (foraging, carpentry (with scrap wood mostly), returned to art) and some of those have really stuck.
I think the pandemic + inflation has taught me that I don't need to spend a lot of money to be happy; and that the money I do spend I want to go to small producers. Through this, I've gotten to know so many of the local bakers, cheese makers, farmers, artists, and fungi fanatics; which makes me really appreciate and feel good about where my dollars are going!
My only shoutout to a large corp is, like many others, Costco. I love that they can treat their employees well, sell sustainable products (not all but there are options like troll/pole tuna or bulk beans/rice/etc), and keep costs way down.
Short term, I've always had a budget I stick to, so comparison shopping is just something I'm used to. If beef is expensive I'll switch to pork or chicken, or generally I'll just buy whatever meats or vegetables are on sale and figure out what to do with them after. I eat fast food somewhat infrequently, and the rise in prices just means I go for other alternatives when I don't feel like cooking. It might be reheating frozen foods (some from costco are pretty good), or other local restaurants, which have become more price competitive lately. I don't feel like it's healthy to have fast food as a major factor in "everyday enjoyment" anyway.
Long term, I realize that my previous choices in education and career path have somewhat insulated me from feeling the effects of this recent inflation since I feel like my compensation has kept up. However, it's potentially risky to stagnate in income and job function. So I'm trying to skill up for jobs with higher earning potential.
Ultimately, my lifestyle hasn't changed much due to inflation, and just looking around my neighborhood it seems like people are not outwardly affected (still seeing new cars appear in driveways, frequent signs of home remodeling, kids playing outside have fancy new toys, etc.).
Living in a big city in the US, the prices were already ridiculous, so inflation is... kind of just another reason. Habit-wise, I was already trying to be conscious of spending money on anything I didn't outright love. Biggest changes:
Leaning more into coffee or breakfast vs. dinner or drinks
Outright losing interest in dinner. Eating out doesn't make as much sense for health or WFH-lifestyle. However, inflation has impacted restaurants, leading to "cheap eats" feeling increasingly overpriced and increasingly expensive eats sometimes feeling a little dismissive (e.g. being gently nudged out after ~90 minutes, even if you say, bought a bottle). I still do it sometimes for social reasons, but it's rare for me to look up a new restaurant and eat as it's just not a fun or engaging experience.
Outright losing interest in travel. Part of it was generally losing interest and wanting to develop more thought, excitement, and research before another trip. Another is that Americans have been able to travel more in part due to favorable currency conversions. But it also means you're surrounded by Americans and part of an economy that locals may outright detest. And the more cities I visited, the more I recognized the emergence of some weird international culture where businesses care more about appealing to expats than locals. I feel weird about it.
edit: typo, locals -> Americans
I've always been frugal as an adult because I was either broke as hell, saving up for an apartment, or paying off a mortgage. I'm still doing that last one, but at least my wages have gone up a bit during the past few years, otherwise I'd be seriously struggling. So not a lot has changed, really!
The main impact is that I'm going out way less, and when I do, I go to specific places that I know are affordable. I live in a city that's only recently become a tourist destination, so a lot of places where I used to go often are now best avoided, since their prices went up both due to inflation and because tourists go there. The only exception is one beer garden with really great beer, but even that's become more of a treat and less of my usual go-to destination that it was before. I also stopped ordering out almost entirely - during the lockdowns, I'd order out up to three times per week, but now the prices have become ridiculous. For that amount of money, I'd rather go sit down at a restaurant.
Inflation also contributed to me changing the way I exercise. The main reason was injury, but once it healed, I saw how expensive the classes at my pole dance studio were and decided not to go back for now. I did Cuban salsa for a while, which was half the price and came with a ton of free events, but now I'm mostly just doing running (both by myself and with a free running group) and longboard dance, where the only expense is the gear. I do miss the body weight exercise aspect of pole dance, but I've made peace with the fact that I'm in my cardio era, and I've been curious about calisthenics for a while so I can always try that.
I’ve picked back up on budgeting after a few years of hiatus during a string of major life changes that made my old system of spreadsheets and manual entries less feasible.
I started using YNAB and it’s become a bit of a hobby actually.
It’s not necessarily due to inflation, but having a better handle on where our money is going (and being more proactive in deciding what our spending priorities really are) really helps when money feels tight.
The only part of my life it has had an impact so far is eating out. Prices are outright ridiculous nowadays. We've pretty much reduced it to special occasions only.
It sucks having to downgrade your lifestyle, especially when the circumstances are beyond your control like what's happening now with inflation.
What do you define as excessively looking for discounts? I live by the mantra of "never pay full price or pay for shipping", but I enjoy the hunt for deals. It might help to review your monthly budget to see how much of your effort with discounts is absolutely necessary. You might be able to indulge in your favorite snacks, name brands, etc. more frequently than you thought. I have done this to exert some control over the uncontrollable.