Sticking to a budget key when dealing with higher prices

If you are spending extra, you need to work that into your budget, says a debt consolidation expert

CITYnews halifax \ Sonia Aslam

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There’s a new trend that appears to be making the rounds that’s making it even harder for many people to make ends meet.

Allow us to introduce you to greedflation, the cousin to inflation and shrinkflation.

Greedflation is essentially when companies or stores increase the price of an item above the rate of inflation so they’re able to reap the benefits of a profit. But that ends up costing you more than it should.

This goes for pretty much anything, including groceries and of course gas, says Taz Rajan with Bromwich and Smith, a debt consolidation firm.

She says the extra money you end up spending can be devastating on your finances. Rajan stresses the importance of having a budget.

“I would say a majority of people either don’t do or have a budget. We can make that b-word fun, if we choose to, but definitely there’s only so much that you can cut out and then you got to figure something else out,” she explained.

Rajan knows first-hand the instability of finances, having filed for bankruptcy and bouncing back just a couple of years ago.

She adds if you are spending a little extra, you need to work that into your budget.

“I think what the majority of us miss out on is every week looking at, ‘Where am I? What do I need to adjust? What actually came in? What have I actually spent? Oops, I went out for dinner with this person who popped in from out of town and I wasn’t expecting that but that was an extra $100. I’ve got to adjust.’ That’s the big one. We may have a budget but we’re not necessarily doing the little tweaks.”

She adds when you’re done your spending for the week or month, re-assess what you actually did with your money and what you had planned to do with it.

“The b-word sounds so scary and boring, but I find it so empowering. I almost bought something at the store the other day and then I left it at the last minute and I’m like, ‘That’s $30 I didn’t spend. What would happen if I moved that $30 into my savings account?’”

Rajan says tracking your money isn’t just for what you buy in-person. If you’re shopping online, like many of us do, she recommends putting something in your cart and sleeping on it. Rajan says the next day, you may not want it.

Meanwhile, she’s not saying which companies or stores specifically may be taking part in greedflation but stresses it’s happening everywhere.

Rajan also recommends not having to go store-to-store if you want something at the best price, as most big stores will simply price-match.