One more in this important and timely series and then we will fully get back to our business which is natural health, wellness and beauty, we promise! But this is important stuff that impacts everyone, whether conscious of the products, foods and supplements we put into or on our bodies.  

We left off in our last article in the Money Saving series talking about the cost of vehicles and gas. Since there is so much to talk about in this arena as there is no shortage of subject matter (unfortunately), this is now our final installment in this series that speaks to these times. 

Our Part IV delved into a more on-topic subject of how to save money on beauty and personal care products, but now we’re moving on to other things that impacts a lot of people too, but on a much larger scale than everyday cosmetic and personal care products.

It Bears Repeating...

I feel like a broken record at this point, but when you think of the magnitude of the volume of goods and services that has gone up in price at an abnormal rate of inflation, it’s easy to see why the average consumer is under pressure. The average person, even people with a six-figure salary, are feeling the pressure of universal prices increases. In other words, six figures ain’t what it used to be! Related: Is Intermittent Fasting For You?

Read on for some more goods and services that have increased in cost. You’ll start to realize why almost everyone is feeling the squeeze.

Appliances and Electronics

Both of these categories can introduce huge expenses to your financial plan. But there are ways you can extend the life of these expenses and resist the urge to always get the latest and greatest when it comes to technology, electronics and small and large appliances.

We’ve had a refrigerator that has been “on its last legs” for about 4 years now. We didn’t give up on it though. My husband did some research and we tried blowing out the dust and debris form the pipes one the back and the vents. It actually worked and the fridge was up and running again. We were really close to spending thousands on a new fridge, but we’ve managed to extend the life of that one for another 4 years and running.

Google and YouTube will be your best friends when it comes to trouble shooting problems with your appliances. You can often get new parts and install them yourself, even if you think your appliance is so old, the parts must not be available any more (trust me). So next time an appliance or electronic breaks down, spend some time on researching whether it can be fixed.

College Tuition

I feel terrible for kids graduating high school that have college aspirations these days. College tuition and housing has exponentially increased since I was college-age. Even state colleges put students in years and years of crippling debt, just for getting a normal 4 year degree. If you’re going to go to an Ivy League college, it’s even worse.

It’s a shame that higher education these days means a decade or more of monthly loan payments that are beyond reasonable. That being said, I’m not a proponent of free college, nor of students getting debt forgiven. I strongly feel that knowing you are financially invested in higher education gives you a vested interest in doing really well and applying yourself.

I would just love to see the cost of college go down to where it is a reasonable cost for students, and their parents if they are trying to help their kids out. Related: Cheapest and Easiest Ways to Boost Fiber in Your Diet

I don’t know what the answer is to that, other than the government getting out of the student financing business and making it a capitalistic system where banks have to compete for the loans. It seems government interference in student loans has actually had the effect of making college unaffordable.

The only advice here to reduce costs is obviously to choose a school that is reasonably priced, save up money that earns interest before you go so that you don’t have to finance most of it, and try to get as many grants and/or scholarships as you can. There’s still a lot of grant and scholarship money out there, you just have to apply for it and invest the time to research what you are eligible for.