Purchasing power is the number one concern of the French and was at the heart of the last presidential campaign. It plays an important role in the daily life of households. With the increase of raw material prices, with an inflation which does not stop climbing, the French see their capacity to buy and to maintain a correct standard of living decreasing. We suggest 6 tips to increase your purchasing power immediately or at least quickly.
Of the prices that have increased and are having the most impact on household wallets, gasoline is most certainly placed first. It can be difficult to do without a car for those who don't live near work, those who live in rural areas and don't have a business nearby... but there are points of attention that can save you money.
First are you forced to take your car to run 2 or 3 errands? If so can't you do them on the way home? Do you have to take your car to work? If yes can't you try carpooling (Blablacar...), many apps help you find passengers, companies organize rides between employees who live in close areas. If you don't live too far away you can also start taking up cycling and if you have quite a bit of climbing, many electrically assisted bikes can take the edge off. If you live in an urban area, consider public transportation, many companies pay for half of the transportation passes from home to work. If you can, take one or two days a week to telecommute, your car will stay in the garage and you won't spend any gas, highway tolls or parking space. Finally some Auto-Ecoles offer soft driving courses that give you tips on how to better manage the wear and tear on your car (tires, mechanical parts and gas management).
When it comes to household expenses, there are expenses that didn't exist 20 years ago that burden finances: subscriptions to multiple services.
Internet subscriptions, phone subscriptions, subscriptions to video and music streaming services, subscriptions to the service of certain video game consoles and many others.
And if you have children, these costs can easily escalate. First thing to do is list all your subscriptions... and you'll realize that some of them aren't really necessary for you.
Some streaming services offer you a free month's trial, take advantage of this to see if you're really going to use this streaming service.
Also look at what you are entitled to in your subscription.
For example, Amazon Prime allows you to have access to the site's free deliveries, the streaming service, a library of digital books, a video game platform, a music service...
In short, a complete offer.
Also prefer the no commitment subscriptions that you can stop and resume whenever you want.
As for telephony follow your consumption, both in calls, SMS, Data and look what you pay for. Quite often, it is possible to adapt your package to the real of what you use. You surf more often on the internet, take a package with more Data, you call often favor a call package, you consume more SMS, take a SMS package...
Operators allow you to easily change your Packages even if you are committed for several months.
You can also change operators depending on promotional offers, since the portability of your number and all the administrative will be managed by your new operator.
Finally don't forget that if you have a gym membership, it might be time to check that you go there regularly enough to make it worthwhile.
If you haven't been there in 3 months, you may be able to cancel it.
If you can do without a streaming service, if you can do without a gym...
there are some costs that we definitely can't avoid: these are the costs related to food shopping, maintenance and hygiene.
After all, we all eat 3 meals a day and some products only increase or vary according to certain international events. Before anything else, make a list of your groceries.
Know what you need. Go through your cupboards, plan your meals for the week (try to make meals where you can reuse certain products) note when a product is finished, if you always shop in the same store, look at their promotional offers... and once in the supermarket or at your grocery store, stick to what is on your list.
Once in the supermarket, don't hesitate to buy in family packs or in packs of products that you can keep easily and for a long time (pasta, rice, Hygiene or cleaning products).
Always check the prices per kilo or per unit before your purchase.
Don't hesitate to take uncalibrated products, the famous ugly fruits and vegetables that some supermarkets or producers promote by selling them cheaper.
Once cooked or cut, they will taste the same! Buy products with a short shelf life and freeze them, and on some products if you exceed the date of the DLCO, it is an optimal date for the gustative qualities but which will not put you in danger.
Do not hesitate to go to your baker who can sometimes offer products from the day before cheaper, your butcher regularly makes promotions, you can find fruits and vegetables sold at the end of the market.
Some fishmongers offer half-prices at the end of the day or the day before the arrival of new peaches.
Some applications help you to recover unsold goods (Too Good To Go, Phenix...)
Also think about producers, if you are lucky enough to live in a rural area, you can directly pick fruits and vegetables and pay less for them in exchange for your picking work (cueillettealaferme.com).
Finally, buy in a group with your neighbors, your friends, your family to reduce costs and also if you are alone do you really need a kilo of zucchini and do you really want to eat them every day (entreamis.bio...)!!!!
Thanks to the Internet and mobile applications, yard sales, there are many opportunities for you to buy second hand products (Vinted...) and save money.
But it also goes both ways.
After all, you are sitting on a real treasure.
Do you need those 20 pairs of jeans, those 18 pairs of shoes, some of your grandmother's trinkets, the books you've already read, that third bike sitting in your garage?
Sort through them and see what you can do without. And sell it.
You'll make room for it and earn money. And on top of that you do something for the environment.
There are also websites and applications for donations (Geev), loans between neighbors (mytroc.fr).
After all, you don't use your raclette machine every day, nor your electric barbecue, and your motorcycle spends more time in your garage than on the road.
It can be useful to someone for a little money.
You don't mow your garden every day, so why not lend or rent your lawnmower to your neighbor whose grass is starting to invade the garden and bother you.
Finally, some big brands offer to buy back some of your products (Kyabi...) and also offer you second-hand products (La Fnac...). Like some sites that recondition electronic and household products (Backmarket) and offer you computers, smartphones and others at reduced prices under warranty and in very good condition.
Often decried, often mocked, who doesn't remember a long wait at the checkout of a supermarket because the person in front of you is running down a long list of discount tickets?
Fortunately, the digital era has automated the process.
By downloading dedicated applications (joinhoney.com...) you can receive coupons and have them scanned directly in the store.
Others allow you to get a refund directly on your bank account once the receipt is photographed, while others allow you to answer surveys (ipsosisay...) and get coupons for merchant sites in exchange.
Existing for many years but made popular thanks to the internet, many websites or mobile applications offer cashback.
Cashback is a marketing technique consisting of discounts offered online at partner merchants, via affiliation.
This discount (iGraal...) is applied after the purchase, with a refund made to the consumer.
In short, you buy something and you get money back.
In the end, your shopping cost less and instead of getting a coupon you get cash.
Finally some applications pay you for a specific action, walking (weward...) or playing video games for example.
But don't forget that if they give you money quite easily it's because you are the product... so you have to accept sometimes intrusive ads.
Many influencers guide you to save money, sometimes proposing crazy techniques and sometimes unrealistic or unattainable investments for your means.
We can however note a technique that works for all pockets, the envelope technique.
It consists in putting in envelopes the sums intended for each item of expenditure, at the beginning of the month. When the envelope is empty you can't spend any more and if you don't spend it all you have something to put aside.
Also think about changing bank, some neobanks or digital banks (Qonto...) have fixed fees or even sometimes no fees, they are also as efficient and secure as traditional banks. Some neobanks allow you to control the spending limits of your card via their application, some prohibit you from overdrawing, so no bad surprises at the end of the month.
Finally, internet and mobile applications have democratized private investment with very low fees and possibilities to withdraw money quickly (TradeRepublique, eToro...).
Easy to access, understandable by all and accessible even for beginners, these platforms allow you to invest small amounts and find investments more profitable than a savings account.
And finally we can mention a newcomer on the market of small investments, ISMO, which offers you to invest the roundings of your shopping. The digital form of "I keep my pennies in a box".
And do you have other ideas to boost your purchasing power or save money? Share your solutions with us in the comments.
Author Audrey on 26 July 2022
Trade and Society : Industry
Author Audrey on 29 August 2022
Trade and Society : Industry