How To Fight Back Against Inflation
Photo of “Stop Inflation” text with man pushing it in blue clothing by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay
Updated 2024.07.23
If you’re wondering how you can combat price increases, learn more below.
Are price increases necessary? Is inflation *really* normal and natural? Or is it greed? Are purveyors of goods and services just making everyone else’s financial lives harder because someone else did it to them?
This current period of global inflation has us here at Team Useful Roots questioning the assumptions we all make regarding the normal rules of our marketplace.
Sadly, this period of inflation isn’t historically new - price increases have been causing displeasure throughout time. For an example in recent history, The Kingston Trio’s 1959 hit song, M.T.A., is all about the outrage and consequences of a five cent price increase.
That five cents still matters today, but unfortunately, the price increases we face currently are often much larger than that.
The good news is that the rules of culture, including how we trade and barter for goods in an open market, is something we collectively create.
This means we can collectively stop creating rules of culture no one likes like mandatory price hikes (who likes having their prices raised?).
If inflation feels like a nightmare we can collectively minimize if we choose it as a group, it’s because we can.
We can, as a group of humans, decide not to inflate costs on each other and below are 10 ways how we can keep prices down individually.
First, are 5 tips on how to fight price increases as a consumer of goods and then we’ll share 5 tips on how to do it as a producer of goods.
10 tips to fight back against inflation
Photo of green bar graph with upward to the right line with text overlay How To Fight Back Against Inflation by Pabitra Kaity from Pixabay
How to keep prices down as a consumer of goods and services:
1 - Negotiate with your vendor
Vendors usually send you an email to let you know the new prices they will be charging you. Sometimes they don’t even offer that courtesy and they do it without consent. You can just accept this or you can reply with a negotiation. Sometimes negotiating does work out in your favor.
But if talking to your vendor causes them to dig their heels in more on their price demands, read on to the next tip.
2 - Shop for a new vendor
Your vendor may not be the only entity on Earth offering what you need. Even if they were the best-of-the-best when you started your contract, it doesn’t mean that’s still the truth.
Use a price increase as an opportunity to shop around for new goods and service providers. You may find another company doing what you need for more affordable prices and nicer quality goods.
3 - Make room by cutting something else from your budget
If you need to stay with your current vendor, you still also need to remain within your budget regardless of anyone’s externally enforced and newfound price demands. Scan your expenses and see if something else can be pinched back, tamed down or done away with to afford this vendor’s needs.
4 - Provide it in-house
Can you do it yourself? Maybe you can! Can someone on your team do it? Maybe they can!
Even if something previously outsourced seems daunting on the surface, sometimes when you look more closely, it really isn’t that hard, it's just complex and new. When you in-house something, thankfully, you have full control over the complexities and can make it as simplistic as you like.
5 - Don’t need it
Maybe you don’t even need that service or product after all. Can you do without whatever is becoming more expensive? Can you swap it with an alternative? Do you have something else waiting in the wings to fill that hole?
Photo of woman character looking at graph line going up on purple background by Monstera on Pexels
How to keep prices down as a producer of goods and services:
1 - Reduce waste
You remember the three R’s - reduce, reuse, recycle. They apply here. Think about ways you can maximize your existing resources by re-incorporating them. A few options:
Reduce: think about ways to minimize your product or service needs
Reuse: something in your system for a newfound task
Recycle: previous “waste” through reimagination of possible uses
2 - Minimize inventory needs
When you “demand” less of things, prices go down.
Do you need that good or service right now? Can it wait? Can something else similar that you already have be used for the task?
Really consider if you need new inventory right this moment before adding more “push” demand to the system.
3 - Combine travel routes
Discretionary travel adds up. Consider your travel, in terms of all trips out and about. See if you can cut, bundle, reduce or streamline them. Gas, tolls and repairs on travel vehicles are all costs. When you travel more efficiently and with greater intent towards what is necessary travel, you keep your costs down by lowering your usage and demand.
4 - Trim fixed expenses
Look at your fixed expenses. Can you trim them down in any way? Think about ways you can use less electricity, heat and footprint space.
5 - Install a frugal culture on your team
Maybe your team is just you. Maybe it’s you and one other person. Maybe it’s you and a small group of people. Whoever is on your team, become the frugal leader of them. Install a budgeting culture where money is highly valued and every cent is wisely allocated.
Frugality is about getting the most out of your purchases, which includes reducing redundancy and necessity on what you spend.
Photo of woman character looking at graph line going up on purple background by Monstera on Pexels with text overlay 10 tips to fight back against inflation
These are just some of the ways you can fight back against price inflation and the increased costs of goods and services.
Several of these tips drive home the point that when you need less, it costs less. Then, when there is less demand on goods and services, in ideal conditions, prices go down.
You do play a part in the marketplace and your actions can make a difference when it comes to the cost of goods and services. You can keep your prices down and control your costs to an extent, it just takes a more hands-on, creative approach.
Choose a few of the above tips, and start making a difference in the way we do commerce with each other.
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