The price hike in petroleum and food seems to become a worrying issue among the public.how should we do?

Question

How should we change to a moderate lifestyle,particularly our daily budget?

Answer 1

In my personal oppinion you should always live within you means.  Most of the people in America have a house payment that is way to high so they can absorb a price increase very easily because they need that money for bills.  However their are alot of people out there that live by the rule your house payment/rent should be a third of your monthly income.  If that is the case a increase in food or gas can easily be absorbed with out problem.

To anwser your question you can just buy what you need and  cut back on what you dont.  The main rule of thumb is buy your groceries and gas, dont skimp on these items.  These are what economists call normal goods.  Now your luxury goods are the goods you should cut back on.  Luxury goods are items such as cable, a new tv, dvd's, etc.  If you cut back on these items a bit you will have a bit of money that you can use in case of emergency.  Most Americans spend too much on luxury goods.  Just make a budget and stick with it and you will be amazed with how you can still have fun and have plenty of money.

Answer 2

We have been living  on borrowed money from other countries and our credit has dried up,  and the increases in energy prices are here to stay. Most of us will see  a permanent drop on the purchasing power of our incomes, so we must scale back our standard of living more than money saving tricks can accomplish. That is smaller homes and cars, and hireling fewer things done for us that we can do for ourselves including cooking.

Answer 3

Take a lesson from our great grandparents-

the ones that survived the Great Depression /Dust bowls.

1) Waste not - want not. Don't like leftovers - learn to,  last yrs clothing not trendy - get pieces that are basic and inexpensive.

2) Learn to grow more of your fruits and veggies- even patio planting works.

3) Meet and greet the neighbors so that you have a real community network -

4) Barter - trade services /goods, use freecycle , pay it forward, comsume less stuff.

5) Use the car less - bundle errands, share rides, start a carpool/rideshare - even when gas prices dip -

6) Save for a rainy day - it is just drizzling right now - have at least $1000.00 put away in cash for an emergency - that is putting $100.00 a month (if you can ) in a savings account - make it a serious habit to put away that $100.00 each month, it will add up faster then you think.

These are some ideas -