In January of this year annual inflation in Colombia reached 13.25%, a figure that has not been recorded since 1999. The crisis is not only national, worldwide inflation has reached all-time highs and prices in some sectors have not stopped rising.
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According to the Government’s Economic Development Observatory, the cost of living grew by 6.31% compared to January 2022. There are even products from the basket family staple that have risen to 109%, such as tubers.
Given this scenario, it is key to make changes in personal finances to cushion the blow of the economic crisis that the country is going through. “In the first months of the year where, in most cases, there is an additional expense for the pocket, it would be very useful to be able to generate savings in the personal and family portfolio, and thus counteract economic adversities, in which the prevailing well-being of you and your loved ones”, assures Marco Arenas, Country Manager of Liberty Seguros Colombia.
Liberty Seguros specialists advise, in principle, to watch your ant expenses. That is, those small sums of money that are spent on everyday things like chewing gum, cigarettes, coffee and others. Being small expenses, they usually go unnoticed.
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«We recommend choosing a monthly budget for these ant expenses and start adding up the small purchases, in such a way that this budget leads to a spending limit.say the experts.
Another of the tipss is to avoid unnecessary purchases. This includes promotions or discounts on items that are not essential or essential. This includes unlinking credit cards from mobile applications.
Likewise, it is recommended to look for ways of saving such as transportation costs. In this sense, they advise having a table of fixed monthly transport expenses and take a percentage of that for savings in case you are working virtually.
It is also important make a list of monthly expenses in order to be able to carry out a record of what is invested month by month in the essentials in order to review what is earned and what can be saved.
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«Write down the expenses that are given on a day-to-day basis, at the end of the month, to take stock of the money that is being earned, as well as that which is being spent. The important thing here is to get to not spend more than what is earned, that is the purpose«, the experts advise.
They recommend, in turn, making a list of daily menus to know what is necessary when going to the market and not overdo it with extra things. «The most important thing about personal finances is the preparation and willingness to follow it,» they point out.
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