Middle East-sized problems require micro-level budgetary adjustments

Everyone’s blaming the Middle East conflict for rising costs.

Fuel’s up, groceries are up, and everything feels more expensive, or at least like it’s about to be.

But here’s the thing: just because costs are rising, that doesn’t mean our spending has to.

If I’m honest, it does concern me a little, because moments like these are when plenty of people quietly fall behind without realising it.

But it can also be at this exact moment those most resilient can reset and get ahead, whether in terms of cutting expenses, covering the mortgage or saving for a home deposit.

That’s my message for you today.

Spend on what you need and cut what you don’t. That’s it.

Go through every expense in your life and force it into one of two buckets:

• need; and
• want.

If your spending is higher than your income, the problem isn’t what’s happening in the world: it’s that there are too many ‘wants’ in the mix.

We have more control over this than most of us would like to admit. It doesn’t always feel that way, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I’ll save more when I earn more.”

That almost never happens because without a conscious decision, our lifestyle simply expands to match our income.

We tell ourselves we ‘need’ more than we do. More clothes, more subscriptions, more convenience. Most of it falls into the ‘wants’ category.

This isn’t about depriving ourselves; it’s about staying in control.

If costs are rising, don’t just absorb it. Offset it.

If fuel and grocery costs are up, something else needs to come down.

Subscriptions, entertainment, impulse spending - small adjustments are often enough to keep you moving forward, while those who don’t make the adjustments feel the squeeze.

Refreshing the credit card

A few years ago, I lost my debit card on a night out, cancelled it and ordered a new one.

I didn’t think much of it until the emails started coming in. “Your payment failed,” “please update your details,” “reactivate your subscription.”

I’d been paying for things I didn’t even remember signing up for. That one mistake forced a reset, and it saved me hundreds every year.

Now I do it on purpose!

Every year or two I cancel my cards and start fresh. It forces every vendor to prove its place in my budget. If it’s not worth reactivating, it’s gone.

If you’re concerned about the rising cost of just about everything and not sure where to start, I’ve got a suggestion. Cancel your cards. Reset the direct debits, rebuild the budget and think of it as your annual financial detox.

At the end of the day, we might not control inflation or wars that break out on the other side of the world, but we can and do control our own spending.