You would need to be living under a rock, if you haven’t heard the word ‘inflation’ about 100 times per day in the last couple of weeks.
Financial authorities around the world are fighting to keep the rising cost of living under control, all the while the general public is coming to grips with the fact that their dollars are worth less every day. In addition to that, investment markets have also been rattled, with various markets now displaying significant losses.
So what should you make of all of this and how can you manage your personal financial situation?
Let’s explore a few strategies:
It’s a cliché, but it pays to shop around
Many of us are still paying too much for essential goods and services, which might be due to the fact that you are time-poor or simply don’t have an interest in looking for ways to save money.
However, you don’t need to everything yourself. Your mortgage will be one of your biggest monthly commitments, and with rising interest rates, it would be worth exploring your options with a mortgage broker.
Insurances also typically make up a huge chunk of your budget, so again it pays to shop around for home/car insurance, as well as business insurance and life insurance. Many income protection policy premiums have risen well over 50% in the last 2 years for example.
Read more here: 3 Practical tips to manage the rising cost of living
Can you increase your income?
If you are in private practice there might be some scope to increase your fees, as there will be cost and wage pressures within your practice as well.
Some medical/dental practices might suffer a reduction in income as well though, as the general public starts to re-evaluate their priorities and maybe cancel or postpone their planned procedures.
Focus on the essentials
Now is a great time to reassess your priorities and revisit those discretionary expenses which don’t really add value to your life. It might be worth going through your credit card statements and highlighting expenses that you could easily do without.
Don’t panic
Most medical professionals should be able to absorb these rising costs with the aforementioned strategies, and we hope that inflation can be brought under control fairly quickly.
You also shouldn’t make any rash decisions when it comes to your investments, as the danger is that you will be locking in losses, which you may never recover from.
It is important you seek financial and tax advice before making any important decisions, and now is the best time to be establishing a solid financial plan.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss.
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