Kids Life Tuscaloosa November/December 2022 | Page 29

your monthly take-home pay . You don ’ t want to be house poor at any time , and definitely not with inflation on the loose . Making sure your house payment isn ’ t eating up too much of your income will help you have enough breathing room in your budget to live .
3 . If you ’ re buying a house , save 20 % for a down payment to avoid PMI . The more money you have for a down payment , the better — because it ’ ll lead to a smaller mortgage . Plus , saving 20 % will save you from having to pay private mortgage insurance ( PMI ), which will lower your monthly mortgage payment !
HOW TO SAVE ON GAS PRICES
1 . Use apps to track the cheapest gas prices . You don ’ t have to waste gas driving around town looking for a good deal . Just use an app like GasBuddy or Waze to find the cheapest gas prices in your area .
2 . Shop around for auto insurance rates . It ’ s always worth seeing if you can score a cheaper auto insurance rate . If you can lower your yearly premium by $ 375 , that would free up more than $ 30 in your budget each month !
3 . Carpool . Hear me out . I know you like to fly solo , but carpooling to the office , to school or to the kids ’ soccer game is a great way to build some human connection while saving money too .
Now , that ’ s a lot . But don ’ t let it all overwhelm you — you ’ ve got this ! Prices going up just means you have to rework your budget . So , keep an eye on things , track what you spend , and make tweaks as you need to . Then tell those rising prices to kick rocks and pound sand — because you ’ ve got a plan to fight inflation . For more tips on how to beat inflation , check out this article .
George Kamel is a personal finance expert with a countercultural approach to money . He ’ s the host of The Fine Print podcast and The EntreLeadership Podcast on the Ramsey Network . Since 2013 , George has served at Ramsey Solutions , where his goal is to help people spend less , save more , and avoid consumer traps so they can make the most of their money . Follow George on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook or find out
more about him online atramseysolutions . com / personalities .

www . kidslifemagazine . com

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