12 Smart Ways To Survive Price Increases And Loadshedding Plus Giveaway

SavvySaver – SavvySaver gives you 50 points for every till slip from major retailers plus extra points for specific offers. 1 point is equal to 1 cent. You can cash out airtime, data, vouchers (Takealot, Dischem, and Pick n Pay), and eWallet. EFT payments are coming soon. For more information read my SavvySaver review.

PanelSmart – PanelSmart is a market research company that rewards you for sharing your shopping habits. You scan all your shopping and earn an amount from them each month. You can then buy products on their website or cash out gift cards for stores such as Takealot. For more information read my PanelSmart review.

The School-Days Initiative – The School-Days Initiative allows you to earn Edu-Points when you shop at School-Days Earn Partners as well as your normal store loyalty points. You can then use Edu-Points to pay your school fees! I’m currently in the process of signing up and and trying this out, I will write a review on it as soon as I can.

Shop Specials And Sign Up For Rewards Programs

Sign up to your store’s favourite newsletter or keep an eye on their website and social media channels for specials. Sign up for the rewards programs at your favourite stores so that you can get great discounts.

Clicks are always running fantastic 3 for 2 specials, and Food Lover’s Market always has great deals. It’s also a great idea to check your cash back shopping apps against specials instore. I’ve once gotten back 100% on 3 Pantene products through SnapnSave and bought the products from Clicks on a 3 for 2 special, so not only did I get all my money back I came out with an extra R79.99!

Make sure to check your bank and your medical aid to see what rewards programs they have. I’m with FNB and I’ve signed up for eBucks which is fantastic. I earn eBucks when I shop at Checkers and Takealot, and when I fill my car at Engen. I can also spend my eBucks at Checkers, Takealot, and Engen, as well as buy call time and electricity with eBucks. There is also an eBucks store with some fantastic products.

Discovery has a Vitality program that gives you great rewards.

Earn A Little Extra Every Month

Try to find a way to earn a little bit of extra income each month. There are online survey companies to sign up with that will pay you to do surveys such as Ysense, Swagbucks, and Rewardy. There is an even an app called Sweatcoin that will pay you to walk.

While surveys won’t get you a huge amount of income each month it does add up over time. I’ve made over $3600 with Ysense over the years which is equal to R67 491. See the screenshot above and excuse my cracked screensaver!

There are plenty of other ways to make a little extra each month from home, you can make jewellery, bake biscuits to sell, crochet baby booties, make candles, or anything else you love to do.

While you may not make a fortune, every little bit helps.

Grow Your Own Food

There are plenty of things you can grow yourself and will save you a lot of money in the future. If you don’t have a garden you can grow in pots on your window sill. Look at fast growing foods like baby spinach, lettuce, garden cress, radish, and microgreens.

Make sure not to buy head lettuce because when you harvest that you take the whole lettuce, rather go for the looseleaf lettuce so that you can pick just the leaves you want to eat and your lettuce keeps producing.

Use Your Flask

Yes we all use a flask often now due to loadshedding, but instead of only filling it when the power is about to go out make use of it all the time. If you boil your kettle every time you want to make a cup of coffee it uses a lot of power each time. Fill your kettle and then fill your flask and use your flask water rather than boil your kettle all the time.

Freezer Foods And Bulk Cooking

Cooking a big meal and freezing some of it for later means less time cooking, less electricity used and less waste. It also means if the power is out at the time you usually cook a meal you don’t have to worry as much since you have food that you can just defrost and heat. There are plenty of meals that you can cook in bulk and freeze, such as bolognaise sauce for pasta, stew, curry soup, and chicken a la king.

Rice also freezes very well, so instead of making for just one meal make a huge pot of rice and freeze it in portions for meals. Bread, milk, and cheese (grate it first) also freeze well.

Fill Your Freezer

Long loadshedding times means a risk that your frozen foods can defrost and spoil your food. A full freezer means your food will stay frozen longer. If you don’t have a lot of food in your freezer keep your old cooldrink bottles and milk bottles, fill them with water and put them in your freezer. This will keep your food from defrosting when the power is out.

Cook The Whole Pack Of Veggies

I used to cook only enough vegetables for my meal each night and a while back my mom shared one of her tips with me. She told me to cook the whole pack of vegetables and what we don’t eat put in the fridge for the next night’s meal. It really saves me time, effort, electricity, and makes cooking supper each night much easier.

Make Soup Regularly

Do you constantly have bits and pieces of leftovers in your fridge? Instead of throwing them out because nobody has eaten it save it for soup. You can even save your vegetable peels, leftover salad and fruit to add to your soup. You can even add onion skins to your soup, it is very nutritious and adds a lovely flavour. Add the onion skins when you are boiling your ingredients but remove them before blending your soup.

Freeze all your leftover cooked food from meals in one container and add your peels into another container to freeze. Once a week boil up your uncooked food in water or stock, then later add your cooked leftovers and blend it. It will make a wonderful soup and make your food go much further each week.

Cabbage, Lentils, And Beans

Cabbage and dried lentils and beans are very cheap to buy. They are also great for your health and bulk up your meals. Meat has gotten so expensive, so cut down on the meat you add to your stews and add in cabbage, lentils, and/ or beans.

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Invest In An Airfryer

Airfryers are amazing and a great investment to buy. They cook food beautifully and very fast, plus it is a healthier way to cook. If you cook in an oven it will take 20 to 30 minutes just to heat the oven up to 180°C before you even put the food in. If you are cooking chicken it will take another 45 minutes to cook, which means your oven is on for about an hour and 15 minutes chowing electricity. In comparison cooking chicken in the airfryer will take 30 minutes start to finish. Click here to buy a 3.5L Bennett airfryer from Homechoice.

Invest In Surge Protector Plugs

I know I’m not the only one that has lost a fridge and tumble dryer due to power surges when the power goes on and off. My microwave has also just gone on the blink and I’m sure loadshedding is to blame for that too.

I recommend getting surge protector plugs for all your important and expensive appliances, such as your fridge, television sets, washing machine, dishwasher, and tumble dryer. They cost a bit of money (about R250 odd the last time I bought) but R250 per appliance is better than having to buy a brand new appliance.

If you buy the Ellies surge protector plugs make sure to register your appliance with your slip on their website to ensure that you are covered by their R30 000 repair or replace warranty.

If you have some great tips on how to survive price increases and loadshedding please share them in the comments!

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10 July to 13 August 2023