Small Habits, Big Relief: Everyday Ways I’m Fighting the Cost of Living

The cost of living is hitting everyone, and for a while it felt like the only answer was “earn more money.” That helps, but what really surprised me was how much difference the small, boring everyday habits can make when you stick with them. None of these ideas will change your life overnight, but together they can quietly free up real money over a year.

Start with one area at a time

When prices are rising everywhere, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and give up before starting. Lately, I’ve been focusing on one part of my spending at a time – fuel this month, groceries next month, then energy, then subscriptions. This “one area at a time” approach is actually recommended by many financial wellbeing guides because it feels doable and helps you build momentum.

Instead of trying to fix everything, pick a single category that hurts the most and ask, “What are three small habits I can change here?” You only need a few wins to see that your effort is worth it.

Habit 1: Checking fuel prices before filling up

Fuel is a classic “set and forget” expense for most of us, but it’s also one where a tiny bit of effort pays off all year. Comparison tools and apps show that prices at nearby stations can differ noticeably at any given time, and many banks and consumer sites specifically recommend comparing petrol prices to beat rising costs.

Here’s the kind of saving this can mean in real life:

• Say you use 40 litres every week and you consistently manage to pay just 6 cents per litre less by checking prices and timing your fill-ups.

• That’s saved per week.

• Over a year, that’s about .

Bump that to a 10 cent difference and the annual saving is closer to $200. The key isn’t chasing the perfect price or driving across town; it’s building the habit of checking what’s cheapest on your usual routes and planning your fill-ups around that.

Habit 2: Planning food so you waste less

Groceries and takeaway are often where households feel the squeeze the most, and it’s also where everyday habits matter more than big once-off sacrifices. Many Australian banks and consumer organisations point to meal planning, buying in bulk and using loyalty programs as some of the most practical ways to bring down food costs.

A few simple, repeatable habits:

• Plan 3–5 dinners for the week instead of 7, leaving space for leftovers or something easy.

• Check the fridge and pantry before shopping so you use what you already have.

• Decide ahead of time how many takeaway meals you’ll have this week (for example, one instead of three).

If your household trims just $20 a week from food waste and unplanned takeaway, that’s over $1,000 a year staying in your bank account. The changes are small – finishing leftovers, building a meal around what’s on special, cooking a little extra for lunch – but the annual effect is big.

Habit 3: Being deliberate about energy use

Energy bills are another area where ongoing habits matter more than one-off heroics. Advice from consumer bodies often comes back to the same basics: compare your plan, then adjust how you use heating, cooling and appliances.

Some low-effort habits that stack up:

• Use fans where you can instead of air conditioning, and only heat or cool the rooms you’re actually using.

• Turn appliances off at the wall and avoid leaving heating or cooling on when you’re out or asleep.

• Run full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher, and wash clothes in cold water where possible.

Even modest changes can lead to meaningful annual savings, especially if your household has been on “autopilot” with heating, cooling and hot water. Many guides describe bill reductions of a few hundred dollars a year from a mix of smarter tariffs and everyday energy tweaks, without sacrificing comfort.

Habit 4: Trimming subscriptions and “silent” expenses

Subscriptions and small recurring charges are the quiet achievers of cost-of-living stress. It’s common financial advice now to regularly review streaming services, gym memberships, app subscriptions and other direct debits because so many people pay for things they barely use.

A simple approach:

• List every subscription and ask, “Did I use this enough in the last 30 days to justify the cost?”

• Cancel or pause anything that doesn’t pass that test.

• For the ones you keep, see if you can switch to a cheaper plan, share with family, or pay annually at a discount.

If you can cut just $30 a month in forgotten or underused subscriptions, you’ve instantly freed up $360 a year without changing your day-to-day life. That’s before you even look at bigger items like insurance or your phone plan, where “shopping around” can add even more.

Habit 5: Automating “save first”

Most cost-of-living advice stresses the value of having a basic budget or money plan so you can see where your cash is going and make intentional changes. Some guides suggest simple frameworks, like allocating fixed percentages of income to needs, wants and savings, as a way to build healthy habits.

One of the most powerful habits is to “pay your future self first”:

• Set up an automatic transfer the day after payday into a separate savings or emergency account.

• Start small if you need to – even $10–$20 per week – and increase it whenever you trim an expense elsewhere.

Those little weekly amounts can quietly grow into a buffer that makes rising costs less stressful, and because the transfer happens automatically, you don’t have to rely on willpower each month.

Why small, boring habits matter

Individually, these numbers – $5 here, $10 there – don’t feel life-changing. But add up a year of cheaper fuel, a bit less food waste, lower energy use and a few cancelled subscriptions, and you can easily reach four figures in annual savings.

More importantly, these habits give back a sense of control. In a time when so much feels out of our hands, choosing to check a price, plan a meal or flip a switch is a quiet way of saying, “I’m still steering this ship.” Over time, that mindset shift can be just as valuable as the money in the bank.

If you like, a next step could be to add your own real numbers – for example, “After three months of checking fuel prices and planning meals, here’s what I actually saved” – to make the post feel even more genuine and personal.