How I am Coping with the Price Increases of Gasoline and Basic Commodities

The average Filipino consumer is affected by the continuing increase in the price of oil and the resulting rise in the prices of basic commodities, services and utilities.  The oil price increases have caused business and industry to adjust their operations and production to remain profitable and in the process have had to pass on to consumers part of the increases in costs.

I am basically a frugal person and live below my means. Outside of the hike in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), I am not directly affected by gasoline price increases because I do not own a motor vehicle and do not travel often. What I feel is the increase in the costs for food, electricity and water.

The following are some of my personal practices with regards to food. Although I have basically observed these in the past, the oil price increases have made me consciously follow them regularly.

When I cook rice and Filipino viands like pork sinigang, chicken adobo and sautéed mongo, I prepare the volume that is enough for  the days’s consumption for lunch and dinner, and for the next day’s lunch, to save on effort and power/LPG usage.

I only prepare rice with one viand for a meal, which is vegetable dishes most of the time, but if its plain meat or fish, I prepare tomatoes with camote tops or Indian mango to go with the dish.

I also eat quickly- prepared dishes like fried dried anchovies or small shrimps and occasionally eat canned goods or salted eggs with tomatoes to save on time.

Once a week, I only eat either boiled corn-on-the-cob, bananas, camote, or cassava  with cold fruit juices or cold coconut fruit and juice for lunch and dinner together with fruits like bananas and pineapples to give the body a break from oil-cooked foods.

 Occasionally, I am contented to have just plain bread or sandwiches with a glass of cold milk and bananas for the day’s meal.

With regards to reducing power consumption, I practice the following:

Except for the refrigerator, I turn off electrical appliances and pull their plugs off when not in use.

I ask the househelp to iron clothes in bulk.

I turn on the 20-watt fluorescent lights only in those parts of the house where they are actually needed. I seldom use the 40-watt fluorescent lights.

I do not listen to the radio and only watch television for the news and special shows.

With regards to reducing water consumption, I practice the following:

Since I stay and work from home most of the time, I do my laundry in bulk only once a week, after an overnight soaking.  I avoid constant flushing of the toilet unless absolutely needed.  I collect drained water from the washing machine and use it to water the plants, clean the driveway, and soak doormats before washing.

I soak used plates, bowls, utensils, pots and pans in water for some time to make washing them later easier.

The following are adjustments I have made to save more money for the basic necessities:

Where before I had a newspaper delivered every day, now I have halted deliveries from Tuesday to Thursday because I have noticed that these editions are somewhat thinner than usual, and the news is also available online and on television.

I have ceased watching movies in theaters long ago and I am contented to watch the interesting ones on cable TV much later and on borrowed DVDs.

To reduce the occasional buying of audio CDs abroad, I have also began downloading music that I like from safe sites in the Internet and then burning them into compact disc recordables (CDRs) later for playing in a stereo system.

I do not buy brand-new books and have a price limit on the used books that I buy.