Making Savings to Maintain Our Lifestyles

With ever rising costs and a need to maintain our lifestyles, consumers are looking at every way possible to save money, yet still maintain their standard of living.Not so many years ago a family with two cars, internet, satellite TV and at least one annual holiday abroad were few and far between, yet now it has become the norm for most families in the UK. But now we see fuel heading to £1.20 a litre, beer at £3.50 a pint and taxes being increased everywhere you turn.With unemployment so high and wages (outside of top banking) not rising to match the increased cost of living how can one pay for everything?The answer seems to be to shop around to get everything we need as cheap as possible, and then use the savings to maintain their current lifestyles. In the past few years we have seen growth in retail sectors for second hand items with the launch of things like Amazon Market Place online and the growth of stores such as CEX. eBay is being used as an option to try to get items as cheap as possible rather than paying retailer prices for them. Poundland, which was started in my home town, has seen phenomenal growth in the recession with new stores all over the country, based on the fact you can get anything from milk and stationary to screwdrivers and party decorations for £1. The quality for the price not being bad either has seen consumers defect from other high street stores where items can cost several pounds more, start shopping at Poundland.Another big thing is comparison websites. Using them for insurance and energy providers, finding the cheapest price and if it is better than what we are already paying, we play our current provider off against the one offering the best deal. This usually results in an even better price for the consumer as companies fight to keep their clients and maintain their market share.Consumer power is possibly the highest it has ever been, with the exception of in natural resources such as oil and gold. No matter how much we can save on certain items though, one thing is for sure. We will still need oil, have to pay taxes and not be willing to settle for anything less than we already have.