We put off buying another vehicle as long as we could (oldest took the compact car to university, leaving us with our van, and our youngest is at home getting ready to commute to the local university). We purchased a used Prius from a family friend, knowing it was well maintained and would be a good choice for the around town driving we do. So our fuel costs have dropped. We won't be affected if DH has to return to office, since we chose nearly 30 years ago to live within walking/biking distance of his workplace.
I'll be honest, while I'll do everything I can to save water this summer, and I'll dry clothing on the line to save natural gas, I have no intention of reducing our electricity usage if it means we have to be uncomfortably warm. I'm more productive if it isn't hot in the house. Electricity costs are up, yes, but not so much that we can't run the A/C.
Groceries really are the biggest place we are affected, since the house is paid off and property taxes increases are protected (Prop 13). I bought 50# of Calrose rice last month, since it is great for a variety of uses, including as a breakfast porridge. We already had 50 - 60# of basmati and sushi rice. I bought more popping corn, which I grind into cornmeal and use for mush and polenta, or for cornbread (we also pop it for snacking). I bought whole wheat berries, and wish I'd gotten more since they are now out of stock. I'm ordering oat groats for flaking; rolled and quick oats are out of stock, and I've been wanting to flake grains for some time now. It's time to order 50# of flour as well, as a hedge against not being able to get wheat berries.
I dropped cereal (for the young adults) and whole milk from the grocery list. There are a couple of boxes of cereal from Costco in the pantry for our oldest. I'll be making his non-dairy milk alternative, probably a combo of rice and oat milk. Once the cereal is gone he can switch to porridges or toast. The gluten free kid already eats rice for breakfast on a regular basis, often adding an egg and bits of leftovers for fried rice.
I bake our bread, giving us a superior product at a better price. Being able to cook and bake really helps with beating inflation. We don't buy convenience foods like frozen meals, cookies, crackers, etc. We make pizza at home with homemade dough and sauce made from tomato paste. Soups are made from scratch.
We are eating meat from the freezer and not buying more unless the prices are in the loss leader range. When grass-fed Polish sausages went on sale at Costco we purchased the limit, and back in February we got b/s chicken breast for 89¢ per pound at Aldi, and we got as much as we could (just one trip with two adults). I've been buying a rotisserie chicken each time we go to Costco, because it's cheaper than a whole chicken. We eat it for a couple of meals and then I make stock. We're also adding in more meatless meals with eggs or cheese for the protein.
We found a Sodastream machine at Goodwill last year, and while we had to buy the bottles and chose to buy a second cylinder, we're still coming out ahead versus buying sparkling water in cans. We don't need sparkling water, but DH enjoys it and it's one of those little things. Plus we don't buy any soda. We're turning free neighborhood lemons into lemonade. We make iced teas (herbal and black).
We don't need to add to our wardrobes and will make do (because even thrift store clothing prices are sky high). I bought 100+ books at 10¢ each at a thrift store sale, leaving me with plenty of reading material. We "entertain" ourselves with things we already have: guitars, vinyl albums (mostly inherited), craft and sewing supplies, a ping pong table, bikes. We sit on the front porch for atmosphere.
