There are many expenses associated with having kids and raising a family. Between housing, feeding, clothing and entertaining, things add up quickly. As living expenses rise, there’s no time like the present to start saving as a family. Getting everyone, even the children, to understand the importance of money and creating a budget to start saving is an important step. Read below to see how small family changes can lead to big family savings.
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Food Costs
Food can be the number one budget buster for families. Between coffee runs, fast food stops and multiple trips to the grocery store to pick up a few things here and there, many families don’t even know how much money is being spent per month on this expense.
Planning can help you get on budget fast. Meal planning is the number one way to decrease grocery and restaurant costs. Sit down once a week and plan all your upcoming meals, including which days your family will go out to eat and what activities may get in the way of eating at home. Prepping meals at home is cheaper and healthier. This also gives you a chance to plan meals where the whole family will sit and eat together.
Checking weekly ads to see what’s on sale and planning around that is also a great savings tip. If you don’t have time to search for coupons, Flipp is a great app that can help. It consolidates all digital circulars based on your zip code and shows you all the best deals in one convenient place. This app also has a grocery list option and makes couponing a snap by letting you download coupons right on the app.
Writing down your grocery list and sticking to it is the next challenge. Shopping without the kids and having a little self-discipline will help with avoiding impulse purchases. Not only will it help you save money, it might also save you some unneeded calories.
Another great tip is to forego the grocery store markups and save on gas with grocery delivery. For example, Farm Fresh To You delivers fresh fruits and vegetables right to your door at affordable prices. Click here for a $15 discount on your next delivery.
Household Bills
It’s hard to make drastic changes in water, electric and gas usage, but a little conservation and some added energy efficiency to your home can help lower monthly bills.
Just being more aware of how much water and electricity is being used can make an impact. Teaching your kids to turn off the lights when they leave the room, not let the sink water run and being more mindful of waste are great habits. Shorter showers can also cut the water bill.
There are big and small energy efficient upgrades you can make to your home. If you’re not looking to spend a lot of money installing solar panels or low flow toilets, here are some small changes you can make.
Install an energy saving thermostat—the Nest Thermostat will pay for itself within two years according to their website. Nest learns your family routines and automatically turns the temperature up or down when you are away to save money on bills. Even a few degrees can make a big impact on your electric bills.
Update your light bulbs with LED bulbs, which are 80% more efficient than regular bulbs, converting more energy into light and wasting less heat energy.
Use cold or warm water to do laundry. Not every load needs to be washed with hot water, so don’t spend the energy or money heating it. Opt for cold or warm washes more often to slash your water heating usage.
Entertainment
Trying to entertain the kids doesn’t have to cost you a small fortune. By finding free or low-cost local adventures, focusing on staycations and keeping celebrations simple you can still enjoy family time and create awesome memories.
It can take some internet searching, but there are many low-cost or free family events in your community. A great place to start the search is the public library—with story-time, kids classes, book clubs and more, your local library provides a great array of fun for people of all ages.
Local mommy blogs such as Mommypoppins.com can help by providing calendars of local family-friendly events, reviews of popular kid destinations and tips for family fun. Many museums, movie theaters and bowling alleys offer discounts or free days, which will all be linked to in the blog.
Instead of spending money going out, bring the fun home. Movie nights-in, family board games and backyard camping are all fun activities that don’t require a huge investment of funds. For added fun invite some friends to join in.
Birthday parties are another huge expense with birthday party packages at popular kids gyms skyrocketing in price yearly. A cheaper alternative is to host celebrations at home. Backyard parties in the summer or sleepovers in the winter are options that won’t cost a ton and will still leave the birthday child happy. Another option is to check for discounts during off-peak hours at the venue of your choice.
Shopping
Although there are some necessities that can’t be avoided, many items that you need or want can be bought second-hand.
Buying used has become cool and easy thanks to many Facebook online marketplace groups and apps, such as Letgo. People sell all types of items from home furnishing and decor to electronics, clothing, sports equipment, toys and more. You can even make some extra money yourself selling stuff your kids have outgrown.
If you like bargain shopping, thrifting, or shopping at thrift stores, has also been making a huge comeback. Used bookstores are another way to get the most bang for your buck on reading materials.
Explaining budgeting and saving even to young kids is an important life lesson. Having the kids participate in the process is even better. Easy ways to teach savings is to assign envelopes for spending, saving and charity, and adding your budgeted amount in cash on a weekly basis. If you are not great at sticking to your budget, this can be a helpful tool for adults as well. By keeping separate envelopes and only spending the money inside, you will be able to keep yourself accountable for managing your funds.
Stressing about finances can put a damper on any family. It’s also very important to save, whether its for a family vacation, a new car or a rainy day fund in case of emergency. Following these simple tips can start your family on a path to financial success.
For more tips about financial planning and savings, please visit savemoneytricks.com.
