It’s hard maintaining a family. But the key to happiness is counting your blessings instead of crying over things you don’t have. With that said, here are some tips to saving money while raising a family.
Focus on Food
Learning how to save money while raising a family seems hard when your grocery bill is so high. Add some structure to your eating habits and plan your meals. Plan Breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as snacks for the family every week.
Shop for groceries once a week based on your meal plan. Use cash when shopping to control your temptations. It’s easy to overspend if you use a debit card instead of cash.
If you plan weekly menus, then tweak your shopping list based on what’s on sale. Your smartphone can help you with this.
Don’t Go Crazy on Birthdays
Birthdays can be a nightmare if you worry about money. You need to focus on creating memories instead of spending a fortune. You could spend time sledding and invite friends over. There are low-cost options for having a great birthday.
Take benefit from low-cost activities. You can always spend a day at the beach or host a sleepover with only pizza and cake.
In case your child has his heart set on a specific venue, you can book at an off-peak time or have a joint party with another child and split the cost. Try to keep your guest list small.
Try Secondhand
Children’s clothes and shoes are cute, but they can be very costly. Consider shopping from thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment shops. Another thought: host a clothing swap with another family.
You can also buy and sell clothes locally on several online platforms. Buying used clothes can help you save a lot of money, especially if your kids actively participate in sports or extracurricular activities. You can also find used sporting and musical equipment. This holds for household items as well: you can buy some utensils, furniture or even a best budget mattress.
Frugal Fun
Vacations and entertainment are budget traps for families. But entertainment or travel doesn’t have to break your bank. You don’t need to spend a lot to make a family trip fun and memorable.
Stop thinking that if you don’t have a certain element, the trip will be worthless. You need to find some fun activities that won’t cost too much and help the whole family to unwind. Take a trip to the movies or amusement park. Don’t worry, these trips don’t need a lifestyle overhaul.
Hack Housing Costs
This doesn’t sound like the best thing, but you need to hack your housing costs. You need to find ways to save money in whatever way possible. For starters, tweak your thermostat to control heating and cooling costs. Set thermostat to a lower or higher temperature when you are not in the house.