You only have to ask a parent what they spend on their children for them to raise their eyebrows and say they don’t want to think about it. Parents know that children are expensive, and families as a whole are often looking at ways to scrape their cash together to afford the things that they need to afford. Bringing up children is not cheap, and it can cost into the $100,000s to raise a child and that’s only by the age of 18! As a family, you have to look at how you can manage your money better to make savings and still afford everything that you want to afford. Saving money as a family is possible!
The good news is that it’s not impossible. No one goes into having a new baby only to believe that they will need help with budgeting later on: you plan a baby when life and finances are great! Life happens, though, and whether you are working one day and the next made redundant, you need to ensure that you can save money as a family and budget where you need to. So, with that in mind, here are some of the best ways that you can save money as a family.
Saving money as a family starts with a budget
It’s not always easy to get to grips with your finances but a budget is the first thing that you can do to accommodate the wants and needs of your family. Your bank statements that are most recent will help you here, and you’ll be able to work out the money coming in and going out. Once you see your incoming and outgoing, you know where you will be able to cut back, and even though it won’t be too comfortable at first, it will get easier over time. Planning an effective budget is a must, as then you can use websites like NetVoucherCodes.co.uk to help you with those smaller costs that seem to crop up out of nowhere. If you are expecting a baby, a budget will help you to analyze exactly what will change when the baby arrives!
Learn To Boost Your Savings
When you are aware of your budget, you can then make waves to add to your savings account. You will find that you are much more able to get your own buffer built up ready for parental leave or for the first year of parenthood. A savings account needs to have a degree of flexibility and you should find an account with a good interest rate!
Add An Account For Your Kids
Whether the baby is not yet born or you have children already at school, you should open a bank account for your children. Family and friends who want to give your kids money as a gift can put the money directly into their account and help you to build their savings for their future. There are junior bank accounts with a number of options for you and you can either use it as a nest egg for their future, or towards university fees. This will take the edge off the strain of your own savings, too.
Look At The Help You Can Get
There is plenty of financial support available to parents to alleviate the cost of a new baby. Depending on where you are in the world, you can look at child benefit and tax credits, dental and optician support and more. Some countries also have grants for those on low income to help them to get what they need for their baby before it’s born.
Embrace The Freebies
As parents, you want to do what you can for your children and the best thing that you can be is informed. Breastfeeding is free and you can speak to a breastfeeding consultant to ensure that you are supported in your journey. You can also embrace the baby shower in your lie and have your friends and family bring you gifts off a registry. Of course, they are under no obligation to do that, but they may offer to help – take the offer! Let people buy you the big things if they offer them – they are trying to make you feel good, let them!
Make Lists – Lots Of Lists
Are you off to the grocery store? Make a list and stick to that list. Write a menu of food for the house for the week and shop according to that list. Don’t be afraid to mix it up when you are meal planning, but resist the temptation to just go and buy without knowing what you’re getting. Sticking to the essentials is going to help you out massively! When it comes to the things that you need for the baby, you need to make a list of those things, too. You want to take advice on the right car seats, the right cot and the nappies that you want to buy. There are websites that are designed to compare things, but when it comes to car seats look at the safety ratings as much as the law: just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s safe – remember that!
Research EVERYTHING
Before you buy anything or invest in a college program, make sure that you do your research. You don’t want to pour your money into anything at all without doing a proper amount of research. You have to know which items to buy and read as many guides as you can. Buying guides can help you to make the right choices with your baby purchases. For older children, make a point of comparing shoe costs, uniform costs and more. You want to ensure that your money is going to go to the right places, and you can only do that if you know where to shop. This takes a lot of research. It’s nice to ask friends and family, but you have to make the right choices for you!
Go A Little Green
You can save a lot of money on your utilities if you embrace solar power and rainwater tanks. This small shift to going green will make a huge difference to your bills. You can get the kids involved by growing fruits and veggies in a patch out the back, too, and that can help them to learn how to look after themselves and save some cash, too.
Save On Diapers
It may feel expensive, but if you spend the money on cloth diapers and inserts upfront, you’re going to save yourself the thousands of dollars you would otherwise spend on diapers that you throw into the garbage and they go to landfill. Reusable diapers come with so many cool designs, and you can save cash – it’s a win win for a parent.
Shop Second Hand
Where you can, go online to eBay and Facebook Marketplace and buy second-hand clothing for the kids. When they’re in good condition, throw them through the spin cycle and get things cleaned out. You can easily get a lot more wear out of clothes that other children have outgrown, and you’re saving that clothing from going to landfill and recycling plants. Instead, reuse, reduce your spending and recycle the outfits on your children, too. If your friends have children who are growing out of their clothes, put your hand up! Even older children will need replacement clothes from time to time and you can get sackfuls of clothing for cents if you look in the right places.
Saving money has to be a family effort. You all need to work together and make savings to stay as comfortable as possible.
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