Family life can be a lot of fun. Not only do you get to raise your own little adults, watch them grow, and enjoy quality time with them, you can feel like your life is finally complete. But, being a family can often have its hardships. Sometimes you can disagree on how to raise your kids, or discipline methods, and at others, you can struggle when it comes to money. Regardless of how much money you earn, you after find that your bills and standard of living just increases with it. But, you don’t have to accept that that’s how just life is going to be.
Instead, why not think about saving yourself a whole lot of money? Even when you feel like your expenses are getting out of hand, you can make sure that you cut down on what you’re spending, reduce your expenses and maximize your income so that you’re able to spend your money on the things you want. Not only may you want to save yourself time and money by doing this, but you may also want to enjoy a better quality of life. If that sounds like you, here are a few areas of life that you might want to start making changes in.
On Groceries
We all seem to spend so much on groceries. But do you know exactly what you spend each week or month? Sometimes the total amount can shock you. But, it doesn’t mean that you have to see your money poor away week after week. Instead, spend smarter.
Use Coupons
It’s easy to forget about using coupons, or think that they won’t save you money if they’re not related to the items that you usually buy, but coupons could actually help you to save money. When you keep an eye out for offers and discounts with somewhere like Coupon Sherpa, as long as you’re flexible with what items you buy, you could save yourself a lot of money each month, and get a lot of things extra for free.
Plan Meals
You may find that you’re spending a lot of extra money just by being unprepared. However, when you plan frugal meals, you’re making sure that you know what ingredients you need, and can even make sure they spread between a few different meals too. It’s often a great way to ensure that you’re spending as little as possible.
Shop Once Per Week
When you’re heading to the grocery store every day, or a few times per week, you may notice that you have a lot of wasted food. This isn’t going to save you money at all. Instead, going to the store once per week means you have to make your purchases count. And, when you have any leftovers, you can then use them up the next day, and save a store visit for another day.
On Fun
Even when you’re trying to be the most frugal Mommy, you can soon realize that your money is always going on new games or days out here and there. Instead, you’re going to want to see if you can cut a few corners but not impact on the fun you’re having.
Try Free Fun
It’s tempting to feel as if you have to be going out to different attractions or doing different activities in order to have fun and entertain your kids properly. But that’s just simply not true. You can actually have just as much fun the old fashioned way. Whether you decide to go fishing, read more, or even set up camp in your yard for the night, you can have a lot of fun as a family for free.
Get A Family Pass
However, if you do live near to an attraction, or you find yourself always heading to the same places, why not look into any passes that they offer. Sometimes, you can find that family passes for a season or a year are a great deal and can save you a lot of money. Even if it’s only 10%, if it’s something you regularly do, it’s worth saving the money.
Set A Budget & Vote
Another way to make sure that you’re spending smart on fun is to set yourself a budget. Whether it’s $20, $50, or $100, set a budget for each month and stick to it. Then, you could see if each of your kids would like to suggest an idea, or vote on some ideas that you put forwards. And when the budget runs out, it runs out!
On Your Home
When you want to live in a nice home, it’s easy to spend a lot of money on sprucing it up. But sometimes, you end up getting in too deep, and before you know it, your renovation costs skyrocket. Instead of letting your home eat up all of your money, here are a few ways that you can save money and spend smarter.
Buy Discount
One of the first things you can do to save yourself some money is to head to cheaper stores. There are a lot of online home decor stores; some will be more costly than others, so you’re going to want to shop around for the best deals. Even when you find something you like, you might be able to save a fortune by waiting until it’s on sale or buying straight from a discounted store.
Buy Used
You also might want to think about buying used items. So many antiques and vintage home pieces can be found for a bargain. Whether you have friend or family member looking to get rid of some homewares, head to somewhere like eBay or shop around your local markets, there are lots of ways to find incredibly well-priced old pieces for your home.
Focus On One Room At A Time
When you’re trying to decorate your entire home at once, you can often lose track of what you’re spending. So, you may find it more cost-effective to focus on one room at a time. That way, you can set a budget and track everything you buy. You may also be a bit more thrifty about what you replace too.
On Vacations
When you’re desperate to get away and relax, you can often find yourself happy to spend any amount just to make it happen. However, it can often be a bad idea. Before long, spending money, new clothes, and little added extras mean that you’ve spent a small fortune – and it no longer feels like a well-earned break. To stop that from happening, here are a few tips.
Shop Smart
Instead of thinking about where you want to head and spending over the earth to make it happen, let the bargain hunter in you find a location instead. There are so many different places to consider, and you may find that there are great sales on at certain times of the year. The trick is to be flexible on when you want to go away and where you want to go. Then, you’ll definitely get a great deal.
Staycation Instead
Entire vacations can often cost a lot of money. Instead, think about staying a bit closer to home. Not only will you save on transport fees, but you may also be able to get cheaper accommodation and even cut down on things like eating out or seeing attractions. Staycations can also mean you get to play tourist in your own town, which can feel like a bit of a treat.
Stay With Family
And then, of course, you might want to think about visiting family as your break away this year. Not only can it mean that you get to spend some quality time together, but you can often get free or discounted accommodation, catch up with people, and enjoy a good home cooked meal too!
On Necessities
And then there are always those little things in life that we have to spend money on, but wish we could cut back on a bit. Well, you can! If you really want to shop smart and save money in the process, here are three areas that you ought to think about reducing your costs on, and how to go about it.
Car
When you own a car, you can often feel like a large proportion of your money is sucked into running it. But, you could reduce your costs by consciously driving less and walking more. If you lease a car, you may also want to think about changing your model or lease, so that you can make your monthly payments cheaper each month.
Childcare
You don’t always have a choice to reduce your childcare costs when you work and need your kids to be looked after. But, you could try to negotiate with a friend or family member to see if they will help you out on some occasions to bring the costs down by a little.
Bills
And finally, there’s always those dreaded house bills. With utilities and the internet, it can all add up. But, you can save yourself a lot on expenses by shopping around, moving suppliers regularly and analyzing your usage to make sure you’re getting the best deal. The main point here is to know what you spend and always try to get a competitive deal.
Disclosure: Mommy Makes Time receives products in order to conduct reviews. No monetary compensation was provided unless noted otherwise. All opinions are 100% my own. Some posts may contain affiliate links that I receive commission or payment from in exchange for referrals. In the event of a giveaway, the sponsor is responsible for delivery of the prize, unless otherwise noted in the posting. I only recommend products or services I personally use and believe will be a good fit for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 225: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
