Parents know all too well that family life is expensive, and it can sometimes be difficult to stick to the budget. The trick is to get organized and think about how you can boost your savings. Even small changes can make a big difference to your budget, so let’s take a look at how you can save a little extra money each month.
1 . Purchase second hand
When you’re shopping for your family, you don’t need to buy everything brand new. Whether you need homeware, furniture, clothes, or children’s toys, there are several second-hand apps where you can find great deals. To buy second-hand goods, you can try shopping on ‘5 Miles’, ‘LetGo’ or ‘Wallapop’. Pre-loved doesn’t mean poor quality, and you’ll no doubt be impressed with the money that you can save.
2. Mindful shopping habits
If you want to save money for your family, it’s helpful to consider your shopping habits, and think about where you might make a few changes. Many of us are prone to impulse buys, and when you don’t carefully consider the items that you buy, you end up wasting money. Adopting mindful shopping habits means thinking carefully about every purchase you make before you commit to parting with your cash. To practice mindful shopping, consider the following:
- Plan your meals and grocery list before you head to the store, (this makes it easier to budget and buy what you need).
- Whether it’s clothing, electronics, or furniture, ask yourself if you really need to buy this item, and how often you will use it.
- Before you make a purchase, consider if you could source this item in a cheaper way ( rental, borrowing, etc).
3. Declutter and sell your old stuff
Saving money isn’t just about limiting your purchases, it’s about looking at the items you own and assessing what you don’t need. Challenge yourself to declutter your home, putting to one side all the items you no longer want. You can sell these items, and make some extra cash to add to your budget. To sell your unwanted items, you can take a look at apps like Decluttr and Shpock.
4. Go green around the home
There are many ways that you can save your family money, by making a few eco-friendly changes to your lifestyle. For a few starting point ideas, these may come in handy:
- Limit your use of electronics, and be careful to always switch off lights and appliances when not in use.
- Try growing your fruits and veggies, to save on your grocery bill.
- Choose a green energy supplier, these are more reasonably priced as well as being more energy efficient.
- Wash your clothes on a cold wash, and then air dry them on a rack.
- Invest in a smart thermostat, to save energy and money.
- Use DIY natural cleaning solutions, such as white vinegar and lemons.
5. Reduce car expenses
Running a car can be a costly expense, but there are many ways that you can look to save on your car expenses.
- Consider a second-hand car, for cheaper monthly costs and insurance.
- Research the best insurance prices, and take advantage of all appropriate discounts.
- Use apps like Gas Buddy to find cheaper gas stations and monitor your fuel economy.
- Instead of taking short car journeys consider taking a walk or a bike ride.
Improving your driving habits can also help to improve your fuel economy and save you money. Apps such as ‘Flo Driving Habits’ can help you to improve your driving and reduce your chances of being in an accident. If you have been in an accident and think you might be entitled to compensation, you’ll need to contact a personal injury lawyer near you.
6. Free days out
Family days out can get pretty expensive, so consider making a list of free activities you can do together, and working your way through these. Take things back to basics and plan hikes in the woods or family days at the beach. Research the free museums and libraries in your area, or plan a fun camping trip. There are plenty of free and inexpensive ways to have fun as a family if you use your imagination.
Apps to save you money
7. HomeBudget
With the help of the Home budget application, you can monitor your expenses, income, bills, and account balances. The app provides simplified graphs so that you can make sense of your financial data. Using the ‘family sync’ feature, you can create a house budget and sync the budget across all your devices. With the help of this app, you can get support across all your accounts, including debit, cash, savings, and checking.
It’s simple to edit, remove or create expenses, and browse by date, month, or category. You can attach photos of your receipts, and get support for many currencies. To reduce your expenses and improve your budgeting, HomeBudget is the tool you need.
8. Clarity Money
Clarity Money is a great application to improve your family finances and create a budget that works for you. With the help of Clarity, you can monitor your spending, organize your money, and even check out your credit score. The tool uses AI tech to analyze your finances, and make personalized budgeting suggestions. Using Clarity Money you can also make changes to your savings and investments and budget. With a solid budget in place, it’s far easier to make savings and improve your financial health.
9. Mint
Mint is one of the top finance apps, ideal to improve your family finances. With the help of Mint, you can access your accounts directly from the app, and take a look at your credit score. The Mint app puts your spending into different categories and helps you to perfect your budget. The application offers savings tips to help you work towards financial freedom. With Mint, you can set financial goals, track net worth, and manage your investments.
10 . Albert
With the help of the Albert app, you can monitor your balance, and receive alerts if you overspend. You can assess your progress, create goals, and get support with investments. Albert isn’t just a software solution, it’s also backed by financial advisors, who can provide advice, via messaging chat. Whether you’re looking to build up your savings, stop overspending, or learn more about finances, Albert is a great tool.
11. GoodBudget
The Goodbudget tool helps you create a spending roadmap, instead of just tracking your spending. The concept is that every dollar you earn is given a purpose, whether it’s savings or groceries. You can sync your budget with other accounts, so it’s the perfect app for couples who are looking to create a joint budget.
12. Plate Joy
If you’re serious about saving your family money you’ve got to start planning your meals. With the PlateJoy app, you can plan your meals, and eat healthier too. Here you can design personalized meal plans, grocery lists, and set health goals. Whether you’re looking for paleo meals, gluten-free meals, or meals to lose weight, there’s plenty to choose from here.
First, you take the lifestyle quiz, and then the app helps you to plan meals that your family will love. When you plan out all the ingredients you need in advance, it’s much easier to save money on your groceries.
With the help of these ideas and apps, you’ll start to see the difference in your bank balance. Whether you’re saving for something special or you just want to stretch your income a little further, there are so many ways to save.