No one understands the importance of budgeting quite like a big family. In today’s landscape, it seems as though prices are rising at breakneck speeds, making it hard for people to get by and live within their means. If you are part of a big family the budget is focused on stretching your dollar and taking it as far as possible. If you’re looking for ways to better your budget, or perhaps build your first budget, here are four budgeting tips that are ideal for big families.
Create a Realistic Budget
The first step will be to set up a budget that is realistic and takes everything into account. There is no point in fudging the numbers, or not being honest with yourself when it comes to income and expenses. If that’s the case, the budget won’t prove to be helpful. For those making a budget for the first time, or those who just want a way to do so that is simple and streamlined, try downloading a personal budgeting app. These will allow you to build your budget, customize the categories, track expenses and even set up bill payment reminders among other things. A budgeting app will take all the guesswork and confusion out of the process. If you’ll be sharing the budget with your significant other, make sure to pick an app that allows for multiple users with real-time functionality.
Start Using a Weekly Meal Planner
One of the biggest expenses that big families incur is the monthly food costs. Keeping a big family fed can be very expensive, and if you’re not careful you can end up with a lot of waste, which is the same as throwing money away. To help keep your grocery budget under control, experts suggest you start using a weekly meal planner. The way a meal planner works is that you plan meals for each day, one week at a time, also factoring in the use of leftovers throughout the week. From there, you can build your grocery list with only the items needed for that week’s meals. By working from a plan you will drastically reduce, if not eliminate food waste, and your grocery shopping will be kept in check.
Look for Online Deals, Discounts and Promotions
Another money saving tip for big families is to get into the habit of watching for deals, promotions, and discounts on anything you buy online. Why pay the regular price when you can shop like a budget-savvy consumer? Online deals can be found in any category including clothing, home essentials, toiletry and beauty products, toys, pet supplies and more. Discounts can be quite impressive too, allowing your budget to stretch that much further.
Look for Free Activities and Outings
Because you don’t want to be trapped indoors all the time, it’s also wise to look for free activities and outings you can do close to home. Even if they aren’t free, often you can find days of the week or time slots that may have a discount, or allow you to use a coupon/deal of some sort.
Some of the best free activities you can do as a family include:
- Hiking a local trail
- Flying a kite
- Biking
- Swimming at a local lake, beach or community pool
- Setting up a backyard scavenger hunt for the kids
- Visiting different parks in your city/town
- Attending local festivals with free admission
It can be helpful to check the local newspaper or online calendar of events for your town to see what’s happening and what’s coming up.
Using these tips, getting creative with how and where you can save money, and being mindful of expenses will help you to get your budget in check even as a big family.
