Money worries can really weigh in on your family, leading to heightened stress. It is something all families want to avoid – but something that so many continues to face. With the price of bills rising, maintaining your family home can feel very overwhelming. This guide will offer a helping hand and share eight top tips to help your family overcome money worries. Bad credit loans, spending trackers, and price comparison sites are some tools that can help.
Track Your Spending
If you are not in the habit of tracking your spending, now is the time to start. Most of us fall into the habit of using our bank cards to pay for even the smallest of transactions. Unfortunately, this makes it easy to lose track of our spending habits. The best thing to do is set a budget for your family each month. Withdraw the amount of money you are willing to spend and avoid using your card. Set your children an allowance to teach them the importance of money. To keep on top of your expenditure, write down your transactions using a spending tracker. You can download a spending tracker template online to help you get started. This will give you more control over your finances, easing those money woes.
Acknowledge The Right Time To Ask For Help
What are the extent of your money worries? This is an important question to ask yourself. If you struggle to make ends meet and have debt collectors at the door, you must acknowledge that you need to ask for help. You should never feel alone when you have money worries. Many families experience this around the UK, and there are people you can turn to for help. There are plenty of money advice blogs that can help you out. All you have to do is conduct a quick online search to find them. Don’t be afraid to speak to a family member or close friend too. They may be able to lend you a bit of money until your next payday to help you get by. When it comes to money worries, you don’t want to suffer in silence. There are people out there who want to help you get back on your feet.
Explore Additional Ways To Make Money
If you find that your total household income is not enough to maintain your family home, you can also look for additional ways to make money. Many people do not realise that they can make a bit of extra cash at the click of a button thanks to the internet. You can participate in online surveys, become an online tutor, or sell your unwanted items online. Selling your unwanted belongings couldn’t be simpler, thanks to selling apps. Snap a picture of the item you wish to sell, upload it, and let the buyers bid. Car boot sales are also great places to sell a lot of your items in one go, and it can be a lot of fun bartering with the public. Start by having a regular clear out of your home and swap that clutter for cash. It can certainly help ease the burden on those months when money is tight.
Consolidate Your Debts
Debt is one of the main reasons why many families in the UK have money worries. The thought of tackling them head-on can be daunting. However, you must avoid pushing them to one side to get your family in a healthier financial position. If you have multiple loans, consider consolidating them using bad credit loans. Interest rates will pile up, making it difficult for you to pay off your debts. Take out a bad credit loan – with the advice of a broker like Sunny and pay off all your debts in one go. This means you will only be left with one loan to pay off. You will have a clear idea of the interest rate, so you can plan how you will pay it off. It takes the pressure away from paying off multiple loans with different interest rates and gives you more control. If you would like to learn more about bad credit loans, check out Sunny’s website for more information.
Set A Realistic Monthly Budget
This point cannot be stressed enough. If you want to help your family overcome money woes, you must set a realistic monthly budget. If you are considering paying off debts using a bad credit loan, you want to ensure that you have enough money left over each month to pay the money back. Therefore, you may need to cut back on some luxuries like your weekly takeaways. Work out how much money your household has leftover each month after bills have been paid. Use some to repay your loans and use the rest to fund any items you may need that month, like money for a school trip or a new uniform for your children. You must heavily rely on budgeting if you want to better your family’s financial situation.
Switch Providers
How long have you been with your energy provider? The same goes for necessities like car insurance, broadband, and phone bills. Most of us stick with our current providers out of convenience. However, you could be getting a much cheaper deal elsewhere. Take time to switch providers regularly, and don’t be afraid to negotiate to try and get a better deal that sits comfortably within your budget. You can use price comparison sites, which allow you to compare deals against several different providers. Although this does require some effort, it is worth it if you can shave pounds off your bills each month. Find the best comparison sites by conducting a quick online search. There are plenty out there that you can use, and most of them are free.
Plan Your Weekly Food Shops
The dreaded weekly food shop often puts a huge dent in our finances. However, it doesn’t have to. Many of us get carried away with our food shop and spend more than we need to. Research shows that the average UK family spends £654 on food each month. Rather than overspending on your food shop, make sure you are more prepared. Planning is essential. Take time to sit down with your family each week and plan your meals. This will stop you from putting items in your trolley that you do not need. You should also avoid doing your food shop while you are hungry. You will find that you are more likely to throw snacks in your trolley, which can put a huge dent in the total cost of your food bill.
Minimise Your Fuel Consumption
It is no secret that the cost of fuel is rising dramatically. You may find that filling your car with petrol costs you a lot more money, which is very worrying. To help ease the worry of high petrol prices, consider minimising your fuel consumption. Ask yourself if you need to use your car for every journey. For example, could your children travel to school using the bus? Could you bike to work instead of driving? Changes like these can make a significant difference to your fuel consumption, and you will find that it also saves you a lot of money in the long run. This doesn’t mean you should stop using your car altogether. However, it allows you to think smarter about your fuel consumption.
