Finding room in your budget for savings can seem daunting, but there are a few easy ways to cut your expenses.
Families' highest costs outside of housing are transportation, food, and entertainment. Finding a way to save even an extra $100 a month can help you:
Follow these tips to find out how your family can save an additional $100 per month!
Transportation can be a high cost for a family.
Many parents are taking their kids to school, activities, running errands, and going to work. All of this driving can add wear and tear to your car and cause your gas bill to increase. Finding ways to save on transportation can help you save an additional $100 a month.
Using public transpiration when you are able to can help you save on gas money.
Public transportation is a great, low-cost item to get your family around the town. You can get individual or family monthly passes, which can be more affordable than driving.
Carpooling with other families can save you so much time and money.
Driving your car more will cause your car to require more maintenance, and it adds wear and tear. Switching driving weeks with other families can help each family by driving their car less and reducing how many cars are on the road.
Taking unnecessary or unplanned trips can cause you to go to the same side of town multiple times a week.
If you start to plan your trips and errands, you can save time and money. For example, make one trip and do all of your errands in a circle rather than taking one-off trips.
Food costs have gotten so expensive; for a family, buying groceries is a huge part of their budget.
There are three easy ways to help reduce your grocery bill:
Meal planning is helpful for many families because it helps them know what they will have for dinner each night and how to grocery shop.
If you meal plan properly, you will be able to buy just enough for each week without buying in excess.
Stick to your list from your meal plan when you go grocery shopping to help lower your bill. If you want to meal plan to the extreme, find ways that you can use the same ingredients for multiple recipes.
Buying in bulk is another great way to save.
Buy your most-eaten groceries in bulk. If your family eats a lot of chicken, cereal, and milk, then buying these things in bulk will lower your costs. Avoid buying in bulk on things your family doesn't eat too much because the food will probably go to waste before you can eat it by the best-by date.
Learn how to properly freeze your food.
Many types of meat can stay in the freezer for months. You can cook and freeze certain meals for easy dinners. You can freeze a vegetable that is almost ready to toss so you don't have to throw it out and can use it when you need to.
Freezers can seem like a black hole, so try to have a list of what is in your freezer to help your meal plan. You may have to go to the store less if you keep staples frozen.
Keeping your family entertained at all hours can be another large spending area for families.
From after-school activities to going to the movie theater, these activities can add up. Utilizing free activities and finding cheaper alternatives can help you save up to $100 a month.
Going out on the weekend with your family doesn't have to cost anything. There are so many free or low-cost things to do to fill up an entire day.
Start your day off by taking your kids to the library to pick out a book for them to read over the weekend.
Then head over to the local park for your kids to play in. When they are tired, take them to a free museum or a free local event. Many towns and cities have free music events throughout the year.
Using these free activities will also help foster your community. You will meet people in your area and help support these free activities.
Family movie night is a classic family activity.
Some families go out to the movie theater, but there are cheaper alternatives to this activity. Look for lower cost alternatives to your favorite entertainment activities.
Use streaming services to find moves for movie night or even rent a movie at home. Of course, you can buy popcorn and other snacks to keep this at a low cost.
The key to finding extra money to save in your budget is to be creative and organized.
Think outside the box, because these can provide you with the lowest cost options and usually provide you with more memories.
Carpool with your neighbors to do a free day of activities in the city or meal plan for homemade pizza and movie theater snacks for family pizza and movie night instead of going out. There are small changes that can add up to huge savings.
