Becoming a parent for the first, second or third time means going through hard times that consist in trying to figure out the best strategy on expenses, finances and how to keep them in a magic balance. The truth is that there is no magic in what you need to do. It is all about making specific decisions and being smart enough to play with your budget the way that you have fun and enjoy the pricy staff with your family, but at the same time, be careful and save.
Here below you will find some very useful tips you might want to take a quick look and adapt to your lifestyle:
- Follow carefully you financial movements and continuously look at your bank statements to figure out where do all your money go. Sometimes you may find that the biggest expanses are also the less needed ones. In this moment you may be very clear where to start cutting if you need to.
- Be careful to pay all your bills on time. You may want to create a calendar and put the deadlines there or place notes around the house. This way you will save on that extra money you pay as fees on payment delays.
- Check out what mortgage conditions you are currently on and also keep an eye on competition. If you find better deals you might want to switch and save some money on monthly payments. It will also make you save a lot on long-term expense.
- If you manage to save some money apart each month, place them in a high rate savings account and try to get the most out of them. This way you will not only close up some money and have them for the future, but also use them as an investment.
- Try to enjoy more staying home and enjoy less paying lots of money when you go out. Cutting out fancy dinners and bring home some tasty pizza might help with your finances.
- Plan ahead. You know all the holidays and vacation periods since January and you can use this knowledge to look up for the best deals on plane tickets, restaurant or hotel reservations, save coupons for expensive Christmas gifts etc.
- Keep the balance. If you receive a gat bill one month on gas or electricity, you might want to postpone expenses on new clothes or weekend gateways for the future. It is more or less logical: you spend more in some things; you need to cut off in others.
- Don’t forget about all those tools that might help you to make all of the above possible. You definitely need help on recording expenses, keep track of them, have always a clear picture of what is going on. There are so many websites or Apps that work just fine in this direction.
- Take usage of all the governmental benefits you might be entitled to like different financial aids for different financial situations like unemployment, pregnancy, new baby etc.
- Prepare lists of gifts for every occasion like Christmas or birthdays and ask other family members to pick up something from the list either for you or for the children. This way, you will somehow receive for free items which are needed at home as a gift and avoid receiving items you weren’t going to use anyway.