Easy Ways to Save Money

photo credit: pfala

The Wise Parent Guide to Save Money

During these hard times, a lot of people are preoccupied with thoughts on how to save money. Why save money? Well, first and foremost it is within your personal control. Nobody can save money for you but yourself. In addition, it is your own responsibility to do it. It is even more important if you are a parent with a family to support.

The ideas in this article are extracted from the free ebook entitled “The Wise Parent Money Strategies”, offered to subscribers of Wparent.com. To begin with, you have to determine whether you have money to save by tracking all your income and expenditures. One way to ensure that you have money to save is by creating a budget and allocating a portion of your income to your savings fund. For those who have accumulated a lot of debt, a portion of your income must go towards debt repayment. For more ideas on tackling debt, read this article http://wparent.com/debt/

Practical money tips

* Save on eating out
A lot of families have taken to eating out to save time on food preparation and doing kitchen chores. However, eating out is also not cheap especially when the whole family does it a few times a week. To save money, eating at home is recommended as it is much cheaper and healthier. Get the entire family to put in efforts to help with kitchen chores and food preparation.
* Save on electricity bills
In the long run, using energy efficient lights can save money. At the same time, everyone must be reminded to switch off the lights or air-conditioning when not in used. It does not take much effort to remember this rule.
* Save on baby expenses
Having kids are normally part of family life. However, they come with a huge price tag. Starting from babies, parents have to fork out a lot of money in preparation for the arrival of a new baby. Learn budgeting tips from this article http://wparent.com/budget-baby/
* Save on unnecessary expenditures or credit card debt
This area takes some discipline and planning ahead to make it work. Personal expenditures like unnecessary trips to the department stores have to be taken under control. Credit card usage should not be abused and the balance must be cleared every month.
* Save on vacation or holidays
When you are trying to save money and cut down on expenses, a vacation or holiday should be the last thing on your priority list. Discuss with your family on the various options that are agreeable to substitute for a vacation. It could be picnics at the park, visits to the museum, barbecues at the beach, etc.
* Save on housing mortgage or loan repayment
Loan repayments especially on car loans and housing loan or mortgage have to be properly calculated and planned. If you cannot afford it, postponed the idea or get a cheaper version.

photo credit: Jeff Keen

Practical money advice

• Live like a college student: A lot of people got themselves through college by working part-time as well as by keeping a tight budget. Most of the times, material things were the least important compared to getting through college and graduating.
• If you can’t afford it, don’t spend that money: This is a very straightforward idea but easily overlooked. Some people tend to spend without thinking of the consequences. Then they accumulate debts, which they do not have the money to repay with. Stick to your budget and make allocations first if you need to purchase something. Practice delayed gratification all the time before making any buying decisions.
• If you are in a debt hole, stop digging: This is the consequences of not facing up to your actions. If you have debts, then it is imperative that you settle them quickly. At the same time, do not accumulate or create any new debts or you will be buried in too deep.
• Don’t misuse your credit card: Treat your credit card with respect. Owning several cards does not give you the license to spend money freely. The main purpose is for convenience only and if you follow by the rules, you don’t have to worry about the consequences.
• Don’t go shopping: When people are stressed out, feeling down or depressed, retail therapy seems the way to go. However, these people get more depressed once they see their debts piling up. Think of other ways to make yourself happy like have a social gathering with like minded friends. Above all, try not to do something that involves the need to fork out a lot of money.
• Money education for your children: Children are considered both as an asset and also a liability. Teach your children early about money. Parents have to shoulder the financial responsibility of supporting the family and also educating their children to respect money. If the parents are doing cost cutting to save money, it helps if the children understand and also get involved. When the children grow older, the parents need not worry so much as their kids already have a good basic foundation on money handling.

As you can see, the ideas above are very easy and clear-cut. The hardest part maybe is to be disciplined enough to follow or apply them one by one. If you view them positively as a way to improve your financial situation, then the ideas will be easier to implement. However if you see them as having a negative effect on your lifestyle, then you will hesitate or procrastinate from taking any actions. If you want to live in self-denial, then nobody can help you. Therefore, think of the positive consequences even though you may have to live without for a certain period. Making sacrifices now may be necessary to ensure a better future.

If you wish for more money saving ideas, there is also another section contained in the free ebook entitled “The Top 10 Money Mistakes to Avoid to Become and Stay Rich”. There are three spreadsheets included with the free ebook for organizing your personal and household budget and expenditures.

Wparent.com invites you to give your best tips on saving money. What method works well for you?

Visit the recent carnival at Solid Planning where you can get more money tips.

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