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The cost of raising children increases every year. In fact, it has recently been reported that raising children in the last 10 years has increased in cost by 40%. That is a huge amount of money whichever way you slice it. Especially considering clothing, food, education and other aspects of raising a child.
So it’s not all that’s apprising that you want to save money. Perhaps it’s just for the sake of saving money, or perhaps it is something exciting like a school skiing trip or a family vacation.
Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash
So here are some quick money-saving tips for you and your family.
Meal Planning
One of the best things that you can do is to plan. One of the things that can slap your bank balance very quickly is ordering takeout, a quick trip to McDonald’s, and buying more groceries then you need. Meal planning means that you know exactly how many courgettes, chicken fillets, and even bags of peas that you’re going to need for a week or more. There are lots of sites where you can download a fabulous meal planning tip sheet.
Buy Second Hand
Buying things second hand used to be a little bit taboo (way back). However, now it is a super cool way to get a whole new range of bargains. In fact, because there are so many people buying things they don’t need, you can often find almost brand-new clothing at any second hand store. Many people will no longer buy books from big bookstores because most often you can find a range of great books from your local charity shop. And this is two birds with one stone. Not only can you save money, but you can actually give to charity too.
Energy
It is often saving on energy that can be a huge downfall. Not every family has the means, or don’t know how to install a new low flow toilet or tankless water heater. But you can make some simple savings by conserving energy the old-fashioned way. Make sure that you have time for showers, where jumpers, check the thermostat, turn it down a degree or two, and make sure that you turn off the lights when you leave the room. Over time this will become a habit for everyone in the family, and it is something that you can pass on to your children.
Entertainment in-house
The cinemas can be a very expensive trip for even the smallest family. By the time you add on tickets, even a discount, plus snacks, plus travel, you can be looking at quite a lot of money. You can instead plan a fabulous evening as a family together but watch a movie in the house. With streaming services like Amazon, Netflix, and more there is always something to watch. And what it might not be the latest release it will still be spending time as a family. Not only that, but buying popcorn to pop in your own microwave is much cheaper.
And these might not seem like revelation re tips, but the amount that you can save just with the small changes can mount up over the years.
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