Five Tips for Parents Trying to Save Money Raising Children
Guest post by Karl S.*
Children can be expensive. The older they get, the more demanding they get. They want hot clothes, Smartphones, a fast computer, video games, etc. There’s no way you’re going to get your children raised without spending some money. I’ll give you five tips on saving money while raising your children.
Generic Soda
Save the name brand sodas for the birthday parties and such. For everyday use, buy generic soda. Some generic sodas are better than others but most of them aren’t really that bad. If your children seldom drink name brand soda and mostly drink generic soda, for the most part, they won’t know what they’re missing in regards to brand name soda.
Prepaid Cell Phones
If your child MUST have a cell phone, these days, you can get a prepaid Droid with unlimited talk minutes, unlimited text, and 2.5 Gigs of data or more for as little as $45 to $55 dollars per month. They can text photos, surf the web, talk and text to their heart’s content. You may spend a bit more money for the phone than you would for a contract plan but you’ll save money in the long run as few contract companies offer plans for as little as $45 dollars per month.
Packed Lunches
Even if you’re packing name brand stuff in your child’s lunches, you’ll generally save money by packing your child’s lunch for school. Or, you could give them money to buy junk food in the cafeteria or buy their school lunches but it will cost you far more in the long run.
Cheap Food that Goes Far
Now I’m not accusing you of feeding your children 18 ounce porterhouse steaks for dinner three times a week. But, there are many meals you can serve that don’t cost much to prepare, most people love, they’re pretty easy to make, they fill everyone up, and you usually have leftovers. Here are some suggestions. Macaroni salad, Pasta and meat sauce, potatoes (mashed, boiled, baked or shredded for hash browns), Shepherds pie, Sloppy Joes, the list goes on. Experiment and be creative.
Buy in Bulk
Find a Costco or Sams Club in your area, pay for membership and go shopping. You can get groceries, toiletries, electronics, clothes, etc. Sure you’ll spend a bit more money but when you figure out how much you’re paying for each item or serving, you’ll be saving some decent money.
Times have changed. Children cost more to raise than their parents and grandparents did. That doesn’t mean that you have to take out a second mortgage to be able to meet your child’s needs. For more hints and tips, go to SelectAware.com.
Good luck.
*Disclaimer ~ This is an advertisement post
With kids and money , spending is the easiest thing in the world. They don’t think of the consequences, and they’ll press you for more once their cash has run out. Spending is all about budgeting correctly. When it comes to children and money spending, the only way forward is to cut them off and let them experience the lack of finance for themselves.
I’m not overly sure which values we want to instil and whilst I’d like her to be frugal and manage her money properly, I would like her to value experience over possession as well. As a child , I was always the one saving my pocket money for something, or if I was given money to budget I would spend it all on one big thing, and because I’d put effort into acquiring it, it would stay with me far longer than it needed to. (for example when we went to France when I was 7 I spent all my money on a crayon/pen stand, all the crayons and pens were lost with in weeks but the hunk of plastic stayed till I had my room redecorated when I was 14…)
Hi Mary – as a new reader to your blog I though I’d just jump in and leave a quick comment here to say I’ve been enjoying it a lot. The tip on generic soda is a good one – and can be extended to include generic everything in my opinion. Shaun
Thanks for the visit and kind comments Shaun! Yes, generic is a great option…especially when it is the less expensive option! Thanks also for being honest in your reviews on your site. I’ve been having fun cruising around finding new items. Can’t wait to see you here again ~
Richmond City Council Member Jeff Ritterman, a cardiologist who is leading the campaign for the sweetened-beverage tax, said he believes soda drinkers will start to turn to tap water, saving money and drinking something healthier. He said the American Beverage Association is worried that Richmond will set a trend.