Raising a Family on the Cheap

With prices everywhere on the rise, even Wal Mart is becoming expensive. I have always found Wal Mart to be the $100 store, I can never get out of there for less than $100. But lately, it is more like $150! I remember watching my mom shop the ads and clip coupons, now I know why she did! I have noticed prices rising on everything from socks to sippy cups, so here is what I do to make my money stretch.

Savings
Saving your money can be the most beneficial lesson to teach your children. By watching you put money in the bank every week, and making it a point that you don't touch that money helps kids to learn the value of having a back up plan. To help stretch your dollars picking the right financial institution is important. This is for two reasons. First, the interest rate and second, access. I work in the financial industry, and the biggest mistake I see people make is having way too much access to their savings. Any more with ATM's and on-line banking, people can dwindle their savings faster than they can maintain it.

Credit Unions and On-line Accounts tend to have the best interest rates, and if you can qualify as a member of a private credit union you will see a great improvement in rates. Choosing a place to keep your savings that is not at the same place as your checking helps you to keep it there because it is harder to get the money into your checking, and with direct deposit busy parents don't have to find the time to drive the check to the bank.

Saving money is a good way to make your money stretch because if you get accustomed to living on a certain amount, you will never miss the money in savings and you will always have money in the event of an emergency.

Ebay
I buy so many things off Ebay and other Internet sites that my husband dreads seeing the UPS truck. I have found that shopping around for great deals and free shipping saves major bucks. Besides the monthly bill and time, it costs nothing to shop on the Internet. Think of all the gas you can save! By shopping on the Internet, you are able to think more about your purchases and I have found that I tend to buy less because I can leave the page up and come back later to see if I still need something.

Ebay has great deals on wholesale lots, the trick is finding the right one. Some of these are used clothes, but if you are a parent who doesn't mind hand-me-downs, go for it! Many times you can find a box full of clothes for under $50. If you don't like the idea of your kid wearing a strangers clothes, look for sellers who have Ebay stores, many times you can pay a flat shipping price and order multiple items.

Debt
Eliminating high interest debt is the best way to have more money. Credit cards eat allot of most peoples paychecks. Find a way to decrease the monthly payments. If that means transferring the balances to one card, do it. Many people can take money from the equity in their homes, but just be sure you can pay the payments and NOT use your cards anymore, or it defeats the purpose. If you need to sacrifice eating out for a while, your pocket book and midsection will likely reflect the change. Eliminating this debt will help to secure a financial future for your family and your will appreciate having the extra cash each month.

Coupons
Finding coupons in the weekly paper can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But just remember, that every $1 off is an extra dollar for something else. One good tip is to clip all of the coupons that appeal to you and put them away for one month, then use them. Most times manufacturers start promotions with coupons and prolong them with discounted prices in a few weeks. This way you can take full advantage of the savings of both promos. Some on-line sites, like CouponMom.com offer printable coupons, just be sure not to enroll in programs that are junk. Some will offer a free item for a purchase, just be sure to read the fine print.

You can take the coupon savings a step further by saving the money you saved. Most stores print on the receipt how much you saved. I simply write a check for that amount and put it into an account that we can use for random things, like school clothes. It is money that I would have probably spent anyway, and this way it is less to come up with when school rolls around.

Plan
The best way to stretch your money is to find a plan that works for you and your family and stick with it. What I do will not really work the same for someone else. Make a list of what you want to save money on and find a way to do it. If it is groceries, clip coupons, make a list and stick to the list! If you want to save money on clothes, shop around. If you want to save money on gas, take one day to run all your errands that are a distance from your house and walk to the others on the other days. If you want to save on vacations, plan them in advance and keep an eye out for off season promotions. Hawaii is just as fun in the off season as it is any other time.

Stretching your money may take some time to perfect and some imagination, but it can be done. Everyone has to have a budget, even millionaires. While those of us in the middle class may have a more difficult time sticking to it, we definitely owe it to our kids to show them it can be done. Teaching my kids the value of savings and money is one of the best things I can teach them.