No matter what your marital status is, how much income you get from your monthly wage, or how many children you have to look after, everyone wants to save more money. Although cash might not make you happy, it does make it a lot easier for you to achieve your goals and get more done on a week-by-week basis. With that in mind, it’s always a good idea for parents to stock up on useful tips and strategies on how they can save more cash.
If you’ve been looking for some further advice on how to save money lately, the following handy tips should help you get back into the frugal mindset.
1. Update your Credit Score
It’s easy to forget about the importance of your credit rating when you’re not applying for mortgages and loans. However, if your credit score is incorrect in anyway, or has any errors in it, you could be missing out on great deals every time you apply for credit.
Check your credit score with a free system online, and make sure everything is as it should be. If you notice that your credit rating isn’t great, you can also start taking steps now to improve it.
2. Plan your Meals Around Deals
One of the most common places that families overspend in their budget these days is the supermarket. While you might go shopping with the best of intentions, it’s easy to give in and buy the things that you’re tempted by when you’re walking around the shop. To boost your chances of saving money, start by checking out what kind of deals are available that month, and build your meal ideas accordingly.
Once you know exactly what you’re going to make for dinner each day, you can create a list and order all of your shopping online, so you’ll be less tempted to over-spend on things you don’t need.
3. Stock up on Birthday Party Gifts
Most of the time, you can find plenty of toys and great present options available on sale every January, after the Christmas period is over. If you know that your child is likely to be invited to a number of birthday parties and events in the months ahead, then make sure that you stock up on presents in advance.
Keep in mind that it’s much easier to do this when your children are young, as they won’t mind what they give their friends as much during the early years. Remember to stock up on wrapping paper in neutral and block colours so that you can use it throughout the year too!
4. Know how to Travel
Going on holiday is another expensive process for parents these days. However, you can cut costs slightly if you know how to plan your travel properly. For instance, it’s much cheaper to fly on a Monday or Thursday than it is to fly through the weekend.
Additionally, if you know when you and your kids are going to be available to travel, then you can also plan your holidays in advance to reduce your chances of over-paying for hotel rooms and travel tickets.
5. Create a Babysitting Coop
If there are other people in your family or friendship circle that have babies or children at a similar age to yours, then take advantage of the opportunity. Not only can you ask those people to take advantage of their hand-me-downs, but you can also work with them to share the responsibility of babysitting too.
Choose a few days in the month that you’ll be willing to babysit for the people in your group and ask each of the other parents to do the same. This way, you can save a fortune on paying for childcare when you need a night out.
6. Switch Cable for Streaming
If you haven’t abandoned subscription TV from Sky, Virgin and similar companies in favour of options like Amazon Prime and Netflix yet, then now’s the time to make the change. The chances are that you’re paying way more than you need to for a combination of television channels, broadband, and even a home phone line, when really all you need is an internet connection.
Check your package prices and see whether you can save a little extra by switching to streaming for your entertainment and getting rid of your telephone line entirely. There’s a good chance that you don’t use your home phone for anything these days anyway!
