Your family budget does not necessarily have to fit a template – even if you do use a template, you can customize it. A budget that really fits your style and family dynamic tend to be a lot easier to stick with, and can even be fun! Here are some creative money-saving tips for making a customized family budget.
It’s Your Budget
Get your whole family to participate in creating the budget to make it really yours. Create common goals and brainstorm for fun and creative budgeting ideas. You will be surprised what creative ideas kids can come up with to save money.
Cookouts
The great American cookout is a great way to have an “outing” while saving money. If you grill seasonal garden vegetables, it’s an even bigger money saver. Get creative – you can grill inexpensive, “ordinary” foods and make them seem like a treat. For example, mix up some flatbread dough and cook it on the grill. You can even do pizza on the grill!
Go On a Spending Freeze
A spending freeze can save hundreds of dollars each month. Essentially, make it a goal to not spend any money for one month, unless absolutely necessary. Doing this really helps you reevaluate wants versus needs. You really start to notice how you look at items and how much you may covet them. Realizing you can live without those items can be very liberating.
You may be even more amazed by your spending freeze with regards to your groceries. Many times, we don’t realize how much food we already have in our home, and if we just get a little creative, we can make many meals from our food already at home.
Go “Shopping” for What You Don’t Need
This can be fun as a family. When you’re out running errands or at the mall, make a point of pointing out all the useless things you see that you don’t need. Some people can have a lot of fun with this – they find the craziest looking clothes, for instance, and laugh about how much they don’t need them and how much they’re saving. It’s fun, but it also teaches your family some important lessons about needs versus wants.
Creative Savings – a New Take on the “Swear Jar”
Have you heard of a “swear jar”? Some families who are trying to improve their language will institute a swear jar. Any family member who swears has to put a quarter into the jar. Get creative with your family – is there something your family would like to improve on that could use a “swear jar”? Here are some ideas:
* Every time your child talks back he or she has to put a quarter in the jar.
* Playing video games, watching television, and other entertainment media “costs” 50 cents for every half an hour.
* Family members must pay a quarter each time they don’t put away their shoes, toys, or whatever item always seems to be left on the floor each day.
* Complaining about dinner will cost family members 50 cents each.
Another method is simply never to spend change. When you pay cash for something, always use paper money – if the total is $5.26, give the clerk $6. Then put this change into the jar. You’ll be amazed at how this can accumulate over the year, especially if you use cash often.
Utilize DIY Videos
Make use of all those online tutorials to fix minor problems around the house. Try typing your problem into your search engine and look for tutorials. It’s amazing how much information is on the internet, even for solving obscure problems. My husband has utilized Youtube and Doctor Google several times in a pinch and was able to fix expensive problems himself such as our wash machine.