Saving the family budget: tips and secrets

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Recent studies have shown that over the past 10 years, the cost of raising children has doubled. Even if the child will receive free treatment, attend state educational institutions, enter the budget department of the university, in order to raise him, parents will need an average of 3 million rubles. In such a situation, saving the family budget comes first. The tips presented in this article will help you plan and distribute funds wisely.

Preparation

Today, food, medicine, clothing and education cost huge sums. Many families struggle to make it to paychecks. The secrets of saving the family budget are to review the lifestyle, limit the cost of entertainment and recreation. On the other hand, parents are not ready to save on their children. Therefore, you need to learn how to properly distribute funds withoutradical restrictions on family members.

Saving the family budget: tips

To live better, you need to either earn more or spend less. Not everyone will be able to cope with the solution of the first problem. The second goal is quite achievable. Consider the main ways to save the family budget.

Observation

Before you cut costs, you need to understand exactly where most of the money is spent and what you can save on. To do this, it is necessary to record every penny spent within a month. Already according to the results of the first week of keeping a diary, it is possible to identify expenditure items that literally "wash out" money from the wallet.

In order to properly distribute the family budget, it is very important to record everything, even the smallest expenses, not forgetting to include chewing gum, cigarettes, chocolate and sweets in the expenses.

Analysis

After a month of research, the first results can be summed up. To understand how to save the budget next month, you need to distribute expenses into groups:

• how much money was spent on utilities;
• how much money was spent on paying loans;
• how much food was spent;
• how much money was spent on clothes, hygiene products;
• How often were unplanned spending on gifts, entertainment, taxis.

Cost reduction

You will now need to keep track of expenses and incomes constantly. Correctbudget planning consists in the distribution of expenses for priority and future ones. By writing down purchases, you can carefully calculate the consumer basket and refuse unnecessary things.

Mandatory payments will not be reduced. But some articles can be reduced. Most food is bought for pleasure, not for sustenance. Save money first of all on those purchases that you can do without. Refusing to snack on chocolate at work will only benefit your he alth. Overtime should be abandoned if you have to take a taxi to get home in the evening. And if you can't live without your favorite magazine, then instead of a paper version, get an electronic one.

How to save on groceries?

For a family on a modest budget, an impromptu dinner in a public place can hurt the pocket. Of course, one-time visits to catering establishments are allowed. But if you have to change a homemade dinner every day at a cost of 150 rubles per serving of pizza, then such trips need to be planned in advance. It is advisable to make a meal plan for the week. Special online services allow you to prepare a weekly menu depending on employment, working conditions, lifestyle.

How to save on electricity?

One of the most costly items on the list of utilities is the cost of electricity. Modern household appliances make life easier. But if they all work at the same time, they consume a lot of energy. The following simple tips will help reduce costs.

Use energy efficientlamps

These lamps cost twice as much as usual, but they also last longer. They practically do not heat up, all the energy is spent on lighting. The average service life is three years, the annual savings is 600 rubles. Dust can "eat" up to 20% of the light. Therefore, it is worth periodically wiping the shades and light bulbs.

Turn out the lights when you leave. In order to remember this simple rule, you can write a reminder and hang it on the front door.

Buy class A+ household appliances and use them strictly according to the instructions

Modern equipment of class A+ or A++ consumes much less electricity, but only on condition that it will be operated correctly. If you put a refrigerator in the kitchen next to the stove, then it will work in an enhanced mode to maintain the required temperature. A similar situation will arise if you try to cool hot food. Timely defrosting will prevent the formation of frost on the walls of the chamber and reduce energy consumption by an average of 15%.

Computers and TVs are actively used only a few hours a day. The rest of the time they are in standby mode, actively absorbing electricity. It is not enough just to turn off the device with the button on the power supply. You need to disconnect it from the power source.

Periodic cosmetic repairs

Light wallpaper and a white ceiling can offset up to 80% of the sun's rays. For comparison, the light output from black is only 9%. But before wallpapering it is worthcheck the quality of the wiring. Sometimes increased power consumption is due to worn wires.

Install heat shields

Heaters in the autumn-winter period absorb a lot of electricity. If you install foil or foam on the battery, you can increase the temperature in the room by 2-3 degrees. To further insulate the room, it is worth replacing the wooden frames with metal-plastic ones, or at least patching up the cracks.

Planning and Reservation

The distribution of funds for the next month must be done in advance. This is what saves the family budget. The advice of financial gurus says that it is not so difficult to accumulate funds for long-term goals. It is enough to put aside 5-10% of each paycheck in the piggy bank. This reserve fund can be spent on expensive purchases, such as a car or an apartment.

Considered shopping

Shopping only during promotions is not the best way to save a family budget. Rather, on the contrary. Frequent shopping trips lead to high costs. It is best to shop once a week, for example on a weekend, and make a list of necessary goods in advance. If possible, go shopping without children. This will reduce unplanned expenses. What then is the saving of the family budget? Tips:

• Disposable items save time on cleaning but cost a lot of money. Swap paper towels for cloth ones, and buy faucet filters instead of bottled water.
• Participate inpromotions are necessary only if you know for sure that you will use all the goods. Buying fabric softener with a 50% discount just because it comes as a gift with a pack of powder that has never been used before is not worth it. But you need to follow seasonal discounts in order to have time to buy clothes on sale in time.
• Buy food from the same stores whenever possible. Today, all supermarkets offer discount or accumulation cards to regular customers.
• Shopping in stores should be done after meals and in a good mood.

Shopping time

Some are accustomed to buying all the goods necessary for life immediately after receiving a salary, while others distribute these expenses into several parts. Everyone decides how to save the budget. On the one hand, a one-time payment for utilities, the purchase of goods from household chemicals and food products allows you to immediately stock up on goods. The risk of spending the required amount on recreation and entertainment is minimal. On the other hand, durable goods should not be bought as far as possible, but in bulk, at low prices.

Use envelopes

If expenses are paid in installments, then it makes sense to reserve funds for them from the moment you receive your salary. For this purpose, you can use multi-colored envelopes. For example, set aside part of the money from each paycheck to pay for utilities in a red envelope, pay insurance - in a green envelope, and recreation and entertainment - in a yellow one. In such a case, even whenIn the event of unplanned expenses, you can always pay off debts on mandatory payments and set aside part of the funds for long-term goals.

Organization of holidays

Not everyone can afford an expensive trip. And it is not always appropriate to save money on it for six months. Most often, the purpose of travel, especially family travel, is to change the environment and have a good time. And for this it is not necessary to fly to the other end of the world. You can go on an excursion to a neighboring city, visit historical museums, exhibitions, or just go to the forest. Bowling, a water park and playgrounds without attractions also have not been canceled. Families with children should consider home entertainment. Board games will help to relax and spend time with benefit.

Shop Used Items

You can find a large number of used goods of good quality and at an affordable price at auctions and Internet sites. Of course, family savings should not be reduced to second-hand only. But sometimes it makes sense to buy a bike or scooter through an auction.

Compare fares

There is huge competition in the telecommunications market. Therefore, companies periodically hold promotions. Periodically, you need to review the tariffs of the company whose services you use and competitors in order to switch to a more profitable package in time.

Use the bank

Advice on saving the family budget during a crisis often includes a recommendation to save money in a bank depositor store them on a card. Both options have the right to exist, but only with a reasonable approach.

Bank deposits are designed just to save funds, not to increase them. The rate provided for such deposits usually does not exceed the rate of inflation. But if you try to withdraw funds from the account before the expiration of the contract, you can lose part of the investment. Moreover, during the crisis period, fearing capital outflows, Central banks impose temporary restrictions on the early break of deposits. And in institutions with a very difficult financial situation, a temporary administration is introduced at all. That is, the period for the return of funds invested in the deposit is constantly delayed. But this does not mean that the funds are lost forever.

If economic news do not portend major changes in the next few months, you can safely make a deposit in any commercial bank. and do not worry about the safety of funds. Otherwise, follow:

• make a deposit in public financial institutions, for example, Sberbank;
• carefully read the contract with the bank;
• open a deposit, not purchase a savings certificate;
• open a short-term deposit with the possibility of prolongation.

Paying for purchases with a bank card eliminates the possibility of losing money. But recent studies have shown that it is psychologically easier for a person to part with invisible numbers than with real pieces of paper. Therefore, the constant use of plastic can lead toloss of control over spending. To avoid such a problem, activate the SMS informing service or download the mobile account management application to your phone. Only in this case it will be possible to visually track every penny spent. Does the bank not provide a detailed breakdown of each payment? Get in the habit of studying every digit on your check.

In closing

The presented tips for saving the family budget in a crisis should not be taken as a direct guide to action. These are just tips to reduce costs. It takes time to get used to even the simplest manipulations. But the result is worth it.