Top Tips for Sticking to a Family Budget
If you’re trying to save or clear old debts as a family, then you may have recently decided to keep your spending within the limits of a budget. However, this is often easier said than done, and making financial sacrifices can by tricky. Here are a few tips which may help you to stick within the limits of the budget which you have set.
Firstly, it is important to make sure that you are clear about your budgeting goals. How much are you aiming to save each month, and where will the remainder be spent? After all, even if you’ve got a great credit card deal from somewhere like lovemoney.com, you will still need to prioritize your outstanding payments above the money which you might otherwise allocate to various leisure activities. Rather than being vague and simply suggesting that you ‘budget’ in order to ’save’, you are far more likely to achieve your aims if you set specific goals and limitations on your overall spending.
Another good way to stick to your budget is to try and use cash wherever possible. Paying by card can sometimes be much too easy, and you are more liable to forget that the money which comes out of your account can be eating into your budget. By handing over physical cash, you will be automatically more aware of exactly how much money is changing hands each time you make a purchase.
Rather than just wandering around various stores when you are picking up your family’s groceries, make a list of what you actually need while you’re at home, and then stick to it. It is also a good idea to hang on to your receipts, so that you can keep a record of exactly how much of your budget has been spent, and where.
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October 29th, 2011 at 3:46 am
Great stuff. I found that the best way to help people get to budgeting is to figure out what their major issue is first. Most of the time it’s to pay down debt because they feel they’re falling into a hole, and that makes the motivation easier in getting people to follow what you tell them to do.
Of course, making that list at home before you go out is great advice, as long as people remember to take it with them. lol
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October 29th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
While some of these ideas are good, the best thing is to reduce expenses.
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p90x Reply:
November 3rd, 2011 at 6:22 am
Reducing expenses is certainly the best thing. You will of course want to take a plan of action so you will ensure the best chance of success.
- Robert
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used tires Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 7:47 am
Agreed. There are a lot of areas where you can cut down on expenses and perhaps have more left over on areas that you are currently compromising on more than you would like. It’s a careful balancing act but it works out in the end.
-Jean
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October 30th, 2011 at 4:45 am
Because spending less is the largest goal of most budgets, it’s may be a good idea to see if money can be saved in some unconvential ways such as supercouponing or extreme couponing, through sharing/borrowing, and by avoiding waste. Budgeting can even be made fun by having a contest, such as the “30-day no spend challenge” that I talk about on my website.
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Albert Rox Reply:
December 6th, 2011 at 1:52 am
Extreme couponing is funny,but sometimes the time wasted cost more than a few bucks saved!
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GlennGeronimo Reply:
February 2nd, 2013 at 3:55 pm
I like the “contest” concept. Perhaps even telling my son and wife, what ever you save from our established Budget, you get 20% of the money saved for the 1st 3 monthes!
Also, which website do you have Halina?
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November 1st, 2011 at 12:10 pm
I have always been very careful about sticking to my budget in everything I did. I spend a lot of the last week of the month planning out in detail the budget for the following month. It gets really tough when you’re depending on money to come in to make your budget work. If that money doesn’t come through, then the budget planning will be in disarray.
-Jean
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November 3rd, 2011 at 12:36 am
Very useful tips!!
Now saving money is hardest than ever!!
Credit cars could ruin your life
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November 1st, 2012 at 9:28 am
Thanks for the great post.I totally agree that “only positive talk” is very important to have a positive working group. while to do that is not easy for everybody. Even myself, sometime can not help from complaining something. Later on feeling regret about it.
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February 1st, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Well written article! I agree your points. Thanks for sharing this great tips with us.
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