4 Ways To Save Money Successfully

We all have to follow our own budget to be able to afford even just the basics nowadays. We might Google luxury holidays and dream about big houses, but we have to go with what our bank balance tells us and work with what we have to be able to live the life we have available to us. 

Sometimes, those extra bills can creep up on us though, or we may just want to treat the family and go away for a few days, or a few weeks, and need to budget to be able to afford to do the things we dream of doing. 

We budget. We budget a lot. As a couple, we don’t drink or smoke, and we rarely go out, unless we can find a cheeky deal on a meal. So it makes sense to us to save all that money that we could be spending, and use it for a holiday so the whole family can benefit. 

These are just a couple of the ways that we save money as a family

 

 

Budgeting

Budgeting is a big part of how we save money. A spreadsheet is an excellent way to start and by inputting your salary, along with any major outgoings, such as bills, mortgage payments or rent, it will be much easier to see where those hidden expenses are. It’s all about looking at what we actually use, where we can afford to cut back, and how we can save our well-deserved pennies. We’ve saved quite a bit by doing this. Working out where money is being wasted and recouping it all. 

At the same time, remember that cutting down your expenses and budgeting doesn’t have to just mean getting rid of things. It can also involve changing your payments wherever you can too, switching gas and electric suppliers to someone cheaper, which could help you save a lot of cash, as it did for us. 

Save Those Extra Pennies

I think people assume that you need to be putting notes away every time you save money, but you don’t. Those pennies, those pounds, whatever you put away, will eventually add up to any amount you need, as long as you keep saving and don’t dip into it. Let’s be realistic though, sometimes you need a bigger amount sooner than you’re able to save, so taking out a quick loan from Cashlady.com could be the answer, as long as you make sure that you are able to afford, and make the repayments.

Food Plan

This might not seem like much of a difference, but if you can successfully meal plan for the whole week, so that leftover sauces and meats can go into another day’s meals, it really does make a difference. Bolognese one day, add a sprinkle of spice the next and you can make wraps or chilli. Roast chicken on Sunday, and homemade curry, Monday. What’s more, if you make your own then you save even more. Spices can cost pennies for the amount you require for a curry, so there really is not much cost in it at all. It’s just a case of really looking at your food habits and working out how you can marry them together to cut down your shopping bill.

 

 

Save On Days Out

Days out can be so expensive when you’re a parent, especially if you have more than just the 2 children, like most places offer deals on. I mean, why are family tickets always for 2 adults and 2 children? We struggle because we have 3 children and that seems to push the prices of most things up. This also works the other way too, as family deals offered within the UK are of no use to single parent families too.

But there are ways to save on most things, with the help of deals. These can be online in the form of 2 for 1 entry, or in the local papers for local attractions. Cereal boxes even offer discounts on attractions sometimes too. Buy an adult ticket and get a children’s one free, for example. You can even get into the cinema on a 2 for 1 deal with Meerkat Movies, so if you are changing suppliers, it’s best to check their deals out as it could give you 2 for 1 at the cinema, and at certain restaurants too.

And remember, days out don’t always need to cost. Some of our best days out have been at the park, with a picnic, and a play in the lake. Or a quick getaway to the seaside. You don’t need to go abroad when we have the most amazing coastline, especially here in Yorkshire!