Truth…this month we finally paid off our line of credit for our home reno *insert Mel Gibson’s yell of: FREEDOM – from BraveHeart – here*. Being a family who lives more within-their-means than large these days…I’m sharing some money saving tips for families in this post.
Money Saving Tips For Families
Instead of gifting gear at a baby shower – give money for their education. This is what our friends surprised us with at a baby celebration for my ds (really after 3 kids we did have all the kid-stuff we needed). But our thoughtful friends decided to donate cash (in great gift envelopes) to go towards his RESP. TIP: Use this RESP calculator. I’d suggest a “take-it-further” approach and start a grandparent or godparent tradition of giving a little money for education every Christmas. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.
Put a little bit of money aside every month for a family vacation. I know…you should put money aside for as an emergency fund…but selfishly…I feel a family vacation is an emergency (1st world problems right?). For us a family getaway brings us closer together. Breaks those winter blues. And makes travel (and learning about different places) something we instill in our kids. $100 a month will provide for a $1200 travel budget at the end of the year.
Coupons and points and specials…oh my! If chocolate milk is on sale for $.99 – I’ll buy 4 (not because I’m a chocolate milk hoader – but this is something my family goes through quick – if I can get a deal…I’m gonna deal!). And I am also an avid reward member at my grocery store (and when I’m compiling points on stuff I have to buy anyway…it just makes good sense).
Ask about sibling discounts. Summer camps, day cares, and even extra curricular lessons sometimes offer a discount if siblings attend at the same time. If you can save 10% – it’s money for that vacation fund up there 😉
Live-within-your-means. That line of credit had to be done for our house reno…but we hated having the debt hanging over our heads. Now, we could have asked for MORE money from the bank but we didn’t want to be paying longer (or more). We took out only what we needed. And paid it off as quick as we could.
Disclosure: #spon. And yes, our friends really did do an RESP baby shower for us. As always, the opinions on this post are my own.
Greats tips to share. We are becoming a people who do not kinow how to live within their means. are also trying very hard to do this.
I think the main problem for the younger generation is the attitude towards credit cards, they act as if it’s their money they are spending. I’ve known people drive 20 mins downtown to save 10%, used their credit card (which hardly anyone seems to fully pay off each month!) & ended up paying way more in interest than what they saved, not to mention the gas costs! I was always taught by my parents that I could only buy what I could pay for. The only money I’ve ever borrowed was to buy a house.
Financial planning (and responsibility) is so easy with all the tech tools we have at our fingertips (like that RESP calculator!). One would think people would be more inclined to live within their means more.
Financial responsibility is a life skill isn’t it?! Good thing to teach kids young as they’ll take it through life. Planning is a good thing.
Really great tips! Putting away some money every month for a family vacation is a wonderful idea! I also like the idea of giving towards an education for a baby shower gift.
thanks, much appreciated
Great tips! I can never get enough money saving tips! I’ve just started couponing… it saves me so much!