It’s no secret that living costs are going up and to make ends meet, we’re all looking for ways to save money. Families across the country are looking for money saving tips and here at Pounds to Pocket we’ve put together our top 3 tips for parents to help you keep control of your finances:
Plan Your Menu & Get the Kids Involved
Your food shopping bill can be one of your biggest outgoings on a weekly basis and if you’re not careful your food bills can quickly spiral out of control. You don’t have to be eating steak every night to be overspending on your food bill; the trick is to plan your menu and transform your kids into sous chefs!
– Never go shopping without having a comprehensive list of everything you need to buy.
You’ll either buy things you don’t need which will inevitably end up in the bin or you won’t buy everything that you need and you’ll be forced to pop to the local shop which, in most cases, will be more expensive.
– Involve your children in the cooking of the food and make it fun!
Kids are stereotypically fussy and it’s probably not uncommon to see piles of veg being scraped into the bin. Of course, you’ve paid good money for that veg and it’s all going to waste! Getting your kids involved in the cooking of the food will make them more likely to eat what you put in front of them.
– Do plenty of research: there’s no shortage of tips online!
One of the most difficult things about cooking for your family every night is deciding what to cook! Meal ideas can quickly run out and you’re left staring at the shelves in the supermarket for hours on end.
Do some research online to find cheap family meal ideas- there are countless blogs and forums out there to help you out, you just have to look!
Healthy Competition Can Cut Your Energy Costs
Oh the joys of energy bills! They’re already expensive and we’ve been told that they’re set to rise even further in the coming years…great. Unfortunately, it seems that almost all energy companies will be increasing prices which means that switching companies may not make that much difference. Your only option to reduce your energy bills is to cut your energy consumption and the entire family need to work together.
Hmm…that’s easier said than done when you’re dealing with kids, right? Well, you could traipse around after your kids all day turning off lights, unplugging games consoles and explaining that no one in their right mind takes a 2 hour long shower. Alternatively, you could set up a family competition to see who can save the most energy.
Nothing motivates kids more to do something than the promise of a prize so put a reward in place for them.
TIP: be careful though, you need to make the prize big enough for the kids to care about but you don’t want to spend a fortune. You could end up spending all of the money you’ve saved on bills on the prize!
Leave the Kids At Home or Shop Online
Supermarkets have incredibly clever marketing teams, there’s no denying that. Every display, every shelf has been specifically designed to make the products look more appealing and to make us buy more!
If we’re sensible and take our trusty shopping lists along with us, impulse buying shouldn’t be too much of a problem but that’s certainly not the case when it comes to our kids. They want everything and we really mean everything.
If you’re sick of being pestered constantly for a chocolate bar or the new toy that was on display as you walked in and you’re getting fed up with how much extra you end up spending on the food shopping as a result, it’s time to change!
Shopping online makes the entire process simple, easy and the best bit is you’re less likely to buy anything you don’t need! If shopping online isn’t your thing then see if you can leave the kids at home with a friend or family member.
Saving money is difficult, especially when you’ve got children to keep happy but it’s definitely not impossible. These are our 3 top tips but there are plenty more ways to keep your costs down and save on your monthly expenditures so do some more research online and find out what other families are doing!
Meal planning is very helpful when it comes to a food budget! I’ve been doing this for about a year now and the change is drastic.
Nice tips. We love to cook as a family, but admittedly wing it sometimes when we go to the grocery store.
I love the idea of planning meals together as a family!
This is a great read, thanks so much
Excellent tips! “Leave the Kids At Home or Shop Online” is great idea. I have notice that every time we got for shopping as a family, always come back with extra stuffs which were not in the list. Online shopping is a good way to minimize the extra shopping. Thanks mate for the post.
saving money – do kids need a brand new swing or slide in the garden – will they notice or care that the garden toys are pre-owned?
Meal planning like said above is also very good way to save on groceries.
Growing your own herbs in a pot on the window ledge can also save you money – and make your meals taste nicer
Never going shopping without a comprehensive list is the best advice someone can get! You buy so much unnecessary stuff when you just wing it.
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