Is improving your family’s finance one of your goals for this year? Are you feeling stuck and unsure of what changes will make the biggest difference? Don’t worry, as we’re about to share some simple financial hacks that work particularly well for busy families.
Table of Contents
Assess Debt
It can be easy to take out a personal loan to pay for a vacation. And who thinks twice about signing up for another credit card to cover monthly expenses? Student debt is inevitable if you have children that are college-going age. It can all build up and become too much. You need to sit down and assess how much you owe and to whom. Note the monthly repayments and interest rates. Do these figures make you uncomfortable?
If so, it might be time to explore the different options that are available to you. Have you thought about the possibility of student loan refinance with a private lender? You’ll be left with one monthly repayment and, in most cases, lower interest rates too. Ask yourself if you really need to drive a brand-new car and pay for insurance on multiple cars when you could all car share. Can you apply for any government financial aid to help you out of the black and into the red? These are all options to consider.
Live Within Your Means
This sounds pretty obvious, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who can’t quite grasp this concept. The goal here is to spend less than you earn, so you must know the exact figures. Sit down as a family and determine how much is coming into the household every month. This will become the magic figure when it comes to how much you have to live on. Next, get a rough idea of essential expenses such as mortgage repayments, loan repayments, insurance premiums, food costs, energy bills, etc. Take variable expenses into account, too and try and set some funds aside for a savings account if possible. Doing all of this will be tedious, but it’s the only way you can, as a family, live within your means. This method of listing down and tracking your expenses is one of the instructions given by financial advisors.
Save Whenever Possible
Making small changes in spending and everyday life can greatly impact how much money you have leftover in the bank each month. Do the kids love to swim? Take them to the beach instead of the local fitness club. When it comes to grocery shopping, can you make savings by shopping in another store? In terms of energy costs, is there another energy provider that offers a cheaper rate? Other things such as keeping birthdays simple and choosing frugal fun over expensive days out can literally put hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars back in your pocket each year.
Teach Your Kids About Money
If you were to only take one point away from this article, let it be this one. The importance of teaching kids about money early on in life should never be ignored. Make sure they know the value of money and how hard making it can be. Teach them about budgeting and living within their means by giving them an allowance each month to cover their own expenses. Once that money is gone, they need to realize that they need to wait until next month before buying things they want. It may seem harsh at the time, but they’ll certainly thank you for it when they get older.
Following these simple financial hacks will help you to become financially stable.
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