Budgeting Tips for Big Families
Having a large family requires a lot of discipline when it comes to sticking to a budget but it can be done and these 10 surprisingly simple budgeting tips will help save you some extra cash.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a never-ending supply of money and never had to worry about budgeting? Everyone knows that this isn’t the case and sometimes you just need to budget. Having a large family like ours, things can get quite expensive. Try feeding two teenage girls. They alone eat us out of the house and home.
Here are 10 surprisingly simple budgeting tips to help save you some extra cash:
1. Create a Budget
When it comes to using a budget for a bigger family, you really need to sit down and create one. You need to know what money is coming in and what money is going out. By actually sitting down to create a budget, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. If you have a lot of debt, keeping a tight budget will help.
Related Article: 7 Unusual Ways To Pay Off Debt
2. Plan Things Out
One of the biggest tips for big families when budgeting is to plan things out. Plan things like your meals out, so you know much to spend on groceries. Plan to save for big items and also plan to save for items you will need. Planning will help you keep your budget in check.
Related Article: How To Make A Family Meal Under $10 Dollars
3. Be Frugal
In being realistic, if you have a big family, you know that it can be really expensive. Which is why you need to be frugal. Instead of going out to eat, eat at home. Instead of spending a ton of money bowling, create your own games at home. While going bowling or eating out is inexpensive for a small family, it can really add up whenever you’re a big family.
4. Always Go for the Secondhand Stuff
When it comes to being a big family, always go for the second-hand stuff. Honestly, you probably won’t use the items long enough to get your money’s worth if you buy from a retail store. Look for a quality consignment shop near you and don’t be afraid to shop. I love my local Goodwill store.
5. Always Double Check and Shop Around
Buying items or looking for the best deal can be time-consuming. When you have a big family, you could really use all of that savings. A big piece of advice for big families is to do a little shopping before you commit to something. You may put a little time into it, but it’s so nice to shop around and get a reward with big savings.
6. Let Your Kids Entertain Themselves
Something that you will quickly learn overtime with a big family is that kids can learn to entertain themselves. You don’t have to do every little thing for them when it comes to entertainment. Encourage them to use their imagination and you’ll save a ton of money. While it’s fun to do “extra” stuff, it’s not a requirement to be happy.
Having a big family doesn’t have to be a big financial burden. In fact, if you take your time to plan things out and think about every dollar you spend, you could actually be ahead financially.
Do you have another family that you’re close to and spend time with a lot? Share things with them instead of buying new stuff. This can be clothes, furniture, bicycles…you name it. If you happen to have children of varying ages, use that to your advantage!
8. Be okay with saying “no”
Having a big family probably means that you’ve got a zillion wants and questions coming at you all the time. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to those requests. Because honestly, once you say “yes” to one, you’re going to be expected to say “yes” to them all. The easy answer is to stick to your guns and don’t give in.
9. Grocery Shop using the sale ads
Did you know that the sale ads for the grocery stores are cyclical and have the same sales over and over again? You can easily plan out your household and grocery budget without having to overly stress at all. Make your grocery list based on the current sale ad and stock up on what you need. You can easily meal prep and get a ton of great meal items from the food items that are featured in the sale ad.
If you happen to miss out on something, don’t fret. That same sale will probably happen again in a very short amount of time.
My favorite go-to site for checking online grocery store and pharmacy weekly sales and coupons is Southern Savers.
10. Find Ways To Earn Extra Cash
Are you looking for ways to earn extra cash? Having some extra cash flow can help you improve your tight budget tremendously. If you are a stay-at-home-mom, you may think your options are limited but they are not. There are so many great business ideas for stay at home moms. Whether you love to write or bake, you can earn money from home.
Related Article: 8 awesome work from home jobs for stay at home moms
Do you have any budgeting tips to add to this list?
When it comes to budgeting tips for big families, these tips can really save you some dough! Be proud of the fact that you have a large family and are able to stay in budget. It’s a very admirable feature that many other families wish that they could do as well.
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Winona Rogers
Ashley R. says
Thank you for this incredible post! It was both helpful and informative and I’m excited to apply these great tips to help my family this holiday season! The tip about weekly sales was my favorite!!!