Having a family can be extremely expensive, with your kids constantly needing new items of clothing, money for school trips, and new things to entertain them with. It can feel really pressuring as a parent to try and strike a balance between making sure your kids have enough toys, books, and other items and not overspending.
Everyone does parenting differently, so ultimately it is up to you to decide on what your priorities will be and how you choose to spend your money. If you are looking to save some money, here are some great tips that will help you not spend that extra little bit, which will really add up and be beneficial for you in the long term.
Buying Food From Clearance
One amazing way to save money is by being super careful with your food shops. It can be expensive to feed a family and buy nice food, but equally, you probably want to prioritise your kids getting the right nutrition and developing healthy eating habits. The trick is to do your research before deciding where you shop. Getting a few odd bits and pieces from your local store is fine if you run out of a specific item, but for your main weekly shops, you should look into finding a cheaper way to do this.
Low Price Foods is a short dated food supplier in the UK and you can find cheap food online for amazing prices there. The concept of this is simple: food that only has a couple of days left until it goes out of date is sold via this supplier for cheap prices. This is completely safe and follows food safety guidelines, and in return, you get to shop at the cheapest online supermarket.
Shopping In Charity Shops
In terms of clothing, books, and toys for your kids, looking in your local charity shops is a really great way to find cheap items. Since charity shops do not prioritise making a profit, you will be able to find loads of different things for bargain prices, plus you will have donated to charity in the process!
Kids grow so quickly, so it seems silly to spend loads of money on their clothing when they will simply grow out of it in the space of a few months. Instead, you should buy second–hand and then send it back to charity shops once they have outgrown it. This is also really great for the environment. Most people do not realise that the fashion industry is quite a significant contributor to climate destruction, so buying second–hand has a variety of different benefits.
Collecting Hand Me Downs
If you have any friends or family members who have kids a few years older than your own, it is definitely worth asking them to pass clothes onto you when their own kids have outgrown them. You are literally getting a full wardrobe of clothing for free and it will help clear up space in their house, so they will be more than happy to give you some of their old stuff. Again, this will save you a lot of money and time and your kid will probably think it’s really cool that they’re getting to wear the same items that somebody older than them has worn too. If you have multiple children, try and keep hold of some of the eldest children’s’ clothing so that the younger ones can also wear this when they grow into it. This is particularly useful to do with things like school uniforms, as it can be a pain to keep buying new uniforms each year.
Not Making Unnecessary Purchases
Teaching your kids from a young age that they do not need all of the latest toys and gadgets but instead that it is a treat if they do get them, can help them develop a healthy attitude towards spending and consumerism. Trying to get them into things such as reading is really good because books are items that can be found cheaply and this is educational as well as fun. Whilst it is nice to treat your kids sometimes, try and not make too many unnecessary purchases, in order to save your own money and help your kids to really appreciate it when they do get a new present.
Being conscious of your spending is the main important thing you should keep in mind. Simple ways to do this include setting yourself a budget for each week or month and writing down what you spend, and when you spend it. This also means that you will be able to put aside some money each month and save up for ‘big months’ such as those with birthdays or Christmas. Spend your money wisely and you can still do the things that you love to do, without having the fear of missing out too much!