As parents, we want to do everything in our power to provide for our children. But sometimes, it can be difficult to know where the money will come from. If you’re not careful with your finances, then there’s a chance that you’ll struggle financially later on in life when you need money the most. The good news is that if you take care of your future self now by making smart decisions about your current finances, then this won’t happen. Here are 6 financial tips every parent should hear at least once…
1. Start saving early and often
It sounds simple enough, but many people don’t start saving until they have no other choice, or they’ve amassed a significant amount of debt! Don’t fall into this trap because it will only make matters worse. If you are not sure how to go about this, visit RedwoodFinancial.co.uk to get a clearer idea about what you need to do. Start saving early and often to get your future self out of sticky financial situations such as unemployment, medical bills, car accidents, house damage, etc. And don’t save just a few dollars here and there. Instead, make it a habit to tithe 10% of your income from every paycheck. You can do this by setting up automatic withdrawals from your checking account at the beginning of each quarter (or, even better, each month). If you can’t afford to tithe 10%, then tithe as much as you can! Just remember to never stop saving.
2. Maximize debt repayment
Your debt repayment strategy should be one that helps you pay down your debt the fastest and with the smallest interest payments possible. This means you’ll want to carry a balance on only one credit card, and that you should focus your efforts on paying down those debts with the highest interest rate first. After repayment of those debts, then put as much money as possible toward those with the next highest rates until all of your bills are paid off. There are a few ways you can go about doing this. You can either focus on paying off your credit card bills with the biggest balances first, or you could deal with them in order of interest rate from highest to lowest. Whichever method you use should depend upon how much money you have available for debt repayment every month and what your current priorities are.
3. Don’t be afraid to use coupons
Many people think using coupons is a waste of time, but those actions provide the opportunity to spend your money elsewhere. In other words, you can save more money by using as many coupons as possible to optimize your spending power. If you’re really struggling to find ways to cut costs, then there are numerous sites online that have hundreds of coupon codes for everything under the sun.
4. Automate your finances
Paying bills on time is essential to building a good credit score, but what about those pesky checks that never seem to arrive on time? Automate your bill-paying by setting up automatic withdrawals out of your bank account for all of your monthly payments (including rent, utilities, insurance premiums, etc.). If you have other bills that demand your attention on a more frequent basis, then just automate the minimum payment amounts for those accounts.
5. Focus on increasing income
The opposite strategy to cutting costs is to work towards building up your income stream. Nowadays, there are countless ways to earn extra money, so don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. For example, you could sell items that you no longer need on eBay or Craigslist, cut your neighbor’s grass for $20 each week, pet sit for $15 per session, walk someone’s dog once a day during the workweek for $125 per week, etc.
6. Eliminate all unnecessary expenses
If you’re ever wondering whether or not an expense is necessary, then it definitely falls into the “unnecessary” category. If you’re spending money on something that brings no value to your life and that doesn’t help you to reach any of your financial goals, then get rid of it! For example, cable television costs $100 per month but if you cut the cord, then you’ll save $1,200 per year. Now that’s an unnecessary expenditure if I’ve ever heard of one!
When it comes to raising children, the financial aspect of life is always in the back of your mind. It can be difficult to navigate when you’re constantly juggling working full-time and caring for a child or two at home. For this reason, we’ve outlined 6 important guidelines that will help parents save money while still living their best lives as they raise young children. Whether you’re single parenting, co-parenting with your spouse, or both parents are in the home, these tips should serve as a helpful resource on navigating how finances work during this time period. We hope our advice has been informative!
