Hello dear readers! You've probably noticed that low-income families manage to buy expensive things, regularly go on vacation, and save something else. On the other hand, families with a decent income do not constantly get out of debt, they constantly pay off some kind of loans and constantly complain about the eternal lack of money. How so? Secret, v. Let's take a look at the most effective (and at the same time, the most affordable) tips for saving your hard earned money.
1. Accounting for income and expenses
You need to start with this. You must have a clear idea of how much you are getting and how much you are spending, and most importantly what you are spending on. Most people do not even know what all their money is spent on, just by the end of the month they have nothing left on their hands from the earned.
2. No credits
If you still cannot save up for the thing you like, then what's the point in order to give back the same money + gigantic overpayments in interest later. The exception here is loans that help increase your earnings (for a business, for a car for work) or very expensive, such as a mortgage.
Usually 30-40% of all your food expenses go to all sorts of unhealthy foods: chips, beer snacks, sweets. After analyzing, you can delete it from your diet, or replace it with something more useful or cheaper. As a last resort, if it will be very difficult for you without it, reduce the consumption of unhealthy (but so tasty) foods.
10. No petty expenses
We bet you didn’t know, and didn’t even realize that buying a new mobile phone costs you less than various small expenses: snacks in a cafe while walking, various chocolates, books on the road, coffee from vending machines.
It seems like these are small expenses, but they occur on a daily basis. And they steal from your family budget every day. A rather large (or, more precisely, a very large amount) accumulates in a year.
As a rule, all of this can be abandoned, if not all, then more. There is nothing difficult, go for a walk, take a bottle of water with you and be sure to eat before leaving. You constantly buy coffee from a vending machine at work - buy yourself a can of coffee, sugar, cream. Love to read - buy yourself an e-book.
11. Extend the time horizon of purchases
Plan expensive purchases in advance. During this time, you can decide in advance on the characteristics of the purchased product, you will find where you can buy it cheaper. Thus, you can buy a thing even 10-20 percent cheaper than in a nearby store.
12. Before leaving their home unplug all electrical appliances(light, computers, etc.). Of course, now most of the devices work in the energy-saving mode, but again a pretty penny for a year runs into a decent amount.
13. Eat at home.
Expenses for snacks, dinners in cafes, and even just buying a glass of juice or tea steal a fair share of your budget. Of course, if you cannot do without it, then add these costs to your family budget and try not to go beyond the allocated funds.
14. Buy only expensive and high quality
Remember the proverb “ Miser pays twice". This is just our case. Buying expensive and high-quality items, you will be sure that you need to change them or carry them for repairs every year.
Advice... Going to extremes and buying expensive branded items is also not worth it. Why overpay for a name. You can find a cheaper (BUT QUALITY) analogue.
15. Buy tomorrow
If you saw a product at a super discount in the store or you came across a thing, and it seems to you that you just need to buy it, postpone the purchase until tomorrow.
According to statistics, up to 70% of all spontaneous purchases, as a rule, are not used by customers in the long distance (after one or two weeks) and then gather dust in the closet.
You will have time to think, and in the morning it may turn out that you do not really need it (or even do not need it at all).
Using these very simple tips, you can more efficiently manage your family budget. You will see that, in principle, it is not at all difficult to allocate money to buy a new TV, or save up for a family vacation. You will learn to control and manage your money and they will become under your control.
Living from paycheck to advance payment, not caring about tomorrow, is a habit of many. Unfortunately, lessons on how to manage a family budget are not taught at school, everything has to be comprehended empirically.
To some, such a science seems too complicated, they continue to waste their finances thoughtlessly, risking one fine day being left without a livelihood. Others are exploring the home economics, dramatically improving their quality of life.
There is nothing difficult in distributing personal and family budgets. To do this, there is absolutely no need to plunge into calculus with many formulas. There are only two important columns in the home accounting table: income and expense. The first is the money that the family receives: salary, pension, benefits, income from rent or securities, interest on bills. All sources of family income are taken into account in order to know exactly what the total amount is composed of.
Expenses include: payment for housing and communal services, transport, telephone and Internet bills, food, education and development of children, payment of insurance premiums, loans. It is also necessary to include the column "unforeseen expenses". A good housewife knows very well how much money a family needs "for the housekeeping" a month.
You can make calculations in a notebook, but it is more convenient if home accounting is presented as a table with two horizontal columns: income and expense.
As you can imagine, the sums in the last lines must be at least the same. If the needs are more opportunities, then some items will have to be reduced.
It is not necessary to turn family budget planning into a total economy mode, but it will not hurt to give up too much. Focus primarily on mandatory spending, calculating them for a certain period, week or month. From the remaining funds, an amount is allocated for unforeseen situations (repairs, treatment, urgent purchases), the rest is sent to the "reserve fund".
To understand which expenses were necessary and which were unnecessary, the personal finance table, which consists of two columns, will allow.
Obviously, by giving up a business lunch at work and buying newspapers, you can easily replenish your family treasury with a noticeable amount. If tabulation isn't quite right for you, check out our review article, where we looked at the top 5 of them.
How to save on "communal"
Today, utility rates are growing, and bills are capable of undermining the family budget. But we have not yet developed the habit of saving on trifles. We use the advice of Europeans who are used to living in a resource-saving mode. Here are some simple ways to cut costs:
- Give up unnecessary kitchen devices with the prefix "electro". You can cook food, boil water on a gas stove. When purchasing large household appliances, pay attention to the energy saving class, the “A” marking is more suitable for the house;
- Make it a rule to unplug appliances from the outlet at night, turn off the light in the room, leaving it. Arrange multi-level lighting in the room, it is not only economical, but also convenient. Simple tricks in a month will save from 100 to 300 rubles;
- The refrigerator consumes most of the energy, so make sure that the ice coat does not freeze, this increases the consumption. Do not set the temperature mode too low without special need, keep an eye on the tightness of the chamber;
- Increasingly, in modern kitchens, an elegant hob is taking the place of a gas stove. Such devices are more expensive for the owner, so you should not forget about saving. Use the residual heat, buy containers for cooking according to the size of the burners;
- View invoices to understand what constitutes the amount for the billing period (month, year). Do you really need an intercom if you live on the 1st floor? Or maybe you are still paying for radio or unnecessary cable TV? Look carefully and you will certainly find how you can save your family budget without much damage.
Examine your bills. When was the last time you used your home phone, although you pay 200-300 rubles a month for it? But after all, a tidy sum runs up in a year?
Shopping for groceries - how to save money?
According to statistics, Russians spend from 30 to 50% of their finances on food, therefore, considering ways to save the family budget, we cannot ignore this item of expenses. Each housewife has her own secrets of cooking, making a menu, and the feeding process itself in each family is individual.
Somewhere all household members gather at the table only for dinner, in other houses it is customary to take food 3-4 times a day. Despite this difference, there are still general rules for saving. Here are the most effective ones:
- Learn the tricks of marketers so you don't fall for their bait. Try not to take children to the store;
- Go shopping with a detailed list, so you won't forget anything and don't buy too much;
- Pay not by card, but in cash, real money is more difficult to spend than virtual;
- Pay attention to the products of little-known manufacturers, they are much cheaper than well-known brands;
- Avoid ready-made semi-finished products, pre-packaged products. Often, not the best quality goods are used for slicing, besides, you have to overpay for the work of the packer;
- By replacing partly household chemicals with a natural product, you will replenish your household budget with a tidy sum. The same can be said for cosmetics. Our grandmothers used mustard and soda to wash dishes, washed glasses with vinegar. Their house has always shone with cleanliness without the use of "super funds".
Bad habits fight
Sooner or later, each of us has to think about how to manage the family budget as efficiently as possible. After all, this is an urgent need to avoid financial difficulties in the future. Even if it seems that you live quite within your means, there is always something that you can refuse without difficulty, and sometimes even with benefit.
Review your bad habits. By giving up alcohol and cigarettes, you save more than money. Smoking is harmful to your health, and it also hurts your wallet. Considering that tobacco products are regularly "growing" in price, a bad habit becomes a pretty penny. The same can be said for light alcohol. Calculate how much a daily bottle of beer costs, and then imagine what that money could buy if you put it off for a year.
Network games are considered by many to be harmless entertainment, pleasant recreation, without thinking at all that this is a well-thought-out way of "pumping out" money. Without even realizing it, lovers of all kinds of "zomboferms" leave more than one thousand on the Internet a year. What can we say about avid gamers, for whom the game is a competition.
Make it a rule to earn money for entertainment separately and spend your personal finances on it, not to the detriment of the general wallet.
Sugar is a food drug, which means that the habit of uncontrolled eating of "sweets" can be attributed to harmful. The average family spends from 200 to 1000 rubles a month on confectionery. Ice cream, candy, gingerbread, lemonade and other nonsense that cannot be called food or drink. Learning to live without sweets is not so easy, but the more valuable such a victory will be. A detailed table of food costs will help to understand which foods are superfluous in the diet.
Five ways to cut costs
When you're young, active, and partying, family budgeting seems boring. It is much more interesting to jump from a state of unrestrained revelry to economy mode and back. But sooner or later, spouses start to think about financial discipline. It does not depend on the family's income level. In any case, money does not fall from the sky, but is earned, so it is better to learn not to throw it away.
Who should be in charge of family finances?
This question is important for the preservation of the psychological climate of the cell of society. Undoubtedly, the decision on what and how to save the family budget is taken together. The rest of the functions can be divided between the spouses.
For ladies, the theoretical part of financial management is easier than for men, for the stronger half, there is simply no time to waste time on calculations. But women are prone to impulsive purchases, which means they cannot have free funds. Accordingly, the wife can distribute personal finances, and it is better to entrust the purchases to the spouse.
Hold me, now I will buy
Consumerism is the scourge of our time. Buying tons of things that are essentially unnecessary, we work for corporations that produce these goods. Here is a simple advice for you on how to save your family budget - give up rash purchases.
Do you want a dress, a purse, shoes like a friend's? Wait a couple of days. During this time, carefully examine your wardrobe. Most likely, the same boats are already gathering dust in the closet, and the clutch does not fit the existing things at all.
Well-defined long-term goals allow you to learn to control your personal finances.
Don't buy what you can get for free
Are you used to reading each new "Cosmo" or are you waiting for the release of Daria Dontsova's book? Planning to attend the blockbuster premiere? Why pay for something you can borrow for free? Rational planning of the family budget is a reasonable attitude to spending. The press can be read online, the novel is borrowed from a friend, and the films appear on the Internet a week after release.
Many people get rid of unnecessary things by giving them away or selling them for a symbolic price. Feel free to participate in similar promotions.
Penny to penny - altyn came out
Make it a rule to save 5-10% of your income every month and not spend this money unnecessarily. So you not only get free funds at your disposal, but also gain psychological comfort. Over time, you will understand that it is better to spend your personal budget on necessary things, learn how to prioritize, form long-term goals, and invest profitably.
The science of how to manage a family budget includes not only meticulous calculations of expenses, but also the skills of managing available funds. Personal finances should not lie dead. It is better to place them on a long-term deposit in a reliable bank.
Investing in securities
The topic is not easy, worthy of a separate article. It should be borne in mind that this is a risky way, even experienced brokers do not guarantee a positive result.
Having saved up a significant amount, invest it in the purchase of something of value. Purchase of real estate will increase the family's sources of income. In the future, you will receive a stable profit from its rental for many years.
Often, projects that promise dividends of 50% per month turn out to be an ordinary scam. Be careful not to fund modern pyramid builders.
You can lend your savings to friends at a small percentage - this is beneficial to both parties. Just don't forget to formalize the deal legally.
Summing up ...
Living carefree is much more enjoyable than puzzling over how to draw up a family budget and do without unnecessary expenses. But with such an irrational approach, at the first storm of life, your financial boat will not just leak, but sink.
Saving money is not shameful, on the contrary, a modern person is simply obliged to have a financial literacy so as not to become a "cash cow" for suppliers of goods, bankers, and all kinds of schemers.
How to plan your expenses, be economical, buy only necessary and useful things? The answer to this question will be given by such science as saving the family budget.
Regardless of how much money we have earned, spending on everyday expenses can sometimes not only significantly reduce our finances, but also plunge our balance sheet into a significant disadvantage.
To avoid such a financial catastrophe, we need not only to constantly increase our income (by developing and expanding our business, looking for profitable investment options, creating new projects, etc.), but also to try to reduce our expenses as much as possible. One of these ways is just saving the family budget.
If you distribute any budget correctly, then no crisis is terrible even for families with low incomes. These tips will help you keep your money in your wallet and channel it in the right direction.
Saving your family budget: Personal budget
1. Control spending
By analyzing a family's spending over a three-month period, you can learn to leave the unnecessary waste and filter out unnecessary and useless purchases. For convenience, install a program on your tablet or smartphone that allows you to keep track of your budget. The lightest and simplest applications can be downloaded for free on the Internet. When you learn how to navigate the programs, you can purchase paid options with an additional set of various functions.
2. Don't store your savings under your pillow
Keeping money at home is highly impractical and unsafe. Not only because you can be robbed, but also because you yourself can inadvertently squander everything up to the ruble. It is safer to put your funds in the bank. It is even more profitable to open a long-term deposit for a period of 3-5 years without the possibility of withdrawal and replenishment. This will allow you not to waste the accumulated funds and get good dividends.
3. Take a minimum of money with you
Do not carry large amounts of money in your wallet. Take on what is needed at the moment. Plan your shopping list and focus on it.
Let the main part of the funds lie on the card, which, if necessary, can be cashed. But paying for purchases in a store with a card is still not worth it, so you can give a lot more than you could if you passed bills through your hands - saving the family budget on the face.
4. Learn about household plans
Teach family and children to think through their own spending. This will help to correctly describe the family budget and will allow you to find out the interests of loved ones. If you want to control the expenses of teenage children, issue a bank card in their name and link it to your card. You will receive regular SMS notifications, so you will be aware of all your child's spending. You can also ask the bank to set a limit so that the child cannot use more money than, for example, 200 rubles a day.
From a young age, teach your children to save money for something important and useful, and not waste it on useless things. This will help develop in the child a correct and serious attitude towards money and acquisitions.
Saving your family budget: Products
5. The main thing is the list!
Marketers have devised a hundred tricks that push people to buy tons of unnecessary items. The smell of fresh baked goods awakens your appetite and forces you to fill the cart with rolls to the dump. Bright packaging, endless discounts, free tasting - all this makes you buy the most expensive goods. Therefore, it is better to go to the store full and always have a shopping list with you.
6. Freeze more
If you have a large freezer, it is wise to freeze several types of food for future use. Berries, mushrooms, meat, fish and other products are quite suitable for freezing. Store each type of food separately from each other, observing the shelf life, and packing in tight bags.
7. Master new dishes
The Internet is full of budget recipes that experienced hostesses are happy to post, sharing their housekeeping experience. Such simple and hearty dishes will save the family budget and help diversify the menu for every day.
8. Buy in season
Fruits, vegetables and berries are best purchased during the season when they have the lowest cost. Eat up on them in summer and autumn so that you don't have to overpay for them later in the winter. The benefits of seasonal vegetables are much greater than those of winter vegetables and fruits, and besides, it is more profitable to harvest them for future use in the fall.
9. Use the gifts of nature
Review your stocks of pickles, compotes, berries, salads. Think about what vegetables and fruits can be canned in the summer. If you have your own vegetable garden, then you can save a lot of money by using the gifts of nature for food. Make a list for the next season, indicate in it all types of pickles and preserves, dates and method of preparation. This will allow you not to forget about which jars you need to twist, as well as prepare the necessary spices for preservation.
Pick mushrooms and berries in the forest. Trips into the woods will help the whole family relax and save money.
Saving family budget: Clothes
10. Do not start long shopping
Plan the time you will spend buying things. It is important to distribute it in such a way that you do not have time to get hungry. Snacks in fast food restaurants harm not only your figure, but also your wallet.
If you have to, or you yourself like to devote more than three hours to shopping, take a healthy snack from home with you: dried apricots, nuts, fruits, light sandwiches.
11. Clean things for a promotion
If you regularly use dry cleaning, then take advantage of the promotions that are periodically held for regular customers. You can find out about the timing on the dry cleaning website. It is not uncommon for customers to receive large discounts on cleaning things that are close to the end of the season. For example, at the beginning of summer it is beneficial to clean jackets, light-season coats and other outerwear. In this way, you can save up to 30% of the cost of dry cleaning services.
Sometimes we buy something that later we don't wear at all, because there is nowhere to put it on. Before going to the shops, go through your wardrobe, determine what things need to be updated. Consider how much time you spend at work, home, or away. For example, 70% of the time is at work, 20% at home, 10% at the dacha. This approach will allow you to understand which things are worth buying more, and which ones in smaller quantities - saving the family budget in action.
13. Dress for sales
This will save you up to 70% of your money. Before buying on sale, you need to verify the authenticity of the discount. To do this, a couple of weeks before the proposed promotion, go through your favorite stores, where you are going to buy things and write down their cost. Sometimes sellers deliberately inflate the previous price in order to draw a more attractive one for customers later on sale days.
Saving the family budget: Utilities
14. Pay profitably
If you are used to paying for utilities directly through, then it would be more profitable to pay through the Sberbank-online service. With such a payment, "communal apartments" will not take an extra penny from you. You can also connect auto payment (the amount is debited from your bank card every month). At the same time, a commission is periodically withdrawn in the amount of approximately 0.5-1% of the payment amount.
15. Supply counters
Install water meters first, as tariffs for water supply increase every year. Gas prices are also expected to rise, so owners with a gas stove should think about installing such a meter.
16. Check at home
Order meter checks regularly. After all, it is cheaper to call a master at home and order a check that costs about 500 rubles than to completely change the meters - from 1,500 rubles. The benefit is obvious - saving the family budget!
17. Order recalculation
If for some reason you were absent from home for more than 5 days, then you can order a recalculation of utility bills. This service is suitable for those who have been living in the summer cottage for a long time or are on business trips. However, such activities should be carried out only if you have not yet installed water and gas meters. Recalculation can be done no later than a month after your arrival.
Saving your family budget: Phone
18. Call on Skype
Skype (Skype) is a unique program that allows users to communicate with each other for free from anywhere in the world without time limits. Installing such a program is not difficult, you just need to go to the official website and register for free. Your interlocutor must also have Skype so that you can communicate as much as you like. Calls can also be made to a mobile phone, but this service will no longer be free.
If your laptop has a camera, then during a Skype conversation you can see the person you are communicating with.
19. Pay less for your home phone
Each region has its own operator who is responsible for city communications. You can find the name and coordinates on the phone bill. The operator should offer you several tariff plans to choose from. Owners of landline phones can choose the most convenient and profitable one. If you barely make phone calls, use a time-based data plan. For those who like to talk for a long time, an unlimited tariff is provided.
20. Change rates
Review your current mobile data plan about every six months. Perhaps your operator has more favorable offers for you, thanks to which it will be even more profitable to call and write SMS, which is good for saving the family budget.
21. Send SMS for free
Send free SMS through the website of your mobile operator or through various services on the Internet. However, the message will be sent to the addressee without specifying your phone number. Therefore, when sending a message, always subscribe.
22. Buy what is missing, sell what is too much
There are various sites where people sell unnecessary goods and buy things for mere pennies. Sometimes you have to go and see the thing before buying, but the savings are worth it. Thus, it will be possible to get rid of unnecessary and old things, and at the same time help out a little money.
23. Spend less on travel
Most of us are used to using the bus or subway when it only takes two or three stops to go. It's time to walk! Try it and you will definitely like it!
If you have a bike, then head to the store for the right products. Such forays are very useful for both the figure and the wallet.
24. Buy home appliances on holidays
Some stores run holiday sales where you can buy the home appliances you've dreamed of for a long time. First, make sure that similar equipment is more expensive in other stores, and that the discount is real, and they are not trying to sell you stale goods.
Using these tips, you can easily reduce costs to a significant extent, and thereby achieve savings in your family budget. However, as in any important matter, it is worth observing the measure and not going to extremes, saving on everything that is possible.
We significantly increase income (for example, from), and reduce expenses to a lesser extent.
Saving the family budget
Saving the family budget can be different. In a new article, we have analyzed 17 working methods. For convenience, we have divided the tips into categories: food, technology, health, entertainment, savings. You can read the entire article or jump straight to the category that interests you.
Food
1. Make shopping lists. The main thing is to try to strictly follow it in the store. If you remember something already in the process - hold back and add it to your next shopping list. Of course, if this is not the product that you really need today. This will discipline and teach you to plan each trip to the store more clearly and thoughtfully.
2. Shop at markets and wholesalers. Find out where the nearest market is. Calculate how much you will spend on the road to it. Compare the prices and quality of the products. If the result of the calculations is in favor of the markets, you can safely plan such purchases once a week.
3. Make a menu for 1-2 weeks. This will help you waste less food. Remember that the average Russian throws about a quarter of the food they buy in the trash can. For motivation, you can roughly calculate how much money you throw away each month.
4. Make blanks. If you love to cook, try to do it not just once, but for future use. Stick dumplings, roll cucumbers, boil jam, lecho, stew. Such blanks are much cheaper than store-bought ones, tastier than them, and certainly more useful.
5. Cut back on take-away drinks. Get in the habit of taking a thermos of your favorite tea or coffee with you. This will take care not only of your wallet, but also of nature.
6. Go to the store less often. It is better to make large and infrequent purchases than small and frequent ones. This way you minimize travel expenses and, most importantly, reduce the risks of accidental purchases. Because, despite point # 1, most people find it difficult not to buy something extra outside the list.
Technique
7. Think twice before buying any non-basic home appliances. This includes bread makers, sandwich makers, kneaders, yogurt makers, etc. According to statistics, 90% of people use them only in the first month after purchase, and then they completely forget. And if you have accumulated such unnecessary equipment, sell it on Avito.
8. Minimize your phone and internet costs. Update your rates - perhaps there are packages that are more suitable and beneficial for you? Check your subscriptions - apps, media. Does everyone justify the cost of them? Even if you manage to save only 500 rubles, as much as 6,000 rubles will come up in a year.
9. Change the light bulbs to energy efficient ones. An incandescent lamp costs an average of 15 rubles, an energy-saving one - 150 rubles. Ilyich's lamp "burns" 700 kW during its service life. And energy saving - 168 kW. Now let's imagine that the electricity tariff is 3 rubles per 1 kW. It turns out that you will pay 2.1 thousand rubles for the light of one incandescent lamp, and the light of an energy-saving light bulb will cost 504 rubles for the entire period. The benefits are already evident. Now add to it the fact that the service life of an ordinary light bulb is 1,000 hours, and that of an energy-saving light bulb is about 7,000 hours.
10. Calculate all expenses for the car. Traffic jams, rising gasoline prices, insurance, maintenance, repairs ... If you have a family with children who need to be transported to kindergartens and schools, then a personal car, of course, is irreplaceable. But if you live alone, think about whether it would be more profitable to use public transport, taxis and car sharing? Calculate the benefits well and then make a decision.
Health
11. Consider if you need a gym membership. If you are actively using the subscription, then there are no questions. But if you go there once every two weeks or do exclusively on the treadmill, then perhaps you should give it up? After all, you can run in the nearest park. Consider how you can organize regular exercise at home or outdoors. After all, a yoga mat and a pair of dumbbells cost much less than a gym membership.
12. Walk more. So you will save money on transport and improve your health.
13. Limit fast food and sweets. Count how much money you spend on empty, useless food. If the figure surprises you, try to keep your consumption of these foods to a minimum. This means saving both on products and on doctors.
Entertainment
14. Use an e-book. If you love reading and spend tons of money on paper books, consider an e-reader. Also, try not to buy newspapers and magazines unless you need them for work.
15. Train yourself to keep track of not only money, but also time. Find out how much you spend on social networks, aimless surfing the Internet, useless communication, transportation, etc. Perhaps you can cut back on empty activities and carve out 2-3 hours? For this time, you can take a small part-time job.
16. Reduce the frequency of going to cafes and restaurants. If you really love this kind of pastime, put a monthly limit on this category of expenses. And try not to marry him.
Accumulation:
17. Put off every day. If you find it difficult to save 10% of your earnings, you can get into a simpler habit - round up the amount in your wallet every day and save the rest. For example, there are 5,600 rubles left. - 600 rubles. postponed. Remaining 9 200 rubles. - postponed 200 rubles. The same can be done if you are using a card. Just transfer the balance to your savings account.
The article contains many tips to help you save very small amounts. It may seem that some of them are not even worthy of attention. However, let us remind you that it is small regular spending that makes big holes in our wallets. To be convinced of this, it is enough to keep a budget for a few months. If you haven't done so yet -. This is a handy tool that will allow you not only to calculate and analyze spending, but also to plan a budget, calculate loan repayments and save for big goals.
Recent studies have shown that over the past 10 years, the cost of raising children has doubled. Even if the child receives free treatment, attends state educational institutions, enters the budgetary department of the university, in order to raise him, the parents will need an average of 3 million rubles. In such a situation, saving the family budget comes first. The tips in this article will help you plan and allocate funds wisely.
Preparation
Today, huge amounts of money are spent on food, medical treatment, clothing and education. Many families are struggling to reach their paycheck. The secrets to saving are to revise your lifestyle, limit the cost of entertainment and recreation. On the other hand, parents are not ready to save money on their children. Therefore, you need to learn how to properly distribute funds without radical restrictions for family members.
To live better, you need to either earn more or spend less. Not everyone can cope with the solution of the first problem. The second goal is quite achievable. Let's consider the main ways to save the family budget.
Observation
Before reducing costs, you need to understand exactly where most of the funds are spent, and for this you need to record every penny spent within a month. Already by the results of the first week of keeping a diary, you can identify items of expenditure that literally "wash" money out of the wallet.
In order to properly distribute the family budget, it is very important to record everything, even the smallest expenses, not forgetting to include chewing gum, cigarettes, chocolate and sweets in expenses.
Analysis
After a month of research, the first results can be summed up. To understand how to save your budget next month, you need to divide expenses into groups:
- how much money was spent on housing and communal services;
- how much money was spent on loan payments;
- what amount of expenses were the necessary foodstuffs;
- how much money was spent on clothing, hygiene products;
- were there often unplanned spending on gifts, entertainment, taxis?
Cutting costs
It will now be necessary to keep track of expenses and incomes constantly. Correct budget planning is about allocating expenses to priority and future ones. By writing down purchases, you can carefully calculate and discard unnecessary things.
You can't cut it. But some articles can be reduced. Most food is bought for pleasure, not maintenance. First of all, it is worth saving on those purchases that you can do without. Avoiding snacking on chocolate at work will only benefit your health. You should refuse to overwork if you have to get home in the evening by taxi. And if you cannot live without your favorite magazine, then instead of the paper version, purchase an electronic one.
How to save on food?
For a family on a modest budget, a spontaneous dinner in a public institution can be painful for the pocket. Of course, one-time visits to catering establishments are allowed. But if you have to change a homemade dinner daily at a cost of 150 rubles per serving of pizza, then such trips need to be planned in advance. It is advisable to draw up a meal plan for the week. Special online services allow you to prepare a weekly menu depending on employment, working conditions, lifestyle.
How to save on electricity?
One of the most expensive items on the list of utilities is the cost of electricity. Modern household appliances make life easier for a person. But if they all work at the same time, they consume a lot of energy. Here are some simple tips to help you keep your costs down.
Use energy saving lamps
Such lamps cost twice as much as usual, but they also last longer. They practically do not heat up, all the energy is spent on lighting. Average service life is three years, with annual savings of RUB 600. Dust can "eat" up to 20% of the light. Therefore, it is worth periodically wiping the shades and bulbs.
When leaving, turn off the light. In order not to forget about this simple rule, you can write a reminder and hang it on the front door.
Buy household appliances of class A + and use them strictly according to the instructions
Modern technology of class A + or A ++ consumes much less electricity, but only on condition that it is properly operated. If you put the refrigerator in the kitchen next to the stove, then it will work in an enhanced mode to maintain the required temperature. A similar situation will arise if you try to chill hot food. Timely defrosting will prevent the formation of ice on the walls of the chamber and reduce energy consumption by an average of 15%.
Computers and televisions are actively used only for a few hours a day. The rest of the time they are in standby mode, actively absorbing electricity. It is not enough just to turn off the device with the button on the power supply. You need to disconnect it from the power source.
Make cosmetic repairs periodically
Light-colored wallpapers and white ceilings can offset up to 80% of the sun's rays. In comparison, the light output from black is only 9%. But before gluing the wallpaper, it is worth checking the quality of the wiring. Sometimes the increased power consumption is due to the wear and tear of the wires.
Install heat reflecting screens
Heating devices consume a lot of electricity in the autumn-winter period. If you install foil or foam on the battery, you can increase the room temperature by 2-3 degrees. To further insulate the room, it is worth replacing the wooden frames with metal-plastic ones, or at least patching up the cracks.
Planning and backups
The distribution of funds for the next month must be done in advance. This is the saving of the family budget. The advice of financial gurus is that saving money for long-term goals is not that difficult. It is enough to put aside 5-10% from each payday in the piggy bank. This can be spent on high-value purchases, such as a car or an apartment.
Deliberate purchases
Shopping only during promotions is not the best way to save your family budget. Rather, the opposite is true. Frequent shopping trips lead to high costs. It is best to shop once a week, for example on a weekend, and make a list of the items you need in advance. If possible, go shopping without children. This will reduce unplanned costs. What, then, is the saving of the family budget? Advice:
- Disposable products save cleaning time but cost a lot of money. Replace paper towels with cloth towels, and buy tap filters instead of bottled water.
- You need to participate in promotions only if you know for sure that you will use all the goods. It is not worth buying fabric softener with a 50% discount just because it comes as a gift with a pack of powder that you have never used before. But you need to keep track of seasonal discounts in order to have time to buy clothes on sale in time.
- Buy food from the same stores whenever possible. Today, all supermarkets offer discount or savings cards to regular customers.
- Shopping in stores should be done after meals and in good spirits.
Shopping time
Some are accustomed to purchasing all the goods necessary for life immediately after receiving a salary, while others distribute these costs in several parts. Everyone decides for himself how to save the budget. On the one hand, a one-time payment for utilities, the purchase of household chemicals and food products allows you to immediately stock up on goods. The risk of spending the required amount on recreation and entertainment is minimal. On the other hand, long-term storage goods should be purchased not as far as possible, but in bulk, at low prices.
Use envelopes
If expenses are paid in installments, then it makes sense to reserve funds for them from the moment the salary is received. For this purpose, you can use multi-colored envelopes. For example, to put aside from each payday part of the money for utility bills in a red envelope, insurance payments - in green, recreation and entertainment - in yellow. In this case, even in the event of unplanned expenses, you can always pay off the arrears of mandatory payments and set aside part of the funds for long-term purposes.
Organization of rest
Not everyone can afford an expensive trip. And it is not always appropriate to set aside money for it for six months. Most often, the purpose of travel, especially family travel, comes down to a change of scenery and a good time. And for this it is not necessary to fly to the other end of the world. You can go on an excursion to the neighboring town, visit historical museums, exhibitions, or just go to the forest. Bowling, water park and playgrounds without attractions have not been canceled either. Families with children should consider home entertainment. Board games will help you to relax and have a good time.
Buy used goods
At auctions and online sites, you can find a large number of used goods of good quality and at an affordable price. Of course, family savings should not be limited to second-hand goods alone. But sometimes it makes sense to buy a bike or scooter through an auction.
Compare rates
There is huge competition in the telecommunications market. Therefore, companies periodically hold promotions. Periodically, you need to review the rates of the company you use and your competitors in order to switch to a more profitable package in time.
Use the services of a bank
Tips for saving the family budget during a crisis often include a recommendation to save money in a bank deposit or keep them on a card. Both options have a right to exist, but only with a reasonable approach.
Bank deposits are designed just to save funds, not to increase them. The rate provided for such deposits usually does not exceed the inflation rate. But if you try to withdraw funds from the account before the expiration of the contract, you can lose part of your investment. Moreover, during the crisis period, fearing capital outflow, Central Banks impose temporary restrictions on the early gap of deposits. And in institutions with a very difficult financial situation, a temporary administration is introduced at all. That is, the term for the return of funds invested in the deposit is constantly postponed. But this does not mean at all that the funds are lost forever.
If economic news does not portend major changes in the next few months, you can safely make a deposit in any commercial bank. and do not worry about the safety of funds. In other cases, you should:
- make a deposit in state financial institutions, for example, Sberbank;
- carefully read the agreement with the bank;
- open a deposit, not purchase;
- open a short-term deposit with the possibility of prolongation.
Paying for purchases with a bank card excludes the possibility of losing money. But recent studies have shown that psychologically it is easier for a person to part with invisible numbers than with real pieces of paper. Therefore, the constant use of plastic can lead to a loss of control over costs. To avoid such a problem, activate the SMS-informing service or download a mobile account management application to your phone. Only in this case it will be possible to visually track every penny spent. The bank does not provide a detailed explanation of each payment? Get in the habit of studying every number on your check.
Finally
The presented tips for saving the family budget during a crisis should not be taken as a direct guide to action. These are just recommendations for reducing costs. It will take time to get used to even the simplest manipulations. But the result is worth it.
