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4.17.2018

Simple Tips to Help Manage Your Family Finances.

Looking after your loved ones is a challenge. Managing your family’s finances is a whole different ball game. Not only do you want to provide the best things for your children, but you also want to stay in the black.

Finding the right balance between keeping your loved ones happy and staying within your budget may seem like a daunting task. However, there are many ways to pull that off successfully.

These methods may seem simple. Once you apply them, they can reduce stress in the long run. To help ease the management of your family finances, Alpha Car Finance offers these tips below.
Budgeting need not be stressful.
Don’t spend more than you earn.
It’s a very straightforward advice, but many folks tend to overlook the simplest things. These days, it’s easy to get swept away with huge sales or enticing promotions. Armed with a credit card, anyone can easily walk into a store and spend money like a millionaire. That’s why many consumers end up falling behind on their monthly expenses. One glaring sign that you are spending more than you earn is if you can’t afford to pay for something outright. So, if you intend to commit to a big-ticket purchase, make sure you have more than enough to cover the monthly installments.

Create a realistic budget.
No matter how busy life gets, find the time to create a family budget and make sure you stick to it. You can start by writing a list of all your monthly bills. These expenses may include mortgage, car payments, utilities, groceries, phone and internet bills, among others. Determine the things you can live without, then allocate more money to your savings.

Keep track of your spending.
Part of committing to your family budget is by keeping track of your spending habits. You can research online, get some tips from Family Hype, or use free financial apps, like You Need a Budget (YNAB), Mint or similar tools to help track your expenses and manage your finances. It’s easier to manage what you can track. After doing this for a month or two, you’ll get a better handle on your finances.
Photo credit: Kiplinger.
Avoid impulse buying.
Many people find it hard to resist the temptation of buying something expensive on a whim. To counteract impulse buying, give yourself at least 30 days to think before making a huge purchase. This way, you’ll have enough time to realize whether you really need something or not.

Share the responsibility.
Get every member of the family involved. When you get everyone onboard, it will be easier for you and your family to achieve your financial goals. Be transparent about your finances, so you won’t have any unforeseen issues.

Also, set some ground rules. Get your partner and children to agree on having spending limits. There will be instances that you may appear like the bad guy because you need to enforce these rules. But, remember, you must set a good example for your children. It will make your job a lot less difficult.

Look for ways to get extra income.
These days, it’s easier to make money on the side by making good use of your skills. If you enjoy writing, you can start a blog and promote other people’s product or services and get paid for your talents. If you have older children, they can do simple jobs like mowing the neighbor’s lawn, delivering the newspaper, do some babysitting, the possibilities are endless.

Even if you apply some or all these tips, we hope they help you get better control of your family finances. Though keeping track of your spending and sticking to a budget may seem difficult, just remember that you and your family will reap the benefits in the long run.

Do you have some tips to share? We’d love to hear them. What steps did you take to manage your family’s finances? How was your experience? Please share them in the comments.

24 replies:

Megan said...

Thanks for sharing these tips! Although easy to say, they're a lot harder to implement... it does take a lot of patience and willpower to manage finances properly. This is great advice!

Gladys Parker said...

We had to learn the hard way. We had credit cards and were only going to spend what we allotted to pay back each month. I, not anyone else, messed that up in a huge way. Now we only spend what we have and bills, along with other monthly expenses get taken out first. It works very well.

kristy b said...

These are some great suggestions! It’s easy to spend more money then we should especially with kids.

GiGi Eats said...

Oh man, I spend money on FOOD. YEP! That's what I love so that's what I spend the money on and am OK with doing so, I mean we need food, right?! lol!

Lauren Ashley said...

Managing finance of my family is really tough. These are great tips that could help me.

Shruti said...

Though i am not good at managing finances well, i do follow a routine where i put aside safe money and then spend the rest a little carelessly. That way i always have some money aside when i do need.
I guess i would try to follow the first tip "Don't spend more than you earn".
Thanks for the tips!

Emily Fata said...

Not spending more than you earn is a HUGE way to avoid getting into debt. The thing is, a lot of people frivolously spend that additional money on extra, unnecessary things. Cutting this can save a tonne of money and also the stress of dealing with heaps of debt down the road.

Eileen said...

These are all really great tips for saving money! The first one is the most important for sure!

Lasha said...

These are great tips. Thank you so much for this information. That is so helpful.

Lyosha Varezhkina said...

Finance managing is always tough. I also always have a small amount of money planned for small impulse buying like comfort extra coffee. It feels better if you know you don't overspent and have some sort of buffer. if you don't spend it it goes to savings part

Lucile Coo said...

This is really great advice. My one downfall is impulse shopping, I could go into a store for one thing and come out with a whole cart full.

Unknown said...

I could definitely use these. I agree with all the tips here and that they are all necessary to achieve financial freedom.

Jane @ www.thismamablogs.com
Financial Freedom | Mindful Living

Heather said...

Great advice for saving and spending responsibly. I need to get the kids involved so they can understand money matters before their habits are set.

Preet said...

These are some really great tips to manage finances. I am working on my impulse buying habits. It is good when you set the realistic budget and then keep track of the spending.

Lavanda Michelle said...

Managing money can be so complicated. These were some amazing tips. We were doing to well in the money department until we decided to complete a realistic budget. Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

I totally agree with all the tips that you gave. It's really important that you track your spending and that you don't spend more than what you can originally handle. Following these would help you save so much!

Elizabeth O said...

What a great article this is, its really helpful to have this kind of information to read as a reminder and a motivator to better manage family finances. Great job.

Regine L. said...

Thank you for the great advice and tips. I really keep on track with our spending. It is much better if we can save.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite personal finance quotes actually comes from Jay Z, haha. He said if you can't afford to buy it twice, you can't afford it.

Jennifer Prince said...

I tell you what. Impulse buying is such a huge culprit. It's hard not to sometimes! What a great list, too.

Angela Ricardo Bethea said...

These are some great tips to manage a family finance. Managing finances are so difficult but we need to do it.

Regine L. said...

Wonderful tips! I totally agree with you. I always see to it that I keep track of our expenditures.

acupofassamtea said...

Great post for managing your finance. Keep track on your spending is a key point so that you can totally well aware where is your spending going.

Ali Rost said...

Being able to save feels fulfilling and it's good to have funds whenever you need it. I think these are great tips for people who would like to save more and handle their finances better.