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.

Money-saving Lighting Tips for your Home.

Electricity doesn't come cheap here in the Philippines, and I'm sure it's the same case in most parts of the world. There are, however, many different ways to save on electricity costs and here are some of them.

Forget those regular light bulbs! Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead. A 17-watt energy efficient fluorescent light bulb gives the same amount of brightness as with a standard 60-watt bulb. Sure, it's costs a little bit more than the regular light bulbs, but the the lower wattage bulb uses less energy than its incandescent counterpart (around 72 percent less) – which can help reduce your electricity costs. Moreover,  they last 10 times longer, too!

Photo credit: Samsung

Turn off the lights when not in use. It's the most basic rule, but also the most overlooked. This simple act can actually save 10 percent to 20 percent on your total electricity use.

Install dimmer switches. This reduces the light level in a room by at least 10 percent - helping you save energy and doubling the life of your light bulbs.

But don't try to install them on your own, though, especially if you have little or zero knowledge when it comes to wiring and electricity. Call an electrician mississauga and have them do the job for you. If you're living in Ontario, you may want to consider hiring Thiel Electrical Contracting Ltd electrician in mississauga, a professional, well-established company that specializes in electrical control systems.

Thiel Electrical Contracting Ltd 
2523 Rugby Rd Mississauga, ON L5E 1T1 
(416) 524-0356

Spending and Saving, the Filipino (Kids') Way.

Summer is almost over here in the Philippines, which also means one thing - another academic year is about to start. The 2012-2013 school year officially begins on June 4th (for public schools, at least), and thousands upon thousands of students are expected to swarm to their respective schools on that day.

I know some kids aren't quite excited with the fact that summer break is over - no more fun and games, back to books and homework. But still there are some who are very, very eager to go back to school - mostly because they'll be receiving allowances again. I know, because I used to be one of those kids who are totally bummed with the 'no classes, no allowance' rule.

In this year's 'Cartoon Network New Generations' survey, research shows that 9 out of 10 Filipino children receive allowances from their parents on a daily basis. On the average, a typical Filipino child receives an allowance amounting to Php 206 per week. Not surprisingly, children from more affluent households receive more. For instance, kids from AB homes (ergo, the Upper Class) have allowances averaging to Php 366 per week; kids from C homes (aka, the Middle Class) receive an average of Php 268 per week.

Photo credit: Perceptions, Inc.

On top of these daily allowances, Filipino children also receive an average of Php 1,969 per annum in the form of gift money. Think birthdays, or 'aguinaldos' on Christmas Day. Studies show that kids in Manila receive more money than all other kids in the country. Their average weekly allowance of Php 214 plus a Php 2185 annual gift money is substantially more than what a child living in Cebu receives, which amounts to an average weekly allowance of Php 143 plus a Php 995 annual gift money only.

As for the spending habits, 57% of kids in the country spend all of the money they receive, while 87% claim to spend only half of their allowances.

When it comes to saving, 51% (that's more than half!) of Filipino children claim to be unable to save money. However, a good 34% have their savings stashed in their piggy banks (or coin banks, for that matter), while another 11% have turned over their savings to their parents for safekeeping.

Alarmingly, a whopping 61% of Filipino parents do not have bank accounts set up for their children, and only intend to do so (hopefully they will) within the next 12 months. Only 14% of Filipino parents have bank accounts under their child's name, and I'm proud to say that I belong to this very small proportion. I don't worry too much about my little man's spending habits because even at an early age, I've instilled in him the value of money. He'll be entering as Kindergarten this June, and at his age, kids usually bring snacks to school instead of receiving money from their parents.

Here's hoping that Cartoon Network New Generations survey for 2012 will serve as an eye-opener for Filipino kids, and most especially, their parents.

The Cartoon Network New Generations is a study that focuses on the lifestyles and preferences of kids in the Asia-Pacific Region. For 2012, the survey focused on the Philippines, where a total sample of 1000 kids across Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao participated.. The kids, aged 7-14, were interviewed face-to-face, in-house, together with their parents. This year's study was conducted by Ipsos Philippines.