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Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Budgeting Tricks for Every Income

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Budgeting Tricks for Every Income

Creating a budget may seem daunting and sticking to it can seem rather limiting. While budgeting may have a bad connotation, a budget is really just a plan for your money. Budgeting can teach you financial responsibility by forcing you to spend your money with purpose. Having a financial plan in place can help you take back control of your money through organization.

How Does Budgeting Help Me?

Your budget is simply your visual financial plan–whether weekly, monthly, or yearly. Your budget can help you reach certain monetary goals you may have thought impossible before. Whether your goals include getting out of debt or saving for a house, a budget can help you achieve whatever financial milestone you want.

Budgeting Tips to Get Started

  1. Budget to $0 Each Month: This tip doesn’t mean that you spend all your income throughout the month. Rather, this means that you assign all of your income throughout the month. Your funds should have a specific allotment, whether it is your savings account or a monthly loan payment such as a title loan. Earmark every dollar towards something, so you can stop the endless cycle of “where did all my money go?” You know where. Look at the budget sheet. Knowing exactly where all of my money goes every month may reduce your stress because it takes out the guesswork.
  2. Remember Every Month is Different: Another important trick to remember is that every month will be different, so your budget plan may need to be adjusted. Some months you will need to budget for unexpected expenses like car maintenance or hospital bills.
  3. Make Your Debt a Priority: The longer you wait to pay off your debt, the more you will be paying in the long run. Making your debt a priority can help you save money in the long run and increase your appeal as a candidate for loans.
  4. Track Your Progress: It’s important for you to keep track of how you are measuring up to your budget. From time to time, check your budget plan and see how much you are saving throughout the month. Reward yourself for the small victories and stay motivated!
  5. Track Your Budget: Throughout the month, you should be evaluating your budget for flaws and inconsistencies. At the end of the month, be sure to look over your spending throughout the month. If you are overspending in any one category, it may be wise to readjust your budget to maximize your savings.
  6. Stay within Your Means: While you may be making your ends meet every month, it is important to make sure that you are not spending outside of your means. Overspending can mean a high car payment or a costly mortgage. Downsizing can mean refinancing your mortgage or trading in your car for something more affordable.
  7. Have Financial Goals: Whether your goal is paying off your student debt, or saving for a house, having financial goals can put your finances and your budget in a better position. Setting small financial goals for yourself can help increase your motivation for staying on track of your budget. Focus on your reasons for budgeting and keep yourself accountable.

Image source: 401(k) calculator, via Flickr.

Are Grocery Delivery Services Worth It?

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grocery delivery service
As the gig economy continues to grow, more and more services are being offered to provide you with the opportunity to never leave your house. One of the delivery services that continues to grow and is being provided by more and more companies is grocery delivery. Some of the top companies are Instacart, Shipt, and Walmart.  Thrive Market is a great organic option.

But the big question on our minds is – is it worth it?

Does Grocery Delivery Service Save Time?

Yes, it does.

Consider the time it takes to drive to the grocery store, plus park, grab a shopping cart, and walk up and down the aisles. Depending on the time you visit the store, you may have to stand in line, then walk back to the car, load up your groceries, and drive home.

With grocery delivery service, you need to spend a few minutes with your computer, selecting your items and putting them in your virtual cart. Thus, the time doesn’t decrease from 60 minutes to 0, but the savings are tremendous.

Does it Save Money?

The short answer is it depends. Considering it saves time, then yes, because time is money.

Yes, if you’re an impulse shopper. Having your groceries delivered can bring savings to your budget. Consider how often you’re going down the aisle and toss a few things in your cart. Each time you deviate from your list of groceries, you hike up the total cost — usually resulting in exceeding your food budget.

Where I believe a grocery delivery service does not save money is if you are NOT an impulse buyer and are good at spotting deals, shopping from the discount aisle (especially meat). Or, if you’ve got the time and the desire to shop multiple stores.

Also, any fees you pay for the service and any tips you give to your shopper will eat into your savings and possibly cost you more. In this case, it will be your decision whether the time savings, avoidance of crowds, and convenience factors make it worth it. At this point, it becomes a personal preference.

Because personal finance is personal.

An Alternative to Grocery Delivery Services:

If you love the convenience of grocery delivery services, but don’t want to pay the fee, or the tip, consider something similar – grocery pick-up services. Walmart, Target, and Harris Teeter all offer grocery pick-up service. Walmart and Target are free; Harris Teeter charges a nominal fee.

It follows the same concept as a delivery service – you order your items online and schedule a time for pick-up.

Pick-up is my personal preference as I’m an impulse shopper. Ordering online allows me to avoid purchasing things I don’t need, yet I still save time. I pick up my groceries while I’m in the area. Often there is a longer wait than I prefer, but I use that time to read a book or get some work done.

Do you use a grocery delivery service? Let us know in the comments below.

Read More:

The Average Grocery Bill for a Family of Four (and How to Save on Yours)

Meal Planning For A Family On A Budget

How to Become a Couponer: A Beginner’s Guide to Help Get Started

4 Expenses Your Family Can Start Cutting Today

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If you need to save money in a hurry here are four expenses your family can start cutting today! These small changes can have a big impact.It wasn’t that long ago that we were living so close to the edge while I was on my (yearlong) maternity leave, that I was forced to have a good, serious, look at our spending. I knew there had to be areas to save but I didn’t know where to start. To save you some time I will give you five areas your family can likely start cutting today.

Beauty

One thing I was still doing was maintaining my short hair style, with a cut every six to eight weeks. I had long ago stopped coloring to save funds, now the time had come to evaluate my haircuts. I was spending almost $50 every two months to cut my hair. It wasn’t a terribly complicated cut, the truth was that I was friends with my stylist and enjoyed seeing her every few weeks. I sucked up her salon prices and continued.

It didn’t take me long to realize this was an expense we could, at the very least substantially cut down. I knew I would still want my hair cut just not for $50. I asked around to a few friends and family and found a lady who worked at a salon in the day but on weekends and evenings cut hair out of her house, for cheap. She’d cut my hair for $15. Done.

(Here are more ways to save on beauty.)

Clothing

I’ve never been a big spender on clothing but I still find ways to save. Unless it’s underwear or a staple like my husband’s undershirts or my tank tops, I almost always looking for second hand first. Between thrift stores and online classifieds I generally have quite a bit of luck (especially with woman and kids).

Food

This can be one of the hardest ones, but if done right it can be so beneficial.

Before we started budgeting, we really had no idea how much we were spending on food but I knew it was a lot. While I was on maternity leave we were forced to budget very well since money was tight and though we’ve loosened things up a bit in the years since, it was a great learning opportunity for us.

Transportation

If you have more than one vehicle, consider selling one. If possible, look into public transit or car share programs. Be conscious about how much gas you’re using. If you can carpool with someone maybe consider sharing costs. If you pay for parking and there are options around, look into parking options. I could park at work for $225/month but I can think of quite a few other things I’d rather spend that kind of money on, so I park at a free park and ride and take the bus the rest of the way in. The bus costs me $2 each way and saves on my gas and wear and tear. In the end, I’m only losing about 15 minutes by taking bus (vs driving the whole way).

Where, and how much, each family can cut will vary but these seem to be a few obvious ones most people can relate to and are a good starting point.

What areas has your family cut down or totally out to save money?

Winter is Coming, Time to Address Your Budget!

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The cold is coming and now is a perfect time to make sure you're on track financially. Here's why you should address your winter budget.It’s hard to believe that winter has either arrived, or in the process of coming for many parts of the world. Just this week I had some pictures from our summer vacation printed and now we’re making appointments to have snow tires placed on our vehicle.

With a change of season comes a perfect time to really address your budget. It’s so easy to set your budget on auto-pilot and forget to tweak it as needed. I was reminded of that this week. Speaking of winter tires, it was something I forgot to add to our budget when I did it up months ago. Thankfully it’s not a huge amount of money so I was pretty easy to ‘’make up’’ but still an annoyance. Had I spent a little more care going over everything as I should have, it would have been a non-issue.

Creating a Winter Budget

For this reason I like to spend time every season to make sure everything is accounted for, especially the winter when, for us, bills tend to get a little higher. I know our bills will get higher because I pay attention to our spending history. Without this I have no way of making predictions but I know, for instance, that our electricity bill will increase significantly because we have electric heat and live in a cold climate. It only took one $1,100 bi-monthly electric bill, right after Christmas, to make sure I did what I could to get established on the power corporations annual ‘’budget’’ which allows us to pay a monthly bill year-round based on average annual consumption, rather than face extremely high bills in the winter and extremely low bills in the summer.

For us, winter also means Christmas and quite a few important birthdays. If I’m not careful these can easily creep up on us and we’d get stuck making some tough decisions about how to manage the un-budgeted amount which, quite honestly is never a fun situation to be in.

With kids too, seasonal things have changed. Hubby and I, traditionally, don’t do anything for Valentine’s day. But, with a kid, as I look forward into my winter months, I know we will need to budget something for it. She will have a little Valentines party at her daycare, as well want to exchange cards with her friends, though it isn’t much it’s an expected expense coming up.

Winter has a higher potential for emergencies too, while we could manage without A/C in a vehicle for example, we couldn’t easily get by without heat. While I don’t like to think about emergencies and dealing with things such as a potential accident, the probability is definitely higher in the winter which means we need to take a good look at where our emergency fund is sitting. This is something I don’t do enough and get lazy about reimbursing it when an issue does arise that we may need it.

A budget shouldn’t be something that you set and forget. It needs to be continuously addressed and as we approach the New Year, it’s a perfect time!

P.s. some readers like this article because they want a recommendation for snow tires.  I can just say that Costco should be considered as part of your shopping list.  They have really excellent customer service and although their automotive section isn’t always as well rated as their food or consumer electronics, Costco sells good quality tires and batteries.  So check them out.

5 Ways to Keep Family Costs Down

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Let's be real - having a family is expensive! Here are five smart ways to keep family costs down.A family, as a unit, is expensive. There are a lot of expenses when multiple people are involved and the costs add up- quickly. If you’re not careful these costs can bust a family’s budget but with a little planning you can find a decent balance. There are a few areas that are more obvious when it comes to the question ‘’where is all the money going?’’ but since being aware of it is half the battle you can try to avoid the creeping costs all together.

Meal Plan

Food is a massive portion of a family’s budget and meal planning is the easiest way to avoid going over in the food category. If you’re looking to keep costs down, meal planning is a must. Involve everyone in the family to make sure everyone has a say. You can also involve the older kids in the cooking of the meals they help plan.

Prioritize Extracurriculars

Most people have interests, hobbies and extracurricular activities. If everyone did everything they wanted all the time it would likely be much too expensive. Sit down as a family and prioritize what is most important to everyone and come up with a financial plan to keep both family members, and budget- happy. It’s not fair if one kids plays hockey, soccer, piano lessons and takes art classes but you tell kid #2 you can only afford for them to play soccer because there isn’t enough money left in the budget. Things need to be fair for everyone!

Limit Vacations

Vacations, especially ones that involve airfare, are expensive. Rather than trying to plan a vacation every year take some time off and enjoy cheap fun around home. Save the larger trips for every few years (if even that frequent) and find cheaper ways to enjoy time off. When (and if) you do plan a larger trip shop around and capitalize on reward programs as much as possible to keep costs down.

Shop Used

Certain things can definitely be purchased used, especially children’s items like clothes and toys. You can save huge amounts money by shopping around and looking online and in second hand stores. The speed at which kids grow gives a large selection of gently used great quality clothes and toys to choose from.

Limit Eating Out

Eating out is expensive especially when multiple people are involved. There are ways to do it (like capitalizing on kids eat free nights) but the best way to save money is to do just that- save it and eat at home. Save eating out for special occasions only and everyone will enjoy it much more when it’s an anticipated treat.

Though having a family has more costs than being single or a couple there are ways to avoid letting the family costs consume all your money. It takes a little planning and awareness but it is possible to keep family costs down!

How do you keep family costs down?

How to Get By On a Low Income

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how to get by on a low incomeSurviving on a low income can be difficult, especially if you have family members who are depending on you to provide for them.  To help you relieve some of the stress and help you manage your finances, here are a few tips from LILA for single parents and families to help make finances a little easier.

Budgeting

If your income is limited, it is important that you maximize what resources you have and eliminate unnecessary expenditures.  Creating and maintaining a budget will help you track what you earn and how you spend it.  Here are the basic steps to get you started:

  1. Make a list of all income, debt, and monthly expenses.
  2. Create a budget based on necessary expenditures and a plan to build savings.
  3. Track monthly spending to help you recognize your spending habits.
  4. Review your budget on a regular basis and make adjustments as needed.

Take Advantage of Entitlements 

The government offers a variety of programs that provide financial support for low income earners.  Depending on your financial assistance, you may be eligible for certain programs or entitlements.

  • To determine if you are eligible for government benefits, child support, or income support payments, contact via phone or visit the website sponsored by the government, looking at both state and federal.
  • If you are supporting a family, visit the state government website to see what they can do for you.

Shop Around for the Best Bank Account or Loan

Every institution offers a variety of financial products and services that cater to a wide income bracket.  The fees will vary greatly depending where you go, but if you are shopping for a basic savings or checking account, look for:

  • Accounts with no keeping fees
  • Free or online monthly statements
  • No required minimum deposit
  • No overdraft fees 

There are also several charitable organizations that help people make a financial plan to reach their savings goal.  If you are in need of immediate cash for vital repairs, services, or household items, then you may want to consider a FDIC cash program. These initiatives are designed to help low income earners and those receiving welfare benefits access the credit they need with no interest fees.

Get Control of your Bills

Debt is one of the greatest obstacles facing low income earners.  In order to stay ahead of your bills, here are a few suggestions to keep you out of debt.

  • Mark your calendar so you know exactly when your payments are due.
  • Build your savings by setting aside a small amount of money from each paycheck in case of emergencies or special expenditures.
  • Ask your utilities provider about “bill smoothing” to set up an installment payment plan.
  • If you receive benefits from the government, ask about personal finance assistance options, such as direct-bill paying service to help you manage your monthly bills.

Ask for Help

If you are in over your head or simply don’t know where to start, ask for the financial guidance you need to get back on track.  There are financial counselors who provide free services for those facing financial hardships.  These experts can help you establish a budget and prepare for the future.

No matter what circumstances you are in, there is always help available.  You do not have to face your financial difficulties alone.  There are people and services available to help make life easier and create a brighter financial future.

How to Save Money On Kids Toys

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how to save money on toysI have a young daughter and am realizing just how expensive it can be when it comes to toys. Advertisers do a great job at marketing to both parents and children in trying to convince them of what they ”need”. Most toys are not a necessity in any way. Granted, there are some really great toys/educational items we have come across that we have enjoyed but I don’t think she is any better of a toddler in terms of development because she had these toys growing up.

Given that purchasing even some items will be inevitable with kids, I have gone out of my way to figure out ways to do it as cheap as possible.

Borrow

My first option is easier for young babies and children but if there are items you can borrow from a friend of family member save your money and do it! Most of these toys (such as exersaucers, play mats, activity tables) are indestructible and easy to clean so you don’t have to worry about ruining or spreading germs. We have a friend with a daughter who is four months older than our daughter which worked out well for sharing some baby toys. As she was getting ”too old” for the objects, we inherited them temporarily. Babies especially lose interest or grow so fast they don’t play with things for very long.

Same goes for books. While we have many books purchased or gifted we also borrow a ton from the library.  Makes for a fun outing and she gets ”new books”  every few weeks.

Buy Used

Younger kids especially will have no way of knowing if something was used, nor do they often care. Items we couldn’t borrow from friends we often bought  through online classifieds or yard sales. Again these objects were often only played with for a very short time and resold at a fraction of the cost. A quick clean restores them to brand new conditions!

Online or Price Comparison

If I must buy something new, I always check online (Amazon, Ebay etc) first since their prices almost always beat in-store. If I can’t find what I want online (or shipping isn’t included, I take my search back to the internet but to look at specific stores until I find the best price. If there is  another store that does price match guarantee (sometimes even beating it by a few dollars) I usually try that route too.

Buying New: Sale, Discount or Awards Offered Only!

If we’re buying from a store, it’s a super sale or we’re getting something in return. We decided to get our daughter a specific outdoor playhouse for her upcoming birthday. Retailing around here for $300 didn’t settle well with us. For months we’ve had our eyes on online classifieds with no luck. Buying online also wasn’t an option since it was massive and was going to cost a small fortune (anywhere from $50-$100) to ship. We accepted we’d need to either change our minds on gift or buy it new. We lucked out with a 50% off sale, plus price match. We snagged the $300 playhouse for $115 (less a gift card we’ve been holding on to). We also received bonus collectors points for our purchase! I was more than happy! 

Even if you only get the item on a tax-free sale, saving tax is money in your pocket! Shopping around can be tedious but in my option so worth it. 

How do you save when it comes to buying kids ”toys”, other than, of course, avoiding the purchase at all?