10 Budgeting Tips for Your Family

Not everyone is good at budgeting, but it’s a necessary part of maintaining financial stability. While sitting down by yourself or with a partner to hash out a budgeting plan isn’t something you want to do on a Friday night, it provides a great sense of accomplishment. Try these 10 budgeting tips to get you in the swing of things.

1) Pick ONE day of the month where you sit down and talk budget.

2) Involve kids in the discussion. It will make you think of things more clearly because you have to explain them to someone else. This also helps children gain knowledge about good money management skills.

3) Reward yourself. Go through last month’s expenses and if you stuck to the plan, go out for dinner instead of cooking one week night.

4) Use visuals like envelopes with labels such as “Entertainment”, “Groceries” and “Phone Bill” to store cash or the bills for the month. 5) Create a ‘Bills & Budget Box’. This box will contain the envelopes of each month so you have all your paperwork in one place.

6) Set a goal each month for the family. If you know that you spend a lot of money at restaurants, make it a family goal to cut down by 25% the first month and ease your way into cutting back on bad budgeting habits.

7) Shop in bulk for things that are used frequently such as dish-washing soap, your favourite cereals and pantry-goods. The money saved on those essentials will surprise you!

8) Adhere to times where cost of energy is lower. For example this electricity time-of-use price period chart for Ontario. 9) Plan ahead. Whether it’s going to the grocery store or the mall, make sure you decide exactly what you need beforehand and resist lingering around. This almost always leads to unnecessary purchases that are just not in your budget.

10) It doesn’t have to be 50% of your disposable income but allot some funds to activities you and the family can do together. It will make your budgeting seem less like a task and more like a lifestyle if you incorporate a little fun!