Wednesday 8 January 2020

MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR SAVVY SINGLE MUMS

Saving money isn’t easy when you have a family to raise. Bringing new little lives into the world means constantly spending money on everything from food supplies to new clothes. When you’re a single parent, finding the cash to make ends meet each month becomes even harder. After all, you’ve only got one set of wages to pay for all the crucial things that you and youngsters need. 

The good news is that just because money can be tight when you’re a single mum, doesn’t mean that you need to give up on saving altogether. The following tips will help you to make every penny stretch further in 2020.
1. Cut Down On Subscriptions
Subscriptions are a modern-day convenience that a lot of us spend way too much money on. We tell ourselves that we want the option to browse through multiple entertainment options every day, so we subscribe to endless movie services, and then stick to the same one each night. Every January, we sign up for gym memberships that we have no intention of using, when realistically we could just as easily work out at home. 
Start cutting down your expenses by getting rid of as many unwanted subscriptions as possible. This includes any meal subscription boxes that you might be signed up to. You can always find recipes online to cook for your kids and buy the ingredients yourself. 
2. Get the Kids to Help with Shopping
Taking the kids on your regular shopping trip might sound like a nightmare, but it’s actually a great way to cut costs if you do it right. First of all, you can make sure that you’re not paying extra money for someone to watch your kids while you’re doing errands. Secondly, if your youngsters are with you, they can help you to be as frugal as possible with your money.
Ask your kids to help you find items on your list that are available for a price lower than you usually pay. If you turn the event into a game, where the winning kid gets a prize, then everyone will get more excited about saving money. This is a great way to convince your children to try non-branded versions of their favourite items too.
3. Know When to Spend
As a single mum, it’s tempting to avoid spending whenever and wherever you can. While most of the time, cutting down your spending will be a good thing, there will be times in your life when you do need to borrow a little extra money for long-term benefits. For instance, if you’re buying a new television for your whole family, then it makes sense to invest in one that’s going to last several years, not just a couple of months. 
When you don’t have enough cash to make the big purchases that you need outright, think about a small loan so you can spread the costs out over a slightly longer period of time instead. This will help big costs to seem less significant.
4. Buy Second Hand
You’d be amazed by how many people give away perfectly good items to charity shops. If you need a new coat or a coat rack, you’ll be able to find plenty of great products at your local charity store without spending a fortune. Some of the items you track down might need a little love and upcycling to make them ready for use – while others could be unworn and unused.
You can also check out what people are selling online, on places like the Facebook marketplace. This is a great environment to visit if you’re looking for items that are still new. Many people sell items with their tags online, just because they lost their receipt. 
5. Help Your Kids Understand
Finally, remember that it can be difficult for kids to understand how complicated  money is when they’re still young. Your child doesn’t know how much work you put into keeping a roof over their head each month, so don’t get frustrated when they constantly ask for new toys and clothing. Instead, simply explain why you can’t afford to get them all of the items that they might want. 
As your children begin to get a little older, you can even walk them through your budget and help them to get a better insight into where the money you earn goes each month. Eventually, your little ones will start to understand why you can’t always say yes, even if you really want to. 

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