Running a family is expensive, with a single child costing $235,000 between birth and adulthood. When you become a parent, you will learn a whole host of new skills, but perhaps one of the greatest learning curves will be in accounting. Take control of your finances by forming healthy habits to help save for your children’s futures.
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Be Open and Transparent
Nearly half of Americans say that they don’t like talking about their personal finances. This taboo around money has been considered a leading cause of divorce and family breakups. However, if you want to really get on top of your personal finances, then you have to get past this roadblock. At minimum, this means being honest with yourself, which many people struggle with. Ideally, be open with the whole family about how funds are being spent. Then you can start making improvements.
Keep a Monthly Budget and Set Goals
Maintaining a budget is more than just tracking how much you spend. You can use it to see where costs can be cut and challenge yourself to improve over time. Once you have a family, you need to take note of money spent for every member. Yes, you’ll be spending a lot more, but that also means there’s a lot of areas where you can make savings.
Consolidate Debts and Savings
As you go through life, you’ll accrue many different streams of in-goings and out-goings. Save yourself time and money by consolidating these where possible. If you have many different debts, pay them off with a new loan and focus your energy making that one monthly repayment. If you have 401Ks from several previous employers, combine them all into one big savings account, which will gather interest more quickly.
Change How You View Gifts
Everyone wants to treat their children, but gifts can be the one area that you find yourself consistently overspending. The most valuable thing in a family is time spent together, so focus more energy coming up with fun games and days out, rather than always purchasing the latest toy. You can splurge for Christmas and birthdays, but keep these as special moments and be frugal with your gifts throughout the rest of the year.
Budgeting for a whole family can get complicated, but it can help you to find places to make savings. Start by being transparent about your spending, then consolidate debts and savings where possible.
Don’t be afraid to limit spending on gifts, in favor of quality time over fancy gadgets. Your children will be happier and their future savings will be more secure.