How come I have 500 dollars left!? This is something we’ve all said at one point in time, albeit with different figures. For some, this question of surprise has become a consistent occurrence while others, once in a while. However, if you find yourself always feeling the bottom of your financial barrel just halfway through a month, you have come to the right place.
It was easy to keep tabs on your spending as a bachelor or spinster, but since you became a parent, saving has become a thing of myth to you. ‘How to save money,’ ‘10 ways to get rich,’ ‘99 easy ways to cut down costs,’ you’ve read so many books to no avail. Your search for answers has so far led to no solution.
Here at FirstOrderCode, we know how difficult it is to reduce expenses as a family man. Like you, we’ve also read those books written by business moguls on how to save money. Also, like you, we didn’t get any form solution from those books. However, we’ve found ways you can make thrifty spending a thing for you without having to inconvenience yourself, spouse or kids, in any way.
As a result, in this article, we will be talking about these effective and practical ways you can save and reduce expenses.
What you will need to follow this tutorial
Let’s start by saying we know that what works for the Whites will not work for the Smiths. So, rather than reminding you of the universal values of thrift, we will be going for the jugular. Below are a few things you need to get in place or take note of before you can even think about saving.
- Have a budget.
- Take off debts.
- Consider financial emergencies.
- Set goals.
- Go low on your taxes.
- Study smartly, educate everyone.
According to Money-we-have, the cost of raising a child until the age of 17 is about $15,000. Although, this staggering figure slightly varies from province to province. Regardless, there’s a lot to learn from these stats regarding reducing expenses. The most prominent, however, is that when it comes to crunching the numbers, paying attention to details helps. There’s nothing wrong with planning for years when it comes to budgeting.
FYI, the image below shows the expenses of an average Canadian Household.
Source: Loans Canada
There’s no need to think about how to save money if you don’t clear your debt. So, your first step should be clearing out your debt. Owing money can be too much to handle. Nevertheless, having a plan for managing your mortgage will be super helpful. It may be impossible to pay off everything at once, but you can reduce your debt over time.
Do not forget to consider emergencies when working on reducing expenses.
If you are thinking about how to save money, then you can not leave out financial targets. Setting up financial goals plays a huge role in reducing expenses. Having monetary goals is the only thing standing between you using all your salary to pay bills and saving up for your kid’s college fund.
Furthermore, you don’t need to earn less money to pay less tax. Reducing expenses can also be achieved by lowering your taxes through capital as explained in the video below.
Source: Vlogbrothers (YouTube Channel)
In addition, it’s challenging to save with proper knowledge of how to save money. Reading this article is part of educating yourself, but it doesn’t end here. As a family, you need to educate everyone on how to save money before starting. You’ll need to work towards the same goals, or else, you are bound to fail.
Explain and re-explain. Show facts and figures, and everyone will join your cause.
Step by step instructions
Now that you know you have a budget, paid back some money, gone low on your taxes, here are a few ways you can start saving today.
- Control food expenses.
- Save on energy and shelter.
- Focus on clothing (but don’t get obsessed about it).
Reducing expenses on food might also mean changing your family’s eating habits. Plan daily meals weekly, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, avoid eating out. So, know what the cost of the raw materials and, based on that, have a cash limit.
We are all experts when it comes to cutting down housing expenses — switch of the light, AC, or the heater when nobody’s home. However, we sometimes forget to do these things. One way to look out for your housing costs is by installing a thermostat to help regulate temperature. A thermostat puts your mind at rest even if you forget to turn off the heater before going on vacation.
You are probably wondering, clothing is only 6% of an average family budget, why focus on it? Yes, controlling food spending is a must if you want to save. Also, housing and energy costs must be tackled in order to save more.
Nevertheless, it’s straightforward to save on clothes compared to the other means mentioned. You can start reducing expenses on clothes immediately to maximum results. For others, it may take some time before you start seeing the benefits.
Here are ways you can start monitoring how you spend money on clothes (for every member of the family)
- Re-selling oldies:
Yes, the first way you can control how you spend money on clothes is by selling clothes you no longer need. Several consignment stores make selling well-used clothing super-easy. Online stores like Twice and ThreadUp can help you sell your unwanted clothes online, requiring no to little effort from you.
- Shopping with reward points:
Many online fashion boutiques offer reward points for every purchase. Make getting rebates a priority when choosing online stores.
- Sewing:
Learning how to sew could save you so much money. Mending those small tears and holes will add to any clothing’s lifespan.
- Recycling clothes:
Kids grow quickly. Before you know it, the pants that fit yesterday is too small today. Recycling clothes means you can pass down fashion items from one child to another.
- Using coupon collectors:
Finding every National Sports discount code sounds impossible. However, with FirstOrderCode, you will find every single valid National Sports discount code and more. Find coupon codes for all of your favorite fashion stores by searching for the store using the search box. Better still, you can sign up to get notifications on all new offers.
We hope we’ve been able to provide some practical ways on how to save money and cut expenses. Remember, you can save and still enjoy life; it all takes planning.
Besides, you can take the first step of reducing expenses on necessities at the click of a button. You can find coupon codes for your favorite stores on FirstOrderCode, including every valid National Sports discount code and mega deals.
