Bringing the Family Aboard
If you're the only person in the family who is making sure the pennies don't slip needlessly out of the family coffers, you may think keeping a budget seems impossible. But with careful communication and a commitment to living true to your family's financial vision for the future, you can even bring that spendthrift spouse or peer-pressured teen in line and within budget.
Introduce your family to the joys - and dramatic savings! - available through shopping at secondhand stores, garage sales, and other reduced-price locations where they can find top-quality furniture, games, and clothing (to name just a few items) for a fraction of the new prices. See Chapter 16 for more information on secondhand shopping.
Finding Ways to be Frugal in Every Area of Your Life
Although some areas of everyday spending are easier to cut back on than others, if you make a concentrated effort to cut back a little bit everywhere, you'll see faster results and a healthier checkbook too! Here's a quick overview of some frugal living basics for
life in general.
Cut costs on food-related expenses. Frequent trips to the drive-through and panicked calls for pizza delivery all add up to disaster for the average person s budget. But when life`s too busy and you're running fifteen different directions at once, you need some quick and easy ways to save money and get dinner on the table without breaking the bank.
Keep a rein on kid-related expenses. When a young couple first gets married, they often think two can live as cheaply as one, which can be true. But when the two of you become the three or four of you, watch out! Frugal living becomes not only more difficult but also a lot more necessary for the financial survival of your family when kids are added to the picture. From diapers and formula to designer clothes and school dances, the costs of raising kids are a continual challenge to the frugal plans of their parents.
Cut back on gift expenses. Gift-giving opportunities abound, and with them, expectations. If your extended family gives elaborate gifts to the entire clan at the holidays every year, perhaps you can explain in a tactful way that you or your
immediate family have chosen to simplify your lives and are cutting back on gift giving this year. Suggest just buying gifts for the children, or drawing names out of a hat, or just
exchanging 'tfamily'' gifts that everyone in the household can use together rather than giving separate gifts to each individual. You may find that the others want to ease their gift-giving burden as well, but are hesitant to rock the boat first.
Keep general upkeep expenses under control. Whether you're keeping your home, car, or yourself in tip-top shape, do it within budget.
Be wise and frugal when investing in big-ticket items. Even the most frugal family needs to occasionally spend money on something expensive (house, car, plane tickets, college education, appliances, vacations). The most well thought out frugal plans can be significantly set off course by making a single mistake with one of these high-ticket purchases or expenses.
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