Cutting costs and boosting your savings is never an easy task – especially when your finances aren’t just there to sustain you! It’s often easy as a mom to splurge on the kids, and take the loss when money can’t be stretched any further. Moms need to spend money on themselves too, and shouldn’t have to neglect their own needs (as many money-saving ‘hacks’ may insinuate). Sometimes, you do just have to bite the bullet and give up some things to save money, but there are plenty of smart yet small changes that you can make to help save some cash, without having to completely cut things out of your budget. If you’re interested in saving money on food, check out How to Save Money on Groceries and Dining Out.
1) Check That Your Bank and Card Set-up is Working For You
When it comes to banks, many people stay with the first one they ever joined with no consideration to the other options available. However, your current account may be a lot more restrictive than other banks could potentially offer, with many offering between 12-21 months of 0% APR. Plus, with various ways to compare credit on the net, finding the best fit for your financial goals couldn’t be easier. Sometimes things go wrong and you might have to dip into the dreaded overdraft to make ends meet – it’s a big help knowing that this won’t come at a ridiculous fee.
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2) Share Those Subscriptions
When it comes to cutting expenses, usually the first thing to get the snip is subscriptions. Whilst this isn’t bad advice by any means – we all are guilty of paying for services we don’t often use – it’s not necessarily optimal. You should make a list of subscriptions you absolutely need, perhaps Netflix is non-negotiable as the little ones love their Cocomelon and can’t do without. In that case, why not see about spreading the cost by investing in a family plan, and sharing the subscription with a few family members? Most streaming services offer family plans that aren’t bound by household, so a subscription that costs $19.99 per month, split between, say, 4 people, is now $5!
3) Invest in Quality
This tip is a bit of a difficult one, mainly because it actually goes against making all the cutbacks in favor of spending a little extra. It makes sense, though! Cheaping out on certain things is a short-term fix to a long-term problem, and might seem like the best option at the time. If you can afford to splurge a little, however, in the long term spending more money on quality items will save you money, as the longevity of these products will far outlast their cheaper counterparts. Of course not everyone can necessarily do this – you need money to save money – but if you are in a position to do this, it is worthwhile. If you manage to get a low/no interest overdraft set up with your new bank, this would be a great help for investing in quality products!
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