Money Saving Tips For Families*

With Christmas fast approaching I’ve been thinking about saving and have come up with these money saving tips ideal for families.

Our personal finances haven’t been great for a few years now. After both my husband and I were made redundant within 10 months of each other, our household income dropped drastically. I became a stay at home mum and my husband started an apprenticeship as an Electrician. Fingers crossed he will be finished by December and can start earning a little more.

Before Lamb was born we had a join income of over 50k. Then I went part time and our joint income was more like 40k. Now it’s less than 20k and we have 2 extra mouths to feed.

It’s not been the easiest transition to say the least, but we have a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, and we do our best to make sure the boys don’t go without.

We’ve obviously had to make some changes to our spending and find ways of saving money. There are lots of little changes you can make, and of course there are options if you get a little desperate.

1. One of the easiest things you can do is set up a TopCashback account. I’ve had one for a few years now and I think my total earnings is over £450. Using a cash back account is so easy and you can earn money from your purchases online. The best earners are for things like insurance or phone contracts. If you’re due to renew something like this I highly recommend looking on a cash back website to see what they offer if you purchase via their website. Obviously this is something you can do years with things like car insurance (as long as you’re happy to switch providers) so you can really build up your earnings.
2. Grocery shopping online is another way I save money. At the moment I shop with Ocado as I find the app super easy to use around the kids. I used to shop with Tesco so I could earn clubcard points. Another great day to save money. Shopping via the app or online means I can filter my searches via deals and offers. I always go to the half price section and add what I need thats half price. I then go to the buy 1 get one free section. You get the idea. And make sure you meal plan so you don’t waste food.
3. Make use of offers on kids clothing. Something I’ve always done is buy ahead with kids clothes. If I’m in a supermarket and they’ve got a sale rail, I always look through to see if I can pick up anything in bigger sizes to put away. I also make use of the 2 for £x deals. For example, Sainsbury’s have a 2 for £5 on some of their children clothes. So I might buy the same item in Bears size as well as Lambs size, or I might buy the same item for one of the boys in 2 sizes, or just grab whatever I think they need. Either way I’ve always had stuff ready for when they grow and I never need to bulk buy on kids clothes.
4. Get an Amazon Prime account. I have to say I really rate the Amazon Prime account. It’s £79 a year, but I use it so much I definitely make my money back in one way or another. I use Amazon Prime to buy everyone’s birthday gifts and get free next day delivery and almost everything I buy. We watch Amazon Prime TV daily and I’ve downloaded lots of Albums from Amazon Mustoc including the Moana and Trolls soundtrack for the boys! When you add up how much everything I get from my prime account would roughly cost, for me it’s well worth the £79 yearly fee. To find out more you can take a look here.
5. Borrowing money, is of course an option if things are desperate. For example, we recently got a new car as ours was on it’s way out. It is much cheaper to run and ultimately saving us money each week on diesel. Long term changes could help if you’re disposable income doesn’t go far. As I drive our car 80% of the time, I’m the one who fills it up, As I survive on tax credits and the little moment I earn, putting petrol in the car can soak up a lot of my money. I’m now ‘saving’ money on fuel because I’m filling up a lot less than before. There’s also things you can do to improve your home which could save you money in the long run. Something like loft insulation.
6. Take a picnic! We are so guilty of spending too much on food the we go out for the day. We really need to start making sandwiches and taking snacks with us when we go out. I can easily spend £20 on food on eating out. Of course, it’s nice to treat the kids every now and then, but it all adds up. This is definitely something I need to improve on to save money.
7. Do you research! One thing I always do is shop around. I search online for the best deals and place to buy things. I look for vouchers and discount codes. Money saving events and double points events. Even if it’s a small saving, it’s better in my pocket then theirs! I always check out moneysavingexpert.com to see if Martin can help us save some pennies.

So those are some of the ways I manage money saving for our family. Even just doing a couple of these, I’m sure you’ll notice a difference.

What money saving tips do you have?

~A~

* Collaborative Post