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Saving On Your Daily Basics

December 26th, 2017 Posted in Money Tips
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We all want to set a good example for our kids, and the best way to do that is through the doing itself. So, we need to cut back a little on our spending, but still comfortably live whilst a good amount of our income gets filed away into a savings account for use later. And the best place to tackle is the money that goes into what we buy everyday to keep our household full of goods! Here’s some ideas on cutting back on the daily basics we don’t actually need that much of.

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Understand Where Your Money Goes

Every week we use our finances to take care of multiple parts of life, so working out where your money goes and the percentage each time is the first step. So, this is a lifeline for people who are already looking into visiting debtconsolidation.co, as paying off any debt we already have is key to keeping our money flowing properly.

So your bills are taken care of and any debt you have you know you’ll be able to manage; that’s an incredibly secure place to be! Once we know we’re in the clear, it’s time to plan out what goes into what. Does your money all drain away into a savings fund? Or maybe you’re overbuying from the supermarket whenever you go out to it? Or maybe you have no clue what your finances are doing, and you’re just on a monitoring schedule. Consider your usual week and then go from there.

Tackle Food First

Food is a big money suck, and that’s because we need it to live! It can probably get pretty annoying that the peppers you bought only a couple of days ago are already pruning up, so that means we need a little reevaluation on what we buy. If you know you’re not going to use it, immediately put it back.

Make some meal plans for the family, and try to churn them out at the beginning of each week. If you know what to buy and absolutely know you’re going to use it, your meals will be more delicious and the fruit and vegetables that cost a little more than the microwavable packet burger will be worth the investment.

The long and short of it is: know what food you have in your cupboards and your fridge, and keep the basics stocked up, and plan your meals out in advance to cut back on any waste.

Then Cut Out the Little Luxuries

It’s good to have a treat from time to time, we deserve it for working so hard after all! Yet, once a week is a pretty good schedule for them, and more regularly might be where you’re going wrong. Don’t cut out the nights out with your friends, but make sure they’re more of an occasion!

You can easily buy lower priced treats, such as bath bombs for your own spa night, and movies to watch at home. Don’t overspend on basics!

A particular point of transition when it comes to money is when leaving college and starting work for the first time. This great guide has lots of great tips and advice – Transitioning from College to Career: A Guide for New Grads

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How To Provide The Best Education On A Budget

October 18th, 2017 Posted in learning about money
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We all want the best for our children when it comes to their education, and as we all know education is one of the most expensive things you will spend your money on. It’s also understandable that you would want to support your child’s education as much as possible, but it can be frustrating when you don’t have the funds to do so. Luckily, there are a few steps that you can take so that you can help provide your children with the best education possible, whether they’re small children, or grown into young adults.

How To Provide The Best Education On A Budget - library shelves image

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Saving from birth

One thing that many parents choose to do when they have children, is to begin saving for their child’s education. You don’t necessarily need a swanky bank account to do this either. Simply putting change in a (large) container will mount up over the years. Imagine having saved at least a large part of their education and presenting you child with it when they go to take further education. It would be a brilliant help and you would be able to rest assured that you’ve given them the best start in life as you could.

Of course, if you do have the option to save money in an account then you should take full advantage of it because of interest rates. Even though interest rates are usually low, having your bank contribute that little bit extra into their fund will certainly help.

Loans

Even though public schools give our children the right education, it’s understandable that you’d consider sending your child to a private school so that their education is more tailored to them. Of course, this kind of education comes at a price. While the price of sending your child will cost you each year, the initial price of buying school supplies and uniform can also mount up. Especially in private schools due to the fact that many require you to wear a certain uniform.

A loan might not be something you’ve considered, but to get the initial costs out of the way it might be a route you could take. There’s loans that you can get even if you have a bad credit score. Https://www.jubilee2000uk.org/analysis/secured-loans/bad-credit has more information on how you can achieve getting yourself a loan if you may have been refused anywhere else.

Remember though, you will need to make sure that you can afford the yearly education before considering private schooling.

Prepaying for education

Did you know that you’re able to prepay for a college course for your children? This is the perfect solution for those of us that have come into some money, or know that in the future your income won’t be as high. Doing this will allow them to enter the course they desire without having to worry about money.

As you can see, there are three main ways of ensuring you can provide your children with the best education – even on a budget! http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/lime-zaim-zaymi-online.html

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Dodge These Family Financial Pitfalls, And Learn How To Climb Out If You Do Fall In!

August 25th, 2017 Posted in family finance
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When you have a family to take care of financially, you will want to do your best to avoid any pitfalls. However, even if you do take a tumble, there are ways of getting out again. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Buying a house that is too expensive

One the biggest problems I see families getting into is buying a property to live in that is far too costly to afford comfortably. This is because it’s all too easy to buy into the dream of getting that perfect home or forever house, no matter what the cost.  

Dodge These Family Financial Pitfalls, And Learn How To Climb Out If You Do Fall In! - luxury home image

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However, when you have a family to take care of, there are other costs to include in your budget, not just your rent or mortgage. Unfortunately, when these take up most of your earnings it leaves very little left for other essential things like clothes, bills, and transport, and even less to pay for fun family times and making memories together.

Dodge These Family Financial Pitfalls, And Learn How To Climb Out If You Do Fall In! - Dollar bills image

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I’m, not saying that your home it’s unimportant it, is. As it’s the base that keeps you safe and allows you to raise your family, but it’s all about balance. So, if you find yourself in a home that is a drain on your finances, it may be time to consider moving to something more reasonable. As all you are doing is taking money away from others areas of your life, often the ones that are vital to its overall quality.  

Not getting your taxes right

Dodge These Family Financial Pitfalls, And Learn How To Climb Out If You Do Fall In! - tax return image

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Tax, the dreaded task most of us have to do! The problem is that when you are busy, and you have a family to care for it can be pretty easy to put it off, or not be as accurate as you might if you were sitting in an office at work doing your return. However, not giving your tax return the proper attention is a big mistake, because not only can it cost you a fortune in unpaid taxes and fees, in some cases, you can actually get in trouble with the law as well. Something you will want to do your darnedest to avoid, especially if you have a family depending on you.

Dodge These Family Financial Pitfalls, And Learn How To Climb Out If You Do Fall In! - tax building

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So to avoid falling into this hole in the first place it best to keep excellent records including receipts, invoices, and notes on anything that is tax deductible. Then when you have to file your return, it will be a lot easy to make sense of everything.

If you have a problem with your return once you have filled it, don’t panic. Instead, schedule a free tax consultation with Joe Callahan, or another specialist and get them to help you assess the situation. Remember just because the IRS is making a case against you, doesn’t mean that they will win. So get as much information and help as you can to build your side of the case and give yourself a good chance of success.

Forgetting To Save For A Rainy Day

Rainy days, they do happen, and that is something we should all be aware of. That is why is so important to have something tucked away just in case it’s needed. After all, it’s unlikely you will foresee every problem that you come across in life!  

Dodge These Family Financial Pitfalls, And Learn How To Climb Out If You Do Fall In! - saving for a rainy day image

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To prepare for this, it can be useful to put away a certain amount each month into a saving account. This keeps it separate and also allows you to earn interest on your money, so it’s working harder for you.

Of course, you may get caught down this particular financial hole, without having an emergency fund to fall back on. In this case, to get out, you will need to find the money elsewhere. To do this, try selling something of value that you own like a piece of jewelry, some IT equipment, or a musical instrument. Another option is to take out a loan either from a bank, or payday lender if you only need the cash for a short amount of time.

Lastly, one of the cleverest ways of getting yourself out of this particular hole is by taking out a 0% credit card. This allows you access to the money that you need, while also ensuring you don’t actually have to pay back more than you borrowed, as you do with most other loans. Although it is worth mentioning that the 0% interest rates on most credit cards only last for a certain amount of time and usually don’t apply to cash withdrawal, only actual shopping purchases. Meaning they will only be suitable for some situations. http://credit-n.ru/ipoteka.html

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Teaching Your Kids About Car Finance

July 11th, 2017 Posted in teaching kids about money
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Kids grow up so fast, sometimes too fast – especially when they start talking about getting their first car. Kids may not realise the financial implications of getting a car, but you do. Teaching them from a young age will help them understand what responsibilities they will need to take on when they get one, even if you agree to cover the cost until the leave for university. Having a car will be one of the first major financial responsibilities your child can have, and it’s important to prepare them right for it.

Have them save towards the car

Teaching Your Kids About Car Finance - toy car image

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One way to teach kids about car finance is to make them save towards any car they plan to have in the future. Whether this is through saving their allowance or getting them to take on a part-time job, it’s important that they realise that saving is a key part of getting the things that they want, rather than relying on borrowing/credit to get there faster. One way to get them to learn is to teach them about cutting household expenses and other costs which could help them to make the savings they need.

Show them the bigger picture

As well as the cost of a car, children will need to know about the other costs that come with it including fuel costs, repairs, maintenance, and insurance. These costs annually can amount to as much as the car itself if their first car is an older car, and they will need to learn how to work and save to be able to afford all of these things, and not just the car itself. If you want to take it further, you can talk to them about pricing up the cost of accidents, why they might need to hire a personal injury lawyer and the costs associated with parking fines and speeding tickets. The message her is that a car isn’t just a single item, there are many other responsibilities that come with it.

Don’t stop at now

For most kids, a first car will be more of a run-around, a second-hand car which will teach them responsibility as well as helping them to learn to budget. This could teach them more about car finance and responsibility than getting them a brand new car would. In the future, your kids will need to earn money in order to afford a nice new car, and learning all about the different finance options, including leasing, will help them understand for when that time comes.

Even if you’ve done all you can to put them off the idea of owning a car for the meantime, it’s a subject that will keep coming up as they get older. Helping kids find ways of saving for a car will make the end reward much sweeter for them, and will make them appreciate their car more because they bought it with their own money. There’ll be tough lessons to learn, but you can certainly guide them from a young age.

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What They Don’t Teach Them In School

May 30th, 2017 Posted in financial literacy for kids, teaching children about money
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money, what they don't teach at school - child on dock image

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Getting your children to learn the importance of money can be one of the most valuable things that they will ever be taught. Unfortunately, schools around the world still are not grasping on to the idea that the more knowledge we impart about the world of finance for when they reach their adult years, the more that children will take on board and be able to utilise it to their own advantage with the next generation. With that in mind, what are the top three things that we need to be teaching our children now, while the time is right?

Save Carefully

It’s hard to expect a child to be able to save all of the money that they receive, but there are good incentives to set for them to want to do it. Paying them for simple jobs around the house such as loading the dishwasher and sweeping the leaves from the front lawn will teach them that they have to work hard for what they receive and rewards come alongside this work. Taking care of their money for them, or at least giving them the option of you taking care of it, will see you acting like a bank. Even teaching them the value of getting loans from New Horizons or other such lenders can help them appreciate just how far money gets people. Let them see the importance of watching their money grow and learn for themselves just what they are able to purchase with it. They may even want to open their own bank account if they haven’t got one already.

Consider Your Options

Teaching your children actions to their consequences is hard when they aren’t fully aware of what options are available to them. For example, they could put their money into saving accounts, ISAs, bonds – there is a wealth of choices available to them, and most adults don’t even know a good enough amount about them to warrant a good explanation. It can be something that you can learn about together; you may find that you are stashing your money in the wrong place when you find out about what the best option for your child is. It’s all one big learning curve that doesn’t stop as you get older – you are simply just more aware of what’s available.

Make Good Choices

What’s good and what’s bad when it comes to money? Live off of your own experiences and recall them to your children. You know where you will have made some bad choices in the past, but children are best taught from your own experiences rather than you trying to explain what might happen. Think of it as taking a history lesson from somebody who has gone through the actual event – a bit far fetched, but the sentiment is still the same. Or, if you know what path you should have gone on to get yourself in a financially sound position, try and guide them along the one that you know that you should have taken. Our children may not be taught how to make financial decisions in school, but they can learn from us and what we have picked up along the way.

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