How to Budget for a Large Family
A budget is good for anyone but can be especially helpful for a large family. A budget can be even more helpful if you have only one income. Budgeting can help you stay out of debt and save money each month. If you have a large family, consider budgeting to ease the stress of your finances.
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Instructions
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Design a planned budget. In a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel, open a new spreadsheet. Label the first column as “Item.” Label the second column as “Planned.” Label the third column as “Actual.” Label the fourth column as “Variance.” In the first column, list your expenses, including rent, groceries, toiletries, dates, electricity, water, gas and other expenses you incur on a monthly basis. In the second column, enter a planned amount to be spent for each expense. In the third column, enter the actual amount of the expense. The fourth column will show the variance, whether you spent less or more than the planned amount. Record in your budget the amount you spend each time you buy something. The goal of a budget is to spend less than you earn, thus increasing your savings amount and keeping you out of debt.
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Set up budget billing. Many times, electric and other utility companies will set you up on a budget billing plan at your request. Budget billing takes a year’s worth of charges and divides them by 12 months, giving you the average monthly amount you spend on your utility bills. This can help make budgeting easier because the amount will be the same each month until the following yearly review. Then the amount will either increase, decrease or stay the same for the next year.
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Plan your meals ahead of time. At the beginning of the month, make a list of the days of the month and a list of meals you’d like to prepare that month. You can plan the meals a month in advance or plan them a week in advance. Planning meals ahead of time makes it easier to come up with a shopping list and reduces impulse shopping. Use store brands instead of name brands. Consider making large casseroles and inexpensive recipes such as spaghetti or soup. Freeze leftovers, or have leftovers for dinner one night a week.
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Use coupons if you are going out to dinner or shopping for groceries. You can find "buy one, get one free" coupons for local restaurants in your phone book, Sunday newspaper or mailbox. Look online for coupons, such as Coupons.com (see Resources below).
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Obtain a membership to a warehouse store, such as Sam’s Club or Costco. You will get your money back within the first few months. You can buy foods and other items--such as paper towels, toilet paper and diapers--in large quantities at a discounted price. Some warehouses also offer fuel at a discounted price.
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Grow your own garden, which can save you a lot of money on produce. It is also a good family activity. Spend time planting, caring for and harvesting your fruits and vegetables as a family. It will take time and effort but will save you money and build family relationships in the end.
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Shop for secondhand clothes. When appropriate, purchase clothes at garage sales, on eBay or at thrift stores. Hand down clothes to siblings.
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Tips & Warnings
Avoid using a credit card and use cash instead. If you use a credit card, you may get into the way of thinking that it’s okay to buy it now and pay for it next month. This can be easy to do when purchasing things for a large family.
