How to Live On a Limited Budget With Your Family
Living on a limited budget with a family requires thinking about your needs and your future in new ways. As the old saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention." Limits demand creative responses to circumstances. It's possible to live on a limited budget by minimizing expenses and encouraging innovation among the family members through regular, open communication.
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Instructions
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Set short term and long term budget goals. Use a budget calculator online or consult with a financial adviser. Determine your family's present expenses and determine specific ways to minimize debt, cut expenses and increase income. Print the goals and post them in a location visible to members of the family.
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Share the goals with all household members to brainstorm together ways to meet budget goals. Don't keep a limited budget a secret, particularly when limits affect everyone. Schedule a time and place, such as a family dinner, to talk to children and any other household members about the economy and what it means for your family.
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Check in with children. Read stories or watch films with older children that encourage discussion about how to make hard choices related to budgeting as well as other circumstances, and what it means to help people you love. Check with local librarians or online for good reading or film lists on this topic.
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Involve family members in household tasks such as cooking, shopping and cleaning so everyone understands the work it takes to feed, clothe and keep a family healthy and happy. For instance, before going back-to-school shopping, invite children -- who can do basic division -- to help the family "shop on a budget." Show the children the total money available as well as the list of things to buy and together create a work sheet to determine the different prices for each item and the best price available. Other ideas include having the children plant and maintain a vegetable garden or prepare a meal plan for the week.
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Adopt a frugal meal plan that incorporates more vegetables. Reader's Digest reports that with increases in energy prices and low crop output, meat is more expensive than vegetables. Shop at farmers' markets for fresh, local vegetables, shop at international markets for lower cost spices and plan meals around what is cheapest and in season. Likewise, use coupons to keep grocery bills down. Consult online recipe books or library books for ideas on low-cost, healthy vegetarian meals.
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Budget in rewards for the entire family, such as a vacation, special event or individual new items for each person. Families need something to look forward to. Print out the goals and the rewards and post in a public space in the house, such as on the refrigerator. Use the rewards as a reminder of what nice event will result from keeping to a budget.
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Use the Internet for budgeting resources and community. Set up email alerts from your favorite search engine for daily coupon deals on produce in your neighborhood or for free events in your community. Bookmark blogs or news on budgeting. Connect with other families on a budget to share ideas that work and generate new ways to specifically address your family's needs.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep routines and family rituals in order to give children and the household in general a sense of security and stability.
Shop online as a time-saver, a way to budget and a way to prevent children from asking for things they do not need.
Do not overwhelm children with all of the details related to the family's finances as they may feel scared or uncertain. Instead aim to convey the message that it is important, and fun, for a family to work together to overcome obstacles.
References
Resources
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