Family Budgeting And Mindset Tips To Strategically Save For The Life You Want.
How to save for the things you desire, and budget on what you don’t. Fresh practical tips on getting out of debt, whilst living the life you want.
Family Budgeting Tips – Step 1:
Spring is a great time of year to reassess your finances. Get out a pen and paper, or a journal and get real and get clear. Financial issues are not solved by ignoring them, they just get louder and bigger. Confronting everything head on will help regain clarity and most importantly – control. Firstly, here are my top family budgeting tips I use regularly to give you some inspiration;
Write down your answers to the following without holding back or editing yourself:
- What attitudes and feelings did you have around money in your life up until now? Did you come from a household that often talked about how “we can’t afford that” ? What preconceived ideas do you have around people with money; what scares you about having an abundance of it – losing it? Losing friends? Paying more tax? Be completely honest. This is to “clear space”. Now write down how much money you would actually want to live comfortably and abundantly, even if you don’t think it’s ever possible. Write it down, imagine how it would feel? How would you act? Tune into these thoughts and feelings daily to help visualise your goals and raise your vibration around the subject. Focus on what you want – not what you don’t have / or don’t want.
Family Budgeting Tips – Step 2:
Now you’ve refreshed your mindset on what you want, its time to realistically and bravely dig deep into your current financially situation. Let’s get clear on your goals. Importantly – write down the following:
- What you have coming in.
- What you have going out.
- How much debt you have, listing the smallest first. Analyze how long it would take to pay off that debt if you didn’t change anything.
- Now go through your outgoings piece by piece, what amounts can you not change (rent) ? What can you get rid of (do you really need amazon prime, or a make up box subscription…?
Family Budgeting Tips – Step 3:
Secondly, once you have written everything down, get a clear picture of what you are spending too much on and what you are spending too little on. Can you get rid of some subscriptions? Could you shop at a cheaper supermarket and cut your food bill down. What interest are you paying on credit cards? Can you transfer or consolidate any current debt. How much are you saving and what are you saving for? In many instances a lot of financial experts believe you shouldn’t save when you have debt but I remain flexible. Life is short, if I desire a family holiday next year I’ll put some aside for that too. However this depends on the debt, how large and manageable it is. Once you are crystal clear on what you having coming in and out, and have cut spending on anything that you feel unnecessary – re-look at your budget. Once your essentials have come out what is left? Lastly – have a clear plan written down on the following:
- How much of your money is going towards debt payments? How long it will take to pay them at this rate? Is the date in alignment with your financial goals?
- How much can you save of what is leftover and what are you saving for? I personally like to have separate savings accounts for different things like emergencies, Christmas gifts, kids savings, long term savings and nice extras like holidays and birthday gifts. It doesn’t have to be a lot, e.g putting aside £45 a month for Christmas from January onwards makes Christmas much less stressful and more enjoyable.
- Don’t forget to put money aside for everyday expenses to avoid getting caught out – such as petrol and travel.
Moving forward positively:
Now, it’s worth saying that if you keep doing them same thing you get the same results. Its very empowering to take charge of your finances so you can rest assured every area is covered and surprise expenses don’t catch you off guard.
A very important step is never getting caught out again. One tip that’s helped me not have to use a credit card or get out more credit for a few years now is having an emergency fund. Make this one of your priorities . Having £500 -£1000 put aside for emergencies will help hugely into not getting in to debt further. That way when the car MOT is more than you thought or the boiler breaks – you are covered. We put a small amount into our emergency fund every single month. This means if we need to use it, we are not left with an empty fund.
“Having £500 -£1000 put aside for emergencies will help hugely into not getting in to debt further”.
Can you earn more?
Try not to get in the mindset that the only way to earn money is from your day job. If you want more for savings, debt payments and lifestyle changes – and you’ve gone through your budgets and still need extra, you’ll need to earn more. Consider:
- Asking for a raise.
- Starting a side hustle, do you have a passion you could turn into a profitable blog?
- Could you do any extra work from home such as proof reading?
- What could you sell that you already have laying round the house gathering dust?
- Could you fill in some online surveys?
- Could you start a online shop with a craft passion?
- Are you an amazing baker? Could you start charging local friends for kids birthday cakes?
- Could you rent out your parking space? Or even a spare room?
Family Budget Tips.
Try and think outside the box. Is there a creative way to carve out some money making into your everyday life? Pinterest can be a great source of inspiration.
Review each quarter.
To keep consistency review these budgets, goals and planners every quarter (or seasonally). This can help keep things moving on the right track, and enable you to nip things in the bud quickly if you get derailed. Your goals may change, your earnings may increase – interest rates can fluctuate etc. Keep an official planner, on paper or on your PC in a simple excel spreadsheet – or even on a budget app if you find it easier. This can help you see things clearly and keep a concise aim on where you are headed. Tune into this at least four times a year to keep inspired and on track.
Change the way you think and perceive money:
This is an interesting one, and you could write an entire book on this subject. If you delve into the thought process of any financially successful person (who generated their own wealth), they all say the same thing. Mindset is everything. This can take on two forms, firstly creating space by journaling your preconceived ideas about money and spending. Maybe you grew up in a poor household, were you told “no we can’t afford that” and “money doesn’t grow on trees!”?
Do you perceive wealthy people to be mean, or snobby or cruel. Do you think you can only ever attain a certain maximum income as this is what is standard for your family? Try and journal it out and flip these preconceived junk thoughts on their head and start fresh. It’s time to challenge what you previously thought to be true.
“how would it feel to have the exact amount of money you want each month?”
Secondly, a positive mindset. Everything has energy, even our thoughts. If we think negative thoughts about money and how much we “don’t” have rather than what we are trying to achieve, that’s what we will attract more of. We will attract less, rather than more. This sounds bananas, but the more you think of it the more it makes sense. What does an athlete do before an important game – they mentally prepare, then imagine winning, how it would feel. Practice this with your finances, how would it feel to have the exact amount of money you want each month? Practice visualising this each day, and how you would behave think and feel due to it. I’m not where I want to be financially – yet, but applying these simple tricks has helped increase our income in our financial journey so far.
Starting a new money mindset and budget program can be overwhelming and scary, but its crucial to get clear on where you are, where you want to be and how you are going to get there. You can do this, dive in! Most importantly, try and enjoy it!
There are some great books out there for inspiration if you want to know more, check out the following:
Recommended further reading:
Dave Ramsey – His baby steps are a good place to start if you feel lost. For no nonsense straight talking head to: www.daveramsey.com
Ramit Sethi – this man is amazing. Check out www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com
Amanda Frances – Go follow her on Instagram, this woman literally breathes money. Visit www.amandafrances.com where you can find money mentality meditations and her money mentality makeover course. Private coaching with her is the price of a small house, Amanda knows what she’s talking about!
Visit Money Saving Supermarket to check you are not overspending on household expenses, insurance and interest rates & more.
Can a large family save money?
Yes, but it will take discipline and organisation. Inventory your fridge and freezer before shopping and meal plan weekly, sell what you no longer need and stick to a budget. Create a side hustle if you can!
What should be included in a family budget?
Home and bills, savings, emergency fund, debt payments, food, petrol / gas, daily expenses such as lunches and travel.
What are the 3 main budget categories?
Needs – things you must pay monthly.
Wants – such as clothing and toiletries.
Savings & Debt payments.
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