How To Save Money Bringing up Children

Children are expensive. The cost of kids is estimated to be between $125,000 and $25,000. (see: Economics of Raising children) Clearly if you want to make savings in life, it is worth thinking about how much you spend on children - bearing in mind, that money is no guarantee of giving children a better start in life.

Some tips for saving Money:

Avoid Impulse Buying.

Children can be quite demanding about receiving new presents, especially when they know that their parents usually give in to their demands. If kids always get their way and receive things they want, you will spend too much, and they will become spoilt. It is much better to be strict and keep presents for special occasions like Christmas and birthdays. If kids really want something, help them to save so they can appreciate the value of money. If you are in the habit of buying what they want for a bit of ‘peace and quiet’, it is an expensive mistake.

Pocket Money and Work

It is a good idea to give only a small amount of pocket money, but, give the option of earning more through doing tasks. If it cost you $8 to have your car cleaned, offer to pay them $6 or $7 dollars. You get to save a dollar are your child will appreciate the value of work.

Avoid Keeping Up With The Joneses.

Kids feel under great peer pressure to buy the latest equipment and designer labels.  However, for you to keep up with all the latest trends is going to be very expensive for you. Make it clear to your children that you cannot afford to buy the latest of everything. This is not just about saving money, it is also about promoting certain values which are not overtly materialistic. Your children will take the lead from yourself, if you seek happiness only through material things, they will do the same.

Free Entertainment.

In modern society we have got used to the idea that entertainment needs to be bought. However, there is no reason why entertainment cannot be free. When on holidays try to encourage them to take part in games and activities which don’t require a big outlay. We can take some inspiration from our grandparents generation. They were poor, but we can’t say they had a deprived childhood, just because they didn’t own X boxes. In many ways they were forced to improvise games and this was perhaps more fulfilling than today’s ‘entertainment’

Make Do and Mend.

This is not a particularly fashionable idea in today’s ‘throwaway society’. But, just because something is slightly broken doesn’t mean we have to dip into our credit cards and get something new. It is alot cheaper to sow back on button than buy a new shirt. Similarly some clothes can be passed on from older children to younger children.

School Fees.

This is a potentially huge cost and is provides a difficult dilemna for parents. We want to save money without sacrificing the interests of our children; so school fees are seen as an essential cost. However, maybe it is possible to reduce fees for example, going to college near to home to save rent. It may be worth finding a good public school rather than pay for a private school. The difficulty here is that everyone is trying to do it and so house prices can be more expensive in these areas.