save money Archives | Kids Ain't Cheap

How to Launch a 52-Week Money Challenge for Kids

April 10, 2017 | Leave a Comment

As you set your goals each year, it’s fun to include your children in the process. Involvement helps them learn to set goals of their own. In the interest of helping them develop strong savings habits, why not have them participate in a 52-week money challenge for kids?

Similar to the well-known 52-week money challenge for adults, the kids’ challenge helps kids to save more money by determining a set amount of cash to put into a savings account, and then increasing that amount each and every week.

How to Personalize Your Child’s 52-Week Money Challenge for Kids

Based on your child’s age and his or her ability to access money, you can pick the weekly money amount that works best for their particular situation.

Even with the smallest weekly contribution, the savings will add up. If your child is younger, you can start with a small amount – for example, a nickel – each week. Here’s how the challenge works:

$0.05 contribution – WEEK 1
$0.10 contribution – WEEK 2
$0.15 contribution – WEEK 3

And so on. If you choose to use a nickel for the challenge, your child simply increases each weekly savings contribution by one nickel. By the end of the 52 weeks, your child will have saved $68.90.

Here is a breakdown of other coin values and potential savings amounts:

Dime = Save $137.80 by the end of the 52 weeks.
Quarter = Save $344.50 by the end of the 52 weeks.
Dollar = Save $1,378 by the end of the 52 weeks.

Why Teaching Kids to Save is Important

We’re living in a time where it’s easy to not save money. Clever marketing and social pressures encourage kids to spend rather than save. Therefore, they start to believe they can have the latest and greatest of everything on the market – without the hard work of earning it.

Saving money is becoming less and less important to people as generations go by. America’s declining savings rate proves it. In May of 1975, the personal savings rate in the United States reached a high of 17%. At the end of 2016, it was 5.4%.

By teaching our children to develop a habit of saving money, we give them a head start on the road to financial responsibility.

Other Ways to Teach Kids to Save

Besides using a 52-week money challenge for kids, there are other ways you can teach your children to make saving money a consistent habit.

Require your kids to save a percentage of all money they earn or receive as a gift
Boost your child’s enthusiasm for saving by committing to match what they put into savings dollar for dollar
Create a savings contest between you and your child (or between your children) to see who can save the biggest percentage of their income for the year

The 52-week money challenge for kids is a great way to encourage children not just to save money, but to challenge themselves to save more than they initially thought was possible. So, give your kids the gift of making savings a habit starting today.

Bonus Reading: “6 Fun Money Games for Kids”

Would you ever do a 52-week money challenge with your child? Have ever done one on your own? Let us know in the comments below!

Image Credit: Nathaniel_U (Creative Commons)

Are you a stay-at-home mom? Make sure you bookmark or pin some of these resources for later!

4 Expenses Your Family Can Start Cutting Today

June 8, 2016 | 1 Comment

It wasn’t that long ago that we were living so close to the edge while I was on my (yearlong) maternity leave, that I was forced to have a good, serious, look at our spending. I knew there had to be areas to save but I didn’t know where to start. To save you some time I will give you five areas your family can likely start cutting today.

Beauty

One thing I was still doing was maintaining my short hair style, with a cut every six to eight weeks. I had long ago stopped coloring to save funds, now the time had come to evaluate my haircuts. I was spending almost $50 every two months to cut my hair. It wasn’t a terribly complicated cut, the truth was that I was friends with my stylist and enjoyed seeing her every few weeks. I sucked up her salon prices and continued.

It didn’t take me long to realize this was an expense we could, at the very least substantially cut down. I knew I would still want my hair cut just not for $50. I asked around to a few friends and family and found a lady who worked at a salon in the day but on weekends and evenings cut hair out of her house, for cheap. She’d cut my hair for $15. Done.

(Here are more ways to save on beauty.)

Clothing

I’ve never been a big spender on clothing but I still find ways to save. Unless it’s underwear or a staple like my husband’s undershirts or my tank tops, I almost always looking for second hand first. Between thrift stores and online classifieds I generally have quite a bit of luck (especially with woman and kids).

Food

This can be one of the hardest ones, but if done right it can be so beneficial.

Before we started budgeting, we really had no idea how much we were spending on food but I knew it was a lot. While I was on maternity leave we were forced to budget very well since money was tight and though we’ve loosened things up a bit in the years since, it was a great learning opportunity for us.

Transportation

If you have more than one vehicle, consider selling one. If possible, look into public transit or car share programs. Be conscious about how much gas you’re using. If you can carpool with someone maybe consider sharing costs. If you pay for parking and there are options around, look into parking options. I could park at work for $225/month but I can think of quite a few other things I’d rather spend that kind of money on, so I park at a free park and ride and take the bus the rest of the way in. The bus costs me $2 each way and saves on my gas and wear and tear. In the end, I’m only losing about 15 minutes by taking bus (vs driving the whole way).

Where, and how much, each family can cut will vary but these seem to be a few obvious ones most people can relate to and are a good starting point.

What areas has your family cut down or totally out to save money?

How I Plan on Saving on Valentine’s Day

February 10, 2016 | Leave a Comment

I admit that as someone who is married, I’m not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. It always just seems very ‘’in your face’’ but as a Mother, I love it. Everything about having kids changes including your love of what I call, Hallmark Holidays.

My daughter gets so excited with every little event. Maybe it’s the excuses that come with it, like extra treats, but regardless we have fun with it. As much as I enjoy doing these little extras, I’m more concerned with our budget and how much it will cost. I’m not interested in spending an obscene amount of money on something like Valentine’s Day. Here’s how we plan to have fun with Valentine’s day as a family, without busting our budget.

Plan a picnic

Valentine’s day is in February and for us, that means cold. Having an outdoor picnic isn’t an option but instead we’re planning a family date night picnic style. We plan on saving our weekly dinner out for Valentine’s day but we’ll pick up something to go and come home and eat it picnic style (in the warmth of our house!).

Movie Night In

Our daughter is now at the age where she will, for the most part, sit through a movie. After we finish eating our picnic dinner, we’ll probably find a family movie for us to watch. To go to the theater on Saturday would easily cost us $50 for tickets alone so we’ll veg out at home in our pj’s and cuddle on the couch together. I would much rather this experience anyway.

Make Treats Yourself

My daughter will be having a Valentine’s day party at her daycare. We like to bring something for the kids to eat. I priced out a few pre-made valentine’s treats at the bakery and it was going to cost about $20 for what I was looking at. Instead I went to Pinterest and found a cheap and easy treat that cost me a total of $7 to make. It will also only take about 30min total to put together, with a busy schedule I also have to consider time.

Plan a Special Breakfast

Cooked breakfast isn’t something we often have time to do so I’m going to make sure we have time on Valentines to do so. Even something easy like pancakes or waffles, by adding a few Valentines sprinkles to the mix, there’s no doubt I will impress my three year old.

Skip Gifts

Our family won’t be exchanging gifts. My daughter did buy a $2 box of Valentines for her daycare party but that’s it. Instead of gifts we’ll be spending time together and enjoy some of the treats that we will make for her party (I did buy extras for us too!).

To me, Valentine’s day should be about demonstrating love, not buying things. Simply spending quality time with my family is all we need and it will be setting an example to our daughter that we don’t need to exchange ‘’stuff’’ to feel loved.

Does your family do anything special for Valentine’s day?

Keeping Kids Warm this Winter Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank

November 18, 2015 | Leave a Comment

One thing is a certain every year, with children who are still growing, they will need new winter gear every year. It amazes me just how fast little kids sprout up actually. The snowsuit I bought last year seemed big at the beginning of the year and within the season it got too small!

Winter gear, for us and probably many families out there, is one of the most expensive kid clothing expenses we have every year. The savings we get buying cheap $5 sandals and $2 shorts in the summer are quickly spent in the colder months but this doesn’t mean there aren’t savings to be found.

Always Start with Used

I know I often say this, but the same still applies for snowsuits and boots. ‘’Shop’’ around for used. This could be either an older kid hand-me-down or shopping at a local thrift store. The first two years my kid was outfitted in winter gear we bought at a second hand store and were almost brand new. Kids grow so fast that they usually only get one winter out of the gear and my experience is that most parents will either look up unload or just donate to a local store. Last year our daughter wore a pair of quality winter boots that were also worn by two of her older cousins. The boots still had plenty of life in them and saved us a few bucks.

Put a Facebook post out there and see if you get any bites. Also join local buy and sells on Facebook to see if you find anything decent and, as always, check your local thrift stores. You don’t know what’s out there until you ask!

Buy at Year End

At the end of our daughters second winter we came into a too-hard-to-resist-sale on snow suits. They were name brand suits at a store for $10. We quickly bought a few and two years later we’re still wearing them (I have two more still to go!). I figured if, by the time winter came, they didn’t fit her and she was in between sizes, I would donate them to a thrift store or local charity. Things like snowsuits and boots take up a large inventory so stores often want to see them sell off rather than storing or shipping back (especially as style changes) so you may be surprised what is out there for sales.

You don’t need Name Brand

Winter boots can be expensive. I have been looking around for our 3.5 year old and found a few pairs, the problem is that I know they will only fit her for the one winter, and they were $50, or more, per pair. I can’t justify spending $50-$70 on a pair of boots she will wear for a few months. Instead I found a pair at Walmart. They seem to have a nice lining and super warm for half the price. Some people get so hung up on certain brands they don’t even consider large box store brands.

If you walk into a sporting goods store looking to outfit your child for the winter, you can expect to spend a few hundred dollars but there is no reason why you can’t bring in a whole outdoor winter apparel for your kid for under $100. Like anything, there are always savings to be found if you try!

How do you find savings when it comes to outfitting your growing kids for winter?

5 Ways to Keep Family Costs Down

April 15, 2015 | Leave a Comment

A family, as a unit, is expensive. There are a lot of expenses when multiple people are involved and the costs add up- quickly. If you’re not careful these costs can bust a family’s budget but with a little planning you can find a decent balance. There are a few areas that are more obvious when it comes to the question ‘’where is all the money going?’’ but since being aware of it is half the battle you can try to avoid the creeping costs all together.

Meal Plan

Food is a massive portion of a family’s budget and meal planning is the easiest way to avoid going over in the food category. If you’re looking to keep costs down, meal planning is a must. Involve everyone in the family to make sure everyone has a say. You can also involve the older kids in the cooking of the meals they help plan.

Prioritize Extracurriculars

Most people have interests, hobbies and extracurricular activities. If everyone did everything they wanted all the time it would likely be much too expensive. Sit down as a family and prioritize what is most important to everyone and come up with a financial plan to keep both family members, and budget- happy. It’s not fair if one kids plays hockey, soccer, piano lessons and takes art classes but you tell kid #2 you can only afford for them to play soccer because there isn’t enough money left in the budget. Things need to be fair for everyone!

Limit Vacations

Vacations, especially ones that involve airfare, are expensive. Rather than trying to plan a vacation every year take some time off and enjoy cheap fun around home. Save the larger trips for every few years (if even that frequent) and find cheaper ways to enjoy time off. When (and if) you do plan a larger trip shop around and capitalize on reward programs as much as possible to keep costs down.

Shop Used

Certain things can definitely be purchased used, especially children’s items like clothes and toys. You can save huge amounts money by shopping around and looking online and in second hand stores. The speed at which kids grow gives a large selection of gently used great quality clothes and toys to choose from.

Limit Eating Out

Eating out is expensive especially when multiple people are involved. There are ways to do it (like capitalizing on kids eat free nights) but the best way to save money is to do just that- save it and eat at home. Save eating out for special occasions only and everyone will enjoy it much more when it’s an anticipated treat.

Though having a family has more costs than being single or a couple there are ways to avoid letting the family costs consume all your money. It takes a little planning and awareness but it is possible to keep family costs down!

How do you keep family costs down?

3 Ideas for Cutting Wedding Costs

April 9, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Before Kids, is often marriage, and weddings can be expensive! After Kids, sometimes mom and dad help with wedding bills again. Either way, saving money on wedding costs is of interest for anyone looking to get married or helping offset a wedding for a child.

A lady I know has a daughter who is getting married next June. We recently got talking about wedding expenses and she was mentioning how much effort she and her daughter have gone through to cut the budget from $35,000 to $25,000. She was talking to me in such a way that she was looking for some support in the aspect that a wedding should be able to get done for $25,000. My reaction was that I had a beautiful wedding for much less than $10,000. She asked how it was possible to have a wedding for ”so cheap” and I detailed a few areas for her and her daughter to consider cutting back:

The Dress

Granted I was never one of those girls who had to a designer label dress. It was a dress. A dress that I would wear once. I simply could not justify spending thousands of dollars for something I would never wear again. Yes, I wanted to look pretty but again, I was bound and determined to find a reasonably priced dress that wouldn’t break the budget.

Being open to shop off the rack opened a whole new world of wedding dresses to me. I didn’t care the the dress had been tried on hundreds of other times by other women, I could have it dry-cleaned. I found, what I consider to be an exact style I was looking for, off the rack for $550 (was retailing for $2,100). There was a small tear at the end of the train in the back which didn’t affect me at all since the dress was going to be hemmed and altered drastically. The beading was perfectly intact and no other stains, rips or tears. For an upfront cost of $550 (taxes in since it was considered ‘used’) and another $100 for dry cleaning and alterations, I had my bridal gown.

Also, because I bought my dress from this store they gave us my husband’s tux rental for free!

Paper Products

How many weddings have you been invited to and actually kept the invite or program? Very few I expect.

Within a few days of the event they probably ended up in the garbage. Again, I couldn’t justify spending money on a piece of paper that would be thrown in the garbage by most people. Also I was astonished at how much wedding invites actually cost. With a little effort from both me and my wedding party I made each individual invite and church program by hand. Total cost about $150 since I did pay to have them printed professionally and myself and wedding party assembled them.

Vehicles

Limos can make sense for a wedding party since they carry a lot of people but for us to rent a limo for our wedding party for the duration of time we needed (getting to church, waiting for ceremony then driving all over city for pictures) it was going to cost us thousands of dollars. Instead we found a few online discounts and rented two luxury SUV’s which our fathers drove instead. They loved feeling like they were helping and it cost us less than $100 to rent two beautiful vehicles for the day which we could use at our convenience rather than being under a limo drivers time restraint.

Wedding can be as expensive or as cheap as you want them to be. If you’re planning a wedding for yourself or helping a child, consider that there are often many ways to go about things and that it’s the memories made that count, not how much money you spend!

What More Ways To Save?

Looking for more ways to save? Check out this amazing list of 101 Ways To Save Money On A Wedding.

How did you save on wedding costs?

Saving on Family Fun

March 19, 2014 | Leave a Comment

One of the biggest changes in our budget is the need to account for an additional person when it comes to family outings.

Everything from plane tickets, to dinners out to attending our local hockey team now have three people instead of two. Though this is something we obviously expected with a child, it was nice to enjoy the early days!

Gone are the newborn days when she would quietly sleep through the odd dinner out or stay snuggled in my arms, usually asleep during a local hockey game. The little girl is a full grown toddler who now demands her own meals and requires her own seat and if we’re not careful, it can get crazy expensive.

While there are certain things we can’t do anything about, like extra seat for airplanes there are many other areas you can save on.

Meals Out

Eating out isn’t a huge part of our lives (I’d much rather entertain at home) it does happen occasionally. When possible, we opt to look for restaurants that not only have a kids menu but offer discounts for kids such as kids eat free.

Growing up we would go to a restaurant where they offered free Shirley Temples for kids and my parents had to pay $0.10/pound of body weight for kids under 12. Though restaurants probably can’t get away with literally weighing kids in the restaurant anymore, there are still many places the have kids eat free with the purchase of a regular entree.

Online Deals

Online sites such as Groupon can be a great place to find coupons and deals for a family that makes an otherwise unattainable event, possible. This can include things like buying discounted restaurant (I often buy gift certificates for our favorite restaurants when they come up at 50% off) or deals on ticked events.

Take Advantage of Specials

Our local movie theater caters to families during regular school breaks such as spring break and Christmas break by putting on discounted days and promos like buy one ticket get one 50% off. During the rest of the year they offer a cheap ticket price on Tuesday. Going to the movies on Tuesday if the only way I pay, especially with children. If you don’t know, call and ask!

Friends of ours always take advantage of our local stage theater by taking their kids to ”pay what you can” night. Basically you show up on the first Tuesday of the seasonal performance, stand in line and pay whatever you can. Tickets normally start at $40 per person but on this night you can pay as much or little as you want.When you have a family and a budget this sort of event is perfect. This is something the theater has always done but never makes a big public announcement.

Good deals usually require some digging!

Membership Discounts

Sometimes it pays to have a kid (in terms of savings acquired).

If I wanted a membership to our local rec center I would be looking at $600 per year as an individual or I could get a family price (no limit on children) for $750 for the year. My husband, daughter and I can all capitalize on the gym, pool, rink and hundreds of classes for only $150 more per year and as our family grows the price stays the same (as is it locked in as long as you renew annually). This membership also gives us some ”free” events to partake in during the year when we’re looking to have a little family fun without breaking the bank.

How do you save on family fun?

How to Save Money for Your Family

June 13, 2013 | 2 Comments

Are you looking to save money for your family? Many families today are just trying to tread water when it comes to paying the bills and staying out of debt. Who has extra money to actually put into the bank? Well, when you put your mind to something, you might be surprised how much you can accomplish, especially when it comes to savings money.

Two Steps to Saving Money

If you truly are committed to saving money for your family, there are just two things that you need to focus on. You must reduce your costs and you must learn to grow your money once you’ve got some stashed away in savings.

Reducing Costs

This can be a tall order because many of us already feel like we’re pinching pennies as it is. But, no matter how tight you think you are with money, there are always ways to spend less than you are now.

Second Hand Stores – When is the last time you stepped foot in a second hand store to make a purchase? If buying second hand clothing weirds you out, I understand, but there are plenty of other things that you can save money on by buying it second hand. If your chair breaks and you have nothing left to sit on, I bet you can find a perfectly reliable one at the second hand store. It might not match perfectly with your décor, but it will allow you to save money for your family.
No more restaurants – Going out to eat is fun, but man is it expensive! I just made pasta for myself at home for $1.50. Do you know what this would cost you at a family restaurant? Probably at least $8 if not more! Avoid those restaurants and buy your food from the grocery store.

Grow Your Money

After you save enough money, you might start to wonder what you should do with it. If you don’t have an emergency fund, that would be your first option. When things go wrong in life like your water heater breaking down or your vehicle needing a new transmission, it’s definitely a good idea to have the money on hand for these unknown expenses. In order to cover these costs, you need to be sure that your money is easily accessible. This means that some of it should probably go into a standard savings account, another portion of it could go into a check-writing CD, and still some more might go into an ISA which is simply an individual savings account. If you’re in the United Kingdom, you should note that ISAs are really handy in the UK, and they make a great place to put a portion of your emergency funds.

Once you have your emergency account funded, then it’s really time to start growing your money. Instead of earning a couple of percent interest here and there, you could invest your additional money into your own business or into another venture that could net you 10% or more on your investment. The riskier the investment, typically the more return you might expect. Have caution with those risky investments though. Many times they just don’t pan out.

It’s simple, but true. What do you think?