Raising children is not only a great responsibility in terms of developing your offspring into fine young adults capable of independence and lifelong happiness, it also represents a financial burden that many families struggle to cope with in a post-recession era of cost-cutting and budget-drawing. No one wants to feel they’re compromising their children’s upbringing through cutting costs, but the truth is that saving money when it comes to raising your little ones needn’t be at their detriment: it’s simply a case of knowing the easy and simple ways to count the cents, as these tips outline.
Play
The absolute fundamental when it comes to a child’s early life is to allow them adequate time to play and have fun, discovering how the world works, how to cooperate, how to be creative and ultimately how to be happy and satisfied. Busy working parents may feel that their children aren’t quite getting enough of this vital ingredient, but there are some easy options to alleviate this particulate worry.
Across the country, there are regional and local childcare options that specialize in taking your kids off your hands to allow them to play – some of which are charities or federally funded. This can really save a great deal of stress if you’re busy working during the week. When it comes to evenings and weekends, there’s no end to the amount of free play that you’ll be able to invent that your children will absolutely love. Don’t give in to pleas for expensive game consoles, phones or tablets and instead find free alternatives that’ll actually serve to develop your children more than screens and online games. Such large and expensive investments should only be presented as birthday or Christmas presents, or if they save themselves.
Health
Other than play, as a parent you’ll certainly be concerned that your children must be as healthy as possible, developing good habits like teeth cleaning and regular exercise in order to bring these lifestyle choices into their adult life. Where exercise is concerned, you’ll be able to save the megabucks by embarking on long walks, trips to the local playground, cycle rides or swims in the local pool, all of which require no more investment than a cheap bike and a day pass for the pool.
Other elements of young people’s health can splinter into a variety of unique considerations, from medical costs to disability requirements. For instance, if your child requires medication for seizures or other health problems, using pharmaceutical comparison sites will help keep these additional costs as low as possible. Seeing what you are due from the state should always be something you consider, as they may well be used to providing certain health services for free to young people.
Family Vacations
Exposing your children to the world on vacation is one of the best ways of developing their perspective in life, as well as simply having a lot of fun with your loved ones in a way that creates lasting and happy memories. If you’re watching your cash flow, though, you may have ruled out the possibility of a holiday in the next couple of years, deeming it too expensive. This is a defeatist attitude and one that ignores the myriad options for a more cheap and wholesome holiday, some which are outlined below.
Why not road trip around your state to increase your children’s knowledge of their locale, staying in cheap motels on the way, or go on a camping trip to a nearby areas of natural beauty where you might actually save money on the alternative of staying at home. Keep your eye on voucher and flight deal websites for amazing holiday bargains, or find a holiday home sharing group that will significantly cut the costs of spending a week or weekend away. Holidays needn’t be huge expensive endeavors – you may find the more modest ones produce the most fun, anyway.
Clothes
What a nightmare it can be, buying clothes for little nippers who are constantly outgrowing their previous wardrobe. Hand-me-downs are all very well if you have the right sequence and gender or children for it to work, but kids’ clothes can nonetheless be a deeply expensive financial burden to bear – something that comes knocking with alarming frequency as your children rise from toddlers to children and beyond.
The solution to this particular cost is to enter a larger hand-me-down system of local parents who’re all experiencing the same clothing conundrum as you. Perhaps charity stores or thrift shops contain a lot of barely-worn kids clothing, or your local childcare or community center has a weekly bring-and-swap service for outgrown clothes. Whatever the system in your locality, there certainly will be one, and you’ll be delighted to see the money you save on kitting your children out when you enter into this community sharing system for little T-shirts, shoes and pants.
Food
Your children need hearty meals to keep their energy up and to keep them growing in a sustained and health fashion as they progress through their early lives. The problem is, the cheaper family food options are often the least healthy, and microwave or oven meals which are most useful for parents without the free time to cook healthy meals each day are also full of processed foodstuffs and not all that wholesome to a child requiring a healthy and balanced diet.
To save the bucks, find recipes that involve the use of cheap vegetables, beans and pulses that take no longer than 20 minutes to assemble – there’s a great deal of information online where this nutrition is concerned. Dump sugary fizzy drinks and fast food to save money, and reinvest that money in yummy, healthy alternatives such as fish, pies, curries and stews that you can make in one large pot for all the family: communal eating that’s also the healthiest and most wholesome without breaking the bank.
As a parent, you’ll be infinitely concerned that you’re doing the greatest-possible job at childrearing. But if you’re hard-up for cash or simply looking to save the cents and the bucks, do not feel ashamed to follow tips such as these so that your young ones are still having a super childhood, but at a lesser expense than before.