Family Budget

How to Budget for the Present and your Families Future

There are many lifestyle changes that occur when starting a family. A lot of items need to be considered that individuals or couples don’t usually think about: Is the school system good quality where you live? How much family savings do you have? Do you have enough square footage for one, two, or three children? Do you need family debt advice? Is the neighborhood you live in safe enough for kids to wonder around outside? And more importantly, do you have the money to fund a family?

Creating a family budget can help answer at least the last question. Even if you have not started a family yet, but are planning to in the near future, family budgeting now is a great way to prepare you for all the unforeseen finances that will pop up – and trust me, they will.

The difficult part is not creating the family budget. The difficult part is sticking to it.

Plan the Family Budget with a Professional

Who really knows what to put in a family budget? Yes, your income, bills and groceries are essentials. But what about taxes, insurance, day car, family investments, dining out… the list goes on and on. Creating a family budget with a professional takes a lot of the guess work out of it and makes the budget more accurate to your lifestyle.

When talking with a financial advisor, make sure you have evidence of your income, utility bills, phone bills, car bills… even receipts from eating out. Showing your advisor how you live – and more importantly, how you spend – will make the process of creating a family budget easier.

Sticking to your Family Budget

As previously mentioned, making the family budget is the easy part. Sticking to it is where it becomes challenging. Sticking to your family budget is going to become even more challenging with babies and children who don’t understand the value of money. It’s never too early to help them understand. To learn more, read our blog on teaching your children the value of money.

Here are some general tips that might help you and your family stick to your family budget:

• Plan meals before shopping – Going around the grocery store aimlessly picking up whatever looks good can add up quickly. Have a set list of food you need for this grocery run and stick to it!
• Buy off-brand products – I know sometimes you just have to have the brand product, but take my word for it when we say the off-brand products will do/taste/feel the same way!
• Coupons – It might seem like something only your parents did, but coupon cutting is still a hugely effective way to save money while grocery shopping. Also, look for coupon websites in your area. Websites like Groupon and Social Living offer discounted prices on things ranging from concerts to massages.
• Bring lunch to work – Everyone knows it, but few do it. Bringing your lunch to work can save you a ton of money! Along with food, think about how much you could save if you used public transit instead of driving. If you work in a city, the cost of a bus or metro usually will cost less than gas money and parking expenses.
• Use websites as guides – Using online tools to help manage your family budget can come in huge help.

Remember to Include Savings in your Family Budget

One of the hardest things to remember when creating your family budget is budgeting in family savings. Most people think about all the things you spend when creating a budget, but what about the things you save? Family savings and family investments are extremely important when thinking about your family budget in the long run.

A good way to remember to save is to automatically put some of your paycheck into your savings account before you budget anything else. Take out a certain percentage, like 5-10% and then budget on the money left over. That way you will make sure you are saving while also budgeting smartly.

The objective of being a family on a budget is just that… you are budgeting! Making sacrifices in your daily lifestyle like bringing your lunch to work instead of eating out might be a necessary change you need to make for the families greater good. There are a lot of financial responsibilities that go along with a family budget, like good family investments. To learn more about investing, go to our family investments section.