Dear Hivers

Money can be a source of joy for families. No doubt about it. You can go someplace around the world on a vacation. You can buy the big screen TV for your viewing pleasures. Or you can pay for a really good gift for your kids or your spouse.

Money can also be a source of pain and quarrel. Especially if you wrestle with a lot of debt. Your income seems to be never quite enough. And the family needs keep expanding!

Families need to save money. With 2020 just around the corner, most people will write their New Year’s Resolution. But will never come around to implementing it. Let’s admit it, most families really don’t think about how to save money and invest for the future. They just seem to live in the money-lacking present that they just forget about the importance of saving for the future.

Here are 7 money saving tips for families for 2020.

1. Get everybody involved.
   Don’t wait for the New Year. Write down your goals now and talk to everyone in the family. You and your spouse need to talk about how to implement a better system for managing your money. If you’ve been keeping secrets from each other, now’s the time to speak up. Level off your expectations from each other. Admit your mistakes. Apologize. Then start over. It’s great that the new year is about to start. It reminds us that whatever happens, life goes on.

After you’ve talked together, involve the kids. Tell them the importance of this project and how they will be affected.

1. Hold a family finance conference and lay down the plan.
   It’s nice to call it a family finance conference ain’t it? It makes it a bit formal, which imposes some rules on all of you. It also helps you lay down the plans more easily. The kids may find it corny, that’s fine. It means you have some explaining and convincing to do. Once they get on board, implementing it would be a breeze.

money saving tips for families

1. Cut back on groceries.
   Take a look at your monthly groceries list. Which of these items can you do away with? If you cut at least a P500 (USD 12), over the whole year, that would be P6,000 in savings! Not bad, right? You can then use that amount for extra things you want to buy.

2. Spend only on what you really need.
   It’s easy to be impulsive when you go to the mall or to the grocery, especially if you have a credit card with you. But please, for the sake of your future, stop doing that. Instead, spend only on what you really need.

Try do it yourself repairs.
The next time the sink is clogged, don’t call in the plumber. Try figuring things out. Do it yourself! There’s Google and YouTube! The Internet is a great place to search for answers to your common problems related to repairs!

Go to a scheduled Sale.
Shopping during a Sale is a great experience. Try to squeeze in all your shopping during Sale season. You’d be amazed at the amount of money you’ll save. But please! Don’t spend a fortune during the sale. Any amount you save might be offset by the huge amount of money that you spend.

Use coupons.
If you subscribe to magazines or any shopping-related printed material, look for coupons. They’re a great way to save. You can also check out some promotional items at group buying sites like Groupon or in the Philippines, there’s Metrodeals.

1. Develop financial discipline in the kids.
   It’s not that tough to develop financial discipline in the kids. You simply have to make sure that you have discipline yourself! Then talk to them about money. Set rules and boundaries. But don’t focus on the rules. Focus instead on the benefits they can have.

Start early with the kids. If they learn the value of saving money, they will get that habit with them even when they become older.

1. Save for a goal.
   Don’t just save for the sake of saving money. Tie up your efforts to something bigger. Whether it’s for a new car (that will be paid for in cash); for a new house; or for a vacation to another country. This way, you know for sure where your money will go. The next time you’re tempted to take money out of your savings, you’ll feel guilty because it’s already been allocated for something else.

2. Rinse. Repeat.
   Track your progress. Then repeat these steps as necessary. Saving money is a long-term goal. It’s not a one-time big time affair. Besides, it’s the discipline of saving that will get you there quickly.

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