Five Ways for You and Your Family to Start Living Frugally
Living frugally is a mindset. It goes against the grain of modern culture, which is based on the idea of instant gratification. Living frugally is a good habit to teach your children, since it helps them to understand the real value of material things.
Today older children are living at home in order to save money. A family’s resources can get strained very quickly if some basic rules of money management are not followed. Here are ways to introduce frugality into your family unit.
Keep A Family Budget
It’s important to let all family members living in the same household know about the importance of the family budget. Particularly if there are older children or adult children living in the home, mom and dad should not be the only ones handling all of the family expenses. Older children who have reached adulthood should be expected to pay some of their own expenses, and even a portion of the rent. Doing so teaches them responsibility that they would need to have if they were living somewhere else.
When children are old enough, they should have their own checking accounts for paying expenses. Mom and dad can drop the hint by providing each child with checks for cheap that have been purchased online. Online checks can be purchased with many different graphics to personalize them for each child.
Practice Recycling and Reusing
The push for green technology has made recycling and reusing popular again. Teach your children to find ways of creatively reusing items for other purposes, instead of throwing them away. Encourage them to start do-it-yourself projects around the home. Take them to garage sales, estate sales and second hand stores to teach them the value of reusing and repurposing older items instead of buying them new.
Conserve On Utilities and Technology
Although every parent wants their children to be happy, it’s really not necessary for every child to have their own iPhone. It’s also not necessary for children to be allowed to spend long hours every day on computer. Instead, start a family campaign to conserve on utilities and technology.
Today many alternate options exist to make this easier for the average family. Cable or satellite television prescriptions can be eliminated completely in favor of local television or streaming television. Current movies can often be rented for a small fee from the library. Inexpensive mobile phones are available that don’t have all the bells and whistles of more expensive technology, but are just as useful. Computer use should be restricted for children, and they should be encouraged to spend more time outdoors.
Get The Family Involved in Meal Planning and Preparation
Many times when families are busy, they operate at different schedules for jobs, school, and leisure activities. This does not mean that meals must be purchased away from home. Set up a family calendar and ask children to become involved in helping with family meals. Plan weekly meals in advance. Meals can be partly prepared on the weekends, with simple instructions to each child on their appointed day on how to put them together or cook them.
Plan Inexpensive Family Outings
There are many things that families can do together that don’t have to cost a lot. Sometimes, these inexpensive outings provide more cherished memories for family members than expensive entertainment. Take your children out for a picnic, a little league ball game, or a day at the beach.
Many localities offer free forms of family entertainment that are also educational for children. Public schools, local churches and libraries hold various activities suitable for families that are either free or very inexpensive. Focus on enjoying quality time with your children, instead of trying to overload them with material things.
Living Frugally
Teaching your children the importance of being frugal will help them to enjoy the simple things in life more, and it will teach them how to be responsible users of the earth’s resources.
Category: Family Finances
