In this article, you will find simple yet effective ways to save money and keep your quality of life at its current level. We will tell you how to spend less and get more, share real tips and a memo on optimizing your family budget.

4-step system to save family budget

This system allows you to quickly and easily reduce your spending due to competent prioritization and formation of savings. It consists of four steps that will show you how to properly manage your family budget in order to save money.

  1. Prioritize and define mandatory expenses

Obligatory expenses are expenses that cannot be waived. For example, payment for utilities, lunches at school for a child, food. All of this is vital.

Prioritize what you will need money for in the future. For example, you want to save up for university studies, a new computer, repairs, or something else. Determine how much you need to set aside each month. Write it down.

Income – Obligatory Expenses – Amount to Save = Money you can spend on something else besides the obligatory expenses. If this amount is less than 0, then either you need to look for additional income, or remove something from what you want to save up for.

  1. Record all expenses

To start saving the family budget, you need to understand what the money is spent on. It is important to record even small purchases, since they often add up to serious spending. Below in the article we will tell you how best to do this.

  1. Optimize costs

After collecting cost statistics, see what can be optimized without compromising the quality of life? Many people have at least 3-4 things that are not worth spending money on. For example, refuse paid subscriptions, expensive Internet or TV tariffs, bad habits.

  1. Determine the outcome

After optimizing expenses, evaluate whether you are able to save the family budget and save the necessary amounts or not? If the result is negative, repeat steps # 1-3 until you reach your goal.

The 4-step system allows you to effectively save your family budget and cut out expenses that do not actually improve the quality of life. Channel money where it will do the most good.

Why do you need to do home bookkeeping and how to do it right?

When you start writing down what you spend your money on, you get objective information about the costs. This is especially useful for people who sometimes cannot answer what their salary went to. It seems that yesterday I received a payment from a client, but today there is nothing.

Therefore, it is important to record all purchases, and analyze them monthly for necessity. This will help you understand:

What goes the most money. You may be wondering which items of expenditure will prevail. This is not always what you think about.
Track small expenses that are optional and can be reduced. For example, cancellation of a subscription at a price of 300 rubles. saves 3600 rubles per month. per year, and the removal of two subscriptions is already 7200 rubles.

Fix all debts, loan payments in one place and do not forget about anything.

It is important to group expenses in order to estimate their share in the household budget. For example: food, utilities, spending on children (school, circles, extra classes), car, internet and subscription expenses, etc.

You can do this in Excel or Google Sheets. If you pay for purchases with a card, then usually in the online bank you can see statistics on expenses. But there it is not always divided into the necessary groups.

There are also special programs for managing the family budget. For example, “Home Bookkeeping”. It allows you to keep track of personal and family finances, debts, bank deposits. Analyze your expenses and optimize them. The program has already been downloaded more than 4 million times.

15 tips to save your family budget

  • Set aside part of your salary or other income right away. Better on a bank deposit, from where you can not withdraw money without losing interest. It will discipline. Practice shows that 10-15% can be saved from almost any salary.
  • Use every opportunity to earn interest income. For example, connect cashback, issue a bank card with interest accrued on the account balance.
  • All mandatory payments for housing and communal services, mortgages, and other loans should be made immediately at the beginning of the month. This way you will avoid a situation where you will be charged penalties or fines.
  • Close your credit cards, as there is always a temptation to use them, and the interest on such loans is high.
  • Avoid impulse purchases. Make lists of what to take before going to the store, and don’t buy anything beyond what you planned.
  • Do not take loans, especially for unnecessary things. Make it a rule to save up for equipment, not borrow it.
  • Train yourself to shop as little as possible.
  • Don’t make purchases on the day of income. Psychologists say that you subconsciously relax and you can thoughtlessly “lower” a decent amount on unnecessary things.
  • Buy things from online stores, where prices are often lower and delivery is free. Compare prices on different sites.
  • Optimize your car costs. For example, give up unnecessary trips, add a deductible in insurance. Agree with a colleague who lives nearby that one day you will commute to work with him, and the next day he will be with you.
  • Exercise at home. It’s cheaper than going to a fitness club, and in practice it’s no worse. There are many exercises and complexes that you can do on your own.
  • Plan travel and entertainment ahead of time. In this case, you can seriously save on tickets and hotel reservations.
  • Give up bad habits. Once you start keeping a family budget, you will be surprised how much money you can spend on them.
  • Monitor your health and engage in prevention. It’s cheaper than treating the effects of sleepless nights and a sedentary lifestyle.
  • Buy things “hand-held” so as not to pay two or three times more for new ones.

Memo: what else can you save your family budget on?

There are many ways to save money and learn how to manage your family budget. And – without losing the quality of life. This part of the article contains real advice on how to do it correctly in practice.

How to save on food and eat well?

  • Make a menu for one to two weeks. Buy the products you need from the hypermarket or wholesale market where prices are lower. Try to go to the shops near your home as little as possible – usually everything is more expensive there.
  • In many cities there are small shops of local producers. Oftentimes, you can buy cheaper and better quality products there without network markups. This applies to dairy products, meat, fruits and vegetables.
  • Don’t get into marketing. More expensive products are not always better in composition. Choose products and brands that offer the best value for money.
  • Shop for seasonal produce in your area. In the season, the prices are lower, the benefits are greater.
  • Go shopping with your bags. First, it’s better for the environment. Secondly, it is cheaper, as many stores charge high markups on packages.
  • Make blanks. This is not only pickling cucumbers and making jam. Buy vegetables, herbs, berries during the season. Cut in portions and freeze, use special bags or containers for this so that the smells do not mix. During heat treatment, they restore their properties and qualities and do not differ from fresh ones.
  • Don’t cook too much. One dish should be eaten in a couple of days. If it is delayed, then on the third day you will want “something tasty” – this is an unplanned waste, and the prepared dish the next day will be in the trash can.
  • Check your parents’ cupboards for hazelnuts, waffle makers, and cookie cutters. If you don’t find anything, bake an apple pie or rolls with sour cream. It just seems difficult and time consuming. Taking into account baking time, it will take no more than an hour, after which none of the household members will want cookies from the store, and the benefits and savings of the family budget are obvious here.
  • If you don’t know how, learn to cook. Take food and drinks with you to work, on the road or for a walk, do not buy ready-made ones. It’s cheaper and more useful.

How to save money on household appliances?

  • Use promotions and special offers. They usually appear before the holidays. It is also profitable to buy models that will soon be discontinued, immediately after the release of new ones. Usually they give good discounts, but in terms of their parameters, they are still quite relevant.
  • Choose a technique with the options you really need. The simpler, the longer it lasts. Don’t overpay for features that you won’t actually use.
  • Buy equipment from online stores. Even ordinary networks already have online storefronts, where prices are often lower or there is an opportunity to get an additional discount.
  • Buy only what you really need. You shouldn’t update your smartphone, because a new model has come out, if the old one fulfills your tasks.
  • Keep track of the energy consumption of household appliances. The lower it is, the less money you will spend on electricity.

How to properly save your family budget on entertainment?

  • If you like to meet with friends, agree to invite each other to visit, and go to the cafe only on holidays. Hosting a party can save you money and have fun.
  • Keep an eye on the opening of new cafes and clubs. In the first days after opening, they offer discounts and bonuses. The coupon theme is also alive.
  • Don’t go to premieres right away. Wait a few days and tickets will be cheaper. There are also sessions for which tickets are traditionally not expensive.
  • Tickets for concerts can be bought in advance. It will be much cheaper this way.
  • If you love reading, buy e-books. They are cheaper. If you like the classics, sign up for the library.

How good is it to rest and travel without big expenses?

  • Buy tickets and book hotels in advance.
  • Look for budget hotels that are close to major sightseeing routes. Save money on travel and see more fun.
  • Use sites where you can hire local guides. This will often cost less than buying a tour from a travel agency.
  • Don’t live in all-inclusive hotels unless you intend to spend all your time there.
  • Rent a bike, scooter or car. See what is not available on excursions and pay less.
  • Do not go to hotel restaurants and cafes on the main streets. Get away from the tourist spots, where the locals live.

What is not worth saving money on?

  • On quality products. This can affect your health. The price of a product does not always determine the quality. Pay attention to the composition and its naturalness.
  • To your health. Get regular checkups. Don’t delay your visit to the dentist.
  • On quality clothing. The principle of “the miser pays twice” applies here.
  • On a rest. It is necessary to conduct it efficiently in order to recuperate.
  • Professional development. Mastering new knowledge and skills is a guarantee of your relevance in the future.

Having decided to write this article on how to start saving the family budget, we do not want to say that we need the most severe optimization of everything and everyone. It is important to use finances rationally and control expenses, to learn how to properly manage your finances. Sometimes you can pamper yourself and be encouraged.

Buy gifts and things that will delight, but in moderation and without prejudice to your well-being. It should be a well-deserved gift. For the fact that we worked on ourselves and achieved some results.

Buy gifts for family and friends, get in return a charge of positive, delight and love. And remember: everything should be in moderation.