Looking for ways to save money?

With the upcoming holiday season, you are probably thinking of ways to save money. Or, maybe you need to save for your child’s college tuition, or that new car you’ve been thinking about for the past couple of years. Today you’ll find out the importance of a family budget in saving money.

Every family should have a budget, no matter what their financial status is. A budget tells you exactly how much your have coming in, and how much goes out on a monthly basis for the absolute necessities like housing, food, utilities, insurance, transportation and health care. But what about the future?

That’s another place where a budget comes in handy. When you’ve allotted a portion of the household’s weekly income to the necessities, what’s left over is your discretionary spending amount. These are the funds available to you for short-term expenses, or long-term investments, like your children’s education, and your own retirement funds.

When the children are growing and requiring more in the way of expenditures, there might not be a lot left over. But even 5% of your income can be a healthy start on an education fund.

Extras, like bonuses or perhaps half the amount of a raise, will make those future savings grow. Since they aren’t in the budget to start with, they won’t be missed, and you’ll still have a portion of the unexpected income to add to your regular budget.

Here are a few other ways to save money:

• Shop with a list, take advantage of sales, and purchase basic ingredients, rather than pre-packaged components or ready-made items
• If you take prescription medication, ask your physician and pharmacist if a less expensive generic or an over the counter alternative is available.
• Quit smoking: not only will you save money, but you’ll save your health too
• Barter for services with family and friends: for example, you can baby-sit in exchange for an oil change on your car.
• Pay your credit card bills on time; if you can pay them online: this will save you a few pennies on postage, and it will arrive there without delay.
• Buy in bulk. You’ll save money per unit for a pack of twelve bars of soap versus singles, or 1 roll of toilet paper as opposed to 24 rolls.

There are a lot more ways to save money, but this is a good start.

Consider financial counseling at your banking institution, or from a professional. They are often the best sources for learning how to get the most out of the dollars you have to save, and the most out of the future benefits they are going to earn for you.

And if you have any ideas you’d like to share with us, feel free to post a comment.