With the soaring cost of living, two-children households in the United Kingdom will now pay an average of £400 more each month for basic essentials such as food, home energy, transport, and childcare – rising costs of social and cultural participation activities mean that it’s also more expensive to take your family on those hard-earned holidays and days out. Luckily, it can be easy to tackle the increases in everyday costs by assessing your finances and making a realistic budget.
If you stick to your budget and spend within your means, you could find that your family is able to enjoy all of the same perks as before the price hike. By budgeting, you can eliminate debt, keep on top of your expenditure and even give your children a head start when it comes to learning about finance. Let’s take a closer look at three essential steps to take when creating a family budget:
Look at your expenses – The first essential step to take when making a budget is to thoroughly assess your finances to get a better understanding of your situation. This includes all of your household’s incomings and outgoings such as rent and mortgage payments, food and utility bills, and everyday costs such as phone bills and subscriptions. By deducting the total of your outgoings from your incoming wages, you should be able to get a clearer idea of how much you need to save in order to close any gaps.
Prioritise- Once you have a better idea of the bigger picture, it’s time to divide up your expenditure into ‘essentials’ and ‘non-essentials’. By prioritising your outgoings according to necessity, you can ensure that your most important monthly payments will always be made. While it may be wise to de-prioritise costs such as eating out at restaurants and going on holidays abroad when making a budget, that doesn’t mean that treats and luxuries are completely off the cards. It can be counter-productive and discouraging to restrict your spending, so make sure that you leave some space in the budget for some quality family time. There are plenty of affordable ways to enjoy holidays and family days out – see if you’re eligible for offers such as the EasyJet NHS discount codes to wrangle a cheaper deal.
Set goals-
The third and final essential step to take when writing up a family budget is setting monthly, weekly or daily goals, which may depend on your circumstances. Whether your long-term focus is paying off your debts, saving for a holiday, or renovating your home, you could reap amazing results by aiming for small, achievable goals related to your everyday expenditure. These could include cutting out alcohol, cycling to work, making your own meals at home, or even growing your own food. Every time you hit your target, reward yourself! By setting and meeting regular financial goals, you can make the best practical use of your family budget and save an astounding amount.
How to create a family budget is a feature post
