Budget Living
Get The Kids Involved Too

Budget Living, frugal living which ever term refers to your own family situation it all boils down to spending your money wisely. When Children are involved this is even more important as making sure you have enough money in the bank to be able to give them everything they need (rather than want), as they grow up will ensure a happier family life together.

Getting the Children involved with budget living and helping them to understand the importance of living wisely and frugally will not only help the family finances but will also help them lead a less wasteful life of their own in the future.

Getting the children on board

Young Children If you have children you will already know just how hard it is to get them to understand that money doesn’t grow on trees and that you have to work for it.

I am a true believer that you should be honest with your children from day one and not try to cosset them in any way. I think that in the long run life will not seem so hard or unfair to them if they have a solid understanding early on about how the world ticks and the value of things.

Here are a few tips on how to get your children to understand the value of money and a frugal budget living lifestyle:

• Always involve them in any buying decisions for large expensive items for the home and explain to them why these things cost so much and their value.

• Get them to plan the weekly shopping list and get them to compare one brand to another. Show them the shopping bill, so that they appreciate how much it costs to buy food etc.

• Explain to them how many hours of work you have to do and for what money.

• Give them a small amount of pocket money every week in exchange for some little job around the house.

• Give them a piggy bank and encourage them to save their money, so that they can buy their own things.

These methods will give them a sense of responsibility and an understanding of the value of money.

Show them alternative ways of shopping i.e. take them to charity shops and car boot fairs.

I will always remember my nieces eyes lighting up when she realised she could buy far more toys with her money from a secondhand shop.

Teenagers If you have older children then it is also important that you sit down with them and explain to them about what the goals of the family are and how a budget living lifestyle will enable you to achieve those goals, and how they themselves will benefit.

By involving them, they are far more likely to respect and understand why they cannot have everything they want when they want it.

Getting teenagers to understand the value of money can sometimes seem like an impossibility, especially when advertising every day constantly bombards them. A good way to instill money values in them and also to start them on the road of a frugal lifestyle by budgeting is:

• Work out how much money you spend on them a week on items such as makeup, clothes, CD’s, going out etc.

• Then give them all the money in one go, explaining to them that you will not be giving them any more for anything at all and that it is up to them to spend this money wisely.

Be prepared however for some terrible tantrums for the first few weeks when they come screaming to you when they realise that they have spent all their money and now can’t afford to buy more telephone credit.

Be strong and don’t give in, they will soon learn to budget their spending and have a greater understanding of just how much they are spending and why being frugal with their money helps them to get what they need.

More Frugal Lifestyle tips for the whole family

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