Stretching a family budget

The reality is that children are expensive. They like eating, drinking, living indoors and indulging in recreational sporting activities, all of which cost money and the costs add up for parents especially if they have more than one child. The good news however is there are methods of stretching that family budget.

Write out a list of your monthly expenses in relation to incoming cash so that you know exactly what you can and cannot afford.

Another good tip is to stop paying fees. Little fees all add up into big fees, so cutting out the use of ATMs and avoiding late fees can end up saving you a surprising amount of money. Coupons are an old fashioned but still highly effective way to save money, with many websites offering Internet coupons for stores, and other sites such as Groupon offering product, restaurant and travel deals.

There are other ways to make every dollar count, such as sharing an adult meal between two children when eating out rather than buying two separate kids meals.