Slash Your Family’s Spending   

Look for hidden waste:

Can you find a cheaper cell-phone plan, long-distance phone service, or Internet service provider? Is it time to refinance your mortgage or car payments? What about canceling your long distance and purchasing budget phone cards — or using a cell phone (with free long distance included) in off-peak hours? Are you getting your money's worth from your gym membership, or could you walk, jog, or play basketball in the park instead? You may want to consider becoming a one-car family — you'll save on gas, insurance, and car maintenance.

Watch your credit cards:

If credit card charges are eating up a big chunk of your monthly budget, look into consolidating your balances or getting a lower interest rate. Examine your credit card statements: Are there automatic charges — subscriptions or monthly fees — that could be cancelled?

Plan low cost family vacations:

Rather than staying in hotels, consider traveling with friends and renting a house together. This is usually cheaper than hotel rooms, and it allows you to cook meals instead of going to restaurants. Other ideas: Travel locally so you can drive rather than take a plane. Carry a cooler full of snacks and sandwich ingredients so you don't have to eat out for every meal. Pack up the tent and go camping.

Find cheaper entertainment:

Go to matinees or rent movies instead of heading to the theater, and try borrowing videos and DVDs from your local library rather than paying for rentals. And do you really need cable television when you can rent DVDs of your favorite premium channel shows?

Trim your food bill:

Shop once a week without the kids. Plan meals for the week, and stick to the list. Most supermarkets give out savings cards that entitle you to special bargains. Never leave home without it! Keep a list in your wallet of all the staples you use every day and walk up and down the aisles to check for special deals, and then stock up. Limit prepared foods- try to cook from scratch. Think of meat as a side dish.

Put in the time:

Develop and maintain a budget. Try an envelope system. Divide up your monthly budget in certain envelopes so that way you won’t overspend.

 

This information was taken from babycenter.com