Great Family Hacks to Save Money in 2020 & Beyond

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Have you ever heard the phrase, “If you don’t make a plan to succeed, you are planning to fail.” Without a clear path to financial goals, it is nearly impossible to reach them. Make sure you have a plan in place that is going to allow you to make the most of saving money as a family. This is one of the greatest family hacks to save money. There are a lot of ideas you need to keep in mind such as budgeting, being mindful of how you spend your money already, and seeking out the best deals. There are also many things these days that could threatening your financial security and that is why having money stashed away for a rainy day is so significance. 

Looking at what you can do to make better savings as a family is so important. It is so major to have a savings account that is equal to 3-6 months of your present salary so if there is a job loss or a giant emergency you can handle taking care of it without losing everything. Try to make sure you do as much as possible to take things to the next stage and work on being able to save valuable pennies for the family over the years.

Here are steps you can take to achieving this right now. 

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Use a Money Jar

Having a money jar in the house is a great way of being able to put a little extra cash aside. There are plenty of great advantages to having a money jar at home, and it gives you a definitive place to store and stash your money. This is especially helpful with teaching younger children as it serves as a visual aid to see the amount of coins increase. Getting the whole family into the habit of saving is one of the best ways of achieving this. 

Staycations

Coronavirus has played havoc with a lot of people’s travel plans, but this is something that could wind up working to your wallet’s advantage. There are a lot of things that play a role in helping you to save money and not going on expensive holidays is one of the best. Instead, this is a great opportunity to have a staycation and enjoy a fun-filled family adventure from home (or at least the local area). The last couple months my family has had such a great time exploring right where we live. We’ve done more hiking this year than, well, ever! LOL  A couple weeks ago we were bummed out that this summer was going to be another summer with no visit to a beach. Then we remembered the local lake we live near has a manmade sand beach. It was such a fun afternoon and the drive to get there was 20 minutes instead of 7 hours! Staycations are seeming better and better! Look at local offers you can use to cut the costs of spending, while still being able to keep the family entertained in the process as well. 

Eating In

By not going out to eat as often, you are going to be able to save more money as a family. This means you have to brush up on your culinary skills and make sure you get better at preparing food and meals for the family. Ten years ago, I used eMeals.com for an entire year. It saved so much money and time and sanity. I didn’t have to think or figure out what to purchase to make meal because a grocery list is provided for that weeks dinners. I made a binder that year with the weekly recipe and grocery list sheets and actually just got that out to start using again this week. My cooking skills are horrible (and I’m super lazy in the kitchen), but with this meal planning service I seem like a regular chef! Plus, this will save us anywhere from $10-15 per meal since we have been driving thru so much lately! Make eating in the new eating out, and you can save heaps of cash in the process by doing this. 

Become a Thrifty Shopper

More and more overpriced stores are going out of business all over the US. I hate to see them go as it always felt like a giant treat to shop these stores but more and more consumers are realizing that identical items can be 10, 20 or even 50% less online or at bargain stores. Another way to be thrifty when shopping is by using coupons that can sometimes be found in a store’s app, website, or even in the mail. And don’t forget actually thrift shopping. I’m a big fan of Goodwill shopping or secondhand stores. I once scored brand new tags still on jeans for $1 at a resale shop. Still wearing them today!

Save Money Automatically

If you are looking for great tips to achieve financial stability during uncertainty, then you need to try to get better at saving money. A great way to do this is having your direct deposit split a percentage of your income directly in to a savings account. And even better, have this savings account in a separate bank so you won’t be as tempted to move money to spend for things that are not emergencies. 

Create a Budget

Remember how I wrote about it’s nearly impossible to reach a goal without a plan? Well, a budget can be your plan to succeed. There are many online resources to learn how to create and follow a budget. You basically need a notebook or binder with some paper to write on. We like to budget for each pay period and plan where the paycheck will go whether that’s household bills, estimated grocery and gas, what will go to savings, and any other monthly expenses that could happen. Seeing on paper (or computer spreadsheet) where the money needs to go and making sure you have enough helps you understand why or why not your savings account is where you want it. It also can be a motivator to find ways to make more money to reach your goals.

Saving money is never easy, and saving money as a family can be especially hard because there are added expenses. You need to make sure you have ideas and techniques in mind that are going to make it easier for you and your family to save money and cut costs. Try out the above family Hacks to save money and use your budget to compare each month how adding these tips is helping with your money savings goals.

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