I was at Wal-mart with my husband last week shopping, and ended up in the laundry detergent and softener aisle. I don’t typically buy my laundry supplies at Wal-mart, but we needed detergent and it would ultimately save gas and time to just get it there. Because I was very unfamiliar with Wal-Mart pricing on these items, I think I spent well over 20 minutes staring at the unit pricing for different brands and sizes. The actual value of any product you buy can be broken down to the unit price of a given object. In the case of my laundry detergents, I saw that the better pricing was actually a major brand at regular price instead of even the sale detergent or the off-brand labels. Not only that, but the smaller packages were a better deal in general also! It’s been awhile since I found that to be true. What seems to be the best deal, isn’t always the best deal. This is when knowing how to determine unit pricing will help you.

If you aren’t familiar with unit pricing, it’s like the price per pound or the price per ounce of any given object. A lot of stores have the unit pricing listed on the shelf label in addition to the total price. Just in case you can’t find it on the shelf tag, finding the price is easy as long as you have a calculator or if you’re really good at doing math in your head.

I was shopping for dryer sheets this weekend, so let’s use that as an example. At drugstore.com, a 80ct. box of Bounce dryer sheets is $5.99. $5.99 divided by 80 (the number of total sheets) is $0.074 or about 7 cents per dryer sheet. 120 ct. box of Bounce dryer sheets is $7.49 or about $0.062 or 6 cents per dryer sheet. The difference is fairly minuscule, but the larger box is slightly cheaper when you look at the cost per dryer sheet. In our case, a box of 80 dryer sheets lasts us 3-5 months so buying more than that seems wasteful and doesn’t validate the $2.40 I would save per year.

Although to be fair, if I did this with everything I buy on a regular basis (just off the top of my head I’m estimating 30-40 things per month we buy regularly from milk, eggs, to meat) the potential savings add up to $100 and more per year. That’s just at a one cent per unit discount on things you’re going to be buying anyway although “savings” could be less or more. While this is an impractical attitude to take towards every purchase, it can have some benefit. If you enjoy math or this type of picky shopping, or you find yourself trying to decide if the smaller package or larger package is a better deal then determining the unit price may be for you.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Would You Buy A New iMac 24″ or Fund Your Emergency Savings Account With Your Tax Return?
• Passive Income Ideas
• 10 Ways To Make Your Stuff Feel New Again
• How We Shed $200 From Our Grocery Budget. Next Month FoodMaxx For More Savings
• Free Creative Ideas to Help Friends Facing Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

There are a lot of different options when it comes to planning for retirement: 401k, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Regular Savings, Money Markets, and even Stocks. All of these methods have time tested value, although some come with more risk than others. If you’re just starting to plan for retirement, this may seem like I’m talking in gibberish. Let’s simplify! Here are 5 tips if you’re just starting to save for your retirement.

1. 401(k): If your job offers a 401(k) retirement plan (and ESPECIALLY if they match anything at all), use it. The bigger the company match, the better off you’ll fare. What this means is that if you have a company that matches 50% of your 401(k), and you save $2,000 for the year, your company will add an additional $1,000 or 50% of what you saved. It’s free money, it doesn’t get sweeter than that. Like any type of important long-term savings, put as much as you can in! The suggested percent of your total income to stash in all savings is 10%. If you can’t make that, do what you can. If you’re older, it’s more important to make that as much of an amount as possible.
2. IRA: If you don’t have a 401(k) through your work, you should consider an IRA. Deposits to IRA retirement accounts can be deducted from your taxes at the end of the year, although there is a maximum deposit amount per year for tax purposes. There are two types of IRA accounts: Traditional and Roth. Traditional IRA accounts mean that no taxes are taken out of your money before it’s sent to your IRA. So, when you pull it out to use it in retirement you will have to pay taxes on it. A Roth IRA means you’ve already paid your taxes on that income, so when you do use your savings in retirement you won’t owe taxes on it. I opt for a Roth IRA because the idea on paying taxes on (hopefully) $50,000+ makes me stomach lurch to my throat.
3. High-Interest: Another way to contribute to your retirement savings is by stashing your main emergency savings and/or long term savings in a high-interest account or CD (or other similar investment). These types of savings are low-risk so you won’t lose money, although the money you will gain is potentially lower than other high-risk options.
4. Make it Automatic: Just like any savings account, make the transfer of money automatic so you forget about it and it’s not part of your incoming income.
5. Diversify: Although this becomes more important as you get older, it can be helpful to have retirement funding in several different types of accounts. Most low-interest accounts like IRA’s, savings, and CD’s and Bonds are pretty consistent through time, but if you have some high-risk investments (like a 401(k) that’s also based on stock prices) then make sure you have other low risk investments and savings as well.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Would You Buy A New iMac 24″ or Fund Your Emergency Savings Account With Your Tax Return?
• Passive Income Ideas
• 10 Ways To Make Your Stuff Feel New Again
• How We Shed $200 From Our Grocery Budget. Next Month FoodMaxx For More Savings
• Free Creative Ideas to Help Friends Facing Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

Mint is one of the many new online budgeting software becoming very popular in the last year or so. I’ve been using Mint for about six months now, sometimes more regularly than others. Registration is fairly straight forward, although it is fairly lengthy including account and budget setup. Mint is completely free to use and syncs your information with your bank accounts by using your online login. Your information is kept safe as Mint uses the same type of security and technology as any type of well known financial institution (banks, tax companies, anyone who handles sensitive financial information). However, the concept of entering your bank account information into the Mint site may make you queasy. Don’t worry, it’s optional! For people like me who hate entering everything by hand, it’s a life saver.

When you log into the account after having linked your bank information or entering sufficient income, budget and receipts, your screen will give you a budget overview showing how much you’ve spent and where it went. If you’re just setting up your account, you can go to the Trends tab to see where your money is actually going. It will show you the last month by default, but you can compare to previous months as well. It may take awhile of editing individual stores and transactions to make sure they are counted in the correct category though.

Setting budgets is very easy, you simply follow the prompt to create a budget, choose categories and enter amounts. It’s all easy to edit through a very graphic interface. You can even set goals to pay off debts, or save for goals of your choice. The goal portion is pretty new to Mint, but very intuitive to use. It breaks your goal down into monthly goals and tells you about how long it will take to reach your goal.

Pros: Mint is very user friendly, very graphic and automatically pulls from your bank if you want to use that option. It’s great if you’re financially challenged, are new to budgeting, or need feedback and alerts if you go over budget. Mint offers text message and email alerts for a whole list of items varying from low balance to an exceeded budget amount.

Cons: Mint has a lot of options and a lot of things to customize. It can take awhile to set up and if you aren’t somewhat comfortable with computers it might be a challenge. Also, there is a fair amount of advertising. A lot of their “Save on..” options are offers from credit card companies, mortgages, etc. for related services. While they are kept to a minimum, they are prevalent.

I really suggest using Mint if you need help figuring out where your money is going, especially if you are comfortable using your online banking information. If you use email and text messages, it’s a great way to know quickly when you’re going over budget. This would definitely be great for college students trying to track debt (credit cards, student loans, borrowing money from friends) and learning how to budget for the first time. Overall, it’s an excellent program for anyone used to computer and online usage and some of their tools (like the goal tracker) are outstanding.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• PearBudget Online Budgeting Software Review

There are a number of online budgeting software available to track your expenses and help you plan and keep track of your budget and income. One of the more popular online softwares I have run across lately is PearBudget. I am always searching for a better budgeting software, so I thought I would sign up for PearBudget and see how it worked. You get a 30 day free trial, although if you decide to keep using the software it is $3 per month. As far as these types of software go, that’s a reasonable price, although I am skeptical of the cost, especially in comparison to companies like Quicken Intuit services.

The registration for PearBudget was very simple. To start, it has you actually set up a budget by entering in categories, estimated spending amounts, and monthly income. It’s a very simple layout, and the prompts are very funny and engaging. I like the simplicity of the layout and they remind you that budgets are fluid: you can change it later and don’t need to have every bill and receipt with you right now. I would use this interface just to get a budget together, assign categories and fuss with numbers when you actually see your income compared to expenses. You can always print it off for use. Here are some screen shots from the set up process:

Once the budget is set up, you need to sign up for a free 30 day trial in order to save your budget information. Once the very easy registration is complete (no payment information required), it asks you to enter receipts. I must admit, I was disappointed that I would have to enter everything by hand for a service that is subscription based, but there is something to be said for simplicity. I remember my dad used to budget in a notebook and he would keep track of every single purchase in that same notebook (even cash). This is a very back to basics version lay out for budgeting.

Once you’ve entered in your receipts, you can view expenses versus income. The layout is again, very simple and clean. The information is easy to understand and keep track of. It’s easier to use than any other software I’ve tried, but it also requires receipts to be hand entered. I might try this for the next month as my husband and I switch to a cash system to try and control some spending bleeding. It will be more work, but it might be more helpful at managing our budget at this point in time. The expenses/receipts versus budget page looks like this:

If you’re new to budgeting, if you’re used to budgeting by hand, or if the idea of using an online software that pulls information from your bank account freaks you out this software is worth a try. Keep in mind, it will cost $3 a month later. You could always switch to a spreadsheet format, but the graphical displays and history provided online might be worth the $3 if you’re not very computer savvy or if you’re a visual person.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Mint Online Budget Software Review

Finances do change when you go from budgeting for one to budgeting together for two. Most couples are uncomfortable or unsure how to talk about money issues, but discussion is required to maintain good financial health. If you’re newly married, or getting ready to move in together, there are a few things to talk about and consider at that first dreaded financial planning discussion.

1. Attitudes towards money: How do you feel about money? Some people try to be as frugal as possible, saving everything they can. Others live lavishly living paycheck to paycheck. Is money something to be squandered, saved, or do you have any bad spending habits? It’s important to know how the other person approaches money and spending if you’re looking at sharing expenses, bank accounts and/or budgets.
2. To Share or Not to Share: My husband and I struggled over the decision of what type of bank account arrangement would be best when we became newly married. My advice if you are unsure is this: You can either keep your separate accounts and open a joint checking account for shared expenses, or continue to use your separate accounts and split expenses up. My husband and I ended up keeping our separate accounts and opening a joint checking/savings as well. When it comes to budgeting, I stash some of his paycheck in his personal savings, some of my paycheck in my personal savings, most of our paychecks to the joint account and leave enough in our separate accounts for personal spending according to our agreed upon budget.
3. Budgeting: You need to have one, and you should agree on it. The first 2-3 months of your marriage, track your expenses and use those figures to create a reasonable budget. You will see expense increases in places you might not have otherwise anticipated (like the food and grocery budget).
4. Financial History: You need to know each other’s credit scores and financial history, including outstanding debts. This is important for long term financial planning, larger purchases (like house or car), and just in case someone were to die an untimely death. Start repairing credit issues now by paying bills on time, using debt consolidation services if need be, and paying credit cards and loans down.
5. Consolidate: Look for any types of bills or items you can consolidate. Gym memberships can be switched to a family membership at the same gym instead of two separate fees, car insurance policies and renter’s insurance can be moved to one single policy instead of two, unused household goods and furniture can be sold, and cell phone services can be combined when contracts are done. It’s also a good time to go through any stored items and donate or sell anything you don’t want to keep. All the extra cash can either help pay for the wedding or go into savings.

Budgeting for two isn’t so different from budgeting for one, except that it requires better and more frequent communication. The most important part of budgeting for a newly married couple is that you agree on the decisions you are making and that you are moving towards your agreed upon financial goals.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Would You Buy A New iMac 24″ or Fund Your Emergency Savings Account With Your Tax Return?
• Passive Income Ideas
• 10 Ways To Make Your Stuff Feel New Again
• How We Shed $200 From Our Grocery Budget. Next Month FoodMaxx For More Savings
• Free Creative Ideas to Help Friends Facing Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting, frustrating, special, and expensive things that will ever happen in your life. If you’re on a tight budget, it can seem almost impossible! To be able to keep a tight wedding budget, you need to know where to splurge and where to cut costs. Before you make any other plans, you need to start by having a total budget. How much can you spend altogether? This is the all important number you simply must have firmly in mind. Now, to the first part:

Where to Splurge:

When you think about getting married, there are a few things that come to mind. When I think about cost, I think about the wedding dress. Although it doesn’t have to be a several thousand dollar dress, the dress usually takes up a good portion of your budget. I would suggest anywhere from 1/4-1/2 of your total budget, depending on other factors. Hand-me down wedding dresses are great, especially if you get them tailored to fit. Used dresses can be found from Goodwill and other thrift stores, and you often can’t tell they’ve been used. Personally, I found a steal by hunting online and got a custom-made to my measurements dress for about $250. You can find better deals by going for a non-traditional dress. The second place to splurge, is of course on the groom’s outfit. A decent tuxedo rental usually runs about $100 and a suit even less. If you own a nice suit, even better.

Where to Save:

Almost everything other than the clothing are places to look to cut costs. If you’re really on a tight budget, I suggest the following areas:

• Location: There are a number of free or cheap locations you can have for your wedding. A family or friend’s yard, a public park, and rent a picnic area at the park for a rain area. It is really dependent on how many guests you have and who has a back yard available.
• Guest List: If you’re really on a tight budget, I suggest keeping the guest list as small as you can. It gives you more flexibility in terms of locations, food, wedding favors and everything else really. If your budget is $500 or so, I suggest 15 people or less.
• Food: There are great alternatives to having the very expensive catering. My husband and I had a guest list of about 12 people at our wedding, so his mother and sister and myself set up a menu of easily made home prepared food. We bought the food and they were kind enough to make the dinner (as the wedding was at his mother’s house). I think we spent $75 total for a complete dinner with several deserts. However, we opted out of a traditional wedding cake. You can save on a wedding cake by looking for non-commercial cake decorators like stay-at moms or small businesses. You can always go pot luck style and ask everyone to bring a dish.
• Decorations: Wedding decorations and favors are used only once. If you’re really on a tight budget, go for the smallest amount of decorations you feel comfortable with, keep them simple and keep them classy. Decorations in black and white for other formal events are cheap to find and use, favors can be made at home, skip or skimp on fresh flowers except for the bride and groom, and the more simple you are willing to have the wedding the less you will need to spend. You’ll also save by doing your own wedding invitations. Don’t forget to shop discount stores like dollar stores, big lots, and wal-marts to look for these types of items.

Where you ultimately spend or splurge on your wedding budget depends on what is most important to you. If there’s a specific dress, a certain location, or you have to have the large wedding with lots of guests you can always rearrange your budget percentages to accommodate your area of splurge. The final percentages spent on my $500 or less wedding was 50% on the dress, 15% on my husband’s clothes, 15% on food, 10% on paying the minister, and 10% on flowers, decorations and invitations. The best part about a very simple, low budget, small guest list wedding? Almost no stress and lots of fun! And that was priceless.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• 7 Healthy Spending Habits
• 5 Things that can Blow your Budget and How to Avoid Them
• How to Save Money by Buying in Bulk
• 7 Ways to Save on Groceries
• Can’t Make Up Your Mind? Call A Frugal Friend

No matter what you are budgeting for, it can be incredibly difficult to stay within your budget if you aren’t careful. Budgets require careful maintenance and attention, and it’s easy to blow your budget if you aren’t paying attention. Here are 5 things that can cause you to blow your money instead of watching your proverbial budget waistline.

1)  Stop Tracking Your Expenses: If you stop tracking your expenses completely, you will most likely exceed one or more portions of your budget. A budget is better kept when you stay aware of how much you have left in a given category, or in some cases envelope.

Solution: Be diligent in tracking your expenses and checking your budget balances regularly. If you’re using an online software, it can be as simple as logging into a website for 3 minutes. Or, if you’re using the envelope method it takes 3 seconds to check your leftover cash.

2)  Impulse Purchases: Impulse purchases can bite into your budget with a vengeance. Whether you always pick up extra items on your grocery trip or your spouse made a large online purchase without asking first, impulse purchases add up quickly and if left unchecked can blow your budget.

Solution: Plan for some impulse purchases by budgeting for some impulse purchases. When you find yourself grabbing something that isn’t on the list, take a few minutes to step back and think about if you really need this item right now or if it can wait. And if you have the money in your budget to buy it. Sometimes slowing down to analyze is all you need to control impulse spending.

3)  Unrealistic Budgeting: If your actual budget is completely unrealistic, you will exceed your budget amount. While budgeting aggressively is a good thing, make sure your budget is realistic with a set of small decreases that step down instead of trying to cut too much too fast.

Solution: Double check your budget figures to make sure they are reasonable. If you find out mid-month that they are unreasonable, sit down and recalculate. Smaller, reachable steps are better than unreachable leaps.

4)  Poor Planning: If you are taking a day trip, car ride, or spending a long day running errands you will need to eat and drink during the day. If you don’t plan ahead, you can end up eating out which can quickly blow your budget.

Solution: The night before or morning of your new day, take a few minutes to plan ahead. Think about if you’ll need food or drinks with you and plan accordingly to avoid unnecessary purchases.

5)  Family Cooperation and Miscommunication: If your spouse isn’t on board with your budget plans, or there was a misunderstanding about your budget and planning purchases, your budget can be blown very quickly.

Solution: Talk with your spouse or family members calmly and candidly. Be sure to elicit feedback and participation so that everyone’s needs and wants are addressed. Most of all, be sure everyone understand and agrees to the expectations and why a budget is important.

No matter what the reason for your budget mishap: learn from it, fix it, and keep going! It’s an evolving process that works differently for everyone.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget
• 7 Healthy Spending Habits
• How to Save Money by Buying in Bulk
• 7 Ways to Save on Groceries
• Can’t Make Up Your Mind? Call A Frugal Friend

Making and following a budget doesn’t have to be a daunting and miserable task. Budgets are meant to help you manage your money and reach your financial goals. While it can be very easy to come up with how much you should be spending in each budgeting category, figuring out budgeting basics can seem absolutely impossible: especially if you’re financially challenged like I am! There are five simple budgeting basics that make planning and following a budget more helpful – and less like calculus homework.

1) The first part to any budget is knowing why you are budgeting. Are you trying to save up for a down payment on a house? Save for your child’s education? Or perhaps simply live within your income? Whatever the reason, knowing what you want to accomplish helps you set up your budget accordingly and gives you motivation to continue watching what you spend. If you’re just starting out, I would suggest picking a short term goal (6 months to 1 year) so that you can see progress fairly quickly. It can help you stay motivated, which is essential!

2) In order to plan your budget, you need to know how much you are currently spending in different categories (bills and other fixed expenses; groceries; entertainment; clothes; medical and pharmacy; pet food and veterinary, etc.). You also need to know how much money you make in a month. There are a few different ways to track this. The time honored tradition involves going through your bank account and manually calculating expenses per category for about one month. If you’re anything like me, this sounds about as fun as having your teeth drilled. Try using an online budgeting program that will sync to your bank account and do most of it for you, like Mint.com.

3) Once you know how much you are currently spending, you can find areas to cut expenses. You need to look at your spending habits for at least one month, although preferably about 3 months. When I did my budget 3 months after getting married, I realized we were spending $250+ a month on fast food, eating out, evil work vending machines, and other unnecessary entertainment items. That was our major area to cut costs, with the second major area being groceries.  Realizing how much we were spending allowed us to reduce it to about $50 per month, and we were able to pay off our used car purchase in full 6+ months earlier than we were set to pay it off in full.

4) Setting up your Budget is the easiest part. Write down fixed expenses: Utilities, Rent/Mortgage, Car payments, Car insurance, Pharmacy, etc. Then write down how much you think you should be spending on other categories like: pharmacy/medical, pet food and vet, groceries and household goods, clothes and misc. shopping, gas, and any other categories you need. Then look at how much you spent for the last month and make sure it’s a reachable goal. You can always tweak your budget monthly. Going from $200 a month on fast food to $50 doesn’t happen all at once, so plan for success by using smaller goals over a longer period of time. Check to make sure your budget is *less* than your monthly income!

5) If you have trouble keeping track of your money once you set up your budget, there are a few options to help you on your way. If you normally use a credit/debit card, consider switching to mostly cash for a few months to keep better track. The time honored envelope method will force you to stay on track, and there’s something about parting with all that green that still makes you want to cling to it like cat hair on white clothing. (On the downside, this method would mean you need to save your receipts and track expenses by hand.) Alternatively, online budgeting software can keep track of it all for you, even sending you alerts when you’re getting close to your budgeted amount or when you’ve exceeded it.

Budgeting isn’t an overnight miracle, but if you are persistent you will see a difference after just a month. Resist your impulse purchasing urges by remembering why you are budgeting in the first place and don’t forget to reward yourself for being good! I find that time to myself, a day without chores,  or a massage from my husband are all very effective rewards that don’t cost a penny.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Help Jump Start The Economy And Buy A New Car You Can’t Afford
• Money Saving Tips: When A Sale Item Still Isn’t Worth Buying
• How We Shed $200 From Our Grocery Budget. Next Month FoodMaxx For More Savings
• Jeub Family Inspiration
• Passive Income Stream or Debt Elimination Strategy?

That big bad term ‘credit card’ gives me the heebie-jeebies even just typing it. For so long they’ve been embraced as a convenience in an increasingly commodified world. But are they really worth it? How can we get maximum benefits out of them with minimum costs?

PREVENTION

Don’t be so credit card happy. It’s easy to get lost in a mindless routine of flipping over your CC for daily purchases.  Use a debit card for more control over your finances, linking your own purchases to your own money.

LOOK OUTSIDE CC COMPANIES

Building societies, credit unions and independent brokers usually offer competitive rates. It is useful to browse the options available to you to maximize the benefits and to customize a credit card plan that suits and rewards you.

INTEREST-FREE DAYS

If you have strong affiliations to your credit card, and the thought of life without it is unfathomable, learn to use it with ‘interest-free’ days to get the most out of it and avoid accruing bank fees. Try to pay the majority of your expenses of these days and pay your monthly CC off in full using only one of the free transactions to optimize usage and saving on fees.

KEEP ON TOP OF THOSE REPAYMENTS

Daunted by paying anything more than the minimum repayment? Try it. You may be surprised at how much debt you avoid by paying more than the minimum and avoiding added interest and fluctuating rates.
REPAYMENT OPTIONS

Good with repayments? Choose a credit card that rewards you for paying it off efficiently. Rather than using a credit card that fluctuates rates, choose the 0% balance transfer offer and be happy that the dent in your pocket disappears more quickly.

BALANCE CHECKS

Revert to the phone, the Internet or ATMs to regularly check your balances and avoid going over the limit. Maxing out the CC is an easy thing to do and the banks can make a fortune from penalties arising from this.

MULTIPLE CARDS
For some, even the thought of more than one credit card can result in stressful body compulsions. However some may enjoy the benefits of using multiple credit cards by choosing which ones to use based on the lower interest rate offered at the time.  While this can get complicated and involves keeping three eyes on your daily bank affairs, it CAN work and save you money at the end of the day!

With a bit more research, you can retrain your brain and eager hand to think twice about which card to play. Information is readily available online, so browse the banks, reassess your accounts and you may just find you’re usually carrying an ace up your sleeve.

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Would You Buy A New iMac 24″ or Fund Your Emergency Savings Account With Your Tax Return?
• Passive Income Ideas
• 10 Ways To Make Your Stuff Feel New Again
• How We Shed $200 From Our Grocery Budget. Next Month FoodMaxx For More Savings
• Free Creative Ideas to Help Friends Facing Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

photo credit: wwarby

Have you sat down with your children and discussed the value of saving money yet? I posed the question to my twitter followers and was fascinated by some of the responses I received. I had figured that some people would have the money talk when the child was old enough to start doing chores around the house or maybe when they started asking for expensive clothes. I don’t recall the exact age, but I was probably around 7 or 8 when my parents discussed the importance of saving money for a rainy day. At the age of 7 I really didn’t need an emergency account, so all the money I earned went towards savings.

I received several comments from twitter friends that started teaching children about money management during the high school years. A couple had even started as early as 2 years old when they took the children shopping and discussed how much items cost at the store. My favorite comment came from a mother who had opened a bank account for her daughter when she was only 3 months old. Any cash gifts given at birthdays or holidays was going to go straight towards the child’s bank account.

It can be tough to teach your children about money when your child is begging for candy or a toy at the store. Taking time when you are at the dinner table or getting ready for bed to discuss how they can help them understand where money comes from. At 5 my daughter understands the concept that money is earned and that we don’t just visit the store and buy anything we want. Our toddler though doesn’t have any concept of money yet and thinks he can have anything. The beauty of diversion for a 3 year old is priceless and I will miss using some of my stealthy tactics with him in the store.

Maybe you’ve waited until your children are a little older and have the ability to take more responsibility with money. You might have conversations about working for extra money or doing chores around the house. Have you let your children make financial mistakes so they can learn from them? If your child wanted to buy $100 jeans, but it would deplete savings, would you allow it to happen?

Discussing financial situations with your children can also impact the way they look at money. Do you and your spouse communicate openly about your finances with your kids? If you are shopping for a car, do you set expectations around your budget?

What are you doing to teach your kids about saving money? Do you take time to discuss how you earn your money and what expenses you have to pay each month?

Please Share With A Friend:

Similar Posts

• Consumers Spend Less And Economists Say It’s Bad For Economy
• Emergency Account utilized this week