As someone with a large family, I know the financial troubles you might face. People have come up to me before and said they don’t know how we manage. How can you look after such a large family and still have money left over? It’s obviously more of a challenge than if we had no kids or just a family of three. But, it’s not impossible to save money and still provide the best life for your big family.
For those of you in the same boat as me, don’t give up hope. Here are some of my tips to help you save a fortune throughout the year:
Focus on energy efficiency
With lots of children, a huge percentage of your money gets spent on energy bills. Think about how long the TV is on for, or how many devices are plugged in and powered up. It all adds up, and a big family creates higher energy bills than a small one.
To counter this, focus on energy efficiency. Use more eco-friendly lights that use up less power. Turn off all devices when not in use. Wrap your kids up in blankets or jumpers to avoid putting the heating on. As you can see on www.fensterusa.com, you could also replace the sash fixtures in your windows to something more modern and efficient. This prevents drafts from entering your home and heat from escaping. Thus, your house naturally stays warmer, reducing the need for your central heating, and lowering energy costs every month.
Cook from home as much as possible
Again, loads of your weekly budget gets spent on food for the family. Now, as someone who homeschools their kids, I don’t have the issue of paying for school lunches. If you don’t do this, then cooking from home will help you save money. Let them take food to school, so you don’t have to pay for lunches.
Likewise, you should cook as much as possible to avoid going out. Eating out – or ordering in – will be very costly for a large family. Make this a special treat once a month or two. It keeps your children healthier, and you save so much money.
Make use of hand-me-downs
This is a classic parenting tip that saves a lot of money on children’s toys/clothes. Clearly, it’s very expensive to buy multiple children new clothes or toys all the time. So, make use of what already exists. Instead of buying new clothes, pass them down from the eldest through the youngest. Kids don’t care what they’re wearing, and you don’t have to spend money.
The same goes for toys. If a toy was good enough for your older kids (when they were little), then it’s good enough for the younger ones! Pass things down as much as you can to avoid spending money on items like this.
It can sometimes be a struggle, but you can save money with a big family. You just have to make a few adjustments and target the most costly areas. Lower your monthly bills, spend less money on food, and find ways to avoid buying new clothes/toys.