Tag: certain amount of money

Best Money-Saving Practice is Restraint


Restraint, when practiced correctly, can be considered an admirable quality; whether such practice relates to diet, excercise, economics or indulgement. Proper budgeting and saving money often requires some degree of restraint in order to accomplish either, and the family that is able to utilize restraint will find success. Self restraint will go a long way toward resisting the urge to “buy on impulse”, as so many people do, even in some cases when they can least afford to.

However, impulsive buying or spending is the least desirable action a budgeting family or individual can afford given the requirement for strict adherence to the budget put in place to echieve an economic objective. Often, when people come into a certain amount of money, they have the tendency to rush out and instantly satisfy that irresistible urge to splurge on anything they lay their eyes on. This action is contrary to everything they should do and is a huge mistake.

Sometimes people fail to recognize the idea that the future has to be considered whenever spending and savings enter the picture. The cliché “nothing is constant” still rings true until today. The stuff people see now as “shiny objects” will fade and rust away later, leaving patience and self-control to make people realize and think about the many other more important things that requires them to practice restraint, especially money-wise. A person’s financial success begins with a conscious effort to control one’s expenditures and save up for the future.

Realizing the high correlation of restraint and saving money, the next question is, how do we start learning, and acquire this admirable quality, which seems so elusive? Well, there are many ways that people often take for granted. Here are some of the less complicated ones that are easier to follow. Learn them, and hope they grow on you. Try to apply these easy steps in your daily living and surely, they will play an important role in sending you on your way to financial stability and security.

  1. Do not purchase items on impulse. Consider thinking if you really need the item, or maybe you can still put it off for later when you really have the need for it.
  2. Identify the your needs from wants. You wouldn’t want to spend so much on something that you may regret doing so in the future.
  3. Look for a person who can serve as a role model for you and adapt a financial life similar to what he does. In this way, self-control will seem very easy when you see that others are actually doing it.

Your Family Budget as a Present Day Economic Tool – contd


If you are in charge of creating the family budget, chances are, you’ve had the unfortunate experience of having a brilliant budget plan that isn’t executed well. This happens to many families and couples, but with a little attitude tweaking, you can solicit the help of your family in making your budget work the way it is intended.

Create a family budget vision. Talk to your spouse and children about whatever budgetary constraints you are facing, or whatever financial goals you intend to set. By being completely honest about the bills and loans you have to pay, or your intention to save a certain amount of money for a family emergency fund (or a college fund, for that matter), you can help your family understand better your collective financial situation.

Such a discussion will allow family members to change their perspective on the purchases they make, and will help you make sure that whatever money crunching strategies you utilize won’t be counteracted or even sabotaged by a subsequent spree by your teen.

Another good technique is to create a list of usual expenditures per member of your family. Together, identify which items you can do away with in order to save up some extra money from your monthly income. By doing this all together, you are making your family participate better and see the contributions they can make into making your family’s finances better.

Should your child(ren) have the habit of continuously asking for money for minor and oftentimes unnecessary purchases, you can let your children learn to manage their own week’s allowance. With their limited money to budget, they will have a better realization of the value of money.

Put a cap on the amount of expenditures you make in a week. The best way to do this is set aside a fixed amount of cash that you will spend for a week. By putting this limitation on your spending, you are forced to prioritize spending on the most essential things over everything else.

Make it easy for your family to save more. How often do you eat out? Most family budgets are blown over because of the frequency of dining out and the accompanying exorbitant expense of that activity. Eating at home will reduce your expenses, not to mention allow for your family to bond over cooking at home. Do you spend on routine purchases like coffee and newspapers? Cut back on the latte and the paper, and put aside the amount you would otherwise spend. Your family’s collective saving will surprise you.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to create a most efficient driving route, as well as grouping together activities into one car trip. This way, you can save a lot on time and even on gasoline and car expenses.