Get Your Kids to Help Save Money

You are doing everything that you can to cut back and make ends meet. Perhaps you have had a loss of income in your household or you had to take a pay cut for the survival of your company. Maybe you lost your home and you are now struggling to pay your bills in your new apartment. Whatever the case, it can be hardest on your children because they do not understand money in the same terms that you do. They may expect the same things they have always had. You can get them to help save money too, sometimes with them knowing it.

One way that your children can help save money is to take their lunch to school every day. You should first find out if they qualify for reduced lunch prices. If not, packing stuff each day can help save money and can also help you have some control over what they are eating for lunch each day. Think of it as a double bonus. Though you may initially have to spend more on your groceries when they are going to pack a lunch, the price per lunch is usually lower when they pack, so go ahead and find affordable yet nutritious things they can take for lunch each day.

Your children can also help save money by thinking of family activities that you can all do together that cost less than what you normally do. Perhaps they can think of things that you can all do for free. A movie night for four at a cinema can easily cost upwards of seventy or eighty dollars including tickets and snacks. Instead, perhaps you can get Netflix in your home for under ten dollars a month and enjoy microwave popcorn. Ask your children for other ideas for things they may like to do that are more affordable. They probably know exactly what to do and where to go to have fun.

If you are accustomed to have a maid service come in to clean once in a while, or perhaps you have relied on landscapers to work on your lawn, your children can help save money by taking over these chores. You can assign them all different chores that are age appropriate, and then offer them the chance to make some money. You will spend far less paying them for these chores (that they should probably be doing anyway!) than you would the professionals. You can save much more than you think this way.

You can also teach your children something about living within their means when they get older because you have to say no more often than perhaps you did in the past. Things that they are use to having are going to have to wait until your finances are in better shape again. You can try to explain to them that you are going to need to spend less, and that they can help save money for the important things by thinking hard about what they really think they need to ask for and what they can live without. Your children may be wiser and more understanding than you think.