How can you save money on your family budget? How to learn how to save a family budget - rules and tips for planning expenses How to save a family budget

Living from paycheck to advance without worrying about tomorrow is a habit of many. Unfortunately, lessons on how to keep a family budget are not taught at school, everything has to be learned by experience.

For some, this science seems too complicated, they continue to mindlessly spend finances, risking one day to be left without a livelihood. Others study home economics, significantly improving the quality of their lives.

There is nothing difficult in distributing the personal and family budget. To do this, you absolutely do not need to dive into calculus with many formulas. There are only two important columns in the home accounting table: income and expenses. The first is the money that the family receives: salary, pension, benefits, income from rent or securities, interest on bills. All sources of family income are taken into account in order to know exactly what the total amount is made up of.

Expenses include: payment of housing and communal services, transport, telephone and Internet bills, food, education and development of children, payment of insurance premiums, loans. This should also include the column "unforeseen expenses". A good housewife knows perfectly well how much money a family needs per month “for the household”.

You can keep count in a notebook, but it is more convenient if home accounting is presented as a table with two horizontal columns: income and expense.

As you understand, the sums in the last rows must be at least the same. If the needs are greater than the possibilities, then some points will have to be reduced.

It is not necessary to turn family budget planning into a total economy mode, but it will not hurt to give up the excess. Focus primarily on mandatory expenses, calculating them for a certain period, week or month. Of the remaining funds, an amount is allocated for unforeseen situations (repairs, treatment, urgent purchases), the rest is sent to the "reserve fund".

To understand which expenses were necessary and which were superfluous, the personal finance accounting table, which consists of two columns, will allow.

Obviously, by giving up a business lunch at work and buying a press, you can easily replenish the family treasury with a noticeable amount. If spreadsheets don't quite suit you, we advise you to pay attention to our review article, where we reviewed the top 5 of them.

How to save money on utility bills

Today, housing and communal services tariffs are growing, and payment bills can seriously undermine the family budget. But the habit of saving on trifles has not yet developed. We use the advice of Europeans who are used to living in a resource-saving mode. Here are some easy ways to cut costs:

• Give up unnecessary kitchen devices with the prefix "electro". You can cook food, boil water on a gas stove. When purchasing large household appliances, pay attention to the energy saving class, marking “A” is more suitable for the house;
• Make it a rule to turn off appliances from the outlet at night, turn off the lights in the room, leaving it. Arrange multi-level lighting in the room, it is not only economical, but also convenient. Simple tricks for a month will save from 100 to 300 rubles;
• The refrigerator eats up the most energy, so make sure that the ice coat does not freeze, this increases consumption. Do not set the temperature too low without special need, monitor the tightness of the chamber;
• Increasingly, in the modern kitchen, the gas stove is replaced by an elegant hob. Such devices cost the owner more, so you should not forget about savings. Use the residual heat, buy containers for cooking according to the size of the burners;
• View invoices to understand what constitutes the amount for the billing period (month, year). Do you really need an intercom if you live on the 1st floor? Or maybe you still pay for a radio or unnecessary cable TV? Look carefully and you will certainly find what you can save the family budget on without much damage.

Review your payments. When was the last time you used your home phone, although you pay 200-300 rubles for it per month? And after all, a tidy sum accumulates in a year?

Grocery shopping - how to save money?

According to statistics, Russians spend from 30 to 50% of their finances on food, therefore, when considering ways to save the family budget, we cannot ignore this expense item. Each housewife has her own secrets of cooking, menu preparation, and the feeding process itself in each family is individual.

Somewhere all households gather at the table only for dinner, in other houses it is customary to eat 3-4 times a day. Despite this difference, there are still general rules for saving. Here are the most effective ones:

• Learn the tricks of marketers so as not to fall for their bait. Try not to take children to the store;
• Go shopping with a detailed list so you don't forget anything and don't overbuy;
• Pay not with a card, but with cash, real money is more difficult to spend than virtual money;
• Pay attention to the products of little-known manufacturers, they are much cheaper than well-known brands;
• Refuse ready-made semi-finished products, pre-packaged products. Often, not the highest quality goods go into cutting, besides, you have to overpay for the work of the packer;
• By partially replacing household chemicals with a natural product, you will replenish your home budget with a tidy sum. The same can be said about cosmetics. Our grandmothers used mustard and soda to wash dishes, washed glass with vinegar. Their house always shone with cleanliness without the use of "super products".

Bad habits fight

Sooner or later, each of us has to think about how to manage the family budget as efficiently as possible. After all, this is an urgent need to avoid financial difficulties in the future. Even if it seems that you live within your means, there will always be something that you can give up without difficulty, and sometimes even with benefit.

Review your bad habits. By giving up alcohol and cigarettes, you will save more than just money. Smoking is harmful to health, besides it hurts the wallet. Given that tobacco products regularly “grow up” in price, a bad habit costs a pretty penny. The same can be said about light alcohol. Calculate how much a daily bottle of beer costs, and then imagine what you can buy with this money if you put it off for a year.

Network games are considered by many to be harmless entertainment, a pleasant vacation, not at all thinking that this is a well-thought-out way of “pumping out” money. Without even realizing it, lovers of all kinds of "zombo farms" leave more than one thousand a year on the Internet. What can we say about avid gamers for whom the game is a competition.

Make it a rule to earn money for entertainment separately and spend personal finances on it, without harming the general wallet.

Sugar is a food drug, which means that the habit of uncontrolled eating of “sweets” can be classified as harmful. The average family spends on confectionery from 200 to 1000 rubles a month. Ice cream, sweets, gingerbread, lemonade and other rubbish that cannot be called food or drink. Learning to live without sweets is not so easy, but such a victory will be all the more valuable. To understand which foods in the diet are superfluous, a detailed table of food costs will help.

Five ways to cut costs

When you're young, active, and party-loving, planning your family's budget can seem boring. It is much more interesting to jump from a state of unrestrained revelry to economy mode and back. But sooner or later, spouses begin to think about financial discipline. It does not depend on the level of family income. In any case, money does not fall from the sky, but is earned, so it is better to learn not to throw it to the wind.

Who should manage the finances in the family?

This question is important for the preservation of the psychological climate of the cell of society. Undoubtedly, the decision on what and how to save the family budget is made jointly. The remaining functions can be divided between the spouses.

The theoretical part of financial management is easier for ladies than for men, the strong half simply have no time to spend time on calculations. But women are prone to impulsive purchases, which means they cannot afford to have free funds. Accordingly, the wife can distribute personal finances, and it is better to entrust the purchases to the spouse.

Hold me, I'll buy now

Consumerism is the scourge of modernity. Buying tons of things that are essentially not needed, we work for the corporations that produce these goods. Here's a simple tip for you on how to save your family budget - give up rash purchases.

Want a dress, handbag, shoes like a friend? Wait a couple of days. During this time, carefully examine your wardrobe. Most likely, the same boats are already gathering dust in the closet, and the clutch does not fit the existing things at all.

Learning to control personal finances allows clearly defined long-term goals.

Don't buy what you can get for free

Are you used to reading every new Cosmo or are you waiting for the release of Daria Dontsova's book? Planning to attend a blockbuster premiere? Why pay for something you can get for free? Rational planning of the family budget is a reasonable attitude to spending. You can read the press online, borrow a novel from a friend, and films appear on the Internet a week after the release.

Many people get rid of unnecessary things by giving them away or selling them for a nominal price. Feel free to participate in such promotions.

Penny to penny - Altyn came out

Make it a rule to set aside 5-10% of your income every month and not spend that money unless you really need it. So you will not only get free funds at your disposal, but also gain psychological comfort. Over time, you will understand that it is better to spend your personal budget on the necessary things, learn to prioritize, form long-term goals, and invest profitably.

The science of how to keep a family budget includes not only scrupulous calculations of expenses, but also skills in managing free funds. Personal finances should not lie dead weight. It is better to place them on a long-term deposit in a reliable bank.

Investing in securities

The topic is not easy, worthy of a separate article. Keep in mind that this is a risky way, even experienced brokers do not guarantee a positive result.

Once you have accumulated a significant amount of money, invest it in buying something valuable. The acquisition of real estate will increase the sources of family income. In the future, you will receive a stable income from its rental for many years.

Often, projects promising dividends in the form of 50% per month turn out to be a common scam. Be careful not to fund today's "pyramid builders".

You can lend your savings to friends at a small percentage - this is beneficial to both parties. Just remember to legalize the deal.

Summing up…

Living carefree is much more pleasant than racking your brains on how to make a family budget and do without unnecessary expenses. But with such an irrational approach, at the very first life storm, your financial boat will not just leak, but sink.

Saving money is not shameful, on the contrary, a modern person is simply obliged to be financially literate so as not to become a "cash cow" for suppliers of goods, bankers, and all kinds of schemers.

Greetings to all readers on the pages of my blog. I have already devoted more than one article to ways of earning. A huge number of people are looking for opportunities to earn extra money, because there is never a lot of money. Let's try to look at the problem from the other side. How to save the family budget, while not limiting your basic needs. I collected real advice, and even managed to test something for myself.

From this article you will learn:

Sooner or later, in any family, the question of budget optimization arises. Someone just loves the order in financial affairs, others are looking for ways to save money in order to save money for the purchase of some expensive thing. And for some, saving is the only way to make ends meet. This is especially true with a small salary.

As they say, money loves an account, and planning a family budget is not at all shameful. After all, the same Bill Gates would not have topped the Forbes list if he had scattered money left and right.
Let's see what conditions must be met for proper accounting and planning of your finances.

Calculation period

First of all, determine the period for which you will draw up your financial plan. This is the period during which the "circulation" of money in your house will take place. After this period, you will calculate your income and expenses, analyze and draw conclusions.

A month is most often taken as the billing period, since every month we receive a salary, pay for utilities, children's sections, etc.

You can set for yourself any other time period, if it is more convenient for you.

Determine income items

Income in our case is all the money that will flow into your wallet during the billing period.

It could be a salary, unemployment benefits, childcare, profits from your own business, stipend, interest on deposits.

The main thing here is to take into account only those amounts that you receive regularly. If you do not receive a fixed salary, but for example, interest on sales, then take the average value for calculation. It is better to slightly underestimate the amount than to hope for more, and in the end go into the red.

You should not think that the friend you lent to will return this amount on time. Or that you win a million in the lottery. It may or may not happen. The way your income is small, but constant. The money that comes to you spontaneously or in excess of your usual income is better to put aside in a reserve fund, so to speak, for a rainy day.

If you live alone, you clearly understand all receipts and can easily track them.
If you are a family person, then it would be right to discuss everything with your spouse in advance. And here it is important to be on the same wavelength, because if your spouse does not support your desire for savings, then you will have quarrels and misunderstandings, which should not be allowed when planning a family budget. Try to find a compromise.

Unfortunately or fortunately, now 90 percent of people receive a salary on the card. Therefore, it is no longer possible to put all the money in one box in the old fashioned way. Some families consciously maintain a separate budget. And there is nothing reprehensible in this either. But then you need to distribute areas of responsibility. For example, the husband takes care of the rent and maintenance of the car, while the wife buys groceries for the house and makes sure utility bills are paid on time.

Main Cost Items

The most important step on the path to savings will be the definition of cost items. For convenience, you can write them out on a piece of paper or make a spreadsheet in Excel. So it will be clearer, and you will be able to correctly distribute between all the articles, without losing sight of anything.

This should include all expenses that cannot be avoided and purchases, without which it is impossible to live in the billing period.

So, the main cost items include:

1. Food.
2. Means of household chemicals and hygiene.
3. Communal payments.
4. Rent (if you rent).
5. Loans, mortgages, taxes.
6. Fare.
7. Car maintenance and repair.
8. Children's circles and sections.

Your list may be shorter or longer, depending on your family size, needs, and lifestyle.

Now let's go through each article in detail and figure out what you can save on.

Nutrition

It's not for nothing that I wrote this article at number one. Most families spend the most on food. And this is absolutely normal, because this is a basic human need.

The main rule for saving on groceries is to go to the store full with a pre-compiled shopping list so as not to pick up too much.

1. Choose simple foods that will be the basis of the diet. For example, meat and poultry, instead of ready-made cutlets, sausages and sausages. This is not only profitable, but also useful. As a rule, a kilogram of meat costs less than a kilogram of sausage. And too cheap sausage should give you an idea about its quality. Judge for yourself, because for its production, in addition to meat, many additional ingredients were used, labor, time and resources were expended.
2. Although there is a saying among the people that a chicken is not a bird, however, this is not at all the case. And this bird is very good. Do you know how to use one chicken as efficiently as possible and cook three whole dishes? But I know: bake the wings, thighs and drumsticks in the oven, cook the basics from the breast, and cook the broth for the soup from the leftovers and bones.
3. Try to avoid ready meals and semi-finished products. They always cost more, and besides, you can't really judge their quality. As an exception, there may be canned food and stew. You can buy several jars and put them in the closet in case of an emergency. The main thing is not to forget about the shelf life.
4. Don't buy too many perishable foods. This applies to dairy products, bread, vegetables, fruits. I try not to stockpile strategically, but only buy what I can eat within a week or its shelf life. A bunch of bananas thrown into the trash will not return back to your wallet!
5. Remember about promotions and discounts that can now be found in any chain store and supermarket. But pay attention to the date of manufacture of the products. Sometimes promotions are arranged to attract customers, and sometimes in connection with an urgent need to urgently sell unusable goods. To track stocks, it is convenient to use mobile applications, such as Edadil. The service determines your location by geolocation and finds the nearest stores. Catalogs with discounts and promotions are updated in a timely manner, and you can always choose one or another product at the best price.
6. One of my friends, in order not to buy too much, always makes a menu for the week. For example, she prepares soup for three days, and main dishes every day. On Mondays she has mashed potatoes with cutlets, on Tuesdays pilaf, on Wednesdays pasta with sausages, and Thursday, as in the Soviet Union, is a fish day. It's comfortable. Firstly, you don’t have to puzzle over what to cook, and secondly, you will know exactly what products and in what quantity you will need.
7. For those who want to save money, it is better to eat at home and take ready-made food in containers to work. Eating in canteens and restaurants is always more expensive, especially if you have a large family.
8. Do not write off pets. Well, if you taught them to eat the remnants of their own food. But, for example, my Luntik's food costs about 1000 rubles a month.

Household chemicals, hygiene and care products

As a rule, there are no problems with the first part. Each housewife has her own tricks, but everyone has long known that, for example, it is more profitable to buy a large pack of washing powder than several small ones. The problems start with the second part. And it is in women. I mean cosmetics. Girls are such girls, I want to sweep everything related to this topic from the shelves, try new items to take possession of the entire palette of shadows and shades of nail polishes.

How to learn to save on cosmetics? How to wake up a sense of proportion, which either sleeps, or even died long ago?

Let's judge objectively.

1. We leave care products that you cannot do without due to age or health problems. For example, if you have dry skin, then of course, without a moisturizer, you can't go anywhere. But it is not necessary to produce thousands of tubes. Firstly, you simply cannot use them all and sooner or later they will deteriorate. Second, take pity on your skin. She is unlikely to appreciate constant experimentation.
2. With decorative cosmetics, everything is simple. Every woman needs 2 sets - for daytime makeup and for evening makeup. The remaining 150 shades of lipstick and shadows are not always needed even by professional makeup artists, not to mention us.

Communal payments

You can save money on this too. First, make sure you have meters installed for all types of resources - water, gas, electricity. Payments on meters are much lower than according to the standards. This is especially true for water. I don’t know who came up with the standard, but since we installed flow meters, our spending on cold and hot water has been reduced by about a third.

Second, use your resources sparingly. I have one bad habit. I walk around the house and leave the lights on everywhere. For this, my husband calls me an electric fairy. I slowly start to fight with myself, but this is not always possible. And electricity, by the way, is not cheap.

By the way, energy-saving light bulbs really help to save. Verified by personal experience.

Instead of long “swims” in the bath with foam and salt, give preference to washing in the shower. By the way, scientists have proven that excessive washing dries and spoils the skin.

Other types of payments (rent, loans, children's sections) are fixed. It is unlikely that they will be reduced.

Although, you can try to reduce the monthly payment on the loan. This is common practice. However, this is unlikely to be beneficial for you, because by reducing the monthly payment, you automatically stretch the loan term, which means that in the end you will pay a large amount due to interest.

Unforeseen expenses

This is the most insidious item of expenditure. These always happen suddenly, and according to the law of meanness, even at the most inopportune moment, when money is already running out.

Anything can be here:

1. Diseases. Even for the treatment of a banal ARVI, the doctor will write you a prescription for 500-1000 rubles.
2. Car repair. Regular maintenance, oil changes and consumables should be included in the main expense immediately. And unexpected expenses can be very different, from minor breakdowns to the replacement of expensive parts.
3. Replacement of large and small household appliances due to breakdowns.
4. Buying clothes. This is a favorite theme of all girls. If you are a shopaholic, like me, then this is not treated. But you can try to moderate your desires. Very often in glossy magazines and online publications there are articles about the basic wardrobe. And I advise you to listen to them. Indeed, if you have a few simple things of a classic cut that go well with each other, you can create many interesting looks for any occasion, and diversify them with stylish accessories.

But don't jump on everything. And especially the discounts. Even if it seems that at a reduced price you can buy two things instead of one. Just imagine that you can not buy the second thing, but save the money saved for a trip to the sea.

The situation is more difficult with children. After all, they grow quickly, and almost every season you need a new set of clothes and shoes. But there is also the other side of the coin. Due to the rapid growth, used children's clothes are often sold on sites like Avito or Yula for a nominal fee. Moreover, they can be almost not worn. I myself repeatedly bought clothes for my daughter for the next season, and missed the size.

To prevent unforeseen expenses from confusing you, you need to create a reserve fund. Set a certain amount that you will save from each paycheck. Or it can be money saved on purchases, bonuses, 13th salary, etc.

Mobile applications

Planning a family budget is not an easy task, so I recommend that you use special programs for this. It is impossible to keep all the nuances in your head. Need to write down. Fortunately, now, in addition to the barn book and diary, there are many mobile applications and services that are very simple and easy to use. And most importantly, you will never forget them at home, because they will be in your phone.

There are a lot of such applications in the AppStore and PlayMarket, for example, Monefy, Tram Tracker, expense and income log. The principle of operation is the same for everyone - you enter data on all your income and expenses daily, while sorting them into categories (food, housing, communications, etc.). And the application calculates your current balance.

Everyone has one minus - sooner or later you will forget to make some small change, and then you will puzzle for a long time why the balance does not converge. Therefore, you should not rely entirely on such services. Use them mainly to analyze your spending.

All sorts of applications for tracking discounts and promotions are very convenient. I already wrote about Edadil. This is probably my most favorite app. I think its main advantage is that it works in all cities, even the smallest ones, where there are chain stores such as Magnit, Pyaterochka and some local chains.

Residents of large cities will certainly appreciate the Biglion and KupiKupon apps.

Here you can find discount coupons for visiting museums, theaters, children's and entertainment facilities, as well as discounts for services, shops, hotel stays, etc.

Dear friends! It is impossible to teach someone how to spend money rationally, only you yourself can understand what ways to save the budget are right for you. Each person has certain needs, habits, principles and traditions. I wish you to be reasonable and moderate in your spending, not get sick, not fall into the hands of scammers and earn as much as you need for a comfortable existence. Treat money easier, and they will reach out to you! Best wishes!

Financial well-being is, at first glance, a purely business term, and in some ways even a slightly pretentious term. But in fact, under these two words lies a simple meaning. Especially if we use them in the context of the family budget. Many of us often deny ourselves certain purchases, citing the lack of extra funds. And this is true, since the funds in the family are never superfluous.

The easiest way, so that such difficulties do not arise, is to learn how to earn more. But sometimes, for certain reasons (lack of time, qualifications, caring for children), we really can’t do it. Therefore, in order to have enough money for everything that we need, they just need to be properly distributed. Let's take a step-by-step look at how to save the family budget, doing it right and in a balanced way.

How to save a family budget: Learn to count money

This is your first priority. You need to clearly understand how much your family receives every month and how much it spends. Moreover, not only the total amount is important, but also the items of income / expenses, indicating specific figures for each item. For calculations, take a regular piece of paper, write on it “Saving your home budget: tips” and indicate your salary, social benefits in a separate column. payments, income from deposits, rental of real estate, etc. Next, in the next column, in the same way, list where you spend money.

As a rule, the cost column looks like this:

• Food (for cooking at home);
• Rental housing (for those who rent housing);
• Housing and communal services;
• Transportation costs (public or fuel for your car);
• Internet and mobile communications;
• Going to cafes and restaurants;
• Clothing and footwear;
• Large purchases (household appliances, electronic devices, etc.);
• Sports and active recreation;
• Other entertainment.

Separately write down the item “unplanned expenses” and be prepared to allocate the specified amount if any occur.

The described principle is used in today's popular board game called "Cashflow". The game itself is unofficially considered one of the best ways to train in financial management, learn how to plan your income and expenses, and ultimately form a cash flow that will allow you to live comfortably and to your heart's content. Special attention is paid to investment issues, which we will talk about later.

But, if we are learning to save the family budget, at the initial stage it is important to master the planning and cost control itself. And be financially disciplined by spending only as much money as you can afford. So that the totals for the columns "Income" and "Expenses" are at least the same. And ideally, the total figure in the first one should exceed the one in the list of costs.

IMPORTANT! If you see that at the end of the month you go beyond the available spending limit, look for how to save the budget for a specific item. Naturally, not at the expense of health and comfort. The question should be posed as follows - What on the list can we, as a family, do without? This can be understood by evaluating which of the costs already actually committed were mandatory and which were not. Conditionally - if you once again, instead of having lunch at home, popped into a restaurant during a break, try to avoid this next time.

Saving on mandatory costs should be the last thing. Because they are the basis of your family budget. Understand that the main thing is to learn how to reduce EXCESSIVE expenses.

Ways to save the family budget. When exactly to spend?

There are two opinions on this matter. Some experts in the field of personal and family finance say that all mandatory expenses should be made as soon as possible after receiving the main income (salary, pension, etc.). After you buy and pay for what is included in your main monthly list, you will have a limited amount in your hands, which you won’t “walk around” much. Thus, it will be easier for you to resist unnecessary temptations, knowing that there are not so many funds left.

But there is another point of view on this issue. If you do not have sufficient willpower, the relatively large amount you will receive may turn your head a little. And then, along with the obligatory expenses, those that might not have happened if you had postponed the main purchases for a later period will slip unnoticed. But here we again return to the issue of control over finances. "Remember, the main thing is discipline" - with these words in the movie "Back to the Future-3" the dying sheriff addressed his son. And even though this scene was cut in the final version of the film, its essence and importance have not changed from this. Discipline is one of the most important components of our life. And in particular - its financial part.

How to save money - write everything down!

In contracts, agreements and other business documents, the content is usually presented in the form of lists. And these lists contain not only the main sections, but also subparagraphs that clarify or correct the general essence. Ways to save the family budget in this regard are no different. In addition to the main list, we recommend making additional ones - those with which you will go, for example, to the grocery store. Compiled - try not to go beyond this list, buy only what is indicated in it. And even better - take with you strictly the amount that came out according to the results of preliminary calculations.

Do not forget to issue discount and discount cards. Study the offers from banks, today the cashback tool is very popular - a partial refund for the purchased goods.

Products with a long shelf life, take in bulk if possible. But never go for a low price! Remember, we are not rich enough to buy ourselves cheap things. The exception is seasonal sales, for example, for winter shoes in early spring. Take advantage of such promotions, but, again, do not make spontaneous purchases, but plan your purchase in advance. A low cost is good only if it does not come at the expense of quality. Often, products of an unfamiliar brand with the same composition as an expensive analogue of a well-known brand can cost less simply because you do not overpay for the brand.

Tip - Morning is wiser than evening. If at the sight of any thing your eyes burn, and you think that you definitely need it, try to refuse the purchase right now and postpone it a day later. Tomorrow you will be able to assess the situation with a sober head - do you really need this product so much? According to statistics, more than half of purchases "in the heat of the moment" turn out to be unnecessary, taking their place of honor somewhere on the farthest shelf of the chest of drawers.

Never go grocery shopping if you are hungry. Otherwise, you will want to sweep everything from the shelves of the store.

In the process of shopping, it is important for you, as a consumer, not to become the so-called “victim of marketers”. All kinds of 2 + 1 promotions are worth your attention only if you planned to buy the product they apply to even before coming to the store. In other cases, you need to be resistant to this and other marketing techniques, avoiding unnecessary spending. And in no case do not provoke these expenses yourself! Even if you are a "girl who wants a dress". First of all, you are an adult, not a child, and all your whims and desires should be driven through the “sieve” of rationality.

Willpower will also come in handy for you to give up bad habits. Excluding cigarettes and alcohol from the list of planned purchases are good ways to save the family budget. And yes, it will be good for your health.

How can you save your family budget? Housing and communal services tariffs

The growth of payments for housing and communal services is one of the main items of inflation in modern conditions. It is possible to survive it painlessly, the European experience will help us in this. The inhabitants of the Old World, not spoiled by socialism, learned how to use resources wisely a long time ago, and the methods they have chosen for this do not carry anything complicated.

Here is some of them:

1. Buy household appliances with an increased energy saving class. The most economical products are designated class "A".
2. Don't forget to turn off the lights in rooms where you don't need them at the moment. Use floor lamps, table lamps, if there is no need to illuminate the entire room. Buy energy-saving light bulbs.
3. Set up counters. With their help, you will pay only for the volume actually consumed by the resource. And not for those fictitious figures that are unreasonably included in the "average" tariff.
4. Do not turn on the products at full power when it is not required. This applies in particular to refrigerators and thermal heaters.
5. Install additional appliances that help save money. A conventional aerator for a mixer or a time switch will help you reduce resource consumption in the future. This is a kind of investment for the future, which, having paid off, will begin to bring additional “profit” in the form of savings. Also, get used to the fact that resources are important and should be saved. The included tap with water hardly creates any special atmosphere in the process of brushing teeth.
6. in. So, it can be screwed with a clear conscience. And household appliances, instead of being paused, it is better to fully disconnect from the outlet.

In such an item of expenditure as housing and communal services, all the principles that we spoke about earlier are relevant. Looking at the payment, you need to clearly understand on which of its points you could save in the first place. Even small amounts for using a landline phone for a year can give a figure of several hundred, or even thousands of rubles. Do you really need this landline phone, when today everyone has a personal mobile?

Travel and transport

Those who have their own car should cultivate a “logistician” in themselves. Think over your route so that you do not have to make detours in order to go to the store or take your child to school. All intermediate destinations must be on the way to the final point of the trip. This will save both time and fuel consumption for the car.

And if you are going on vacation, prepare for it in advance. Including financially. Set aside a certain amount every month for the upcoming “voyage” and regularly study promotions from airlines and rental services. Early booking sometimes allows you to save up to 50% or more of the total cost of a flight or accommodation.

Key word is "family"

Since we are talking about how you can save the family budget, it is worth understanding that this concept includes precisely the general money. Those that belong to all family members. Even if there is an agreement that someone alone will manage the finances. It is necessary to respect the right of other family members to purchase something specifically for themselves with this money, the same personal hygiene products, etc.

Learning to save the family budget. 6 jar method

A great way to manage a family budget, simple, like all ingenious. If desired, jugs can be replaced with caskets or envelopes, the essence of this will not change.

The main thing is to fill the "vessels" in proportion to your income and not use money from one jug to cover the needs of another. In practice, it looks like this:

Pitcher #1 - Daily Expenses (55% of Money Received)

Food, clothing, travel, utility bills, etc. living expenses.

Pitcher No. 2 - entertainment (10%)

A trip to a cafe, cinema or sauna is all that you need for emotional release. But without fanaticism! Remember about mandatory and optional expenses.

Pitcher #3 - Savings (10%)

IMPORTANT! This jug should be filled first. Understand for yourself one truth - part of the money you earn (in this case, 10%) belongs to you. Immediately after receiving, put them off, henceforth operating only with the remaining 90%.

Pitcher #4 - Large or Unforeseen Purchases (10%)

The category of large purchases includes household appliances, electronics, etc. things. If you have separate funds to purchase them, this will save you from unnecessary loans and teach you to appreciate the item itself. After all, this way you will remember how and how much you saved for it, unlike a loan, when you, in fact, spend money that has not yet been earned, in fact, someone else's.

If no major purchases are planned, money from this jug can be saved for a rainy day, when you may need it suddenly.

Pitcher No. 5 - gifts (10%)

Everything related to the holidays. To please friends and relatives with gifts is a pleasant occupation, but it requires money. It will be convenient if you can send separately accumulated funds for this expense item. But it may happen that you completely forget about the imminent birthday of a friend. But when he invites you, thanks to jug No. 5, there will be no more problems with buying a gift.

Pitcher No. 6 - improving and developing (5%)

Courses, trainings, trips to the pool or gym - everything that contributes to your mental and physical development. It is impossible to do without all this, here “either or”. Either you develop or you degrade. The same jug also stores money for children - their visits to sections, tutors, etc.

The good thing about the 6-Pitcher Method is that it teaches you how to allocate funds. With it, we know exactly how much and on what we can spend. At the same time, you have the right to adjust the percentage for each of the jugs yourself, the figures given are just an example that is not mandatory.

Fathers and Sons. Ways to save the family budget

You can’t save on children - this is an axiom. But only if you take this expression literally. In fact, you can save the household budget on children's purchases without prejudice and even for the benefit of the child himself! So, puree from natural fruits and vegetables will be much more beneficial for the child's body than a store-bought mixture in bright packaging. And reusable diapers will cost you less than disposable diapers in the long run.

In addition, the resources of joint purchases, the main audience of which are young mothers, will help save money. Cooperate and buy goods at a discount, as we have already said, it will be just a regular wholesale, in which the quality of the goods will not suffer at all.
Young children do not have to take expensive things from categories that the child will soon outgrow. Look for the best value for money first.

Tip: Teach your child from childhood to the value of money. If you currently do not have the financial means to buy him his favorite toy, explain this by voicing the reason. Do not refuse just like that, otherwise the baby may feel slighted. Better yet, encourage him. For example, say that he will get a new robot if he helps you wash the dishes. An exaggerated example, the main thing is that a child at an early age begins to understand that in life we ​​get everything thanks to our own work. It sounds trite, but it's true nonetheless.

Savings in and of themselves are of no use if you don't put the savings to good use. What is the point of saving if the money goes to a trip to a restaurant that you previously refused in order to actually save money. The main principle of material well-being is that money should work for you. So that their "collective" is constantly growing and expanding. The book “The Richest Man in Babylon” tells about this in more detail, where the author, on behalf of the heroes, introduces us to the laws of preserving and increasing money. In this book, as in the described method of 6 jugs, it is recommended to save 10% of income and, moreover, invest.

How to save a family budget

Hello everyone, dear friends! How many times in my practice have there been situations when a family came with a desire to get a loan, but could not even really tell about their current expenses.

But it is in such situations that family income is spent inefficiently.

Spontaneous and unnecessary spending does not allow you to increase savings. Therefore, I want to tell you now, dear readers, how to save the family budget. The material below is made in the form of useful recommendations, so it is easy to perceive.

How to save the family budget?

Every person sooner or later asks the question: how to make sure that there is always enough money in the family budget? And what does it take to not only make good money, but also constantly save it for major purchases, training or investments?

A warning!

However, if such questions arise, then there are two ways out: either earn more, or learn how to save. And this is reasonable. But to bring it to life, you need not only desire, but also knowledge of technologies and techniques.

Those who know how to rationally use the money they earn, have been accustomed to saving since childhood, since parents always found money for the right things and taught their children to save and save money, there is no question of how to properly distribute the family budget.

It's simple, spend less than you earn and if you can, increase your income.

However, everything is simple in theory, but when it comes to practice, difficulties arise. When a person enters an adult, independent life, it turns out that saving is not very successful and the family budget is a complete mess.

It seems that the spouses are not shopaholics either, in childhood they knew how to save good amounts (well, by children's standards), but the family budget still does not add up. Debit and credit do not converge.

It turns out that a few days before the salary, the wallets are empty, because the money was spent on the wrong things. And there was always not enough for the necessary things. Naturally, because of this, quarrels and scandals occur in the family.

By the way, the desire to save money should be mutual. Husband and wife must agree on this. And even if one person in the family manages all the capital, then both should think and act in the same direction otherwise, all attempts to save and accumulate money will fail.

Money handling rules

Here the trial and error method is more relevant than all the lectures and tips. Then the money will be spent wisely and safely saved. So, the golden rules of how to learn how to save a family budget. First, you need to make purchases on the day of wages or the next day.

Attention!

For example, a family spends different amounts every month on a cell phone, the Internet, food products that do not spoil (cereals, potatoes, sunflower and butter, meat, etc.), household goods (soap, toothpaste, washing powders, razors) , utility costs (rent, mortgage or rent), medical expenses.

These costs can be paid in two ways.

1. Immediately after the receipt of money in the account, well, or the next day, you need to buy everything you need. Fully pay for cellular communications, utility bills, the Internet, buy non-perishable food. This way, by the way, is preferable.
2. Pay all the listed expenses when you "think" to do it or when the need arises. For example, you have time or mood to pay utility bills. Or they ran out of money on a mobile or landline phone, turned off the Internet, got up and went to pay. Well, or ran out of food in the closet or refrigerator.

At first glance, there is no difference between these two ways of paying for fixed family expenses. It seems that there is no difference when to pay - immediately or within a month. The amount of money does not change.

But in practice, things change a lot. Arithmetic calculations that the amount does not change do not work. If a well-programmed robot distributed the money for expenses, then, of course, nothing would change.

But in life, money is distributed by a person who is prone to weaknesses. A person distributes his own funds in the following way. When the budget (on the card) contains a specific, rather large amount of money, it seems that there are a lot of them and you can afford all sorts of little things.

And here the expenses do not seem, because the money is being spent. Therefore, it turns out that there is still a week before the salary, and the family treasury is already empty and there are no funds for the most necessary things. But in the early days they were chic.

And no amount of talking will help here. Guilt will haunt you for some time, but in the end nothing will change drastically.

Advice!

You need to develop the habit of paying all expenses on the day the money arrives in the account or, in extreme cases, the next day. It is also worth putting money into an investment account or into a piggy bank if you are saving up for something big. On the same day, you need to make planned purchases that cannot be classified as permanent. For example, buying furniture or clothes.

After that, a handful of money in the family budget no longer seems immense. Therefore, the overspending of money in the early days for the purchase of unnecessary clothes, cafes and other nonsense does not occur. And if it is, then it is much less.

At least after this important rule, money and stability will appear in the family. In this case, some additional amount is obtained on the investment account, and a few days before the salary, there is money in the family. Quarrels over the distribution of the family budget will also leave the house.

One of the main advantages of this distribution of money. It is a technique that works here, not a person. Naturally, it takes time to get used to such a rhythm of life. And it is desirable to combine this technique with any other methods of competent management of the family budget.

Economy mode

Another important point of saving the family budget. Write magic lists. Here you can consider what is really necessary, and without what you can do without. Without a list behind the counter of the store, you can buy nonsense and forget about the most important thing. Make a list of large and small purchases. And not only for the near future, but also for the future.

Another point of thrift can be called a reduction in spending on lunch. Carry lunch from home to work. After all, if you visit a cafe, then spending will be much more than spending homemade food. And even if you eat at a cheap canteen, you still want to have something to eat on the go.

It is important! Buy quality and, of course, not cheap things. Very often it turns out that inexpensive goods immediately fail and it turns out that savings are far away. However, first you need to start with one. And then free money is guaranteed to appear, some kind of stability, calmness and confidence, at least about money.

This rule is obvious and easy to learn. Therefore, everyone should learn it. And then learn a few more tricks, in particular, to increase income. After that, a financial holiday will come in the family.

By the way, before proceeding with the implementation of the reception, every month you need to make a list in advance of what you need to pay or buy. And immediately after receiving the salary, strictly go through the list and pay.

The most interesting thing is that after the budget is put in order, additional income will appear from nowhere. It is not clear why this is happening, but it is happening.

source: https://uznayvse.ru/voprosyi/kak-ekonomit-semeynyi-byudget.html

Reducing family budget expenses

Many couples, especially at the dawn of their life together, argue that money is not the main thing, it is more important that love and mutual understanding reign in the family. However, even the most hopeless romantics sooner or later realize that, whatever one may say, a carefully planned budget is one of the main components of a prosperous and even family relationship.

A warning!

Everyone understands that the family budget is not rubber, but, alas, only a few are able to properly distribute their income and carefully plan expenses. Believe me, saving the family budget can work real miracles, because, if you look, what matters is not how much a person receives, but how much he spends in the end.

Therefore, it is important to learn how to save, and save wisely. But how to save the family budget so that all family members are satisfied? After all, by strictly limiting yourself in everything, you will achieve absolutely nothing, except for the Spartan lifestyle and the reputation of the “plushkin”.

So let's take a look at the intricacies and pitfalls of the family economy, in order to distinguish between personal funds and the family budget, as well as skillfully allocate your finances and not look for someone to borrow a “chervonets to paycheck” at the end of the month.

What is made up of

So, what are the so-called family finances and how are they formed? Of course, in each case, the family budget is formed in various ways, but let's find out what elements are usually included in its structure.

So, in general, the family budget can be represented as a set of actual incomes and expenses of all family members for a certain period of time.

The revenue part of the budget is not only cash, which consists of salaries, scholarships, pensions, insurance payments and various benefits, as well as profits from real estate transactions and entrepreneurial activities.

It also includes in-kind income (gifts, winnings, products from your own personal plot) and all kinds of benefits (preferential tariffs for utilities, travel tickets for students and students, etc.).

Costs. Absolutely all costs can be divided into 2 large groups - mandatory and arbitrary.

Attention!

Mandatory items of expenditure include spending on the purchase of food, payment of utility bills and rent, public or personal transport, that is, these are the costs that cannot be avoided, this is a necessary minimum for a fulfilling life.

Optional expenses are non-fixed costs that arise when you need to buy furniture, a car, or large household appliances.

Ideally, if income and expenses are balanced, but for this you need to learn how to save. How to do this, we will try to tell you below.

How to learn how to save a family budget

Saving the family budget is a rather delicate science, which often requires not only adherence to the most important principles, but also a creative approach. So, let's get acquainted with the main ways to harmonize income and expenses.

Long live the list!. Going to the store, supermarket or market, make it a rule to make a list of necessary purchases and follow it steadily. This will help save not only financial resources, but also free time.

Indeed, instead of randomly rushing from one grocery shelf to another, in a hurry trying to find this or that product, you will purposefully move to a certain counter and will not leave the store with a bunch of unnecessary things bought “to cheer you up”.

Sleigh in summer and cart in winter. The key to effective savings is choosing the right place and time for shopping. It is better to buy winter shoes and clothes at the very end of the season, when their cost will be minimal.

And when buying household appliances, you don’t need to chase the latest innovations, because progress is moving forward by leaps and bounds, and what costs a lot of money today will be much cheaper tomorrow.

Advice!

Mandatory accounting of expenses and income. To understand where most of the money from the family budget goes, you need to keep track of income and expenses. An ordinary notebook or modern computer programs will help you with this.

Say no to small loans. Loans are a rather useful invention of mankind, but only when it comes to large purchases, such as housing or a car. But buying a phone, a microwave oven, leather boots or even a laptop on credit is rather imprudent and stupid.

Create your "insurance fund". Get into the habit of putting aside 10 percent of every profit, no matter how small. And, of course, stock up on patience and willpower so as not to touch this “stash”.

How to save the family budget on food? 7 rules

Food is one of the main items of family budget expenditure. How can you cut down on food costs? Read and learn how to save on food. So:

• Get out of the habit of going to the grocery store on an empty stomach.
• Take with you a strictly limited amount of money, which will be enough to buy only the necessary products. Leave your credit card at home.
• Prefer home-made, for example, meatballs, dumplings or dumplings, to the preparation of which you can involve the whole family in store semi-finished products.
• Try to shop in stores with the cheapest margin or buy products in wholesale stores, cooperating with other relatives.
• Never refuse discounts and discount cards and try not to forget them at home.
• Make as many preparations for the winter as possible in the form of preservation or freezing - this is not only tasty and healthy, but also natural.
• Do not buy ready-made meals at work, but take homemade food with you. This will allow you to save not only money, but also health.

Family budgeting is a very exact science.

If your household income is greater than or equal to your expenses, then you are a good housekeeper. But how to deal with excessive waste, how to properly manage the family budget, if the costs exceed the profit? Let's look at a few basic ways that will tell you how to calculate a family budget.

The first way to calculate the family budget is simple to disgrace: all family members, regardless of the size of their salary, bring money to the "common fund", from which money is then taken for both family and personal needs. However, this option is not suitable for everyone. For example, if the amount of income of family members is strikingly different, not unreasonable conflicts may arise.

The essence of the second, more advanced, method of maintaining a family budget is the division of income into general and personal parts. The general part goes to the needs of the whole family as a whole, and the personal part can be divided equally among all family members.

Another method of planning a family budget: determine the main items of expenditure for the family budget and buy ordinary postal envelopes according to their number. Through experiments and calculations, determine the size of each type of expense and divide it into equal parts according to the number of family members who generate income.

Within a month, everyone involved in the formation of the family budget must put their part in the envelope, and what remains of the salary can be used to meet personal needs.

A warning!

How to draw up a family budget if you want to keep a record of income and expenses in writing? To do this, you need a simple notebook in which you can make a table. An excel spreadsheet is also perfect for planning a family budget, if it is more convenient for you to monitor profits and expenses in electronic format.

Remember that it is not so much the accurate digital accounting of income and expenditure that is important, but the allocation of the main items of the family budget and the determination of the item of expenditure that “eats” money the most. Try a few of the above methods, and decide how to manage a family budget for the benefit of all family members.

Programs for maintaining a family budget

An ordinary checkered notebook is quite suitable for drawing up a family budget, but modern technologies do not stand still, offering users convenient computer programs. So let's take a look at some of them.

MoneyTracker- a fairly effective and convenient program that allows you to control the family budget. A novice user may be somewhat confused by a rather complicated interface, but if you wish, you can figure it out. Implemented the ability to track price changes in stores, as well as budgeting for different periods.

For ease of use, the level of expenses is indicated in different colors: if you fit into the allowable spending, the cell is highlighted in green, the program signals red overspending, and yellow indicates that your expenses are close to the critical line.

Home bookkeeping. Among analogues, this program is distinguished by simplicity and ease of use. It contains all the necessary options for competent planning of the family budget - accounting for expenses, debts and incomes, planning various payments, the ability to control several accounts, etc. In addition, which is very convenient, you can transfer funds from one account to another.

The interface is very clear, if not primitive. The main disadvantage is that the program is paid, it costs about 500 rubles.

Family 10– a very clear program: the instructions are written in a simple language, which greatly increases the convenience of its use. A very useful opportunity has been implemented to keep records not only of expenses, but of all property owned by the family.

Attention!

The program costs about $20, but you can try it for free for 30 days.

How to keep track of income and expenses - in the "old-fashioned" way in a notebook or notepad or with the help of the latest programs - is up to you. The family budget is a delicate and capricious thing, but the well-being of the family is in your hands!

source: https://wellnesso.ru/family/kak-ekonomit-semeynyiy-byudzhet.html

Accounting for income and expenses to save the family budget

Living from paycheck to advance without worrying about tomorrow is a habit of many. Unfortunately, lessons on how to keep a family budget are not taught at school, everything has to be learned by experience.

For some, this science seems too complicated, they continue to mindlessly spend finances, risking one day to be left without a livelihood. Others study home economics, significantly improving the quality of their lives.

Learning to count money

There is nothing difficult in distributing the personal and family budget. To do this, you absolutely do not need to dive into calculus with many formulas. There are only two important columns in the home accounting table: income and expenses.

The first is the money that the family receives: salary, pension, benefits, income from rent or securities, interest on bills. All sources of family income are taken into account in order to know exactly what the total amount is made up of.

Expenses include: payment of housing and communal services, transport, telephone and Internet bills, food, education and development of children, payment of insurance premiums, loans. This should also include the column "unforeseen expenses". A good housewife knows perfectly well how much money a family needs per month “for the household”.

You can keep count in a notebook, but it is more convenient if home accounting is presented as a table with two horizontal columns: income and expense.

As you understand, the sums in the last rows must be at least the same. If the needs are greater than the possibilities, then some points will have to be reduced.

It is not necessary to turn family budget planning into a total economy mode, but it will not hurt to give up the excess. Focus primarily on mandatory expenses, calculating them for a certain period, week or month. Of the remaining funds, an amount is allocated for unforeseen situations (repairs, treatment, urgent purchases), the rest is sent to the "reserve fund".

To understand which expenses were necessary and which were superfluous, the personal finance accounting table, which consists of two columns, will allow.

Obviously, by giving up a business lunch at work and buying a press, you can easily replenish the family treasury with a noticeable amount. If spreadsheets aren't right for you, we suggest you take a look at our article on Family Budget Savings Programs, where we reviewed the top 5 of them.

Reducing utility costs

Today, housing and communal services tariffs are growing, and payment bills can seriously undermine the family budget. But the habit of saving on trifles has not yet developed. We use the advice of Europeans who are used to living in a resource-saving mode. Here are some easy ways to cut costs:

Advice!

Give up unnecessary kitchen devices with the prefix "electro". You can cook food, boil water on a gas stove. When purchasing large household appliances, pay attention to the energy saving class; marking “A” is more suitable for the house.

Make it a rule to turn off appliances from the outlet at night, turn off the lights in the room, leaving it. Arrange multi-level lighting in the room, it is not only economical, but also convenient. Simple tricks for a month will save from 100 to 300 rubles.

The refrigerator eats up the most energy, so make sure that the ice coat does not freeze, this increases consumption. Do not set the temperature too low without special need, monitor the tightness of the chamber.

Increasingly, in the modern kitchen, the gas stove is replaced by an elegant hob. Such devices cost the owner more, so you should not forget about savings. Take advantage of residual heat, buy cooking containers according to the size of the burners.

View invoices to understand what constitutes the amount for the billing period (month, year). Do you really need an intercom if you live on the 1st floor? Or maybe you still pay for a radio or unnecessary cable TV? Look carefully and you will certainly find what you can save the family budget on without much damage.

Review your payments. When was the last time you used your home phone, although you pay 200-300 rubles for it per month? And after all, a tidy sum accumulates in a year?

Grocery shopping - how to save money?

According to statistics, Russians spend from 30 to 50% of their finances on food, therefore, when considering ways to save the family budget, we cannot ignore this expense item. Each housewife has her own secrets of cooking, menu preparation, and the feeding process itself in each family is individual.

Somewhere all households gather at the table only for dinner, in other houses it is customary to eat 3-4 times a day. Despite this difference, there are still general rules for saving. Here are the most effective ones:

1. Learn the tricks of marketers so as not to fall for their bait. Try not to take children to the store;
2. Go shopping with a detailed list so you don't forget anything and don't overbuy;
3. Pay not with a card, but with cash, real money is more difficult to spend than virtual money;
4. Pay attention to the products of little-known manufacturers, they are much cheaper than well-known brands;
5. Refuse ready-made semi-finished products, pre-packaged products. Often, not the highest quality goods go into cutting, besides, you have to overpay for the work of the packer;
6. By partially replacing household chemicals with a natural product, you will replenish your home budget with a tidy sum. The same can be said about cosmetics. Our grandmothers used mustard and soda to wash dishes, washed glass with vinegar. Their house always shone with cleanliness without the use of "super products".

Bad habits fight

Sooner or later, each of us has to think about how to manage the family budget as efficiently as possible. After all, this is an urgent need to avoid financial difficulties in the future. Even if it seems that you live within your means, there will always be something that you can give up without difficulty, and sometimes even with benefit.

A warning!

Review your bad habits. By giving up alcohol and cigarettes, you will save more than just money. Smoking is harmful to health, besides it hurts the wallet. Given that tobacco products regularly “grow up” in price, a bad habit costs a pretty penny.

The same can be said about light alcohol. Calculate how much a daily bottle of beer costs, and then imagine what you can buy with this money if you put it off for a year.

Network games are considered by many to be harmless entertainment, a pleasant vacation, not at all thinking that this is a well-thought-out way of “pumping out” money. Without even realizing it, lovers of all kinds of "zombo farms" leave more than one thousand a year on the Internet. What can we say about avid gamers for whom the game is a competition.

Make it a rule to earn money for entertainment separately and spend personal finances on it, without harming the general wallet.

Sugar is a food drug, which means that the habit of uncontrolled eating of “sweets” can be classified as harmful. The average family spends on confectionery from 200 to 1000 rubles a month.

Ice cream, sweets, gingerbread, lemonade and other rubbish that cannot be called food or drink. Learning to live without sweets is not so easy, but such a victory will be all the more valuable. To understand which foods in the diet are superfluous, a detailed table of food costs will help.

Five ways to cut costs

When you're young, active, and party-loving, planning your family's budget can seem boring. It is much more interesting to jump from a state of unrestrained revelry to economy mode and back.

But sooner or later, spouses begin to think about financial discipline. It does not depend on the level of family income. In any case, money does not fall from the sky, but is earned, so it is better to learn not to throw it to the wind.

Attention!

Who should manage the finances in the family? This question is important for the preservation of the psychological climate of the cell of society. Undoubtedly, the decision on what and how to save the family budget is made jointly. The remaining functions can be divided between the spouses.

The theoretical part of financial management is easier for ladies than for men, the strong half simply have no time to spend time on calculations. But women are prone to impulsive purchases, which means they cannot afford to have free funds. Accordingly, the wife can distribute personal finances, and it is better to entrust the purchases to the spouse.

Hold me, I'll buy now. Consumerism is the scourge of modernity. Buying tons of things that are essentially not needed, we work for the corporations that produce these goods. Here's a simple tip for you on how to save your family budget - give up rash purchases.

Want a dress, handbag, shoes like a friend? Wait a couple of days. During this time, carefully examine your wardrobe. Most likely, the same boats are already gathering dust in the closet, and the clutch does not fit the existing things at all.

Learning to control personal finances allows clearly defined long-term goals.

Don't buy what you can get for free. Are you used to reading every new Cosmo or are you waiting for the release of Daria Dontsova's book? Planning to attend a blockbuster premiere? Why pay for something you can get for free?

Rational planning of the family budget is a reasonable attitude to spending. You can read the press online, borrow a novel from a friend, and films appear on the Internet a week after the release.

Many people get rid of unnecessary things by giving them away or selling them for a nominal price. Feel free to participate in such promotions.

Advice!

Penny to penny - Altyn came out. Make it a rule to set aside 5-10% of your income every month and not spend that money unless you really need to. So you will not only get free funds at your disposal, but also gain psychological comfort. Over time, you will understand that it is better to spend your personal budget on the necessary things, learn to prioritize, form long-term goals, and invest profitably.

The science of how to keep a family budget includes not only scrupulous calculations of expenses, but also skills in managing free funds. Personal finances should not lie dead weight. It is better to place them on a long-term deposit in a reliable bank.

Investing in securities. The topic is not easy, worthy of a separate article. Keep in mind that this is a risky way, even experienced brokers do not guarantee a positive result.

Once you have accumulated a significant amount of money, invest it in buying something valuable. The acquisition of real estate will increase the sources of family income. In the future, you will receive a stable income from its rental for many years.

Often, projects promising dividends in the form of 50% per month turn out to be a common scam. Be careful not to fund today's "pyramid builders".

You can lend your savings to friends at a small percentage - this is beneficial to both parties. Just remember to legalize the deal.

Living carefree is much more pleasant than racking your brains on how to make a family budget and do without unnecessary expenses. But with such an irrational approach, at the very first life storm, your financial boat will not just leak, but sink.

Saving money is not shameful, on the contrary, a modern person is simply obliged to be financially literate so as not to become a "cash cow" for suppliers of goods, bankers, and all kinds of schemers.

How to save a family budget: family budget table

2.3 (46.67%) 3 votes

Many people sometimes have a question, why do some people spend their holidays in the south, while others can only afford barbecue in the country? Or why, with the same income, one buys a second car, and the other rides a bus?

It's not about rich relatives or random winnings in the lottery. Most likely, the reason is the ability to count the money earned and spend it. How to save the family budget?

1. Always plan income and expenses. Knowing the exact numbers will help you save money.
2. Refuse loans. An exception may be only loans for work, for example, for a car or for business development.
3. Get a piggy bank. This is not about a "pig" for collecting small things, but about the fact that you need to learn how to set aside 10% of your income for unforeseen expenses. This will help save a decent amount for the purchase of something large.
4. Buy gifts in advance. This is good advice for those who are used to going to visit at the last moment. Often you have to take the first thing that caught your eye, as there is absolutely no time left to choose.
5. Don't give in to emotions. Before buying something very important, you should think carefully - is it really necessary ?!
6. Divide all expenses into groups. Here we mean money for “food”, “transport”, “household chemicals”, “cosmetic products”, “utility payments”, “communication costs”, and so on. After that, you can analyze and correct the resulting numbers.
7. Refuse unnecessary trifles. Snacks on the go, magazines on the road, water from vending machines - all this steals a lot of money from the family budget.
8. Prepare your own lunch for work. As a rule, homemade food is cheaper than in "public catering". If there is no way to eat at home, then it is necessary to include these expenses in the family budget.
9. Always buy quality items. You should not save on good clothes, shoes or electronics and household appliances. Most often, the price is a guarantee that the item will last longer.
10. Use concentrated products in the household. Despite their price, concentrates of washing powders, conditioners and other various products last much longer and thus allow you to save on purchases.

By following these rules, you can save enough money to buy something expensive or to travel to hot countries, for example.

How to control the family budget using a spreadsheet?

How to manage a family budget in order to save money? The first thing that comes to mind when you need to calculate something is to take a notebook with a pen. Of course, you can draw the table yourself, but it will be more convenient to use Microsoft services and arrange your expenses in Excel.

How to make a family budget? First you need to clearly decide for yourself - why save.

The main goal, calculated over a period of up to 5 years (medium term), is to reduce non-essential expenses in order to purchase something significant, such as a laptop or a professional camera.

The goal can also be short-term - to pay off some small debts, or long-term - paying off a mortgage or buying a home.

The next step is to record all family income. This includes wages, alimony, allowances, pensions, and others.

You should also enter in the table all the estimated costs - fixed and variable. Here it is necessary to take into account the wishes of all family members so that there are no misunderstandings. An example of such a table (the data below does not need to be considered as a standard):

Maintaining such tables will help identify completely unnecessary expenses and, accordingly, save the family budget.

How to plan a family budget for a month?

So that at the end of the month there is no need to borrow money from neighbors or friends, you need to follow simple but very important rules.

1 rule. Save some of your income!

The very first thing to do when the salary arrived is to set aside at least 10% and not spend it under any pretext. This is family capital, which will only grow every month.

2 rule. Learn to understand the difference between important and non-essential expenses.

To do this, make a list of fixed expenses (rent, television, Internet, communications, etc.) and some variables (food, gasoline, household chemicals and beauty products, etc.). All this is placed in order of importance - from the most important to those that can be dispensed with.

3 rule. Be sure to leave some amount for unforeseen (5-10%) and planned expenses.

This refers to purchases that are not fixed or variable, but are also required this month. An example would be buying gifts.

This "extra" money can be spent on expenses from the "want" category.

5 rule. Adhere to the policy of saving and optimizing costs.

This means that you need to get rid of unnecessary waste and learn how to buy goods for less money. For this, sales or promotions are perfect, as well as the rejection of bad habits - the main eaters of the family budget.

How to save the family budget on groceries?

Food takes the lion's share of all income. And price cuts are not expected in the near future. Therefore, it is worth learning how to save on this item of expenditure. You can start from the very first trip to the store.

1. A pre-compiled list of products will help save hard-earned money. Well, if the family has a developed menu for the week, then it will not be difficult to schedule the necessary purchases.
2. If you buy products for a week at once, you can avoid unplanned expenses.
3. You should not take children shopping, as this may entail additional expenses not on the list.
4. A good reason to save money is the rejection of semi-finished products. They cost more than self-cooked meals. By the way, this also applies to sliced ​​bread with sausage.
5. Looking at the bottom shelves in stores is a good habit. This is where the cheapest items are usually found.

The right “policy” in the kitchen will also help save money. Each season has its own dishes - for example, in winter you can give up a salad of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes in favor of cabbage and carrots.

And expensive trout can be replaced with no less tasty, but inexpensive, pink salmon. You can turn your attention to offal, they are as nutritious as meat, but much cheaper.

A good habit for the hostess can be the preparation of food for the future. For example, greens, if cut and frozen, will lie perfectly in this form for some time and will always be able to please with their freshness.

The same can be done with vegetables, berries and self-made dumplings and meatballs. It is always convenient to get a homemade semi-finished product and cook dinner from it.

Sometimes you can find budget recipes online that you can save for yourself and include in your weekly menu. This is another reason to browse thematic sites and please the household with new dishes. For the same purpose, culinary programs can also be suitable.

And the most important rule that will help not to throw money away is the proper storage of food in the refrigerator. Throw away spoiled food in a timely manner, put raw and cooked dishes in separate containers with lids, and also separate meat, vegetables and various sausages into special compartments of the refrigerator. These simple principles will help keep food longer and save the family budget.

How to save the family budget with the help of programs?

In an era of rapid development of various modern devices, you can choose a great assistant in managing your home budget in the form of a ready-made service - Drebedengi, Finance PM or another. It is more convenient if the selected option has not only a website, but also a mobile application that is always at hand.

How can you save your family budget with a home computer? There are free programs, such as Home Finance 1.0.2.10 or DomFin, and paid ones - Family 11, AceMoney, MoneyTracker and others.

It is very convenient to keep accounts with their help, since you do not need to invent something and do a lot of manipulations. And if you have constant access to the Internet, everything becomes much easier if you use the mobile version of such an application.

If income is less than expenses, you need to learn how to control both. In order not to switch to crackers and water at the end of the month, it is worth making a habit of laying out your budget on the shelves and keeping a record of all purchases.