Tired of feeling like you never have enough money each month? Well, you’re not alone! Many families struggle to reach their financial goals and have enough to cover their monthly living expenses. Luckily, some simple steps and habits can help you stop struggling and start seeing your money grow each month. If you want to learn how to grow your money and wealth while having young children, you’ve come to the right place!
5 Habits To Help Grow Your Money
Here are five habits to help grow your money faster without having to cut spending or make too many sacrifices:
1. Have Money Dates
When was the last time you and your spouse sat down and actually discussed money? If it’s been longer than a week, you need to consider having a “money date” soon. You should be sitting down at least once a week to talk about upcoming bills, paychecks, savings, and how you’re doing financially. This can help you find ways to grow your wealth and money while having young children.
If you aren’t sure what to talk about during your money date, consider discussing these topics:
- Upcoming bills
- Paid bills
- Financial goals
- Bank account balances
2. Update Your Budget Regularly
Along with a weekly money date, you should be checking in with your budget every few days. This includes comparing your online bank statement and check register with your budget. Make sure you include the correct amount for your monthly bills that change each month, like utilities, phone bills, etc. Updating your budget weekly takes that overwhelming feeling out of the picture. More than likely, the number of changes each week is minimal, so updating your budget shouldn’t take too long.
3. Set up Automatic Transfers
If you struggle to save money at the end of each month, try setting savings reminders on payday. You should save at least 10% of your income each month, but waiting until the end of the month can be difficult. Try setting automatic transfers on paydays from your checking to your savings. An automatic transfer encourages saving by taking the hardest part of savings out of the picture — remembering to do it. Go into your online banking and set a recurring transfer from your checking account to your savings account. Set it for either your payday or the very next day, and make it a specific amount.
4. Make a Meal Plan at Least Five Times a Week
Meal planning is a great money-saving tool. On those nights when you come home late, the kids are starving, and you’re exhausted, having a meal plan can be a blessing. If you’re not familiar with meal planning, here are a few tips to help get you started:
- Keep your meals simple. Try to keep the ingredients to items you usually have on hand so it doesn’t complicate the recipes.
- Stick to a few different meats or main ingredients each week. By finding a few meals that use the same main ingredient, cooking will be a breeze. For instance, with ground beef, you can cook spaghetti with meat sauce one night, make meatloaf another, and have burgers the final night. This means you could cook all the meat one night and have less prep time the other nights.
- Check sales for your main ingredients. Many meal plans can be dictated by what’s on sale at your local grocery store.
When you meal plan, be sure to include your main dish and side dishes. It will take the guesswork out of dinnertime on those busy nights. On your unplanned nights, you can have a leftover night (or two). If you enjoy eating out, have at least one night open to splurge, but keep it within your budget.
5. Learn To Say “No”
This trick works great for many areas of your life — your schedule, your stress level, and even your money. By learning to say “no,” you’ll stop spending mindlessly and make sure that when you spend money, it’s worth it. Start saying “no” to eating-out invites unless they’re planned ahead of time. Learn to say “no” to ordering soda or an appetizer when you go out. You can also save a lot of money by saying “no” to desserts and too many snacks from the grocery store.
If you and your spouse commit to following these five simple tips, you’ll likely find it easier to grow your money and wealth, even if you have a lot of expenses from having young children. And make sure to set aside time regularly to re-evaluate your spending habits and financial goals so that you’re both on the same page.
