Money-Saving Tips for Family Budgets

Embrace a Multi-Generational Home

Think moving back in with mom and dad is absurd? Think again. Multi-generational living doesn’t need to go on forever, but when times are tough, it’s a viable alternative. And while there are sure to be challenges, you may be pleasantly surprised with the unique bonding opportunities it provides for your family.

A Pew Research Center study found that in 2009, 6.6 million American homes housed at least three generations of family, a 30% increase from 2000. The study further concluded that the rise in multi-generational living environments was heavily influenced by the poor economy and housing crash.

The perks to combining households include back-up childcare, extra hands to help with household chores, sharing expenses, and the savings that come from shopping and cooking in bulk.

Maximize Your Couponing

Unless you grow your own food, there’s no escaping the grocery store. According to the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average-size U.S. household (2.5 people) spends more than $3,000 per year on groceries.

One way to shrink that number is to start couponing, or take your current coupon use to the next level — without landing yourself a spot on Extreme Couponing. Stephanie Rector, who blogs at couponing101.com, says just a small time investment can reduce your family’s grocery bill: “Pairing coupons with sales is really not as hard as it may seem. Just take a few minutes to look over the grocery ad and print or clip coupons for the items on sale.” Also try “Like”ing a company or product on Facebook and/or registering on major manufacturer’s websites (think Proctor & Gamble, etc.). You’ll likely receive discounts — and maybe even coupons sent directly to your inbox.

Start a Business

Turn your hobby into a part-time business. In a recession, starting a business seems like the last thing you should do, but some experts say now is actually the perfect time. Julie Jumonville, co-founder of Upspring Baby, told AOL Small Business: “Hell yes, it is a good time to start a business. Large companies are cutting services, product lines, and personnel. Sure it is hard to get a bank loan, but if you can bootstrap your new venture, there is a market share and loyalty to be gained from consumers.”

Some of the U.S.’ most widely recognized companies, including The Walt Disney Company and Microsoft, got their start amid economic downturns. Once you’ve decided what product or service you want to sell, use sites like etsy.com and hiremymom.com to build your profile and apply for jobs. Watching your talents, hobbies, and skills bring in a little money will be all the incentive you need to keep doing it!

Monetize Your Blog

This is a simple, easy way to maximize on something you may already be doing. Arguably the easiest way to make money from your blog is to allow advertisers to place their ads on your site. These pay-per-click ads are typically run through Yahoo and Google and are automatically sent to your blog based on keywords contained on your site. Ideally, if you blog about organic cooking, your keywords would prompt advertisers to place ads on your site for spaghetti sauce and sustainable living cookbooks. Unless you have a lot of traffic to your blog, this isn’t going to make you rich, but it might pad your bank account a bit.

Posted by: Georgie

Credit:babble.com