In times of austerity just about every savvy mum is looking for ways to claw back money and use it elsewhere, or save for those rainy days. It’s dull, boring, and sometimes a bit disheartening when you look at the cost of living your life and having a family to look after, but if you don’t take the bill by the horns, no one else can do it for you…
Here are three quick tips to help you deck utter your finances:
Are you looking for a way to make money without leaving your home because of childcare? Have you thought about taking surveys?
While they aren’t the most glamorous, you can take surveys in your own time, and even on your mobile phone, and be making money wherever you are.
Are you thinking about taking on a second job to bring more money home? Do you work already and have young children? Have you worked out how much time you actually have to take on another job – with the responsibility of juggling a family?
Here are some things to consider before you take on the extra job, so that you don’t end up adding more stress with no gain actual financial to your life:
Do you feel like a dog who’s chasing its tail when it comes to work and money? Working all the available hours and still come short in the money stakes?
Time might not actually be money, but for most of us they certainly have a lot in common. You can never have enough of either. Other people always seem to have more ‘free’ time and money than you. And there’s always that niggling feeling that your bad habits mean you’re wasting both of them!
The government has made it clear that when it comes to austerity measures no one is protected – even families with young children. So the 7th January 2013 saw the axe go down on the former universal benefit (child benefit) for families where one parent earns £50,000 or more per annum.
If you’ve been hit by the recent child benefit counts and need to find a way to make up that money quickly, here are a few simple things you need to do to get things moving:
Food is one of the highest bills for most families, and quite often it’s buying the right things at the wrong prices. As working mums, we tend to take ownership of the food shopping so it’s one area that we have control over and can make a huge financial impact on.
Here are a few tips to help you stretch your budget further still or save money on the food shop:
According to a new report by Family Investments it takes working mums four months to break even from the cost if childcare.
It’s quite a humbling thought, really, because every month or week most if us just see the direct debit come out, or get a sinking feeling when we draw out the cash to pay the nursery or childminder!
With the economy seemingly entering a triple-dip recession, money is still very tight for many households across the nation. The festivities of Christmas are particularly bad news for the bank balance, which is why so many people look into part-time second jobs to supplement their income.
One avenue that is definitely worth exploring is part-time driving jobs. Many of us mums already have a ‘mum’s taxi’, so it’s just a case of finding the right employment to start turning your wheels into cash.
Whether your child’s father is in the picture or not, single mothers typicallay have a lot more financial stress in their lives than if they lived with their spouse or partner.
Here are some things to bear in mind if your relationship has broken down, and some tips to help you through:
Whether it’s your first time buying a home or not, you should familiarise yourself with the whole mortgage process – don’t get complacent and leave all the financial decisions to your spouse or financial adviser.
While an independent financial adviser will try to assist you in the process of acquiring a mortgage, they will have their own agenda, too, like commission and getting you out of the door fast and onto the next customer!
With getting loans and other types of finance proving difficult for most families because of the current economic climate, buying a new car just isn’t an option.
Buying a used car is also a great way to reduce the cost of your driving as most new cars lose around 40% of their value in the first year, anyway, and keep drpreciating quite quickly in the next two years after that.
These days, it is possible to take out an insurance policy for virtually any reason to cover any sort of asset; after all, supermodel Heidi Klum’s legs are insured, famously, for £1.3 million.
Broken frames, scratched lenses, lost glasses… The cost of being a glasses wearer can start to rack up when you are accident prone.
And if you have young adventurers in you house, who always find something fascinating to do with the contents of your handbag, then you’re more susceptible to accidents and the cost of paying for two tiny pieces of glass and a bit of metal or plastic can be costly.
Hair salons are being reminded that renting chairs to a hairdresser will not be VAT exempt as of October 1st 2012 under measures announced by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
As a working mum, you may be quite familiar with the feeling that you’re always trying to keep up with something – your child’s social calendar, your work commitments and managing the family budget.
There will doubtless be days when you feel that the demands of your family life are pressuring your work life, or that the same thing is happening in reverse.
There are some things you just won’t be able to avoid, but you can avoid a good deal of the stress by managing your business and financial life with care. This sounds obvious, but often finances can take a backseat to other tasks.
If you’re busy all the time taking the kids to school, going to work, picking them up from school, etc., you may find it hard to take the time aside to make sure that you are budgeting your finances well, and doing things to save money.
However, spending a little bit of time on these things can pay off in the long run.
A good place to start is by looking for simple, easy ways to save money on everyday expenses or products. Of course, this is easier said than done, but here are a few specific ideas that may help you to get started:
Making money online is a perfect way for many mums to get around issues with childcare and earning a crust. And it’s a great way to earn extra money if you already work for someone else. But, it doesn’t mean you can get out of paying tax.
If you sell things online – eBay, Amazon, Etsy among others – or run your own online store where you’re not just getting rid of old possessions, you need to get in touch with the tax office (or HMRC).
Next week sees the last half term of the school year, and with it a closer step towards the school Summer holidays…which means spending more money for childcare, and coping with bored teenagers.
While we might not be able to do much about childcare costs, we can do something about the bored teenagers, and they’ll love the extra money their time spent with a summer job will do, too! So, if you child would have finished their GCSEs at the end of the school year, here are some ideas for summer jobs they’ll likely enjoy:
