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Money Matters
How to Raise a Family of Six with One Income
50 Ways to Save Money
Today it is very hard to raise a family off of two incomes, much
less one. This is intended for those people who need a little help
in ways to make ends meet. Below is a list of things you can do to
help you make the most of your situation, whether you are a single
parent, a two parent family with one staying home with the
children, or you are in a situation where one of the parents just
got laid off. This list will make an incredible difference in the
amount of money you spend and the amount of money you get to keep
for your family. Let’s begin.
1. The first thing you need to do is to not put yourself any
further in debt than you already are. Debt can be a wonderful thing
if you are in need of a house for your family, but if you already
have a house then don’t borrow anything else. Not even for a new
car. New cars are not necessary. They depreciate in value as soon
as you drive them off the lot. A good used car will fit your
family’s needs just as well. Take all your credit cards and cut
them into shreds. Lots of credit cards today carry an interest rate
of 21% or more, depending on whether you have made any late
payments or not. Start paying all your credit card debt down and
never pick up another one again. It’s very easy to sign your name
to a debt and it takes a lifetime to erase it from that same debt.
2. When you go to the doctor and need a prescription filled then
always ask if they have a generic for the prescription. Generic
drugs can cost half the price of name brands. This will save your
family big time.
3. When you go grocery shopping, always by the store brand products
instead of the name brands. Lots of store brands are made by the
name brand makers and just have a store label on them. This will
allow you to buy your family more of the foods they love.
4. Never go grocery shopping if you or any of your family members
are hungry. This will cause you to buy more groceries than normal.
5. Always make a grocery list before leaving for the store. Never
buy anything that isn’t on your list. Calculate what your groceries
are going to cost you before you go and buy them. If your cost runs
over the amount you can afford, then delete some of the unnecessary
items on your list.
6. When it comes to your children’s clothing, hand-me-downs are a
good thing. This will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.
If one of your children grows out of something and your smaller
child will be able to wear it in the future, then put it in a
plastic trash bag and label it with your smaller child’s name and
the date. Place it in your building, storage facility, or closet.
Later you can go back and see if those same clothes fit your child.
7. Go to yard sales. You can find slightly used and sometimes new
clothing at yard sales. Lots of times they only cost a dollar or
two. This can save you all kinds of money.
8. If your children need health or dental insurance, it is provided
by the state if your income doesn’t exceed the income limit. Your
local social service department provides the forms available to
apply for this insurance. It pays all doctor and dental bills for
your children. This can be very helpful, especially if you have a
very sickly child in your family.
9. Your local health department will give your children all their
vaccinations for free. All you have to do is make an appointment
and take their immunization records along. The health department
also has a department that helps you provide formula, baby cereal,
and juice to your baby or milk, cereal, grits, eggs, cheese, juice,
dry beans, and peanut butter to your other children.
10. If you are pregnant, you may qualify for free health insurance
for you and your baby also at your local social service department.
All you have to do is take a paper to prove your pregnant with the
due date of your child wrote on it from your doctor to the social
service department. There they will go over your total income to
see if you and your child qualify. If you don’t have a doctor yet,
you can get a pregnancy test done at the health department for
around ten or fifteen dollars. There they will determine your due
date and give you the proof slips you need to apply.
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