Traveling as a family is a great way to create memories, and introduce your kids to new experiences. It is one of the best learning opportunities for your kids and helps parents see the world through their children’s eyes. That being said, traveling as a family can be expensive, and saving for adventures can be daunting. Here are some tips that we use to save money so we can travel more!
Have date nights in
Every Thursday night Josh and I have a date night. We put Lottie to bed, pop popcorn and do what we do most other nights, hang out. But on Thursday night we have a no phone, no computer rule. We spend the night talking, watching TV, or doing something fun together, but avoid the cost of going out or a sitter because we stay home.
Limit eating out to once a week
When we are trying to save money we limit our meals out to one time per weekend. We also try to invite friends to join us out, so we can combine our social time with our eating out time.
This includes limiting or eliminating the times you stop by Starbucks or other quick treats, they can quickly add up in your budget!
Plan your meals
Saving money while grocery shopping is hard if you don’t have a plan. Instead of walking through the aisles and grabbing everything you see, go with a list and leave with everything on that list, nothing more. Also, avoid shopping when you are hungry, that will only encourage you to pick up more than you need.
Know your trigger stores
Target is mine. I can go into target for a gallon of milk and leave with $200 of stuff, none which I actually need. Target is my trigger store so when we are trying to save money I will skip shopping there all together because I know it will drive our budget up.
Set a budget and make goals
Sit down with your family to set a budget and discuss saving goals. With a specific budget you will know where your money is going and how much you can save each month. Getting a visual picture as a family and talking about your goals will help motivate you to save more.
Separate your needs and wants
Before you buy something ask yourself is it a need or want. Do you NEED to replace your curtains or is it a want. You will find this simple question will drive you crazy, because a lot of what you buy is a want.
Help us add to our list! We are always looking for new ways to save and would love to hear your tips and tricks in the comments!
Very useful tips. Thanks for sharing!
These are amazing tips. Really who wouldn’t want to save money?
Having a family can be such a challenge because parents always face too many expenses and in the middle of that, they can forget or cancel any travel plans.
Your tips are very helpful so more people/families can find ways to travel.
Thank you for choosing such an interesting topic.