Some ideas to help you save money and make ends meet in this economic climate of rising prices.
These ideas are all free to use, but it's up to you to implement them at your own risk. You can't take anything on a Children's website as financial advice, after all!
Seems simple enough, but it's common to find two different insurers charging very different prices for the same or very similar products. Car insurance in particular can be sensitive to how many years you have been driving - a new driver may be better off with one company, and a very experienced driver may be better off with another. Some insurance companies offer discounts when you combine insurances, so it pays to check this as well.
Seen the price of petrol these days? And it's always going up. While you can't cut out the car completely, there's a lot of ways to save on petrol bills.
While it may not be practical for everyone, downsizing to the smallest car that is practical for your family will help immensely. If you are already looking to buy a new car, there are some things you need to keep in mind.
Smaller cars are typically cheaper to insure - although you should still check with your insurance company first as some less common models of car can be surprisingly expensive to insure.
Or if you must buy designer clothes, get them at a discount outlet.
Children's clothing in particular can be very expensive and kids don't stay in them for long. Unless you are living in a really upmarket area, children won't know what brand clothing they are wearing (and if you are in a really upmarket area you probably won't be needing budgeting tips like this one).
Phone plans change all the time. If you've had the same phone plan for a while, whether it is a home or mobile phone, you might find you're on a deal that doesn't suit your spending habits.
Look around at what other carriers can offer. Some do combined deals for your home, mobile and Internet. Some have call caps that are great if you're a heavy user. If you're a light user, you might want to look into naked dsl and do away with your home phone entirely.
Out of all the things my daughter eats, the most expensive one would have to be her morning snack or afternoon snack. This one is easy to replace with: