7 Incredible Ways to Save Money When Going for a Day Out with Your Children
If you have young children you love to take out for lunch, shopping and even traveling, it can be a lot easier to overspend your budget. Here are some tips and ideas that can actually save you more when going out with your children;
Create a Detailed Travel Budget
First thing first, you need to set out a strict and realistic budget you can stick with. Your budget must have a maximum spending limit on anything. You need to separate the needs from wants, hence you must have conducted an audit of what your children need before taking them out. A budget is necessary so that you don’t waste money buying what they have already. Sticking to a budget is particularly important when you are travelling or shopping with your children. A travel budget will be your guide, to ensure that you don’t spend beyond your maximum limits.
Make use of All Available Discount Vouchers
Whether you are shopping or with your kids, there will always be discount vouchers that you can redeem to supplement the costs of what you are paying for. You should know that these vouchers are particularly available on vendor websites or you might have qualified for them when your purchase items before. Some kids’ stores do have printable vouchers online, and some will include them inside your packaged items ordered from the store. Whichever way you get these vouchers, make sure you redeem them to pay for your kids’ stuff.
Pay with Debit Cards of Cash
It is easier to get into debt when you pay for your children’s stuff with a credit card, but it is easier to save money when you pay in cash or with a debit card. Whether you are renting an affordable family vacation car when you travel or you are buying snacks for lunch or some pairs of shoes, it always pays to spend cash instead of a credit card. Credit card bills can rack up quickly and you have no choice but to pay higher interest rates, especially when you default on repayment. Paying cash can help you become frugal with your spending, and that is the most important step to save money when going out with children.
Take Time to Search and Compare Prices
Why pay for an item for your kids when you go out when actually you can purchase the same items cheaper online? Oftentimes, we tend to ignore the fact that simple steps such as checking prices of theme parks, kids’ friendly restaurants, and kids fashion stores, can save us more, this could be the right time for parents to start paying attention to such incredible deals. You don’t have to buy everything your kids need at once, you can save money by comparing prices and buying cheaper in some stores, then buy the rest when you go out with your kids.
Sign up for Kids Shopping Alerts
There are some kids stores that send constant alerts and updates on kids-related items. Oftentimes they send alerts on the best days you can save more on selected kids stuffs such as clothing, and accessories. Some restaurants even offer up to 50% discounts on certain meals for kids. All these opportunities can save you hundreds, if not thousands on taking your kids out. You may want to sign up for as many of these alerts as you can, to get the most out of it.
Consider Shopping for Second Hands, Occasionally
If you want to save money going out with your children, you should consider shopping occasionally, at places like consignment shops, yard sales, thrift stores and you can even swap clothing and other kids stuff with some other family members to save money. There is a wide range of apps you can download to help you locate the nearest thrift stores and backyard sales. You can also make some money by selling unused children items.
Buying used sports items perhaps make more sense than new ones, considering the fact that your kids wouldn’t indulge in sports every day. Every other thing your children need temporarily can be found on these yard sales, thrift stores and consignment stores. There are some other outlets that sell refurbished children items at much lower prices that are worth checking out.
Be Frugal with Fun When Going Out with Kids
Indulging in vacation and entertainment can entrap parents into a financial mess, but such adventures don’t have to be extravagant always to create fun memories in the lives of your kids. Kids will always want to be kids, and as parents, there are some simple ways to unwind without spending too much. For instance, weekend family camping doesn’t cost much.
As the parent, you may want to consider swapping an expensive trip to the movies with a family bike ride in the park. Places like museums, state parks, and historical monuments do offer no admission fees or very low and affordable fees you can afford. You may want to prepare some home-cooked meals that you and the kids can enjoy while having fun at such places.
In Conclusion, there are lots of other tips and ideas that can help you save money while going out with kids. Planning ahead may be overlooked by many parents but it can save you lots of money in the long run. Planning ahead will help you avoid the late-year frenzy. Tickets to the movies, for instance, will be cheaper on weekdays than weekends, also you can find great travelling deals, including flight, accommodation and shopping, when you make bookings for yourself and kids, some weeks or months before departure.
In addition to planning ahead, you should also encourage your children to start saving in their own little way for a family vacation. Setting up a piggy account is one of the best ways to encourage them to save those little pennies because they are never too young to start saving, as long as they get some pocket money from time to time.
