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Personal Finance From a Biblical Perspective

20 Money Saving Tips for Low Income Earners

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[The following is a guest post giving 20 great money saving tips for low-income earners!]

Many people across the country are having a hard time making ends meet at the end of each month. With the price of many goods and services increasing at a faster rate than people’s pay checks, it is easy to see why this has become an overwhelming problem for so many families.

This can be especially true for low income earners, who are already feeling stretched to the limit and have very little resources left after paying just their basic bills.

20 Money Saving Tips for Low Income Earners

The good news is that there are some basic ways that everyone can save money on their day-to-day purchases. Below is a look at the top twenty money saving tips that are perfect for anyone, including low-income earners.

Money Saving Tips

  1. Change to a bank account that does not charge account-keeping fees or requires a minimum balance in their accounts. Some banks also refrain from charging low-income people additional fees like overdraft charges.
  2. Look for ways to save on transport expenses like walking instead of driving, when possible, or using public transportation instead of driving yourself.
  3. See if a couple of co-workers are willing to carpool, so everyone can save on transport costs.
  4. Eliminate your Pay TV services and use Free-to-Air TV instead.
  5. Instead of stopping at the coffee shop for coffee on your way to work, make your coffee at home and take it with you or wait until you get to work.
  6. Instead of heading out to the movie theater where tickets are fairly expenses rent a movie or watch a free movie at home.
  7. Never run the washing machine or dishwater unless you have a full load to help reduce your water bill.
  8. If you have a cell phone plan already, you may be able to eliminate your home phone, or consider running your phone through your internet service at a reduced rate.
  9. Shop for sales items at the grocery store and purchase items in bulk, to get the cheaper per unit price.
  10. Rent books and movies at your local library instead of purchasing them at the store. They usually have a wide selection to choose from.
  11. Limit the number of times you eat out each month and choose to eat at home instead. When you do eat out, be sure to ask for water instead of more expensive drinks, and skip dessert at the end of your meal.
  12. Consider making homemade gifts or offer to provide a service, such as dog walking, instead of going out and purchasing a gift.
  13. Lower your energy bills, by turning down your thermostat when you are not home, turning off your air conditioner when you go to work, turning off your lights and TV when you are not in the room, and unplugging your appliances at the outlet when not in use.
  14. See if you can group all of your insurances into one package to get a reduced rate on all of them.
  15. Sell and buy items at a local consignment shop or thrift store when buying clothes, household furnishings and miscellaneous goods.
  16. Contact your utility companies and ask about bill smoothing to keep your bills consistent and budget better.
  17. Check your bank statement each month and make sure that no additional charges are added on. If you do have additional charge find out why and if they can be eliminated.
  18. Instead of going to the gym, start a walking club with some of your friends, or purchase inexpensive fitness videos that you can do at home.
  19. Purchase generic-named medications, cleaners and groceries instead of the more expensive brand-named products.
  20. Trade services with someone else. For example, maybe you can babysit a friend’s children in exchange for a manicure or haircut.

Combined these twenty money savings tips can help you spend less on the everyday items you purchase, so you have more money available. While not all of the tips may be applicable to you, just doing five or ten of them on a regular basis can help you save a lot of money over the course of just a few weeks.  You should always be on the lookout for ways to save money, no matter how much you earn.

How to Cut Down on Babysitting Costs

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One of the basic limitations for couples with young children in trying to set up date nights is cost. It’s not just the cost of the date itself, but you typically have the extra expense of having to pay a babysitter to watch your children. But there are ways on how to cut down on babysitting costs. And at the same time, you can also make sure that your children are being cared for by people you trust.

My kids are teenagers now, but below are some of the methods that we used over the years.

Family: The Obvious First Choice

My wife and I lived hundreds of miles away from our extended families, so this was a tough one for us. But any time we visited “back home” this was an option that we took full advantage of.

Family will typically watch your children free of charge, and if you live in close proximity to them, you should use this option on a regular basis. Just be sure that you are not abusing the privilege. For example, if you are dumping your kids off on your family just about every weekend – just because you can – you may be at risk of losing a cozy arrangement.

Wherever possible, avoid overusing the option. Also, if you don’t have money to pay family to watch your children, see if you can pay them back in other ways. For example, you may be able to help your parents or siblings with major jobs around the house. You may even be able to provide any specific expertise you have to help them with a problem.

When it comes to family, it’s important not to abuse the babysitting privilege, and to make it as mutually beneficial as possible.

Save Money on Babysitting

Set Up A Reciprocal Arrangement With Another Couple

This was an arrangement that we had great success with. We had arrangements with several couples where we swapped babysitting. This gave each couple greater flexibility in arranging date nights and other outings without concern for cost. It’s the basic principle of you watch my kids, and I’ll watch yours.

Since you are all in the same boat, as parents with young children facing the constant dilemma of how to afford trustworthy babysitters, the can often be a great incentive to participate in this kind of arrangement.

In particular, we had a reciprocal babysitting arrangement with another couple who are among our best friends even to this day. We were in similar situations, even though we lived about 10 miles apart. Our kids were the same ages and neither couple had family living in our state. Not only did we arrange babysitting on a regular basis, but we also did babysitting weekends, and there is no explanation needed as to how valuable those can be!

Barter For Babysitting

Another option you can consider is barter. Is there is a another couple who don’t have children, where you might be able to find some way to compensate them – other than cash? Think about any specific skills that you have that might be of benefit to the other party, and offer them in exchange for babysitting your children.

You may be able to exchange computer services, lawn work, or even laundry services for babysitting. You may be in a tight spot in that you need a good but inexpensive babysitter, but if you can come up with services that you can provide in exchange, you may be helping to fill an important need for the other person.

In this way you will be able to have a babysitter who you trust, without any money ever changing hands.

Don’t Use The Most Popular Babysitter In The Neighborhood

If you have young children, you’re probably very familiar with the “neighborhood babysitter”. This can actually be a mixed bag at best. If a particular babysitter is very popular in your neighborhood – particularly if she is THE most popular – you may confront two unpleasant issues:

  1. The babysitter is not always available when you need her, and
  2. She probably charges the highest rate.

When a babysitter becomes popular, everyone in the neighborhood wants to use her. While that may provide an important validation of her services, it could just as easily make her hard to get, and expensive when you do.

The way around this is to work with two or three babysitters, that way you will have greater availability and at a lower price. It could be that your children develop an attachment to a less popular babysitter that will make her even more desirable than the top sitter in the neighborhood.

When you have children, you need to be creative in the babysitting department. Everything related to going out, or just having some free time without the kids, is compounded by the need for babysitting. And hopefully some of these tips will help you.

What other ways do you use to find reliable but inexpensive babysitters?

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

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