We got married young, when my husband was fresh out college. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting, and then proceeded to study for his CPA exam. As someone who tends to be more creative, discussing money with my now-CPA husband is one of the conversations I dread most. (And FYI, we’ve been married over 18 years, so that’s a lot of money talk.)
No family I know enjoys talking about the B-word. However, budgeting is necessary to keep your family financially afloat, if not thriving. Being married to a CPA has some perks — such as understanding how to budget and why. Perhaps you’re not hitched to a CPA or are a CPA yourself, but that doesn’t mean you can’t become more financially savvy and make better decisions for your family.
Here are some of the ways we budget for our family expenses:
We don’t take out many credit cards
It’s tempting to take out a credit card at each place your family frequents, especially as the cashier explains to you all the perks of the card. (Trust me, I’ve been trying to convince my husband to get a Home Goods card for years. I still don’t have one.) You might be wondering, what’s the issue with having multiple credit cards?
One, having several credit cards can negatively impact your credit score — which could come back to bite you later. Secondly, though the cashier wants to sell you on all the benefits of the card, like save 10% today and earn points toward future purchases, store cards often come with higher interest rates than standard credit cards. Basically, they’re a huge trap unless you’ve super strategic and pay your bill, in full, every month. Plus, when you have a credit card, it is so tempting to simply tap or swipe, thinking the perks outweigh the cost — and you end up overspending.
We rarely eat out
I know this isn’t popular among busy families, but eating out can easily cost us $75 or more — and this is at a cheaper restaurant. The food isn’t healthy, either. And let’s be honest, with six people, there’s always at least one (if not multiple) issues with our order not being correct.
We do spend quite a bit on groceries, taking up a lot of our monthly budget. However, we believe food is a health investment. We also double the amount of food we make at dinner so we have leftovers for the next day’s lunch. We don’t buy any individually packaged foods besides protein bars — because they are far more expensive than buying in bulk. Like many families, we are on-the-go quite a bit, so we pre-plan to have lots of snacks on hand versus buying them while we’re out, of course at a higher cost.
We keep our cars as long as possible
One of the biggest family expenses can be your monthly car payment — or payments. We made the choice not to prioritize having the newest models with “fancy” features. Our priority is a safe vehicle with practical features that work for our family size.
Once our vehicles’ repairs and maintenance begin costing us a significant fraction of what our cars are worth, we know it’s time to purchase a new vehicle. This requires lots of research. We have also discovered in the current market that buying a car is incredibly tricky. Inventory is low and demand is high. Prepare for the “what if” now. If possible, save a monthly “car payment” for the future.
We hire help when necessary
We are not handy people, so many home repairs can go awry if we try to DIY. Knowing this about ourselves is important, because we can waste a lot of time and money (maybe even causing further damage) if we aren’t capable of repairing some leaky toilet plumbing. It’s critical that you know your strengths and don’t try to cut corners, especially when it’ll do more harm than good.
Being homeowners, we know that a lot can go wrong at any point. We make sure to keep this in mind, building up an emergency repair fund in our budget. Consider the age and wear-and-tear on things like your home and vehicle. This can help you plan for future expenses.
We cut out the little waste
Lots of smaller expenses add up — fast. We’ve had to be realistic about our “little” habits that can quickly drain our budget. I’m not pointing fingers here, but a person’s daily $8 coffee and $5 scone (plus tip) is probably not doing your budget any favors. I totally get the need to treat yourself as a busy mom, so I’m definitely not suggesting we completely ditch the things that bring us a splash of joy.
Instead, work together to come up with creative solutions. I decided my daily coffee run, which in turn meant getting the kids a “little something” too, had to go. Instead, we invested in a nice coffee maker at home. We also stopped relying on bottled water and invested in nicer, color-coded canteens for each of us, and we use them daily.
If you find yourselves completely lost on how to tackle your budget, consider investing (pun intended) in some professional assistance. Soon, you’ll be on your way to more money in your account — and maybe some wiggle room for that occasional mani-pedi.
