1.
When mom and dad want to go out for the
evening, their biggest expense may not be
the movie or dinner - it could be the 14
year old neighborhood girl that babysits
the children. In many parts of the United
States, groups of families are forming
baby-sitting cooperatives. In a baby
sitting cooperative, you take turns baby
sitting children while their parents go
out for the night. When it's your turn
for a night out, you have a free baby
sitting service.
2.
Instead of giving your children money for
their birthday or Christmas, give them a
savings bond or an ounce of silver as an
investment. This will teach the
importance of savings early on and
encourage them to delay instant
gratification for greater gains if they
are patient and frugal.
3,
Buying your children the most expensive
toys, the most expensive clothes and the
most expensive everything - teaches your
children some very expensive habits that
will cost you a lot of money your entire
life, and end up giving them an unhealthy
sense of entitlement about life that
could cost them dearly as they get older.
Second hand clothes, no name brands, used
toys and activities away from the
television or PlayStation will
instinctively teach them a healthier set
of values about life and materialism.
Learn to say no to all their demands and
wants and give them alternatives instead
such as earning the toy or clothes they
want.
4.
If you children are old enough, encourage
them to take odd jobs around the
neighborhood mowing lawns, raking leaves,
scooping snow covered sidewalks and
driveways. This will teach them the value
of hard work and appreciating the money
they earn.
5.
If you plan to have more than one child,
buy quality, unisex clothing for the
first child. This will allow you to reuse
the clothes for the second child. You can
also try to get hand me down clothing
from friends and relatives, or from
second hand stores.
6.
If you are living on a budget, print out
copies of the budget and post it around
the house where they children can see it
and commit it to memory. The will
instinctively learn the importance of
family finances and encourage them to
help the family stay within that budget.
Before begging you for a new toy or other
item, they'll think of that budget and
will give your "NO" firmer
ground.
7.
If your children likes to draw, bring
home excess paper from work that was
headed for the trash. They can draw on
the back and not deplete your supply of
printer copy paper.
8.
Diapers for a newborn can add up but your
grandmother had a better way. Use cloth
diapers instead and develop your own
system for cleaning them. One smart mommy
used to take her son's diapers and hose
them off in a secluded place in the
backyard before running them through the
wash. Cloth diapers are cheaper and save
the environment.
9.
Instead of buying expensive software
games, books and other entertainment
devices for your children, purchase them
used for much less from places like
ebay.com or half.com. If your fortunate
enough to have a young reader in the
family, take your child to the library as
often as you can.
10.
When it comes to baby food, costs can add
up but you can save over 30 percent when
you buy generic baby food which must meet
the same FDA standards as name brand baby
food.
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