With the current economic meltdown and post recession hangover, the cost of almost everything has been increasing by leaps and bounds.And the cost of child care is no exception. The latest updates of Department of Agriculture (USA) claims the cost of raising a child has been amplified ten times since 1960. In fact for a family with an average income, the cost of child rearing ranges between $11,650 and $13,530 each year. If you are a new parent and feeling worried how to deal with the overwhelming cost of child rising, the following points can help you. As a parent, you may feel like it is always necessary to provide your children with the best products but remember, to keep your finances in the right order, you have to take some strict steps sometimes. Read on to find some frugal tips which can make your task of parenting/ raising children less expensive.
- You will be surprised to know that the most money you will spend on a new born baby is on their diapers. However you can easily save some bucks on diapers, if you use diapers made of cloth along with snappy, instead of using disposable diapers which is quite expensive.
- Sometimes, people have an unhealthy fixation on brand names and they spend a huge amount just by shopping branded products for their kids. Nevertheless, if you can stick to a brand only while buying foods for your kids and not while you shop for clothes, you can save some bucks.
- If it’s your second child, utilize the toys or clothes of your first kid and make full use of it. Buying brand new stuffs is simply unnecessary when you have spare ones, in your house already.
- Save both your kid’s health and your money by avoiding expensive dining out and preparing foods at home.
- To fund your child’s college days, start saving from the very beginning. Open a savings account for your child and keep saving money in it. Many states also offer Prepaid college funds that can drastically reduce the cost of college if you start early enough.
- Parents often spend a good amount of money buying cute little bath toys. Definitely the chubby little pig, hefty hippo, the sweet cow look quite cute on the tub, but are they at all necessary for your kid’s entertainment? A Kid hardly notice such things and mostly play with water and the plastic cup. So, make sure avoid such luxuries and save the money up for some more important spending.
- During Christmas or birthday parties, parents often arrange for expensive gifts not only for the birthday girl but also for her friends. Cut back expenses on them. Make sure you don’t spend beyond your means to buy gifts. Remember, curtail on gifts does not mean cut back on love and you can always express your love to your dear ones without presenting any expensive gifts to them.
Last but not the least; remember the cost of raising a child varies place to place depending on the area and location. However, the rule of saving money is more or less same everywhere. Create a strategic plan for your child ‘future’, based on your current income, and help your child realize the value of money from his very childhood.
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