6 Money-Saving Tips for Families with Children

These tips will help keep your family well clothed, fed, and entertained without breaking the bank.

1. Save on clothing (and more) by buying used

Depending on the selection, thrift shopping can be hit or miss, but when it's good, you can find some amazing deals on children's clothing, toys, games, TVs, and bicycles. Buying gently used clothing can save a family hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. Read Tsh's 12 tips for thrift shopping and develop a plan for your family.

Source: WhatsUpELLE / YouTube

Get familiar with sites like OfferUp, Freecycle, Craigslist and eBay to find more used items online.

2. Ditch cable and phone services

With the prevalence of mobile phones these days, it’s easy for a family to get by without a land-line phone. This alone can save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Whether your family can deal without a cable television subscription is another matter. Giving up cable TV can save you thousands. Netflix and Amazon Prime are both alternatives for children’s programming with less commercials than found on cable TV channels. If you're keeping that cable subscription mainly for a few favorite shows, check the cost of purchasing that show separately through Amazon. $.99 per episode a few times a month for your favorite show is a lot better bargain than paying $150+ a month.

3. Free and cheap entertainment

Public libraries are a great source for borrowing DVDs, CDs, magazines and books. Our library allows members to check out up to 40 items at a time. The best thing is it’s free as long as everything is renewed or returned on time. Many libraries offer free events for children, like crafts and story times.

photo credit: Hutchinson Library via photopin (license)

Dad tip: Have a family movie night for under $3! Borrow DVDs from the library, pop some popcorn and mix up some delicious Kool-aid. This idea won’t cost you more than $3 (total!) for an evening of entertainment, compared to going to the movies--where you can easily spend more than $100 for a family of five.

4. Check your local dollar store

Stretch your budget even further by shopping at dollar stores before going to the supermarket or department stores. Not everything at the dollar store is worth getting, but there are some things that can be good values--like snacks, spices and cleaning supplies. Read Jillee’s excellent list on her One Good Thing blog of what to buy and what not to buy at the dollar store.

5. Take the family camping

When vacationing, consider pitching a tent instead of paying for a costly hotel room (or multiple rooms for big families.) Camping can be fun for the whole family, and make for a more memorable vacation than sitting in a hotel room watching TV.

photo credit: Tent City via photopin (license)

Find a campsite using the Go Camping America website or on KOA.com. Many KOA campgrounds have amenities like playgrounds especially for kids and families.

6. Eat at home

One of the biggest expenses a family can occur over the course of a year is dining out. Feeding your family at restaurants can cost a lot; even fast food--known for it's cheap prices and even cheaper nutrition--can cost you triple the money of preparing a dinner at home.

source: leannebrown.com

A little advance planning can go a long way. Not sure where to get started? Leanne Brown offers a free cookbook full of awesome recipes specifically written for families to save money and still eat good. Good and Cheap is full of recipes easy enough for kids or dads without kitchen experience. Click here to download it now for free (in a PDF file.)

For More Money-Saving Tips

Read Missy Rakes’s Money Saving Tips from a Stay-At-Home Mom for more ideas on saving money. For more frugal parenting ideas I also recommend following MiserlyMoms.com and FrugalDadLiving.com.

Until next week, happy fathering! (and mothering too!)