Great Ways To Save Money While You’re Spending It

Money is something that many of us crave for more of, but did you know that you’re likely over spending on many of the purchases that you make each year? With inflation costs and the forever rising prices of services and products, it can be hard to see an alternative to paying the prices that they’re asking. This is where you need to become frugal with every purchase that you make so that you can avoid overspending and enjoy a larger bank balance than before. Here are some great ways that you can save money while spending it too.

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Coupons

Coupons are an incredible gift that has been placed on this earth. They give money off many different items, but often they offer money off your grocery bills. Spend the time collecting coupons so that you can spend the money you need to and live as normal, while saving yourself some money at the same time. Coupons come in many different forms such as magazine and newspaper cut outs, to leaflets and online coupons that you can print out at home. Some people manage to get hundreds of dollars worth of groceries and only spend a small amount of their cash thanks to coupons!

Repair, don’t replace

A mistake that many people make is to replace something that’s broken rather than repairing it. In some cases, it works out better to replace, but more often than not a repair can be made much cheaper than you think. Mobile phone repairs used to be extortionate, but now many companies have opened that can offer the repairs you need for a fraction of the old price. Forever wireless can offer very cheap screen repairs, among many others too so see if there’s any way that they can help you! Repairing is often cheaper than replacing!

Learn the art of haggling

Haggling is where you can talk down a price with a company or dealer. It’s not something that many people have the guts to do, but it really can land you with some incredible deals. Purchases like buying a new car are the perfect opportunity to haggle the price down with, as it’s a big investment in itself and often the salespeople are paid extra for commission. Learn some tips and tricks on haggling to see if you can snatch yourself the deal of a lifetime!

Shop around

Finally, another common mistake that many people make is to buy the item they need from the first place they see it. It’s likely that another company or store will sell it cheaper, or could offer you a better deal. Make sure that you shop around, especially before large purchases so that you know you’re saving money while you’re spending it! Even on smaller purchases like your groceries it’s always best to shop around to get the best deal.

Use these tips and you’ll see how easy it is to save money while you’re spending it! Enjoy the meatier bank balance!

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.

 

4 Simple Ways To Managing Quarrelling Siblings

Even though you may not be at the impasse yet where your little darlings are constantly at one another’s throats, the chances are you will reach the pinnacle of sibling quarrelling at some point. You may look at your toddlers sharing, playing calmly together and looking out for one another and deep down you have a niggling concern that one day they will fight like cats and dogs. While not all that unusual and sometimes healthy for their relationship, you want to be able to show an impartial and restrained attitude towards their discussions and heated debates.

As a responsible parent, you want to instil an attitude of tolerance, respect and responsibility within your offspring. While they seem to be the epitome of good citizens outside of the home, when they retreat back into the family abode, their sibling rivalry can take over. Take a look at how you can try to mitigate their quarrelling and restore peace and order to the family home.

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Be Fair

It can be hard to show impartiality if you agree with one sibling rather than the other. However, to show fairness, you must always be willing to listen to both sides of a story. Say your darling daughter had borrowed her older sister’s new top only for it to be returned as if it had been dragged through a hedge backward. An argument beckons and you need to be there to referee and see justice is done. By sitting your little cherubs down to discuss the problem and making them try to resolve it immediately, you aren’t allowing issues to fester. This way the slate can be wiped clean, you can issue a consequence and follow it up, and hopefully, all is right with the world once again.

Give Them Space

In a perfect world each of your children will have their own bedrooms to retreat to should family life or any other worries have become too much. They need a space where they can kick back, relax and chill out for a little while. Sometimes we are not blessed with palatial residences, and siblings need to share a room.

Although not ideal, sharing a bedroom can instil a new sense of sharing into sisters or brothers and can help them see issues through another pair of eyes. When they hit teenage years, they should have their own four walls in which to find sanctuary, but until then they may need to share a room. To allow them some individuality let them choose their own decor, colour scheme, furniture, and lighting. Use this as an incentive if you need to install a couple of bunk beds for children to try and conserve space. Even if it means drawing a metaphorical line down the centre of the room and allowing them to design their area how they wish, this is better than arguments forming over who can sit at the dressing table and who has dibs over the fifth drawer.

Get Outside

No matter how large your home is, it can still feel stifling if you’re in the midst of a confrontation. Even though you know that your kids love one another deep down, when in the throes of an argument, it can feel claustrophobic and seem like a very serious situation. If you sense a heated debate brewing, take your darlings out to the park, get them outdoors in a wide expanse of space and allow them to run off their aggression. Kids can see red very easily and don’t understand the fluidity of their emotions. By giving them a physical release, you can mitigate the chance of quarrels or arguments later.

 

Kid's at Christmas

 

Quality Time

You don’t want to be living in a household where all the occupants are nothing more than passing ships in the night. Although difficult to achieve, you should still make time for dining together, organising family outings and spending the odd evening together watching a movie. Maintaining the cohesive feel of family life can be tricky especially when the kids start growing up, pursuing their own interests and having busier social calendars than you could ever imagine. However, by seeking out quality family time, you lessen the chances of disagreements between siblings.

Having your own little human beings to take care of, nurture and help mature into responsible and decent adults is a blessing. Take these steps to ensure that your family unit remains as free from quarrelling siblings as much as possible and remains cohesive, together and happy.

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.