How To Survive The Pandemic Being A Stay-At-Home Mom
Due to the worldwide COVID pandemic, the economy has gone down. A lot of people are facing unemployment or bad wages due to lockdown and shutdown of services. Many have considered work-from-home options and other freelance options to earn money for survival.
It has become impossible to live on one income. So, if you are a stay at home mom, you can even try to save money or earn money by staying at home.
Adopting a frugal lifestyle can help you save money in daily life. Also, considering some online work from home jobs can help you earn money from home.
Frugal living is not as restrictive as it may sound. We all can aim to generate as much income as possible but wealth doesn’t accumulate without wise spending habits. Frugality is not always about pinching your pennies; it’s rather stopping the money leaks while still living a happy fulfilling life. In order to lead a happy frugal life, you require a mindset adjustment to succeed.
Moreover, a stay-at-home mom is always desperately looking for ways to save their bucks and shop great deals. On the other hand, this staying at home time is great to deliver some good financial lessons to your kids.
Here’s how to save more and teach kids about finance while staying at home.
Try To Save Every Buck
The cost of living in the US is increasing day by day and for all those moms who stay at home with their kids, every dollar counts. They simply can’t afford to fall in debt especially during this pandemic time… If you’re a new stay-at-home mom, you can start by keeping track of your pennies to stay within your budget.
Save Money On Food
Do you think that refunds and coupons are the only ways in which you can save your dollars on groceries? If you answer yes, then you’re grossly mistaken. The aforementioned ways are just two of the ways in which you can do the same. Apart from them, there are many resources that the average cheapskate family may use to shop thrifty.
Try to find out what works with your family as all kinds of tight living resources will not work with all kinds of families. Determine the needs, abilities, and desires of your family so that you know where to draw the line while you go out shopping for food.
Be A Super Stay-at-Home Mom
Math, history, science, physics, and chemistry are some subjects that your kids learn at school. Unfortunately, money management skills are not standard in most school curriculums. Most of us are still at a learning age when it comes to personal finance management.
With every failure, we learn a lesson and often we think we could have avoided many unfortunate financial results if we were taught some more lessons while we were young.
Yes, it is true that money lessons must be taught from a tender age so that you don’t grow up drowning in a sea of debt. So, take advantage of this stay at home time and teach kids about money management.
Mom, Ask Children To Help You With Household Chores
To survive during your work from home time, you can ask your kids to do some particular things like cleaning their room, gardening, feeding pets, etc. One of the best ways that you may adopt is to make your kids work to earn their own income.
Usually, kids are more likely to spend their money more carefully when they know how much effort has been given behind the job getting done.
They’ll learn to respect money if they get small amounts for the work that they’re doing. By doing so, you can get some time to complete your office work as well.
Make The Best Use Of The Coupons
When you’re a stay-at-home mom, the entire responsibility of managing the household finances is on your shoulders and therefore you shouldn’t take a step into the grocery stores without a coupon.
The use of coupons can help you save more. In any family, the largest variable expense is food but it will no longer seem to be a cumbersome expense when you have coupons to help you.
With coupons, you can get some things like toothpaste and shampoo free of cost. You can find coupons in newspapers or on sites like P&G..
Encourage Kids To Get Early Jobs
Though the employment level is not very encouraging for your kid, it leaves no stone unturned to boost them to get early jobs. Tell them how important it is to earn your own money and save it accordingly to avoid poverty.
They must also be academically alert so as to grab a job as soon as possible that is in accordance with their qualifications.
Save Bucks On Household Outlays
As you’re done with the food expenses through coupons and smart money management, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of frugal living. You should always remember that even if you’re earning from home, you can be an everyday cheapskate with whatever money you earn in a month.
Make a list of all the household expenses that you make in a month and check whether or not anything can be sacrificed among them in order to save money.
Teach Kids About The Difference Between Needs And Wants
You go to any financial expert or visit any financial blog; you’ll find frugality to be the most important practice that can ensure a fiscally fit life. If your kids do not grow up with frugal habits, they cannot manage their money and this may lead to accumulating huge amounts of debt in the near future.
Mom, you too have to practice what you’re preaching so that they learn from you. Thus, when you are staying at home, teach your kids about the striking difference between needs and wants so that they know which one to prioritize.
Cut Down On Baby Expenses
Though bringing a baby into the world is a wonderful occurrence, it often comes with financial stress for the parents. To save money during this COVID era, you need to cut down on baby-related expenses. Otherwise. you will accumulate debt. Having a baby need not always be a bank-breaking experience if you’re smart enough.
When you plan to have a baby, stop purchasing those unnecessary things, and look for ways to find inexpensive ways to shop for things for your baby. Use formulae and coupons to save on baby items to ease off financial stress.
Become A Role Model, Stay-At-Home Mom
Your kids look up to you and try to follow you in every way possible. Make sure you give the best lessons to them so that they don’t mismanage their finances. If you do impulsive shopping and anything opposite to what you’re preaching to it can be dangerous for your kid’s upbringing. So, when you are staying at home, set good examples so that your kids can follow you as their role model.
Lastly, being a cheapskate and a frugal mom may sound negative but when the COVID pandemic is here and when you have the total reins of your family finances, it’s high time you get back a grip on your finances and save your family from backsliding into poverty and financial difficulties.
