The family budget is the sum of the estimated income and expenses of the family for a month, a year or another period. Keeping a budget is a necessity for everyone who cares about controlling their finances.

Consider a typical family – a husband and wife with a small child. Both work. Expenses mass: food, clothing, utilities, kindergarten and so on. Having calculated all the income and expenses for the month, they realized that their budget is in deficit – they spend more than they earn. There are credit cards, goods in installments. The situation is completely banal, because there are millions of such families.

It is this family that no longer wants to spin in the eternal cycle of debts and loans, does not want to save on the important, when by the end of the month money becomes critically scarce.

Unfortunately, there are no easy ways to change everything overnight. However, there are many proven ways that will allow you to clearly and consistently increase the budget to get rid of debts, solve all financial issues and, what the hell is not joking, come to complete financial freedom for the whole family.

In this article, we will look at 24 ways to increase the family budget and tell:

• how to manage the budget more efficiently to reduce costs and start saving;
• what options for additional earnings are relevant today and how to act more productively;
• what to do with family savings so that the money goes to the family budget on an ongoing basis without your direct participation.

Let's start with proven recipes for cutting costs.

How to save: efficient and almost painless

If it seems to you that you manage the family budget as efficiently as possible, without unnecessary expenses and emotional purchases, then, most likely, you are mistaken. How do I change that?

1. Plan your trips to the store and stick to the plan clearly

It seems to be an obvious thing, but how many people use it? Especially when they go grocery shopping on payday. The classic in such a situation is to go to the store for bread and milk, and leave it with a full package of products that were so beautifully lying on the counter, seducing the victim burdened with a monthly salary in his pocket.

If you have just recognized yourself, then you know that you are not alone, and this is not stupidity, and not spinelessness. Not at all. Marketers eat their bread for a reason. In large retail chains, everything is designed for people to make emotional purchases, counting their spending after the fact, and not in front of the cash register. There are clear instructions on how to get buyers to choose more expensive positions.

But you will be able to resist them if you have your reliable weapon in your hands, namely a shopping list for the week. Try to reduce the frequency of your trips to the store, and before those, make a detailed list of what you need to buy.

It's not necessarily about austerity or giving up everything delicious, especially if you have a child you want to pamper once again. But you will be surprised how the very fact of such planning will affect the family budget in the future of at least one month.

2. Buy wholesale things that you need regularly

We all use toilet paper, household chemicals. Many regularly eat cereals for breakfast and do not think without it a healthy diet. Looking back at your measured life, you can find many such examples.

And here opens an interesting way to save without losses in the quality and quantity of goods. The fact is that wholesale is cheaper than retail. Profitable wholesale offers can be found both in retail stores and at wholesalers, at bases and markets, at the manufacturer.

For example, why not order a box of baby food, a large bag of laundry detergent, a box of vegetables from the warehouse. The main thing is to pay attention to the shelf life and storage conditions. Try to plan everything so that there are no spoiled surpluses.

3. Ignore Brands

If you want to reduce the outflow of money from the family budget, blindly following the fashion for trademarks is not the best solution.

Take food. According to the law on the protection of consumer rights, the manufacturer is obliged to indicate in the composition a complete list of components. This means that the product of a little-known brand does not mix anything that you can not read on the label.

Do not look at the brand, study the composition. If everything is in order with the ingredients, feel free to choose inexpensive. Don't overpay for ads. It often happens that the products of a well-known brand and a small local manufacturer differ only in price.

It's the same with clothes. A branded thing and a little-known brand of similar quality can differ in price at times (and even dozens of times). This is not the propaganda of fakes, the choice of quality goods is now huge. You can easily find beautiful and comfortable clothes that will emphasize your taste and spare your wallet. Leave the herd instinct, the pursuit of brands and overpayment to others.

This rule works for everything. When choosing a technique, compare the characteristics of goods in online stores, watch reviews of little-known brands on YouTube (be careful, no one canceled hidden advertising), read reviews. With a reasonable approach, you will save impressive amounts.

4. Give up unnecessary subscriptions and paid accounts

Review the rates. Here, the proverb about a penny saving a ruble fits perfectly. Start, for example, with mobile tariffs. Go to your personal account on the operator's website. Order details and analyze your expenses. Explore the new rates.

This applies not only to mobile communications, but also to online services, subscriptions to gyms and beauty salons, subscriptions to newsletters. It is likely that you are still paying for the radio point in the apartment! If you pay enough attention to all these aspects and thoughtfully check the costs, you will probably be able to remove something. Perhaps it will be absolutely painless.

It may turn out that you bought a gym membership on a wave of New Year's inspiration and went to classes only a few times in a couple of months. During this time, a sports ground was built near your house, and your favorite blogger released a free course of home training. You can return the money for the remaining period of validity of the subscription and study independently.

Subscription Optimization Checklist:

• Do I need this service?
• Am I really using this service?
• Do I use the service regularly, fully? Is the service worth the money spent?
• Is there a better rate from the company from which I buy the service?
• Is there a better rate for competing companies?
• Are there any options I can opt out of?
• Does this service have free analogues?

5. Get rid of bad habits

We will not talk about the fact that smoking and alcohol are harmful to health, because it is obvious to any reasonable person. Does the price of a pack seem insignificant? Be sure to calculate how much you spend per year. The amount will impress you.

What does this amount mean to you? Three mortgage payments? Two smartphones? Tourist trip? What have you deprived yourself of?

What's more, you pay for bad habits not only in the store. Sooner or later you will pay for them at the cash desk of the hospital and at the pharmacy.

The same can be said about a regular can of beer after work. Give up bad habits and bad expenses, you will not regret it.

6. Do not take loans for household and family purchases

Another obvious rule that few people follow. Buying things on credit is always unprofitable, no matter how advertising assures you otherwise. If you borrow from the bank, then only for those things and affairs that bring profit or are basic necessities.

And what profit can bring, for example, expensive kitchen furniture? Is it a necessity? Yes, we all want to live in maximum comfort, but a negative family budget does not contribute to comfort in the long run.

Borrowed money teaches you to live beyond your means. Such a lifestyle is addictive, like a drug. Save for what you need, give up the unnecessary and be able to distinguish one from the other.

7. Use mobile apps that help you save money

You, of course, can write down all income and expenses on a piece of paper in the old-fashioned way, it is even useful for the development of fine motor skills. But now it is more convenient to manage finances in mobile applications, for example, the moneykeeper financial application.

MoneyKeeper and similar apps can:

• calculate all expenses to a penny and distribute them into categories;
• instantly receive information about the product and the manufacturer (barcode analysis);
• monitor discounts and profitable wholesale offers in stores nearby;
• always keep discount cards at hand and receive information about promotions;
• use cashback when paying for goods and services;
• Create financial goals and track progress towards them.

8. Reduce car trips on weekdays if you live in a big city

If you live in a village or town with an undeveloped transport infrastructure, then the advice for you and your family is not very relevant. However, residents of medium and large cities are well aware of how inefficient it is to move around by car on weekdays.

• Spending on fuel (let oil become cheaper, but fuel prices tend to rise).
• Constant traffic jams during rush hour in megacities (in traffic jams, fuel consumption increases).
• Paid parking at the place of work.

So you're wasting time and money. But you can quickly get to any place in the city by metro or public transport. Think about it, maybe it is not so long and inconvenient, because at long distances constant car trips to work and business significantly hit the pocket.

9. Do not save on health and rest

In an attempt to increase the family budget through austerity, you can go the wrong way. It is impossible to ignore health problems under the pretext that it is unprofitable to solve them now. There is nothing to say about the child: everything should be decided at once, without regard to the budget. I'm sure you think the same way.

It is not customary to save on children. It is customary to save on yourself: "Well, personally, I can do without this course of treatment for now, the pain is not so strong, I can suffer slight discomfort until things go better with finances." Familiar? Think again.

Few health problems disappear on their own, do not rely on it. You will save much more if you get rid of the disease at an early stage. This also applies to the teeth, on which many "save" to the last, and subsequently lay out to the dentist the amounts several times larger than they could pay at an early stage.

Do not neglect proper rest and sleep in an attempt to earn more. The consequences will erase the profits from such a sacrifice. Always strike a reasonable balance.

10. Make it a rule to discuss any deviations from the planned budget

If it suddenly turns out that the spouse has committed a rash spending, spending a significant part of the budget for a month, this not only destroys the plans, but can also lead to a quarrel, the desire to spend in return to "take revenge" on the wasteful partner.

Total control of the partner is also not an option. It will also lead to disputes and conflicts. It is best if the family budget turns into an exciting quest, all participants of which will be interested in achieving the goal.

First discuss all the details, possible errors and their consequences. With the right approach, sincere intentions to increase the family budget and control expenses will only strengthen the relationship.

You can use these 10 tips right away: without preparation and financial injections. All that is required of you is desire and willpower.

These methods are a sure way to gradually form a large surplus budget. It's time to move on to the next stage.

Additional earnings in the family budget

Effective budget management has been dealt with. But our young family from the example of this will certainly not seem enough. Yes, of course, over time, the rules described above contribute to the solution of financial problems.

However, now they need much more money to come from outside, and saving does not give an instant effect. Well, let's see what can be done when you really want to increase revenues and are willing to work it.

11. Try to increase the cost of the hour, not its quantity

"I have to work harder, stay late, go to work on the weekends" is probably the first thing that comes to the mind of a person who has decided to earn more. That's the wrong way to go. How long will you last? No.

It's hard to work in this mode. You risk spoiling relations with both loved ones and the employer: eternal fatigue will make you not the best spouse and bad employee. It is much better to learn how to solve new, more complex problems. This will allow you to earn more in the same time.

12. Try to make money on your hobby

The phrase "the best job is a high-paying hobby" is terribly banal. No one likes routine work, but most people have to do it.

No one enjoys sitting in a stuffy office, meeting clients, insincere communication. Even if you are a successful freelancer, most of the actions are always routine, repeating the same thing, boredom for the sake of money. But it's not all bad.

Surely you and your family members have hobbies. Fashion, movies, books, games, music, cars, whatever. With a great desire and sociability, you will almost certainly be able to earn a little with exactly what is really interesting.

You can, for example, write reviews for Zen channels about new movies, draw funny pictures for small online publications, sell crafts from improvised materials.

And if you really like the business, then even a small monetary profit will be a great option.

13. Switch to freelancing

It's possible that the work you do in the office can be done at home. And even more effectively. This applies to different types of intellectual activity, not only programming, web design and journalism.

The advantages of freelancing are obvious:

• No need to waste time on the road.
• You can run multiple orders in parallel, getting paid for each of them, rather than sitting on a fixed monthly salary.
• You can choose the working hours. So it is easier to separate the main work and hobbies from the previous paragraph.
• No need to spend time and effort on formal communication. Let's be honest, a friendly and loving work team, with which it is pleasant to spend weekdays and relax, is one of the utopias promoted in the media sphere. Chances are you'd rather hang out more with family and friends. Freelancing will provide such an opportunity.

Do not immediately quit your usual job. Feel the ground thoroughly. Let freelancing first become an additional income.

14. Take orders on online exchanges

From the previous two points, readers may have a fair question: "How will I start working on freelancing, if I have no experience in remote work of this type, there are no successful projects, connections and even a portfolio?" In this case, there are remote work exchanges on the Internet with a zero entry threshold: Advego.ru, Workzilla and others.

Anyone can take an order at these sites. On Advego, for example, they do not select applicants for the task at all. You can immediately start working and get the first money.

The disadvantage of automated sites is in low wages. But here your task is to get started: to get a portfolio for a career in freelancing. If you pump your rating, the exchange will be a good source of additional income for you.

15. Sell unwanted items through the bulletin board

Many do not even suspect that their unnecessary things, unused inventory, replaced household items may be needed by someone and someone is even willing to pay for them. This is especially appropriate for families with children.

Children's clothes, from which the child grew, the old refrigerator after buying a new one - there are a lot of examples. All this you do not need, plus takes up space in the house. Try placing an ad on an online bulletin board. Suddenly, someone buys. It's better than just throwing it away.

16. Resell the goods you understand

In this article, we will not tell you how to step by step open your own business, become a professional reseller of equipment, clothes, cars. This is a complex and voluminous topic. But discussing the options for a small additional income, we can mention this way of making a profit.

Let's say you are well versed in computers, laptops, smartphones. Looking through the bulletin board of your city sometimes, you see a laptop with good technical characteristics at a fairly low price for it.

Perhaps you can sell it a little more expensive by writing a more detailed description with high-quality photos, correcting some cosmetic defects, offering the buyer additional services for delivery, verification, customization. It is not worth winding up the price much, 10-20% will be enough. If you turn such an operation at least 3-4 times a month, this can be a good addition to the budget.

17. Try to sell your knowledge and experience if you are thoroughly versed in something

People strive to improve in different areas, to gain new knowledge. Think. Do you have any experience and knowledge that anyone could pay for. It could be anything. For example, you can play the guitar tolerably.

Try to go through social networks and publics inside them, offer tutoring services. Surely there are people there who would like to learn how to play the guitar, but do not know even the basics, and any teacher, even if non-professional, is better than dry articles and videos on the Internet.

Or, for example, your wife knows how to bake desserts decorated no worse than professional confectionery. The steps are similar. You can even invest a little in contextual advertising, if you are confident in your abilities and are ready to thoroughly engage with several students.

You can become a teacher in an online school, of which there are many now. It is not a fact that there you will be required to have certificates and documents testifying to the teaching experience. This is an option for real pros in any field, but with a lucky combination of circumstances, this can earn good money.

18. Engage in seasonal work or physical labor in your free time

If you don't see anything shameful about, for example, helping a stranger with furniture repair, fixing a computer, working in the garden, loading things when moving, caring for animals for a small fee, then why not do it.

Leave ads offline and online. This will allow you to earn a little in addition to your basic salary, as well as distract from the routine and communicate with new people.

19. Production at home

Producing something is harder than just buying and selling. However, it can be both more interesting and much more profitable. For example, at home, you can grow rare, requiring care flowers from cheap seeds, make souvenirs, small household items.

20. Mediation in transactions

One person needs a favor, the other needs a job. Every day on the Internet you can find an infinite number of such offers. If you do not belong to either the first or the second type of people, then you can simply bring them together, receiving a small percentage for this. As an option, you can become a hidden reseller of freelancer services and sell his work with a markup.

However, this occupation borders on deception. Neither side will praise you for that. It's better to do it openly. There are specialists who work with a large flow of orders. They have no time to deal with organizational issues. You can provide them with services to find customers and agree on terms for a small percentage of transactions.

Today, everyone has unlimited access to any knowledge and can earn money as they please. It doesn't matter what wilderness he lives in or if he has a couple of free hours a day. These 10 ways are just a cursory superficial glance. All able-bodied family members can choose an occupation to their liking and strength, so that the inflow of funds to the family budget grows constantly.

Increasing the accumulated family budget

So, it's been a while. A young family has learned how to effectively maintain a family budget. Husband and wife found convenient options for additional earnings, which over time became even higher than the salary in a permanent job.

Loans are closed, everything for a comfortable life is there, money is constantly saved. It is time to increase capital. If you decide to go down this path, we recommend that you take the following steps.

21. Buy highly reliable shares of large companies

Securities can be bought through a broker. If you choose really reliable stocks and bonds, then you can use 30-40% of the capital for this. There is no calculation for super profits, but in any case it is more profitable than a bank deposit at a meager interest, barely covering inflation.

22. Invest a small portion of your savings in high-risk instruments

When the family is firmly on its feet, up to 10% of the investment portfolio can be used for projects with high risk. The profits can be enormous. The shares of billion-dollar companies were once worth a pittance, and the adventurers who decided to buy them at the very beginning became fabulously rich.

You can invest, for example, in cryptocurrency, in a startup of ambitious entrepreneurs. And, of course, we are not talking about lotteries, casinos and bets.

23. Realize your business ideas. When some capital is already there, your own business is not a bad idea.

With a certain ratio of forces, means and luck, you will be able to receive income, and - if the business allows - to realize yourself. Either way, you'll get invaluable experience. The main thing is not to take large loans for a new business, plan all actions in detail, use the techniques of maintaining a family budget in the organization of business processes.

24. Invest in assets, not liabilities

Finally, let's remember the advice of many successful people. When cash flow is formed, it is not the best solution to throw away large sums: make expensive purchases for the sake of excessive comfort or status.

Try to buy something that will allow you to earn more, or something that over time you can sell profitably. It can be a powerful new tool to grow your business or a property you can make money on, such as real estate that you can rent out or resell.

The main goal of working on the family budget is financial freedom. If everything goes according to your plan, over the years you will create a capital that will allow the whole family to live, study, have fun and travel at the expense of passive income, provide a future for children and allow you not to worry about income in the future.