How do we manage finances in our family? My hubby works full time and I work part time. As a middle income family on a (almost) single income , managing the finances is a very important part in keeping the household happy and well run.
No Retail Therapy
Well, I'm not a fan of retail therapy, fortunately for our family, so usually when I shop, I think thrice (or more times) before I buy an item. I make a shopping list, then I buy only the necessary things. If a very pretty dress caught my eye and I would really love my daughter to have it, usually my first thoughts will be "So lovely! $29.90 is cheap!" But I will tell myself "No, think about it." After walking one round around the shopping mall, when the initial excitement wears off, the price tag does seem a bit steep for a simple dress. A few days later, if I do pass by and see the dress and I still like it, and it's on sale, maybe I'll buy it. Or maybe I'll find a cheaper and similar one elsewhere. That's how I shop. NEVER buy on impulse. And only buy what I NEED.
Buy on iHerb
I'm a great supporter of household products that does not use animal ingredients, does not test on animals and are earth friendly. I also love to give my children organic snacks. So iHerb has a lot of such items! I basically accumulate my shopping list and buy all on one go, and sometimes Singpost has free delivery too. If you buy these items over the counter in Singapore, they are going to cost twice as much as they could have cost you on iHerb! I've bought laundry detergents, baby food, baby yogurt bites, baby biscuits, shampoos, body washes, sun blocks and diaper creams from iHerb. I read the reviews and decide on which items to get. Some are great, some not so, and I write the reviews to help other buyers too.
Buy online during Sales
I joined sprees and buy from websites like Carters during Black Friday and Christmas sales. Carters clothes cost almost half the price as they could have cost in shopping malls in Singapore. Hubby also buy things like running shoes and mobile phone covers from Amazon and Taobao. These save us a lot of money!
Buy during Sales at market stalls or hyper marts like Giant (Tampines) and Fairprice Extra
I went Giant recently and bought boy's t shirts, pretty girl's blouses, woman's pants all at under $6 each! These places do have lots of cheap clothes with very nice designs.
Eat Home Cook
I'm a SAHM and working part time as a freelance writer so one benefit about this is I get to cook and eat home cooked food. Home cooked food is cheaper! Our family only eat organic food if we eat at home. If we were to buy organic meals outside, they will be very expensive. What comes out of this is healthier bodies for the children and for us adults, and less medical bills to pay.
Family Outing to Places with Free Entries
Places like botanical gardens have lovely sceneries, a large pond with black swans and ducks, and kid's playground, and don't change entry fees. Since we don't drive, we go by MRT or Taxi so the only cost incurred with will be transport fees. Botanical Gardens is very accessible by MRT now. Other kid friendly and free entry places are East Coast Park, Punggol WaterWay Park where there is a water play area and huge sand pit, Bishan Park where there is also water play and sand pit, and free playgrounds like the ones at NEX shopping mall and Marina Square shopping mall.
Don't save on Children's Education, Health, and Parents' welfare
When we decided to have a family of our own, we already subconsciously gave up many of the luxuries we could enjoy when we were still single. Hubby's love of gadgets, photography and travels my love of violin, beautiful clothes and cafe hopping... all these will have to be second or third or fourth in priority. While we are stingy on ourselves, we don't save on several things. We gladly spend on children's education. As I embraced the Waldorf philosophy of no academic teachings before seven years old (or at least no pressure on children to perform in academic area before seven), we don't give in to marketing tactics of enrichment classes like Berries or I Can Read or Phonics classes etc. But we take Kieran to Yamaha's music lesson which he enjoys and which is blessed with a very engaging and passionate music teacher, and I buy many picture books and pre-writing books and colouring and painting materials for us to play with at home. Books are things we don't save on.
Health is important so we believe that if the children need to see TCM to get them back to good health, we will see a practitioner no matter how expensive it cost, and we must not save on good, whole food. Organic food is expensive and cooking at home can be tiring but it must never be replaced with unhealthy and easier alternatives, although we do eat out at times. In Singapore where eating out is so easily available, it can be a very attractive alternative. But we try to make eating at home at habit. We also cook healthy soup for the whole family. Soup therapy is very important for good health. One thing we are against in is supplementing. At least I am against it. If we eat healthily, there's no need for supplementing. I do take supplements when I am pregnant and breastfeeding for the first year, but now, I reduce supplementing to just calcium pills and vegetarian DHA, and I don't think I will buy them anymore after I'm done with the current bottles. I never buy into the pushy marketing tactics of expensive supplement companies, especially MLMs.
I won't spend on many things like dining at Yakun Kaya if I'm alone, and I won't buy certain things for myself but if they are for my parents or parents in law, I will buy them. Parents' welfare some times mean their mental wellbeing and its good for them to know their children are willing to spend a bit more for them.
