More than half of Americans say money puts the biggest strain on their relationship. Throw kids into the mix and you’ve got yourself a relationship powder keg.
However, when you’re both on the same page and have your goals aligned, you can accomplish great things. It’s not easy, but you also don’t need to make the kind of big sacrifices you might expect.
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At least, one couple managed to meet the big financial goal they set themselves without making deep cuts to their lifestyle. Here’s how.
Australian mommy blogger Olivia White and her husband had a goal: To save up $30,000 in one year to build a new shed and study at their home.
Now, that’s a huge number for one year’s savings, but the goal was definitely something that a lot of us can relate to.
Home improvements and renovations are a great way to improve your daily life, especially when you have little ones running around, and they’re the kind of investments that can really pay off.
However, Olivia says she and her husband managed to achieve their big goal without making similarly big sacrifices.
And she shared her tips and tricks on her blog, House of White , so other folks with saving goals could see how she did it — understanding, of course, that everybody’s situation is different.
First off, Olivia recommends putting everything down on spreadsheets.
She and her husband went over their previous three months of bank statements and categorized all their expenses. “Along the way we found costs and expenses that were just funneling out we didn’t need to be paying like memberships and direct debits for things we didn’t need or use so the first thing we did was cancel all of those.”
Planning meals head of time was a huge time and money saver for Olivia’s family.
Not making them ahead of time as much as making the plan before going shopping.
Olivia also suggested shopping online, which she finds “eliminates the possibility of impulse buying.” She says that their weekly food bill comes in at around $140-160 for the four of them.
Getting ahead on bills proved beneficial for Olivia’s family too.
It sounds easier said than done, but Olivia says it worked out well for them. “One thing that really helped us reach our goal was working out a weekly/fortnightly payment for all the utilities and paid that via direct debit each week. This allowed us to keep our bills in credit and meant no bill shock and large amounts leaving our account at a time.”
To make up any shortfalls or just bring in a little extra dough, Olivia would get her side-hustle on.
“When I was in Uni I started my own little spray tanning business from home,” she says. “This meant I just needed a tent and some product and away I went. Especially today with social media it is easy to get the word out about such type of business. I know heaps of mama friends who do this! Anything in the beauty space like tans and lashes is a great idea if you have the space.”
Olivia also recommends collecting points.
“You should be making every dollar you spend work for you,” she says . “It also means we shop largely with a credit card so every dollar we spend earns us points.
“I do however only recommend this if you can afford it,” she cautions. “If you are paying interest on a credit card then it’s never going to be worth it
Lastly, Olivia says that you need to focus on yourself and not what others have.
“Especially in the age of social media and the constant bombardment of everyone’s lives in your feed,” she says, “it can be easy to get caught up and think you want/need something just because you see what someone else has…Work out what you really want, and don’t worry if it’s not what everyone else has! Be happy with that you already have and realize you are extremely blessed to have what you do already without needing anything else.”
h/t House of White
