Working mums are constantly being challenged trying to balance a career and a family – with the family aspect further split in two of between being a wife and a mother. With a career outside the home and duties such as managing households and managing money – it’s a lot to deal with. Add to that the added expenses of travelling to and from work, food, clothing etc working mums often need to be able to stretch the budget as far as they can. So, how can you be creative and save a few extra Rand here and there to save for a rainy day while still being able to give your children those treats, a day out or a trip to the movies?
Can you walk to work? If you do catch a bus or train if you get off a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way will you be able to save a few cents on your ticket? While it might not sound a lot, it will soon add up, plus you’ll be doing your general health and waist line a lot of good. Why not take your own lunch with you to work each day. If you work in the city or near a shopping centre it’s very easy to get lured into lunch with the girls at the local food court, and while the smells of food is hard to resist your wallet get’s thinner and thinner. Many times you won’t finish off the whole serving which then becomes a huge waste of money. Try leaving in your wallet the money you would spend on lunch during the week – you’ll be surprised how much is left over at the end of the week.
Try making one or two days a week a gold coin day – where you actively don’t spend any gold coins received in change and take them home instead to put into your piggy bank – it’s a great way to save for birthday’s or Christmas – you could even make every day a gold coin day and why not ask hubby to do the same. Does your office or work have a kitchen, or tea and coffee making facilities? While it might not taste *as nice* as the store bought cappuccino – if work offers you free coffee, drink it there it will be a lot cheaper than buying your coffee elsewhere – plus you won’t be tempted to buy a cake or other food to go with your coffee. If you don’t like the coffee provided at work, or you really miss your late or cappuccino there are instant sachets you can buy from the supermarket you can take with you to have instead.
Try and avoid the markets, street stalls and charity stalls – they are often hard to resist, and while the prices may be very good, do you really need a new blouse, handbag or necklace. Often working mum’s use their lunch breaks to run errands and it’s hard sometimes not to run into bazaars and stalls and on pay-day it’s hard to ignore that chance to have a browse – be strong and keep walking!
How do you try and save money? Do you any tips you can share???
