How do you stretch your dollar?

The thing about money is that for many of us who aren’t professional athletes, actors, or Warren Buffet, there is only so much of it to go around. We all have the main household expenses we can’t get away from like housing, transportation, food, and other common items that are bad enough (the cost of milk and toilet paper these days is ridiculous) but what about when it comes to the non-essentials.

Things like new clothes, new shoes, and toys for the kids (both little and big). All the things technically we can live without but don’t necessarily want to. How do you determine how to spend that discretionary income especially when your kids are old enough to understand the value of a dollar but yet want to keep up with the kids next door?

Our kids are 9, 12, and almost 14. Old enough to understand the value of things and that you have to work to get paid. In the past, we just bought them things when they asked but it was starting to get out of control. When I suggested we move to an allowance system based on pay for work completed you would have thought I was going to cut off the internet. That’s when I realized we had spoiled them.

We have a budget in my family, but I’ll be the first to admit it gets blown a lot because I’m busy and/or tired and throw my careful planning out the window.

I need to get back on track to a tight budget because we need to pay off the debt we incurred with the house remodel and we are getting married (for realz this time) July 2016 and I want it paid off as we go. Not to incur even more debt.

So I ask you. What are your best dollar stretching tips? I need HELP!

 

 

The post How do you stretch your dollar? appeared first on Laina Turner.