How to manage a family budget: 8 main rules and 10 tips for every day

The main rules of budgeting

1. Appoint the chief for money

You can keep a joint budget, you can - a separate one, when everyone manages their finances on their own, giving part of the money for common expenses. In any case, this common money must be managed by someone. This person's job is to make sure that all bills are paid on time, and that the money set aside is not spent on any nonsense. Entrust this to the most disciplined and responsible family member.

2. Save at least 10% of every paycheck

Open a savings account and transfer money there immediately after you receive your salary. So you will save yourself from the temptation to spend this money for other purposes.

For example, you get 30,000 rubles, and your partner - 40,000. By saving 10% of your salary, you will save 84,000 rubles together in a year - this is not counting the interest from the bank. Suddenly you received an award - send it in its entirety to your savings account.

3. Set goals

Saving just like that is a bad idea. When you don’t understand why you’ll save money, you probably won’t.

First you need to create a financial cushion - an amount equal to at least three of your salaries. It will come in handy if suddenly there are difficulties with work or someone from your family suddenly gets sick. When the airbag is ready, you can start saving for a vacation, a car, or a down payment on a mortgage.

4. Create a joint account

It is needed in order to collect money there to pay for utilities, food or large purchases. This approach is convenient both for controlling expenses and for paying bills on time. If there is one account from which to pay, there will not be a situation when all family members thought that one of them had already paid for the apartment, but in fact no one did it at all. In addition, he will free you from mutual settlements: you received a salary, chipped into a common pot, transferred 10% to a piggy bank account, and what remains is only yours.

5. Find out where your money is going

Get in the habit of keeping track of how much money you spend. You can do this in the bank's mobile application, if you pay by card more often, or choose one of the ones for planning your finances. This will help you identify the main items of expenditure and will be able to understand what would be worth spending less on.

Watch out for small expenses - a large amount of money comes from them. Imagine: you took a taxi from work for 300 rubles, because you didn't want to wait for a minibus in the rain. We had lunch for the same amount in a cafe, because there was no time to cook something at home. And on the weekend they ordered two large pizzas for the whole family for one and a half thousand rubles, because they were lazy. In just a week, it is not clear where more than two thousand have gone. You could easily do without these expenses.

Responsible attitude to money is a skill that can be learned at any age. On October 17th, come to "The Secret Life of the Family Budget: Planning and Optimization". Alexander Kolankov, Advisor to the Head of the Consumer Rights Protection and Financial Services Accessibility Service of the Bank of Russia, and journalist Ksenia Paderina will tell you how to manage your family budget competently and save by planning expenses.

6. Make a financial plan

You probably already have a rough list of expenses for the near future. For example, it would be nice to save 10,000 rubles for gifts by the New Year. You have three months ahead of you, so in October, November and December you need to save about 3,300 rubles each. Do not count on the fact that the money will somehow be found on your own. And if at the end of the year the boss is generous with the bonus, you can send it to the piggy bank with a clear conscience, because you already have money for gifts.

7. Pay your bills on time

It sounds boring, but in the world of responsible adults it is so accepted. If you forget to pay utility bills this month, you will have to pay more next month. Skip the loan payment - the bank will slam a fine. All this means that your family will have less money for running expenses.

8. Calculate your budget for the day

Subtract mandatory payments, food expenses (you keep track of expenses?) And transportation from the family's total income. Divide the remaining money by the number of days in the month. The result is the amount you can spend every day. If you can’t resist and today let down more than planned, tomorrow you will have to shrink in expenses.

How to save every day

1. Pay by card

If you have a card with cashback in rubles, paying with it, you can recoup the cost of annual service in a few months. In addition, many banks give additional discounts or bonuses when you buy something from partner stores.

2. Cook at home

It's cheaper than going to a business lunch every day with food of dubious freshness. Make a stock of semi-finished products: cut the beef into a stew, grate the carrots for frying into the soup, boil a saucepan of broth and pour it into containers. All this is perfectly stored in the freezer, and at the right time you just need to get it out, defrost it and use it for its intended purpose.

3. Don't buy plastic bags

Get a special shopping bag or finally take apart a bag with packages (we know you have it) and use them.

4. Plan shopping and travel in advance

Going on vacation in April - look for the best airline deals now. Buy seasonal clothes on sales so as not to overpay when the cold comes, and you suddenly do not have a warm jacket.

5. Sell unnecessary things

A guitar that you never learned to play, a stepper that has been gathering dust in the corner for three years, a juicer that you have used a couple of times at most is rubbish now, but it can turn into real money.

6. Look for your own brands in stores

Store-branded frozen dough, tomato paste, liquid soap or dishwashing sponges are no different. Only the price is nicer.

7. Use shopping lists

Create a special list in Google Keep, where you will note what you need to purchase in the near future, and share it with family members. Before going to the store, check your home supplies and list anything that is over or almost over so you don't inadvertently buy too much.

8. Monitor your health

The filling has fallen out - go to the dentist, without waiting for the tooth to fall apart completely. Yes, scary, but if you run this, the final score will be even worse. Quit smoking and cut back on alcohol - save on cigarettes, on bar trips, and on treating the effects of a fun lifestyle.

9. Don't buy expensive items right away

Give yourself at least a few days to think. If you still feel like it, calculate how many daily budgets it will take to buy this item. Are you ready to give up free money for a while? Go ahead and buy. And no, you can't gut your financial safety cushion.

10. Watch out for discounts

Create a separate email address and subscribe from it to mailing lists of large online stores. Often they give a discount or free delivery of the next order for this, and you will always be aware of current promotions.

If you want to learn more about how to manage money in a family - come 17 October for a free lecture "The Secret Life of the Family Budget: Planning and Optimization". To make sure you have enough space, register in advance.