9 Ways Couples Can Trade Comforts for Financial Freedom
Couples need to work together as a team to achieve financial freedom for the family. In a marriage, people have shared financial goals that include retirement funds, a home, a car, and college funds for children. Thus, it makes more sense to create a common strategy to achieve those long-term goals.
Many couples struggle to budget together because of their expensive lifestyle. You need to cut the luxuries to save enough money to achieve financial freedom. To your relief, there are certain expenses that you can eliminate from the budget with the shared efforts from you and your spouse.
Tips to Achieve Financial Freedoms as a Couple
You need to discuss in detail your financial habits and goals to find common ground. It is an important aspect of a strong and healthy relationship. You can use the following tips to limit expenses while trying to cut the expenses.
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Wait for the New Car
Buying a new car is on the list of financial goals for a majority of couples. You don’t have to buy a car if the current vehicle is fulfilling the requirements. A vehicle can last more than 10 years in your possession after proper maintenance.
More important goals such as house and retirement funds should remain on your priority list. You can use the money for a better purpose than saving for a down payment or paying the installment for car finance. You can always take bad credit loans from direct lenders for a new car if the current one gets broken.
If it is necessary to buy a car then you can think of a car title loan. The best part is you can easily get a title loan with minimum documentation.
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Don’t Overuse Credit Cards
Credit cards are the major cause of financial troubles for users. They spend outside their means because of the easy availability of credit. Thus, these cards should remain first on your list to avoid if you want to manage the budget.
You should carry cash instead of credit cards to keep the purchase within the budget. Make sure the cards are used only in case of an emergency or to redeem an offer. However, make sure the bill is paid on time to avoid the heavy interest on the installments.
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Reduce the Visits to Parlour
Your weekly visits to get the nails and hair in great shape can get reduced to biweekly or monthly. It will not have a visible impact on your appearance. Though, the returns from this cost-cutting method will result in significant returns in the long run.
Similarly, you can find the small amenities and reduce their frequency to save money. It will increase your savings potential to achieve your financial goals. Moreover, it is easier to savor the luxuries than to quit them.
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Prepare Lunch at Home
The busy schedule makes it convenient for people to buy their lunch instead of preparing it. You save time in the hustle and enjoy your favorite snack with the comfort of a phone call. Instead, you should prepare lunch at home to save money on food expenses.
It will take only a few minutes in the morning to prepare a meal for yourself, your spouse, and your children. Try to wake up an hour early to prepare breakfast and lunch. Also, you can ask your spouse to help or prepare meals on alternative days.
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Work on the Lawn
You should terminate the services of the lawn service provider to save money on maintaining the garden or lawn. It will not take more than a couple of hours on the weekend to cut the excess grass. Also, it is a relaxing activity to manage stress levels after working hard in your professional and personal lives.
Though, you will require the basic equipment to take good care of your lawn. Also, you may have to buy decorative items to increase the visual appeal of your home from the outside. Contact a direct lender for a guaranteed loan to buy the required machinery and decorative products.
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Clean Without a Maid
People take the services of housemaids even without saving enough money for their financial services. You can manage to clean your house with help from your spouse. It will take only an hour with combined efforts to complete the daily chores in an average-sized house.
It may sound extreme to some people, but saving is worth the trouble. You can use modern technology such as smart vacuum cleaners to reduce the stress of cleaning the house.
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Avoid Restaurants and Takeaways
As mentioned above, the food expense from restaurants is an unnecessary cost to eliminate from your budget. People use restaurants and takeaway food to spend time with their families. However, you are wasting money while creating an unhealthy diet for your family.
Instead, you should reserve visits to restaurants and food outlets for special occasions. You can cook delicious and healthy food at home while enjoying time with your family. A game or movie along with dinner sounds perfect for a family night.
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Buy Streaming Service Subscription
It has been years since people quit cable. Smart TVs allow users to install Netflix and similar applications on their television. Therefore, you will have an unimaginable amount of content available without the expensive cable charges.
Though, you should keep track of the subscriptions while switching to these applications. People often use more apps than required to increase the stress on their finances. You can ask your friends or family to share the subscription if you want to watch a single title instead of paying for it.
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Track Expenses
Tracking expenses is extremely important to live within the means. You should quit the habit of spending without adding it to your expense tracker. It will help you find the problems with your spending habits.
Moreover, you will improve your budgeting skills from these monthly spending reports. People don’t make the perfect budget the first time. Therefore, it will take time and constant changes to create the perfect budget for your financial goals.
Initiate the Tough Conversation with Your Spouse
Many people avoid conversations about finances with their spouses. It is indeed an uncomfortable topic to discuss if you want to ask them for changes in their lifestyle. However, you should not avoid it as their spending habit is affecting the future of your family.
You need to find the right way to initiate the conversation and express your opinion. Discuss the possible changes in your lifestyles to control your finances. Also, make sure they understand the need for changes to avoid a dispute.
Read More: Change Your Life with These 12 Personal Finance Tips
Conclusion
To sum up, you cannot secure the financial future of your family without support from your spouse. You need to work together as a team to achieve the long-term goals for financial freedom. Do not dwell on failure, as it will take time to introduce positive habits in your lifestyle.
Pranab Bhandari is an Editor of the Financial Blog “Financebuzz”. Apart from writing informative financial articles for his blog, he is a regular contributor to many national and international publications namely Tweak Your Biz, Growth Rocks ETC.
