Modern life has a lot to answer for really. As adults, we spend our money in very different ways to how our parents did. It wasn’t so much that they were planning frugal living tips but their lifestyle was different and if we want to save some money then maybe we should take a look back and see where we waste money.
In families, we are now outsourcing many of the home responsibilities that our parents did for themselves. Many of us work longer hours at work which explains why we choose to outsource some tasks but this does impact the family budget. Saving money could be achieved if we look at the habits we have implemented and question whether they are essential or really wasting money.
Tutoring
I am a qualified teacher but that hasn’t stopped me from outsourcing supporting my kids education! I have paid for a tutor for all three of mine as they have needed it. Chloe wanted some extra input prior to her Geography A Level exams, Erin is having some 11+ plus prep and Dylan some Maths support ahead of his GCSE’s. I trade this off though by doing some tutoring myself – which covers the cost of my kids! It is really hard teaching your own teenagers no matter how good a teacher you are!
Cleaner
Another household task that I have outsourced is a weekly clean as I can’t really on my faking a clean home approach. I am happy to keep the house going but I have a cleaner to do a two hour clean each week that gets the bathrooms done and the kitchen a deep clean. For me this saves me time which I spend working instead. However, having a cleaner is quite a new phenomenon and something my grandparents certainly would have scowled at me for!
Dog Walker
We got our dog two years ago now and she is wonderful, however again having a dog is a huge time commitment and I know many (especially those who work away from their homes) who have a dog walker. I also spot many more dog walkers out and about when I am walking Lilly. I don’t have this but understand why some choose to. However, the cost of this can soon mount up and to monthly outgoings.
Gardener
My neighbours have a gardener and again it is not that unusual these days but it is something that our parents probably didn’t spend their wages on. I would like a nice manicured lawn though!
Window Cleaner
Window cleaning is something that only gets done on special occasions in our house but as soon as the sun is shining I do wince a little at the state of the glass! Apparently vinegar and newspaper works wonders and is probably what my grandparents used.
Car washing
How many of us grew up helping dad wash the car on a Sunday? As I hit my tweens and teens it was my job in exchange for my pocket money. Many a Sunday was spent with a bucket of water and a sponge. Today this has been outsourced to the petrol station or a cleaning company based at the supermarket carpark. They often do a great job but even this small spending adds up over a year.
Online Food Shopping
My husband still does the weekly shop in person, we are huge fans of yellow sticker shopping. However many now do this online and pay for a delivery, it saves us time in a busy week but does cost each week.
Coffee Breaks
When all the jobs are done how many of us treat ourselves to a coffee and cake at Costa or similar. Whenever we go into town with the kids they expect a coffee break and for 4 or 5 of us, that is not cheap and can be £15 each visit. Just think how much that adds up to over a year!
These modern ways of living are impacting on our income and savings. It is fine to treat ourselves or outsource jobs we don’t like but how you ever sat down and added up just what this all comes too. If we slimmed down this spending we might have lots more disposable income. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t outsource but it is easy to ignore how much this is costing us and if we are trying to save these could be some of the easy savings.
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