How to Align Budgets with Busy Family Schedules 

You don’t have much time to get to grips with your finances whilst you are working hard to bring up your family. It’s easy to let plans for managing your finances get lost amongst the hustle and bustle of work, the children’s school run and activities, hobbies, sports clubs, etc. It is common for people to have to put their finances on the “back burner” for many years until circumstances change.

“It’s your lack of discipline” just isn’t true. The problem is your inflexibility, and a budget that doesn’t reflect the realities of how your family actually lives. Planning around the unpredictable way your family actually lives is a much more realistic, less stressful, and less painful task.

Why Traditional Budgeting Fails Busy Families

Most traditional budgeting methods make assumptions about how you will spend money and how much time you have to manage your budget.

Typically, these methods assume that you will have consistent monthly needs that can be categorized and that you have time to regularly record all of your family’s expenses. However, many families are not able to make these assumptions.

As most of us spend money differently from week to week, our budgeting solution needs to accommodate seasonality, changing circumstances, and the unknown “curveballs” we face throughout the year.

Some weeks it may be to pay school fees, while other weeks it may be to pay for a trip or to purchase something on impulse. With less time available, it can be difficult to track and manage your expenses to prevent small overspending habits from becoming big financial problems.

Most budgeting programs offer many features, but they can make it hard to actually manage your money. You have to keep track of your income and expenses. Then you have to keep track of the balances of all of your accounts. You have to organize everything by category.

And on top of that, you have to keep track of all the different due dates and payment cycles. These programs require so much time and attention that there is little room for them in the already packed schedules of most people.

Start with Your Schedule, Not Your Numbers

Most people think of time as an abstract concept. Instead of looking at time that way, look at how you spend time and see where your money goes, then think about how to organize your time to best use your resources to meet your financial goals.

Take a close look at how you spend your money over the course of a week or month.

How does your pattern of spending change on busier nights when the quicker option is more convenient? How does your spending occur on the weekends?

And, of course, there are certain times of the year in which our normal patterns of spending are going to significantly increase for back-to-school, holidays, and other special occasions.

Create a “Time-Based Budget”

Clean your schedule (post) might have been one of the first posts I wrote on planning, and even before I got to a clean schedule, I wrote about how you can include a clean schedule in your budget. But instead of just including it in your annual/monthly budget, you can organize your budget on a daily or even weekly basis.

For some families with complex spending patterns, a particular week may be a more appropriate basis for budgeting than the month. And occasionally, even on a daily basis, it may be the easiest way to handle things until things come back under control again.

Another important step to organizing your finances is to categorize and track your spending.

But automation can go a step further. Instead of manually paying your bills every month, set up automatic payments. And instead of setting aside money for savings each month, automate that as well. By the time you forget, the money will have already been transferred to your savings account.

Be prepared for unexpected expenses along the way. Your budget should have some room for flexibility. Having some money saved up each month will help you avoid being too hard on your budget when things don’t go exactly as planned. Children and unpredictable work hours can add up to some unexpected expenses.

Simplify and Consolidate Where Possible

Simplifying your accounts and making payments on the same day can make a big difference. But there’s even more to gain with online tools. With online tools, you can also manage all your information and expenses online.

In addition to large infrequent expenses, also examine your regular spending. Subscriptions, software licenses, cloud storage, packages, and other services that your family may be using may be consuming your budget. Consider which of these costs deliver value and which ones are a waste of money and time.

When Debt Complicates Your Schedule

Debt is generally viewed as a negative, complicating aspect of one’s life because of the multiple payments owed and the stress of remembering the different characteristics of each loan. Keeping track of due dates, interest rates, and balances can be time-consuming.

Unexpected late or missed payments can be a major blow to anyone’s finances and leave them feeling frustrated. Managing multiple accounts and juggling your finances can be very time-consuming.

Most people think of reducing spending as a way to save money and help them get out of debt. However, another option to save money is to reduce and/or consolidate your existing debt, which can be just as cost-effective as cutting back on day-to-day spending.

For example, instead of paying money to several different creditors on a monthly basis, you may find that you are able to make a single monthly payment to a new creditor that includes the balance of all your existing debts.

This new monthly debt payment can then be planned for and incorporated into your existing monthly bills, such as your mortgage or utility payments.

Instead of paying off a bunch of different loans and bills every month, you can consolidate them into a debt consolidation loan from a lender like SoFi. This means you’ll only have to make one monthly payment instead of several, which makes it easier to keep track of your payments right away. Rates and repayment terms will impact your total interest cost over time, but simplifying your monthly payments is often immediate. 

Build Family-Friendly Money Systems

Keep it simple. Even holding a quick weekly meeting once a week can be sufficient to go over what you spent money on that week, discuss upcoming expenses, and make some changes to what you will be spending the upcoming week. Remember, not having a meeting can be easier than a longer meeting that only adds to your stress.

Many financial tools offer digital components, and many visual tools can make monitoring and understanding of your finances easier and clearer, whether through an app, online portal or interactive dashboard.

Children should be involved in monitoring their family’s finances as early as possible in order to understand financial concepts and to develop healthy financial habits as they grow older.

Plan for the Unexpected (Because It Will Happen)

There is no special plan that can foresee every contingency. No budget is foolproof. And in family life, there are a host of unexpected costs that need to be paid out of all cash in an instant.

Some of the expenses will be for things for which you are planning. Some will be for your child’s health. And some will be for unexpected expenses for which you had no reserve. Some expenses will be for school supplies, uniforms, or special events. Some will be for hobbies, recreational activities, and interests. Some for gifts. And, of course, there will be the surprise car repairs. 

In addition to establishing a basic income level that will support your needs, it is also important to set aside money in your core budget for unexpected expenses. Saving for irregular costs over time will help reduce their impact on your finances.

Consideration should also be given to seasonal influences that may affect future Expenditure requirements. There are times of the year when spending patterns differ from normal for a number of reasons, including expenditures on special events that can be planned in advance to avoid high last-minute costs.

Use Automation to Stay Consistent

For many busy families with a lot going on, automation is one of the easiest ways to keep costs under control. By automating your financial tasks and reducing the need to make decisions about due financial matters, you can ensure all necessary actions are taken on time.

Pay your bills on the right days – close to when you get paid – to maximize your cash flow. Save automatically by setting up recurring transfers from your bank or credit card to your savings account. Enjoy the added convenience of alerts and reminders on major events and upcoming bill due dates.

By taking a number of tasks off your hands, automation allows you to look at the bigger picture – your financial goals – without getting bogged down in day-to-day details.

Conclusion

Many people believe that having a family with kids means you have to stick to a rigid budget, but having a budget for your family doesn’t have to mean following a rigid plan for how you spend your money. An easy-to-understand budget will provide you with the structure you need to manage your finances, without dictating how you live on a daily basis.

Managing money is complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. The trick is to make minimal changes that yield positive results. Creating a schedule, automating tasks, and streamlining your finances to make a simple budget can make a big difference over time.