How do people cope financially with everything being so expensive?

(1/2) Hi there, there’s so many things you can do but I’ll try to keep it short. My husband and I also did these things after having our second child and deciding whether I should go back to work or not. I wanted to stay home for the same reason you mentioned, this time is short and I want to treasure it! So we made it work, doing the below things. First is make a budget. Sit down with your partner and list absolutely every expense you have in your life, from groceries, to subscriptions to insurances. I recommend looking at your bank statement, sometimes you are paying for things you don’t even know about! Then list your income and compare. Are you in a cash deficit, or do you have money left over at the end of the week? Second is declutter. Go through those expenses and see how you can cut down. When I did this, I saw we have subscriptions we aren’t using, phones that had way too much data we didn’t need to pay for etc. We live in a society where overconsumption is praised.

(2/2) Regularly look at insurance providers, there’s usually always a better offer! These are two things that we did which really helped us get a hold of our finances. Admittedly, it’s going to be tough and there’s not much extra in the budget for luxuries while the kids are still young, but again, I would rather stay home with them while they are young and consider going back to work when they go to school! This was just my experience, hope this helps 🫶🏻

@Shanelle thanks! I really do need to budget 😅 I used to be so good at it, but the last year or so it just kind of slipped away. I'll have to go over my finances again. Can I ask how you manage things going out for dinner or lunch with friends, getting a coffee when you're out, takeaway when you're too tired to cook etc? Do you just forego these things completely or budget for them. I feel like I'm going to have to give up some of the social things that I really enjoy, but I guess times are a bit tough ATM and we need to do what we can

No worries 😊 Anything to do with food comes out of our grocery budget. So we have takeaway once a week, and if we go out to restaurants with friends, I keep that in mind while I do my weekly grocery shop. Most times we are able to stay in budget still! And after all of our necessary expenses we are lucky to have a small amount of savings we put away, so if necessary we’ll dip into that. Most of the social activities we do with friends have changed. We are less likely to go to an expensive restaurant in the city, or go to touristy places like Luna Park. That can start to add up. Instead we go to peoples houses, invite them over, meet at parks, galleries, playgroups etc. So to summarise, we still enjoy eating out, being social and spending on ourselves, but it’s not as extravagant as it used to be. Some people might find it hard adjusting, but I’m not too bothered. I’ll go back to work when the kids are older! Then there is plenty of time to splurge again 💸