The last quarter of the year brings with it some specific expenses that can impact our monthly family budget. O return to classesa change of season Or the celebration of special events like Christmas, “justify” that you prepare in advance the budget for the last three months of the year. Above all, so that you do not escape any burden and that it is possible to find savings solutions in advance. Thus, in this article, we have gathered the expenses you may have to worry about next quarter and point out tips on how spend as little money as possible with the same.
Adapt the family budget to the season in the last quarter
What school expenses should I take into account in the last quarter of the year?
If you have children studying (up to 12th grade or in college), there are some expenses arising from school routine that you may need to include in your monthly family budget in the last quarter of the year. Extracurricular Activities: What to Know Before Enrolling Your Child On the other hand, if your child is attending extracurricular activities, must also take these costs into account. It is important to note that, if the child is in the first cycle, he has access to Curricular Enrichment Activities (AEC), free of charge, made available by the Directorate-General for Education. Above that, from the second cycle onwards, your child can attend a Institution of Leisure Activities (ATL) outside school hours, or a sport apart from the school. Both are activities that imply a monthly cost. In the case of being a sport, in addition to the monthly payment who pays, can still have material costs necessary for the activity or travel if there are competitions. regarding transportif your child is already traveling alone, know that it passes through the metropolitan area of Lisbon is not paid until the age of 12. From that age onwards, there is a cost of 40 euros. At the Harborthe Andante transport pass also not paid until age 12. Meanwhile 13-18 year olds are also entitled to a free Andante subscription, offered by the Municipality to young people with tax domicile in Porto who study and reside in the city. Still taking into account the foodalso depends on the cycle where your child is: no first Ciclethe school provides snacks, at a certain cost, but you can also take them from home. Lunches, at this stage, are offered by the school. From the second cycle onwards, if your child’s schedule implies that he/she spends lunch hours at school, may have to carry the school card with a certain value or buy lunch tickets in the canteen. If your child walks in collegein addition to the cost of transport and food (which you can take from home or buy at the institution’s bar), you will also have to pay the tuition. For example, if your child has entered a public universitythe cost of a graduation is 697 euros per year. Regarding the cost of a master’s or graduate degreecan be either 697 euros or 8,000 euros, depending on the institution. costs to considerdepending on the school year your child is in, for the family budget until the end of the year. Also read: How much does it cost to prepare my child’s backpack?
Don’t Forget About Fall/Winter Clothing Expenses
Another type of expenses that the family budget should include in this last quarter, adapting to the season of the year, with the arrival of cold and rainand with clothing. So that you don’t spend money unnecessarily, you should make a evaluation to your closet from previous years and, if applicable, of your children, to understand what still works and is in good condition to continue using it. Through this assessment, check what parts do you need to buy for the next stations. As they are colder and rainy seasons, and even if you have a minimalist wardrobe, you should make sure that they have in their closets (including children’s) at least one raincoat, suitable boots, knitwear, hat, gloves, among others. Once you’ve completed what you need to buy, put everything on a list and do a search for where you can find the type of pieces you’re looking for. If the objective is to save, there is many ways to not spend so much money in these purchases.
Take advantage of promotions and anticipate expenses
Save on the most expensive parts
At clothing shopping for the colder seasons such as autumn and winter, are the ones that, as a rule, come out more expensive. Since they are larger pieces with more fabric, they are more expensive than lightweight pieces for heating seasons. So, in order to save money on these purchases, it is important analyze options where you can spend as little money as possible. For example, the second hand clothes shopping is one of the options. Nowadays, you can buy second-hand clothes both in physical stores and markets, such as online in social media groups or applications like Vinted. If you buy second-hand online, always try to make sure that it is not a scam and that the item you are going to buy is in real condition. O ideal is to meet the buyer live for the exchange to be carried out safely. But if there is only the possibility of sending, because it is from a further city or another reason, ensure the seller is from confidence (seeing, for example, reviews of the same in case of app). In addition, to save immediately, you can also resort to lowest price stores such as Primark and the stores of the Inditex group. Remember, however, that they may be pieces of lesser quality. Bear in mind that: parts of More expensive brands have a higher cost right now, but because they are of better quality, they last longer. So if you buy lowest cost partssaves at the moment, but you have to renew more often. What you can also do is take advantage of promotions or sexta-feira Negra to buy more expensive parts, and resort to better brands. As a rule, there are mid-season promotions at this time. And Black Friday is also almost at the door: this year it takes place on the 25th of November.
Anticipate Christmas so you don’t buy everything at once
So that you can save at the end of the last semester of the year, and don’t leave everything for the last, you can start think about Christmas shopping. Not only in the gifts, but as the decoration for Christmas dinner and all the utensils and details that must be treated for the two days. so you can go dividing purchases by the remaining months. Make one list of everything you want to buy, and divide by October, November, and December. you can even go taking advantage of these month’s promotions and Black Friday to make these purchases at cheaper prices. Thus, by anticipating these purchases, ensures that the monthly family budget does not suffer a big squeeze even at the end of the last quarter of the year. Also read: How to rebalance my accounts in the last quarter?
A professional writer by day, a tech-nerd by night, with a love for all things money.