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Kids, during these uncertain financial times it’s important to reduce expenses. Here are a few ways you can help:

Reduce the electricity bill.

Electricity costs money and, since families are home more often now, the utility bills will be higher. Reducing the amount of electricity you use will reduce your electric bill.

If you leave a room, make sure you turn off the lights. Encourage others in your family to do the same. During days of warm weather, make sure air conditioner units are turned off in vacant rooms. If you need the air conditioner on, have a family member set the thermostat to a higher temperature. Turn off the TV if no one is watching.

Save money on food shopping.

Help your family create a shopping list and make sure they stick to it. When shopping with your family, encourage them to buy store brands instead of national brands.

Have your family try growing food in a garden. Eating vegetables that you grew yourself is a rewarding experience and it saves money. You don’t have to become a farmer to grow some of your own food. All you need is some garden soil, seeds and a few tools. Depending on the amount of area you have, it’s not too difficult to grow carrots, tomatoes, peppers, etc. It’s fun and saves money.

Paper towels are in short supply in some areas and can cost over $1 per roll. Suggest that your family buys reusable washcloths. This will save money in the long run. Instead of buying plastic water bottles, suggest that your family buys reusable aluminum water bottles and a water filter.

Find new forms of entertainment.

With so much time spent at home, it’s very tempting for everyone to look online, searching for fun things to buy to help relieve the boredom. You should encourage your family to strongly consider delaying these purchases. Instead, find new forms of entertainment.

You can learn a new skill such as origami. There are many instructional videos online. With a few scraps of paper it’s easy and fun to create butterflies, cats, dogs, cranes, frogs out of sheets of printer paper.

You can learn magic tricks online. What could be better than learning how to do some easy card tricks and coin tricks?

You can play board games with your family. You can visit WalterTheVault.com to play fun games and learn about money!