Few people would argue the fact that we live in tough financial times. It is harder than it used to be to get a job, keep a job, save money and stay get out of debt. For parents of special needs children, the burden can be greater.  Even in a place like Ontario, where many families – including my own – are fortunate enough to receive government-funded autism intervention services, money can be tight. There is respite care to pay for and specialised equipment to buy, and only X-number of dollars in funding available.

Then we have to deal with things like birthdays and Christmas, putting food on the table and buying countless pairs of shoes for feet that grow at a bizarre pace.

How are we supposed to provide for our families, buy enough stuff for our kids to have a little bit of fun, AND save for a rainy day?

*Sigh*

It would be great if money grew on trees. Because it doesn’t, I have a few tips that might ease the crunch just a little and help you put a bit of money aside.

1. Automated savings account: If you are always wondering how to save money before it disappears out of your bank account, you might want to look into a plan that automatically moves money into a savings account. That way, the money is spoken for before you even see it.

2. The 52-week savings challenge: This is a great way to plan for those Christmas expenses that can ding you. How it works is that each week you save a dollar more than you did the previous week. In Week 1, put away $1. In week 2, put away $2. In week 3 – well, you get the picture. Once you put away $52 in week 52, you will have amassed a lovely little stash worth $1,378.

3. Make use of funding: This sounds obvious, but the funding machine can be a mysterious and frightening labyrinth. Talk to a financial expert to make sure you are using all funding avenues available to you, and see if there are any tax credits that you can take advantage of.

4. Plan toy shopping carefully: Many seasoned autism parents will agree that buying toys for our kids can be a big fat waste of money. It is so tempting, when a child has just been diagnosed with autism, to go out and buy toys that claim to encourage speech, develop social interaction skills and enhance learning. But the fact is that our kids don’t really do toys. They don’t know how to play with them. It is far better to let your child express an interest and then buy toys that fit that interest. I’ve been buying Mr. Potato Heads for my son for almost seven years now. I’ll probably be buying them seven years in the future. I’m OK with that, because it’s what works for him, and I’d rather let him grow the world’s biggest Mr. Potato Head collection than spend a fortune on stuff that will never be used.

5. When you’re buying electronics, see if an older model is available: There is an abundance of electronic toys for kids, including learning laptops and tablet-like devices. They cost a small fortune, especially at high-demand times like Christmas and back-to-school. That’s when the latest and greatest models of these toys come out, and they come out with inflated prices so the retailers can look good by offering quote-unquote “discounts”. When you’re shopping for toys of this nature, ask the sales associate or store manager if an older model of the toy is kicking around in their stock room. Most store staff will go out of their way to help you if you explain that you are the parent of a special needs child and don’t have a lot of money.

Do you have any money-saving tips to add? Let me know in the comments!

This is an original post by Kirsten Doyle, published in accordance with my disclosure policy. Photo credit: nophoto4jojo. This picture has a creative commons attribution license.