With all the hype over the credit crunch, the housing market and talk of a recession its hard not to think about finances, especially when you have a young family. Raising children can be expensive both in terms of the costs to feed and clothe them but also to care for them as many of us lose an income when we start a family.

With a slow down in the economy looming, if not here already, many parents are looking at ways to tighten the belts and count the pennies. The government has repeatedly warned of an economic downturn and as jobs become threatened and interest rates rise concern over parents ability to pay the bills is increasing. So what can we do to try to safeguard our family’s financial welfare?

There are loads of books, DVDs, TV programmes and even courses by so called experts but who do we listen to? We are not financial advisors and don’t feel qualified to give advice but we do have a few pointers:

• Know where your money goes – make sure you know how much you spend each week/month or year on each item
• Know what is essential - and what can be dropped when funds are low
• Know who to get advice from - family, a bank, an Independant Financial Advisor etc
• Know your plan – have a plan for your finances so you know if things are going well or not, so you can do something about it if not
• Teach your children about money – its important for kids to learn the value of money, saving and making choices to prepare them for what they will deal with as adults!

Even if there is not a recession, its good to be in control of your money and that is not an easy thing when you have family life to manage as well. When times get a bit tougher its even more important to spend time doing what many of us, frankly, find very boring – counting the beans. Lets hope that tough times are not ahead but be prepared if they are.

We would like your views, opinions and experiences to help us help parents with their finances. Please vote in our quick and easy polls, complete the Family Finance Crunch Survey and post your comments as usual, they are all invaluable to our members and visitors.