A growing family is truly remarkable, and that’s why planning for these momentous changes is essential. Dramatic changes abound from infancy to kindergarten to middle school, high school, college, and beyond. Little feet become big feet, and little appetites become big appetites. Against this backdrop, parents plan for the future in the present.

Rising costs, needs, and wants often outpace wages, salaries, and bonuses. The result is invariably a budget shortfall or a reduction in consumption. But what if we told you that it’s possible to enjoy more with the same resources or even less?

Understanding the Rising Costs of Raising Teens

Indeed, every challenge is an opportunity waiting to be unlocked. Parents with teens understand all too well the exigencies of their needs and wants. The bills add up quickly, whether it’s high-tech gear, fashion, accessories, cars, or other accouterments. A popular website, Credit Donkey, lists the top expenses for teenagers. Unfortunately, it’s primarily parents who foot the bills.

The number one item on the list is clothing, comprising 21% of the budget. At approximately $1,000 per year, this big-ticket item costs a chunk of change. Hovering near the top is food! No surprise there – 20% of the budget goes towards food, notably fast-food chains like Starbucks, Taco Bell, Chipotle, McDonald’s, and the like. For parents, these rising costs present many financial challenges.

Naturally, the knee-jerk reaction is to reduce unnecessary expenditures and redirect resources toward necessities. With food, there’s no getting around the fact that teenagers have voracious appetites – they are healthy, growing young people. Keeping them well-fed for study, sports, and normal development costs more.

Innovative Solutions to Ease the Financial Burden

Fortunately, there are failsafe ways to cope with rising costs for your teens. Parents routinely cite transportation expenses (cost of gas for running the teenagers back and forth) and food costs as their top priorities. Parents will get some respite from these runaway expenses thanks to coupon apps and other tech tools designed to stretch budgets.

These apps are already enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people across the US, and tens of thousands of businesses have partnered with their applications. It’s an ingenious creation because it reduces the need to sacrifice food and gas to keep expenses in order. In other words, routine purchases at the gas station, restaurants, and grocery stores are possible thanks to its unique construction.

Customers can confidently go about their business, eating out or dining in, filling up their cars, trucks, or motorcycles with genuine cashback on purchases. Unlike other deals that require all sorts of terms and conditions to be met, this particular application gets you cash back on daily essentials.

Many businesses are happy to partner with this application because they get to showcase their store’s products to an audience of eager shoppers. The net result is a win-win situation for everyone. You can buy more and pay less than somebody who doesn’t use the coupon application.

Practical Tips to Cut Costs on Teen Meals

Of course, there are many other ways for parents to cope with the rising costs of growing appetites with their teens. Below is a table of proven budgeting methods to meet your family’s needs as cost-effectively as possible:

With a balanced approach and a focus on stretching your dollars as far as possible, there are legitimate ways to cut costs in the face of growing appetites. Most of these ways also help foster healthy eating and living habits!