Manage your family budget: 3 tips for mastering your finances

Exclusive – The Caisse d’Epargne unveils its first study on “families and money”. It reveals household budgetary tips to manage their expenses and preserve their purchasing power in the face of a tense economic context.

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Inflation, accommodation, expenses for children … Managing your budget is not always easy, even less in families. The Caisse d’Epargne, in partnership with the Cabinet George (s), published this Thursday, May 22, its first study devoted to the way in which French families manage their relationship with money.

Conducted 1,501 representative households*, this survey highlights a social phenomenon: the priorities of families are articulated around the happiness as a couple and Children’s education. Striking, fear of not being able to support the needs of his loved ones (Studies, leisure, support in the event of a blow, etc.) far exceeds that of a dismissal or a separation.

Manage your budget: a central concern for French families

More than 9 out of 10 families declare their actively following their Budget management. And this rigor allows them in the whole to cover their current expenses and give some pleasures. For single -parent families, more economically vulnerable60 % say they are very involved in their finances and 68 % face their regular expenses.

Buy or sell second -hand

One of the first family reflexes is to rethink their way of consuming. Two in three families buy or sell regularly In second hand, whether clothes, books or furniture. A habit that increases when the home is made up of children (single -parent families or couples with children). A Boom of the second hand not surprising. In 2024, the second -hand market was estimated at more than 6 billion euros.

Opt for fractional payment

One of the other vectors of economy is fractional payment. This staggered payment, often the famous “3 times free of charge” remains one of the best ways to manage your money for French homes, Even if he is not always without danger. One of the most popular solutions is still savings. 63% of families draw there in the event of unforeseen expenses, and more than half to absorb daily expenses.

Save to meet significant expenses (higher education for children, retirement, etc.)

As Simon Cascarano, Director of BtoC Caisse d’Epargne recalls Simon,, he There are several uses of savings: “The first, turned to the future, encompasses medium or long -term objectives such as children’s studies or pension preparation. The second level concerns project savings: real estate purchase, car, travel … Finally, the third part, fundamental, is precautionary savings, intended to deal with the unexpected. ”

72% of families save for this reason. Thus, this precautionary savings, often limited – almost half of families (42%) put less than 100 euros on the side per month – is perceived above all as protection against the vagaries, allowing to manage its budget, much more than a simple projection tool for major projects.

*The sample was reasoned to have an equivalent number of interviews in each large type of family: couples without children, couples with children, single -parent families. Families were returned to their statistical weight when the results are treatment. The survey was carried out by internet from March 26 to April 3, 2025.