Summer is here and it’s the season we all want to enjoy some extra vacation time, leisurely weekend activities or even renovating our homes and landscapes. Summer should be stress free and care free, but there’s just one little problem…it can be expensive! From higher utility bills due to cranking up the air conditioning, to gas spent on weekend road trips, vacation expenses or building a costly new deck, you can easily see why you might struggle a bit more with finances during the summer. Today I am sharing a round up of ideas that I have found to be useful and informative from frugal lifestyle and finance bloggers that can help us all save a little extra money each month or even start saving now for a dream vacation next summer. *This post contains affiliate links.
1. Save Money On Groceries
Everyone knows that using coupons can save big on grocery bills. While newspaper, magazine and printable coupons can still be utilized, a lot of people forget to clip them or just don’t take the time. Nevertheless there are many apps you can download right to your phone that allow you to add digital coupons to your favorite store’s rewards or membership card. Kroger, CVS, and Family Dollar offer coupons daily that can help you save big! Some even offer FREE groceries and snacks…even better! You can find great deals online at Don’tPayFull.
Do you plan out your meals with a grocery list? If not, this is one of the best ways to save tons of money on groceries. Making impromptu trips to the store often results in impulse buys, and not enough food for actual meals during the week.
I came across this amazing article by The Soccer Mom blog that explains how planning monthly meals saved her family $1000 a month! I am so inspired by all the great ideas that I am going to stop wasting money and start working on a meal plan and budget this evening! Using a free printable is a great way to stay focused and organized too.
2. Save Money On Car Expenses
Let’s face it, automobiles aren’t exactly budget friendly. From monthly payments to repairs, insurance and daily gas expenses, owning a car and spending money go hand in hand. Right from the very beginning of purchasing a car you’re going to be forking out a lot of money. Whether you’re paying for the initial deposit, or buying it outright, you will still have to pay taxes in most states and keep the car insured. And you just never know when costly repairs will need to be made! Nevertheless there are some car hacks that anyone can use that can really save a lot of money each month, especially on gas.
3. Save Money on Entertainment
Summer is a great time to relax and unwind, but also to embrace lots of fun activities! If you are looking for things to do on a budget, here are some great articles with suggestions for inexpensive or even free weekend and summer activities.
4. Save Money By Making Eco-Friendly And Sustainable Changes To Your Home
I have always wanted to create a more h eco friendly home and embrace green living, and summer is a great time to make some lifestyle changes or changes around the house that will save big money in the long run. Installing solar panels is something I would eventually love to do (it can save thousands of dollars per year), but until then I am incorporating some simple every day changes anyone can make that can save big money during the summer months and also throughout the year.
Because I love gardening and I am a wee bit obsessive about keeping our siding, deck and porch cleaned off, I realized that I end up using excessive amounts of water during the summer. Last month I shared a post all about Rain Water Harvesting and I looking into setting up a rain water barrel. This is an eco-friendly and sustainable living choice that can save tons of money on the water bill during the summer months. Of course there are many other easy eco-friendly ways to save money during the summer, from growing your own food, to line drying clothes in the fresh summer sunshine!
4. Start Saving Now For Next Summer
Every January I start out with a New Year’s Resolution to start saving more money throughout the year. We are usually pretty successful in saving some money, but after doing some research I realized that I just save a little here and there, and I don’t ever really have a set strategy. I came across this simple yearly savings plan for $1000 and I am going to try it starting this week! While $1000 probably won’t pay for a full week’s hotel stay, groceries and gas money for a trip to the beach or other vacation destination, having $1000 set aside for vacation spending money, summer clothes, landscaping, or just extra guilt free summer spending money would be awesome!
There are similar budgets and savings plans you can find on Pinterest, but what I loved about this particular one is that the highest you need to save per week is only $35. This will certainly be less than the amount of money that will be saved when I start becoming more diligent about saving on groceries by planning out meals and simply setting a grocery budget and sticking to it! I think most people can probably make some changes around the house that will help them attain the $35 weekly savings as well. Perhaps cutting back on daily lattes from a favorite coffee shop and making them at home, embracing free summer activities, or using some of the Eco Friendly ideas shared in the articles above could add up to the $35 a week as well.
I don’t know about you but I love finding new ways to save money that will allow for a more carefree and relaxing way to “spend” the summer without over spending! If you are interested in exploring this topic in more detail, don’t forget to check out all of the posts I shared above. They are full of great ideas and tips.
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