Summer Budgeting Tips
Summer need not break the bank. As the temperature rises in the summer months, many Americans find they are spending more money if they’re not careful. The fact that the air conditioner is on full blast all summer long could raise your cost of living dramatically. In the warmer months, energy use goes up, and so rates also rise. It works in much the same way as natural gas and heating for the winter.
There are a few simple ways to make sure that you enjoy the wonderful warm months secure in the knowledge that you are not overspending. These four top tips to help you save money this summer whether you go on a road trip or stay at home are easy to follow and fun to do:
1. Embrace the outdoors
Being outside, enjoying the sunshine, could mean saving money instead of spending unnecessarily. Go on hikes, or explore parks or lakes or even rivers if you can. Take a short road trip somewhere that you can enjoy the outdoors. The beach is always a favorite. Keeping your AC bill down by not turning it on as often is a sure-fire way to slow down the money being drained from your account. If you have a pool or even a small inflatable pool, you can enjoy the outdoors while sipping a cocktail under an umbrella in the safety of your own home.
2. Cook outside
Having a barbeque in the back yard is a summer tradition, but it might just save you money. Cooking outside means the kitchen won’t get hot and the house will stay cooler than if you had the oven or stove on. The average amount spent per head can be quite low if you shop right. [According to research, the average American spends over $230 every month on meals prepared outside the home. Having dinners or gatherings at home, or even in a park, can save you a ton of cash while being fun at the same time.
3. Dry your laundry in the sun
Instead of using your dryer which takes electricity. The dryer can cost almost a dollar for every hour you use it. Using a dryer also pushes extra heat into your home, requiring you to use the AC to counteract it and exponentially increasing your bills, so why not dry your laundry outside in the sun? Save all round, and help the environment too.
4. Make your own drinks
Rekindle your youth and make fresh lemonade instead of buying store bought. You can make alcoholic cocktails as well which, if you were to pay for them in a fancy bar or hotel, would be a significant bill plus tip and tax on top. Enjoying a frosty beverage, watching a summer sunset is not the worst way to spend an evening.
Embrace the summer, and do things slightly differently this time around, and you may just experience a few months of fun and new ways to approach this time of year while saving money in the process.
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