Summertime and Savings
Summer hasn’t been experienced like this in history, at least not in the past century that is. Lockdowns, quarantines, social distancing, no music festivals, limited ways to express summertime activities when groups of people are involved. It’s a strange time to be sure.
But even though there are still many opportunities to loosen your purse strings in the warmer weather — online summer sales, weekend getaways, backyard barbeques, bottomless margaritas, and so on. And don’t think that just because we’re in a national health crisis, the many consumer industries out there won’t capitalize on your summer spending. They also need to protect their bottom line. As an example, online grocery sales have increased 100 percent since the start of March. Plus, online purchases with sidewalk pickup have increased 62 percent year over year. Amazon saw their business soar to the highest March on record, with reports saying they enjoyed a 26 percent rise in revenue, putting them somewhere in the $75 billion ballpark.
Despite the many ways we can still let loose on spending habits this summer, there are actually some ways to save. There are some money-conserving strategies that may or may not have occurred to you already — and a variety of ways to be more frugal that will really add up.
As you can imagine, home utility costs go up and down depending on the season. Electricity costs run higher in the middle of summer in an effort to keep your home comfortable, especially with the family stuck in the house during a time when you wouldn’t normally be.
If you’re in the habit of doing laundry daily with a few small loads, your water bill is going to get pretty costly. Like bubble baths? You’ll pay for them when your water bill arrives.
Instead, try watering your yard with days in between, take short cool showers, and don’t crank the AC up all day and night. Let your laundry dry outside instead of running the dryer for 90 minutes every load, and while you're outside a lot more, try making more use of that grill. Cooking inside all the time not only adds to your gas/electric bill but also the heat has nowhere to go but stay inside the house, which of course, means you’ll need to turn up the AC.
A new summer wardrobe might be an attractive idea, and your Facebook and Instagram ads might be telling you to buy, buy, buy! But the price tag on designer clothing from big labels and stores can add up very quickly.
Look out for the deals. There are often amazing deals to be found on things like gym memberships and home goods. Some businesses were hit hard during the pandemic and are offering some deals-of-a-lifetime, so take advantage of the savings available to you.
Likewise, the travel industry wasn’t untouched by Covid-19, so if you’re planning a getaway when all this calms down, make sure you use online comparison tools to get the best deal possible on your travel and hotel costs and buy in advance for even greater savings.
Summer harvest means that locally grown fruit and vegetables are abundant, and you can buy in bulk, saving some money, and supporting local farmers at the same time.
If you didn’t do an annual spring cleaning, then now would be a good time to empty out the garage, and rid yourself of some excess bric-a-brac that may be laying around the house. You can have a garage sale or even find some half-forgotten summer items hidden away that you could put to use again.
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