Summertime is here and we need money saving tips to thrive during summer!
Whether you are going on vacation or staying home enjoying all the summertime fun in your neighborhood, spending money goes hand in hand with a holiday period.
You want to be able to enjoy your summer, go out for drinks with your friends, go to that outdoor festival, go to the beach to taste all the ice cream flavors, and maybe even travel abroad, all of those lovely things whilst not going broke, that’s the goal!
With these money saving tips, you will definitely keep more money in your pocket while still enjoying your summer.
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15 Money Saving Tips to Save Money during Summer
1. Keep the sun out of the house
The sun can be your best friend but also your worst enemy, depending on where you live and whether you suffer from heatwaves very often or not.
If you cannot imagine living in a house without air conditioning, you probably know the sun as your enemy as well. Using air conditioning all summer long can get pretty expensive though, therefore you should try to keep the temperature in the house as cool as possible so you don’t need to put the AC on all the time with these money saving tips.
- Invest in decent blinds to keep the sun out during the day
- Air out the house when it gets colder at night, and open every window to let the cold air flow through your home (make sure you have window screens to keep out the insects!)
- If you don’t have blinds, you can hang up some towels or blankets to keep the sun out, it doesn’t work as well as blinds, but it is definitely better than letting all the sun in!
2. Change up your transportation
Do you need money saving tips for your transportation? Well, here you go!
When the temperature is good and the sun is shining, why not take your bicycle to take you places? Especially for short distances, leave the car at home and save some money on gas.
Taking a bike or even walking somewhere, is good for your wallet, the environment, and your health! That’s a win-win-win if you ask me. You could invest in an e-bike if you want to travel longer distances while still moving your body and saving money on gas.
If you have to be somewhere further, try public transportation. There are plenty of options where you don’t need a car and maybe, just maybe, you get so hung up on other ways to move, that you can get rid of your car altogether! This is a real money-saver right there.
3. Mother Nature is here to help you save money
Mother Nature has plenty of power alright, you probably have noticed this during natural disasters. But most of the time, she is here to help you!
Use all the powers that nature has to offer to your advantage by implementing these money saving tips:
- Dry everything outside, forget about your clothes dryer, and use sun and wind energy to dry your clothes in no time. You only need a clothesline and some clothespins to make sure everything stays put. If you don’t have a terrace or garden, place a dryer rack indoors. With the hot temperatures in summer, your clothes will get dry pretty fast as well without the need for electricity.
- Solar panels might also be a good investment if you live in a country with many hours of sunshine. This is about long-term saving money because the initial investment is pretty high. You will see your electricity bill go down because you use the energy of the sun to run the appliances in your home.
- Spending time in the sun will let your body produce vitamin D! How much sun you need daily depends on your skin type, living area, age, and many more things. Check out this article to learn how much sunshine you need to produce enough vitamin D for your health. If you are getting enough vitamin D from your body, you don’t have to take extra supplements which will save you money! (Taking care of yourself and being in good health are also money saving tips!)
4. Spend more time outdoors
Summer is made to spend more time outdoors! And while you spend time outdoors, there is no need for electronic devices is there? So that’s how you save money whilst being outside.
When you spend time outdoors, you can do plenty of activities that are cheap and away from your computer. All these electronic devices need expensive electricity to work. So step away from those, and take time to unplug and recharge your own batteries for free outside!
Outdoor activities that are free of charge are for example having a walk in the woods or park, doing some sightseeing in your village or city by bike, visiting free festivals, or watching street artists do their thing. Strolling around, chatting with someone, taking some pictures, and enjoying the sun are all free.
Spending time in nature will also relax you, so you don’t have to pay for that fancy silence retreat or expensive massage every week. Enjoy your rest and peace in nature.
5. Create a budget
Saving money mindfully goes hand in hand with budgeting. So yes, you need to create a budget, even for your summer holidays! I am not trying to be the buzzkill but it’s true.
You can apply all the money saving tips you want, but without a budget, you might still spend more money than you save, and we don’t want that. So, if you want to save more money, be mindful about spending and set up a budget for yourself.
Maybe you are already budgeting during the year, but in summer, it gets looser and you find yourself spending more money, not paying all that much attention to where your money goes when you are on vacation, and I get that! Vacation means freedom!
Create a summer budget and you can be extra loose when it comes to your holiday spending, just make sure you include this in your budget. You can do this by creating sinking funds during the year and when summer arrives, you will have some money that you saved up to use while you are on vacation.
Use all the money saving tips you can so you have more money available to spend on things you enjoy during the summer and still reach those financial goals of yours!
6. Visit free events
Visiting free events is one of the great money saving tips on this list because you get entertainment without losing money! Awesome!
You can check out the website of your hometown to see if they organize something fun for you to attend, or even look at the towns next to yours. Some cities offer free outdoor festivals, museums, street art, comedy performances, theater, etc.
This way, you have a fun way to spend your day, bring some friends and have fun!
7. Have a staycation
Who says that you can only enjoy your vacation when you are going on a holiday? When your budget is limited, maybe this summer is the time to do a staycation!
There are plenty of people who don’t see a staycation as something less than an all-inclusive vacation in a resort in a foreign land. Some people like to stay at home and can relax even more because they don’t have to plan everything and go through the hassle of traveling abroad.
You can do almost every activity that you love to do in another country in your country. Go to the zoo one day, and have some cocktails with friends. Treat yourself to a spa day, at home, or at a wellness. Go to the beach or the mountains, or go camping in a local forest (if it’s allowed!), whichever you like most!
When you are staying home, you will save a lot of money compared to traveling abroad, because you don’t have to buy expensive plane tickets, hotel fees and maybe even more expensive food and drinks because you are staying in a highly touristic area.
8. Compare prices
Comparing yourself to others will not make you happy, but comparing prices can make you more wealthy!
Comparing prices is a great habit to form if you want to consistently save money. Another great money tip is to save the amount of money you are saving because you find a cheaper price for a savings goal or to fill up your bucket of fun spending money.
Save the difference and make faster progress towards your goals. You can compare prices from almost anything but don’t drive yourself crazy by spending all your time on it. Check out a few different sites or stores to see where you can buy the things you need for the lowest price.
9. Seasonal vegetables
By buying and eating seasonal vegetables, you can save a lot of money in any season.
It makes total sense, that vegetables are the cheapest when there are plenty of them available. So if you can, buy seasonal vegetables that are widely available during summer.
Summertime is also great for harvesting your vegetables if you have planted some in your garden. Here is a calendar for when to plant your vegetables. Eating vegetables from your backyard is truly amazing, you can’t find them any fresher.
Another great option is to go to a farmers market, where you can also find fresh seasonal vegetables for a great price and support your local community!
Here are even more tips on saving money at the grocery market if you want even more money saving tips!
10. Start a side hustle
Money saving tips don’t always have to do with frugal living and skimping on every expense. You can save more money when you make more money!
If you already live as frugal as you can, and still find that you can not save enough money, you need to focus on making more money, that’s where a side hustle comes into play.
The summer vacation might be a great to start a side hustle! You have plenty of time on your hands and the days are longer, which gives you more time and energy to get things done.
You can also start building some passive income streams to gain more money and eventually make money while you sleep!
11. Take advantage of sales
Those who have patience and can wait can take great advantage of sales periods.
Why would you pay full price when you know that you can buy them with a discount later on? Of course, some discounts are never sure, and if you really need or want something, you should get it if it fits your budget. But if you don’t need something right now, make a list and look for the items on sale!
In some countries, there are certain periods in the year when you can buy clothes and other things with discounts. You can also look for things in outlet stores or go thrift shopping to save some money.
Always keep your eyes open for sales, but don’t buy things because they are in sale and you don’t actually want or need them! This can trick you into thinking you are saving money but if it wasn’t with a discount, you wouldn’t even buy it, so no real saving there!
12. Find fun free or cheap activities to do
You can have a wonderful summer by doing almost only cheap or free activities. The company is what is most important, right?
Getting together with friends for a BBQ, having drinks by the fire, and playing some games can be tons of fun! Everyone can bring something to the party and it doesn’t have to be expensive at all!
There are also plenty of fun activities you can do by yourself. Cheap self-care activities are also nice to indulge in, in your holiday period, and get your relaxation on.
Find a new hobby, learn a new language with Duolingo, lend some books from the library, and set yourself on a park bench reading your book while the sun is shining. Wonderful!
13. Travel as cheaply as possible
Who said that traveling has to be expensive? You can make this as expensive or as cheap as you like. You can even make money traveling if you have an online business that is going strong!
You can travel by hitchhiking, but I would use a transportation with more safety guarantee. Please follow the other money saving tips that are safer!
Traveling by plane is often the most expensive, but you can save a lot of money by checking out different departure dates and hours and choosing an unpopular one to get the best price. You can also save money by booking your vacation early or going for last-minute opportunities. Renting an apartment, Airbnb, or going camping is also a lot cheaper than staying in a hotel.
You could also buy or rent an RV and travel the world with it! This one is for adventurers who love to drive and explore. You can go to many places and because you can sleep in it, you don’t need to pay for a hotel room!
14. Stop impulse buying
Impulse buying is never a good idea if you want to save money. Some money saving tips, like budgeting and stopping yourself from impulse buying are about taking control of your finances.
When you want to buy something that doesn’t include your basic living necessities, take a moment to think it over.
Don’t buy everything you want at that moment, but wait and see if you still want it in a few hours, or with bigger purchases you could sleep on it as well. Maybe the thought of you wanting this thing will leave your thoughts and guess what, you kept your money in your pocket!
15. Challenge yourself with no-spend days
This probably sounds like not such a fun challenge but hear me out! Challenging yourself to X amount of no spend-days a month can be quite fun and rewarding if you don’t make it too hard for yourself.
You can take no-spend days as strict or loose as you like it. Choose for yourself whether only spending money on essentials counts as a no-spend day or not.
Break your inner shopaholic by doing this challenge. An achievable challenge gets you motivated to reach the end goal, which is to save more money towards your real-life goals!
Summertime Money Saving Tips Conclusion
There are many tips to save some more money during summer! Apply them and see what it does for your savings and bank account!
Summertime should be all about fun, but it is more difficult to have fun whilst being financially insecure. Financial security and stability will help you enjoy your time off even more.
So get saving, spend your money on the things you truly love, and work on your financial goals at the same time!
If you need more money saving tips, go check out some other articles on my blog in the saving money category.