Summer is in full swing, and if your house is anything like ours sometimes it feels as if summer sucks the money right out of the front door. Between the high costs of water, air conditioning, having the kids’ home from school and everyone wanting to go places and do things it can seem as if there is never quite enough money for everyone who is demanding it. But how would you like to actually save money this summer?
I know that it may seem impossible as you are budgeting, but you really can save money by using these three simple ideas to get started saving and let yourself get creative. Why only three? Because you are busy this summer and it is easier to stick to smaller, defined goals than a broad range of tips of and ideas. Once you get started though you’ll find yourself coming up with even more ways that you can save.
Save Money on Your Energy Bills
One of the easiest ways to save the most significant amount of money this summer is to acclimate your home and family to the natural cycles of heat and humidity. The best way to do this is slowly adjust your air conditioning to higher settings during the day. Take about a week and slowly adjust your settings each day. You may find that your weather is too hot and humid to go without AC altogether, but this method can significantly reduce the amount you spend on air conditioning. In addition, try turning the AC off altogether in the evenings and use ceiling fans, floor fans, and window box fans to keep the cooler outside air circulating through the house.
Also instead of running the dryer use a clothesline and hang them outside to dry. They don’t have to be permanent or bulky structures either. Many are portable so that picky homeowner’s associations won’t have a reason to cite you. Plus, kids can help you hang and remove laundry. And while we are on the topic of sun power why not look into a solar power buyers guide and see if solar panels are feasible for you. There is nothing like paying pennies for your monthly energy bill in the summer because you powered up with the readily available sunlight!
Save Money on Your Water Bills
Water bills can be prohibitively expensive during the summer, especially if you are trying to keep your yard green and also allowing your kids to play in the sprinklers. Well, there are several ways to cut down on your water bills. First off is to reuse all of your water, and I do mean all of your water. Save the water from your baths and showers as well as your dishwater. Mind you, you’ll have to switch to biodegradable soaps and shampoos, but believe it or not, your shrubs, flowers, houseplants and even garden vegetables seem to thrive on recycled water, so don’t be shy!
Another way to save money on water is to buy a kiddie pool instead of letting your children play in the sprinkler. Buy a pool with a cover or rig a mesh cover that will prevent leaves and bugs from getting into the water so that you don’t have to refill the pool as often.
Saving Money by Skipping the Vacation
The idea of not going on a vacation can seem absolutely depressing to most people. After all, isn’t getting away from it all what summer vacations are all about? Now I’m not suggesting that you not take a vacation, but that you don’t go anywhere on your vacation. No mind you, you have to do some preparation for this kind of vacation so that you won’t slip into your usual home routine. You can choose a theme (such as a Caribbean cruise or a Tour de France) and plan your meals and activities accordingly. You can schedule a number of day trips to local attractions that will keep you out of the house. The point is to enjoy your time off without having to pay the ridiculous hotel, restaurant, and resort fees. Just using this idea alone you’ll end up with money leftover at the end of the summer; money you normally would have spent on something else.
While there are dozens of ways to save money over the summer, hopefully these three have given you a place to start so that you can get through the summer without feeling as if your budget has been sucked dry and you can head into autumn with a little jingle in your pocket.
These are such great tips! We’re working on cutting our expenses with the summer coming up and we’ll be using some of these!
Those are fabulous ideas. During the summer we try to get out of the house during the late morning/early afternoon. If we aren’t there turning on appliances and electronics, it stays cooler.
Good ideas! I wholeheartedly endorse the save ALL your water bit. I have been doing that for the six months due to the drought and the plants are doing just fine.
These are all great ideas. I definitely try to leave the house earlier in the day so the AC won’t be blasting the whole day.
I so want a clothes line for the summer laundry duty! I had one growing up, but we’ve moved too much to get one in our home. But now we have settled, it is on my wish list!
We’ll be doing a number of day trips locally to save on vacation costs. I need to work on saving water more.
I would sort of disagree on the last one :) As people say here in Norway – the one good thing about living in this country is that wherever you travel it’s going to be cheaper than here :)
Super tips! Considering solar energy for your home is a great idea, especially if you live somewhere where electricity is expensive (of course, reducing electricity consumption should come first!).