While it seemed like the time would never come when the weather finally warmed up and the snow is out of the picture for good, spring is upon us and pretty soon we’ll be well into summer. Now is a good time to crack open the windows, give the house a fresh cleaning, and start to clear space from the basement, garage, not to mention put those extra clothes from your closet you no longer wear into a donate pile. Your calendar is probably filling up by the day so you can probably expect your spending to spike as you are adding activities on top of your already busy social routine. Looking for ways to save during the busy summer months can help free up extra money so your budget will not fall out of whack.
Rent Tools and Party Supplies
Probably the first on your list is to get the yard ready, and that could mean building new portions of your landscape, sanding your deck to get ready to stain, or trimming branches to clean up trees while gaining extra firewood. The tools required are probably only used once a year so it could make sense to rent for a fraction of the price. In addition, you can probably expect the summer parties to increase, so renting tents, tables, and chairs are fairly cheap compared to buying, not to mention you don’t have to find a place to store them when you’re not using.
Keep Up with Your Home’s Efficiency
While it probably should have been done in the winter as well, but if this is the first you’ve giving your home a walk around, it’s a good opportunity to check for cracks around windows and doors that can allow drafts to enter your home (not to mention cooler air to escape outside). This can trim your electric bill down by the A/C not having to run as often, while in the winter keep the colder air out and avoiding your furnace kicking on every few minutes.
Take Advantage of the Programmable Thermostat
If you’re not home during the day there is no point to keep it as cool as you would while you’re there, let alone forgetting to change the temperate from when you were sleeping, before you’re out the door to work. By setting your programmable thermostat you can avoid forgetting to change, that way you can keep it just cool enough to keep the pets happy, while adjusting to have it cool down by the time you come from work, and even cooler when trying to sleep. Using this method instead of keeping a consistent temperature can save off your utility bills each month.
Cook Outside
Since you have put all this work into keeping your landscaping up, why not take advantage of the few months a year you can really enjoy and entertain outside. By firing up the BBQ you can avoid any spikes in temperatures inside, so it actually saves you money by cooking outside (and not going out to eat). Have friends over for drinks before you go to the bar to save on a few rounds and make your place the gathering spot with friends and family, where you get to pick the music as well.
Cut the Cable Cord
With all this time you are spending outside, you can probably leave the TV off, and enjoy the later days of sunshine without wasting money on the channels you don’t watch anyways. For those night where you do want to stay in and relax on the couch, you can get a streaming service for around $10 a month where the quality is actually pretty good and has all of the best shows and documentaries. Who knows, you may even get used to not having cable anymore you can continue to save that hundred dollars every month and use to build your emergency fund or extra savings for retirement.
Ditch the Gym Membership
Since it’s now nice out, use this to take the dog for a walk every day and ditch the gym membership for some free exercise. Put the headphones on, unwind, and have a little bonding time with your best friends as you walk around the block. After all, since the period of new year’s resolutions start to die down, there’s a pretty good chance that by now you are paying for a membership without going anyways, so you can do yourself a save $50 a month that you were essentially throwing away in the first place.