If you have school-age children, then you likely have already started hearing about the “Countdown to Summer!”
In our house, the excitement for summer truly gets to a fever pitch around this time of year!
While I do love summer, it does bring up some logistical and budgeting challenges.
For working families, there is typically the added expense of childcare, whether that is daycare or summer camps. Depending on where you live–those camp fees can quickly add up!
If you have children at home, you will likely be matching your mortgage payments with your grocery bill! HA! I am not sure what it is about the summer, but our “weekly” groceries only seem to last a few, short days.
Then, of course, many families will also want to take off on a summer vacation to make memories for years to come! So, even though the summer offers a “vacation state of mind” and room for lots of fun experiences, it can be financially stressful if you don’t plan ahead.
Today, I have put together a list of quick strategies to help you stay on track financially so that you can have a summer to remember!
Top Tips for Budget Success this Summer
1. Summer Camps and Childcare:
My best advice is to print out the calendar for the summer to plot out the time away from school. Next, start to plan for the camps or childcare that will be required.
If your child can do camps, have you compared prices to ensure you are getting the most value from the camps you have selected?
Are the rates comparable to other camps in your area?
Are there multi-sibling or multi-week discounts available?
Many towns and cities have websites with all available summer camps listed. A little bit of additional research could save you hundreds of dollars (or more!!).
Once you have selected the childcare or camps, total up the fees to see if it could be covered in your budget. If not, could you alternate weeks of camps so that your child could participate in some camps, but maybe not all? Keep reviewing until you feel comfortable with the outcome and budget.
2. Keep your Grocery Bill in Line:
The cost of food has surged over the last couple of years, and it doesn’t even surprise me to hear that a box of cereal is $6. Crazy! So it is even more important to think ahead about food preparation in the summer or your grocery bills could quickly get out of hand.
One area where people tend to overspend quite a bit is snacks! With kids grazing all day, the need for snacks is elevated! Instead of spending their college savings on fruit snacks, you could encourage your children to make snacks from scratch. With a little help from Google, they can find recipes for muffins, popsicles, brownies, and even their own fruit snacks! Making your own food and snacks drastically reduces the cost per unit, and it gives them a fun project.
You may also want to spend a bit of time on weekly food preparation so that you have food on hand, and are less tempted to head out to a restaurant. It is so tempting to continue to push the “easy” button in the summer months with restaurants and quick, frequent trips to the grocery store, so a bit of planning ahead will save you a lot of money!
3. Plan Ahead for Trips:
It is absolutely no secret that I love to travel! At all times, I have a list of places that I want to visit next. So you will not hear from me that you need to curb your vacation plans, but you will hear me say that you need to plan your vacation budget!
Many families commit to a vacation, (i.e. “Let’s go to Disney!”) and end up paying “whatever it costs” in the end. My approach will save you headaches, heartaches and marital disagreements (hopefully!).
Before I commit to a specific vacation, I will determine its budget. So let’s say your budget is $1,500 for a vacation. The next question is something like, “What would be the most fun, and the best value, for $1,500?”
Then you can start solving that question, rather than committing to a vacation that is outside your budget, forcing you to spend more than you would like!
If you have experienced financial stress in previous summers, you know how much it can weigh on you and spoil the fun.
Let me be the one to say: You can meet the challenges that are presented in the summer, but it does require a bit of planning, a bit of flexibility, and some creativity!
So what are YOUR summer plans? Hit “reply” and let me know!
