By Daynelys Palenzuela
Certified Personal Finance Counselor, Debthelper.com
1. Turn off the A/C. Let’s not get carried away now, we don’t want you to suffer through the agonizing heat, but you should definitely take into consideration the weather so that you can save money and be efficient as well. Summer is a great time to turn off the air, and open the windows and let the summer breeze cool your home.
2. Replace your A/C filters. A dirty filter can and will increase cooling costs, which are traditionally much higher during the summer. The airflow in the filter can be blocked by particles; this will in turn cause your A/C unit to work harder, running longer, and increasing your monthly electric bill.
3. Check out the local attractions. Why go the extra distance, when you can take a “stay-cation” and explore your city. If nothing interests you locally, try finding out what there is the neighboring towns. With a little proactive research, free activities like outdoor movie nights, museum days, and much more are a short drive away.
4. Have a BBQ. Let’s admit it, summer really isn’t truly summer unless you have a BBQ here and there. However, sometimes these can be very pricy. But no fear, this doesn’t always have to be the case. Check out what Financial Highway has to say for more information on a Frugal Summer BBQ: 7 Money Saving Tips for BBQ
5. Start budgeting now for “End of Summer” expenses. If you have kids, the end of summer is usually very expensive, as it requires new clothes for school as well as a list of requirements (pencils, papers, etc). So now is the perfect time to start saving some money in your budget for these expenses now, so they won’t hurt your pocket so much later. Once you start budgeting, it will only get easier to keep the momentum going and save for other things, like the Holidays.
6. If you do choose to travel, check this out! Make sure you click the following link for a very useful article posted by USA Today, with 10 tricks for saving on summer airfare.
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