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A lot of people put money aside all year to save up for the winter holidays, but what happens when Christmas comes in July? Between vacations, summer camps, and preparations for back-to-school starting earlier every year, you might have noticed your checking account shrinks once summer hits. One way to help cushion the blow is to start squirreling away a little cash each month starting the previous September, making sure this money stays separate from Christmas money and is untouchable. You don’t have to stow away large stashes of cash; just a few bucks here and there can start to add up as the year progresses.
Another thing you can do to try to ease the strain as summer approaches is to keep an eye out for online deals and coupons. This is a great idea, especially when you’re shopping for your kids. As they get older, all that baby gear you might have had to haul around has just been replaced with other “stuff”, like larger-sized towels for the pool, bigger-sized “toys” (skim boards, kites, rafts, etc.) for the beach, and multiple changes of outfits for the vacation trips.
The best time to start looking for deals is right around the time school gets out so that you can make sure coupons won’t expire too soon. If you’re on the lookout for beach gear for yourself and your kids, you can find great bargains right now, like one at Kohl’s that will allow you to save 15% off any order of $100 or more + free shipping. By the time you buy all of your swimsuits, towels, pool toys, hats, flip flops, etc., you will easily hit that $100 mark, and the savings just multiply! Plus, having the free shipping saves SO much time by being able to shop online instead of venturing out to the store in the heat of the day.
By the time August rolls around with back-to-school clothes and supply shopping, hopefully you’ll be prepared with more great coupons, bargains, and deals to help make it through to the next round of expenses.
Do you find your expenses growing the closer it gets to summer break? What are some of your tricks for saving money while the kids are out of school?
I make sure that I am signed up for savings sites like Living Social and Groupon. I take advantage of savings that involve discounts for the kids (I have 3).