It feels like an oven outside, and it doesn’t seem to even matter where you are in the country. This summer is just plain hot, and heat waves are happening all over the place.
I’ve heard the term ‘heat wave’ being used this summer and I’ve been wondering what exactly constitutes a heat wave? What’s interesting about the term ‘heat wave’ is that there’s no universal definition for the phrase; it’s really a matter of relativity. Put simply, it’s just a long period of higher than normal temperatures.
Since my mind is always relating things to financial matters, I got to thinking about how our finances can experience ‘heat waves’ every now and then. I guess a ‘financial heat wave’ would be a long period of higher than normal spending – which seems easier to do in the summer, at least from my experience.
As a way to beat the heat while keeping our spending under control, my wife and I have come up with a few activities that are pretty enjoyable to do when it’s scorching hot outside.
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1. Go To A Lake
Our new favorite place to go for a few hours is the lake near our new house. We’ll take the dog and let her swim and they even rent out canoes and paddleboats for half price when you go in the morning.
2. Basement Movie Night
Our basement stays cooler than the rest of the house, so it’s the perfect place to sit back and start a movie. With the rise in Nexflix prices, you might just rent a Redbox movie and pop some popcorn for a cheap, cool night. If you have kids, make it different by pitching some tents or having a theme for the night.
3. Fire Up The Sprinklers!
Ditch the waterpark and create your own slip and slide. Make some homemade popsicles and let your kids (or dog for us) run around in the sprinkler to stay cool. If you have kids, get some water balloons going and have water fight.
4. Check Out A Museum
If you’ve been cooped up in your house and want to get out and about, check out a museum, library, or mall. You can take advantage of their A/C and spend the day doing something enjoyable.
5. Head To The Pool
If you’ve run out of things to do indoors, you can make your way to the local pool. Make up a lunch for a picnic, bring a Frisbee or basketball, and enjoy the pool and park without spending more than you want this summer.
There are all sorts of things that you can do to enjoy the summer without breaking your budget. Don’t let a little heat wave keep you from having fun!
What are some inexpensive summer activities that you and your family like to do?
You’ve got some good ones there that we do quite a bit when it’s hot out – heading to the pool, going to the lake and staying in our cool(er) basement. I think the idea is to either stay wet or to stay inside in the air conditioned comfort. :)
We’ve been doing a lot of the basement movie nights lately as that’s where our home theater is setup anyway. It is quite often 10-15 degrees cooler in the basement, and much more comfortable to hang out down there.
Another thing we’ll do on especially hot days is head out to the mall. Even if we don’t spend any money it can be fund to just walk around -and enjoy the cool air. Of course if you’ve got a spending problem, that could be one to avoid.
Berry picking on a local island. Get some cheap organic berries. Work up a sweat and then hop in the river to cool off. Perfection!
Or just laying on a blanket in the park reading. Sunny or shade works for me.
Tim,
Great ideas. In South Carolina the temperatures have been pushing over 100 degrees now and the heat index is a killer. When we bought our house it came with a pool (from the previous owners) and it has been one of the greatest investments we have seen. Instead of driving to the beach, our children are content with living in the pool all week.
We are planning on selling our house in a few years and we have already discussed the idea of getting a pool for our next house.
Just my additional thought,
Chris Gallagher
Speaker/Personal Development Coach/Idea Generator
I’d say “hit the mall”, but that never ends well – from a financial standpoint…