Summer Savings Tips: How To Save Money This Summer

This past month or so we’ve been highlighting savings tips for the summer, and we’ve talked about things like saving on food, saving at the movies, saving on summer travel and so much more (see the links below).

Before we end this summer savings series, however,  I thought it would be nice to highlight some of the summer savings tips that were submitted by our readers during our contest. There are some good ones here:

Summer Savings Tips From Our Readers

Here are a few of the tips our readers sent in on ways to save money this summer.

• Joey – My summer savings tip – Use coupons when buying my groceries. Every little saving makes a difference.
• The Happy Rock – Get your air conditioning unit checked and tuned up to help save on energy costs.
• otherdeb – Know that bicycle that’s been moldering against your back porch/in your attic/in your garage, etc? Get it out, get it checked over, and start using it for local errands!
• Rachel – For a cheap sun burn treatment that won’t require an extra trip to the pharmacy, freeze some of the lotion you already have on hand on a piece of tin foil. Once it’s frozen, it cools and soothes the burn and also moisturizers to ease peeling and blistering. Works great too for those who are allergic to Aloe Vera like me! Source: top10pharma.net
• Sam – Turn you thermostat up to 80 and use your ceiling fans or box fans.We also turn off the AC at night and just use our ceiling fans.
• finaidgirl – Since we’re moving 1000+ miles with a car and moving truck, I’m concentrating on more gas-friendly driving habits, like driving the speed limit or slower, braking more slowly and steadily, not idling, and paying to tune up the car before the trip to prevent any big issues from happening on the way.
• RachaelfromNJ – Sometimes items that you own just need a good cleaning and they will look like brand new. Alot of men don’t realize that their baseball caps can be cleaned, in the dishwasher. Go to any Walmart, Target, Footlock, or any store that sells hats and you can get this plastic thing to put the hat in and all you have to do is place it in the dishwasher to clean it. It will make the hat nice and clean and save your man alot of money in buying a new hat everytime it gets dirty!
• ThatOneCaveman – Vacation in or near your hometown. There are often a lot of cheap or free ways to entertain yourself – you just have to look for them. We’ll be visiting a few local museums (free entrance + free air conditioning), the zoo, the lake, and a few parks this summer – all for free!
• Cindy – I’m saving money in a number of ways this summer. The first way is riding my motorcycle to work every day it’s not raining. I use about half the gas I would in my small car.
  Some of my co-workers, who live closer than I do, are riding thier bikes to work. That’s free and they’re getting excercise to boot, a double benefit.
• Diana Corlett – Combine going green with economizing. Be inventive…come up with new ways to use and re-use. Repair what you have instead of throwing it away and buying new. Make a hobby out of garage sales…you never know what treasure you might find.
• Christin – Dry your laundry on a rack outside. This saves $$ and your clothes will last longer too!
• Mercedes – This summer I have decided to quit driving my kids around for activities and stay local. I have been lucky to have found things to do in the small town that I live. So far I love this simple summer life. I am kicking back and enjoying the nice weather without a hectic lifestyle.
• Melinda – Continue to start our summer vacation (December here) 2 weeks before summer school holidays officially begin. No crowds at the amusement parks, lower airfares & greater discounts on accommodation
• Morgan – Go on a long walk with your significant other on a nice summer evening. This is a great way to get exercise, communicate, and not spend money.
• Bunny – Use ceiling fans instead of AC. Dry your laundry outside under the sun. Go to the parks for nice family outings.
• EL – My summer savings tip is to use the community pool, if you have one. It’s a great, cheap outing for hot days, great exercise, and keeps you from using the air conditioner.
• Lauren – I’ve planted a vegetable garden to help save money at the grocery store, not only for the summer, but into the fall and winter months as well thanks to the joy that is freezing and canning!
• CelticBuffy – 1)Keep the ceiling fans going to make the house feel cooler.
  2)Close the curtains on sun-facing windows to cut down on the amount of heat coming into the house
  3) Grill out or eat “cool” evening meals as using the oven can really heat up the house.
• Mrs.Micah – My tip is to try wearing as little as possible indoors to help keep the need for a/c down. We didn’t turn ours on until mid-June when a heat wave hit DC and I found this a useful part. Of course, if you have kids what you can get away with is probably warmer than what you can if you don’t have kids. And it requires shutting the blinds/curtains, but that’s probably a good idea anyway for reducing heat in the house.
• Donna V -My husband and I have been trying to save money on our date nights this summer. We love going to the movie theater and have saved money by going on Saturday before noon when tickets are $4-5 depending on the theater.
• Shawna – My tip – hang dark-colored sheets/blankets over your windows to prevent the sun from coming in and warming it up too much inside (and prevent the AC from running too much). I take push pins and put one on each side of the window at the top, then I take binder clips and put one on each side of the blanket and hang them that way so that it is easy to take them down. The setting sun really heats up some of my rooms and I do this with success.
• Christopher – Go out and have a family day. Go to the zoo, the park, the beach, or another inexpensive place. Pack a picnic lunch to avoid the overpriced concession stands. Play games like volleyball or baseball, build a sand castle, or ride the swings.

So there you have it!  Submit your own tips in the comments below!

Money Saving Posts From The Summer Savings Series

• Food is a big expense. How can you save?
• Fun Frugal Ices With Your Child
• Save like you’re paying off a high-interest debt
• Our Disney World Vacation
• Saving at the movies this summer
• New York State Empire Passport
• Military Discounts
• 10 Money Saving Vacation Tips
• Freeze Your Air Conditioning Costs

Have your tips?  Leave a comment with your tip, or a link to your post!