Who doesn’t love summer days? With the sun out and rising temperatures, we tend to feel relaxed and joyful. But this can mean spending more as we’re more likely to meet up with friends, go out with the kids, and organise getaways. A recent report found that half of Brits splash the cash during the sunny season – an estimated £1541 more each month than during the winter. However, even if you’re spending more, you should keep up with your regular saving habits over the summer months to keep your finances on track. Here are some nifty tips so that you can keep saving without sacrificing your summer fun.
1: Eastern Daily Press, Mar 2018 - https://www.edp24.co.uk/business/do-you-spend-more-money-in-the-summer-british-summer-time-noddle-1-5455338
Turn off the air conditioning
If you’re lucky enough to have air conditioning at home, don’t let it run all day, since it will typically cost you around £3572 per month (£0.492 per hour)! If you want to drive your energy bill down, try to turn it off during the night and open your windows to let air in, or set the timer, so it only works during specific times.
2: https://www.confusedaboutenergy.co.uk/index.php/cooling-and-humidity-control/air-conditioning
Let your laundry dry outside
Why use your tumble dryer when you can just hang up your laundry in your garden and let it dry? The sun and warm summer breeze will be far more efficient, plus it’s environmentally friendly and cheaper than your dryer! If you don’t have the space to hang up your clothes outside, put them by the windows or buy a clothes horse for just a few pounds, and they will be dry in just a few hours. Our Blog; 10 ways to help the environment and your finances, has some great tips on how you could become a bit more greener to help the environment and also bank balance.
Review your summer wardrobe
During the summer, we can feel the need to splash out on a new wardrobe. But before giving in to the shopping temptation, you should have a look at the summer clothes you already own. Surely, you can wear the pieces you still like and sell those which are just sitting at the back of your wardrobe. If you really can’t resist the urge of purchasing new clothing items, then hit the sales.
Enjoy the great outdoors
Take advantage of the longer days by turning off the TV and spending more time outside. You could go for a walk, a bike ride, or a picnic in the park or the beach. Not only do you get some fresh air, but you would also save on your energy bill.
Pause your gym membership
Why not make the most of the sun and exercise outside? Going to the gym costs on average £473 a month, meaning you could save around £141 if you were to pause your membership for 3 months. Instead, you could go for a run, do some yoga in the park, or join a free Park Run.
3: Mirror, Jan 2017 - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brits-wasting-558m-unused-gym-9679158
Find free fun
Having fun this summer doesn’t have to cost a fortune, in fact you can do many exciting things for free! For example, you could head to the nearest beach or park with your friends and family and enjoy the company. Also, don’t forget to do some research online to find free events, like festivals and concerts, in your area. You could check your local council website to see what’s happening nearby or join local Facebook groups to find out what others are up to.
Keep your saving and investing journey on track
Don’t let your saving habits slip over summer. With the sunny weather making you more prone to spending money, you need to be all the more vigilant with your finances this season. Keep up your good habits: plan your expenses, budget and keep some money aside in your savings account or investment plan. Missing out on even a couple of payments could be costly over the long run. For example, if you’re regularly investing £100 per month and you have a break over summer, you might potentially miss out on compounding. Let’s imagine you don’t invest between June and August for 10 years. With a hypothetical yearly return rate of 4.8%*, you could potentially end up with approximately £11,512. But if you hadn’t stopped topping up your investment plan over the summer, you could have made around £15,339.
*Return based on Wealthify Adventurous Plan – projected value over 10 years from July 2018 to July 2028.
The projected values in this blog show possible future values for an Adventurous Plan. These are only forecasts and not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Please remember the value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you could get back less than invested.
