The summer holidays are just around the corner (6 sleeps if you ask Boo) and with it comes a holiday, a birthday and over a month to fill with activities. I view the summer holidays as a mini new year (I’ve talked about how I’ve come to love January); as the perfect time to evaluate how the goals you set back in January are doing, and check in on finances and the household budget – something as the sole earner who is a self-employed I feel is super important to stay on top of.
Here are my top budgeting tips for summer…
1. Repurpose/Recycle/Resell
It’s no secret that I’m a a big fan of minimalism – having tried the minimalist game two years ago, I’ve found a way that works for me. It’s not all about living with one cup, one chair, it’s about creating balance and peace in your home. I want my possessions to represent me not define me. I find summer is a great time to get back into it and I’ll go though things that I no longer like or perhaps that Boo has outgrown and then sell them online (a great activity to get slightly older children involved with) or donate them to charity. Even if single items only sell for a few pounds an afternoon of sorting and listing will often earn my nearly £100 which is great for helping towards new school uniform.
2. Switch Utilities
Direct debits are a wonderful convenient thing and something that make modern family life just that little bit easier when it comes to budgeting. Utilites are like any relationship, we get comfortable and before you know it, you’re been on the same tariff with the same provider for years. I was guilty of this but I make a point every yer to go through my online statements and look at usage and if other tariffs providers would be better suited to out needs and budget; it really is amazing how much you can save each month and it takes less than an hour to sort from start to finish.
3. Seasonal Meal Planning
Cooking for one adult and one child can be bit tricky sometimes, and is definitely much easier if I plan especially if I wan to avoid food wastage (one of my biggest bug bears). Meal planning is one of those family life hacks that is as simple as it is great. Long summer evenings and an extra pair of hands around during the day means it’s time to rotate your menus to keep dinnertime fresh and take advantage of seasonal produce that is often on special offer, meaning new to you dishes that continue to save you money.
We all know that life and finances don’t go to plan and no matter how hard you try to be prepared there are occasion in life when you can’t budget for everything – that’s where Cash Lady comes in, offering a short term simple financial solution; as always it’s important you discover all the terms and conditions before deciding if this is right for you.
What are you top budgeting tips? Let me know in the comments below.
Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.
