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Home › Articles › Family › Advice for a Frugal Summer

Advice for a Frugal Summer

9 Tips for a Financially Sane Summer

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  • Strapped for cash? Dream up creative vacation alternatives. For instance, you can "vacation at home" by spending a week exploring fun, kid-friendly destinations – zoos, museums, gemstone mines – within easy driving distance of your home. Or spend a few nights camping in a local wilderness spot. (Assuming you already have the tents, sleeping bags and other gear, that is; otherwise you'll spend a fortune on your "roughing it" adventure!) Or visit relatives you rarely see who have an unfamiliar lifestyle – if you're a "city mouse" family, spend a few days on the farm with Great Aunt Bertha. "The point is, you can find endless fun and educational activities that don't require a major outlay of money," Tyson says. "Use your imagination."
  • Skip the expensive summer camp. It's easy to see why summer camps are popular: Kids get to spend weeks on end swimming and playing sports. Unfortunately, these adventures can cost thousands of dollars, and especially if you have more than one child, can be costly. If summer camp is a "must" for your kids, seek out the more affordable ones run by nonprofit organizations or churches, Tyson says. But don't assume your kids have to go to summer camp at all. "If you think about it, this is the time of year families should be together," he says. "The kids are out of school; they don't have homework to take up their time; the weather is nice – wouldn't it be better to spend that time doing fun things as a family?"
  • Don't rule out "summer jobs" for your kids. If you're worried that, in the absence of summer camp, your kids will spend their summer lounging in front of the TV and computer and playing video games, put them to work. No, seriously, Tyson says. In addition to their regular chores, give your kids summer projects to complete, such as painting their rooms (under your supervision, of course) or designing, planting and maintaining a flower garden in the yard. Or volunteer them to walk an elderly neighbor's dog or (if they're old enough) cut her lawn. "Working is good for kids," Tyson says. "You can pay them a modest allowance for their labor, which helps them learn financial responsibility."

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