5 Summer Expenses You Could Eliminate Now and Save Thousands of Dollars

Summer is the season of travel, fun in the sun, adventure — and spending. Americans plan to spend an average of $1,600 on activities such as dining out and traveling from June through August 2024, according to a new survey from BadCredit.org. About one-quarter (26%) plan to spend more this summer than last summer.

That’s the case even though more than one-third of respondents (34%) don’t feel financially secure enough to enjoy summer activities this year. Nearly one-in-six (14%) believe they’ll go into debt because of the cost of summer social activities.

If you fall into the latter category, there’s no need to put yourself in a financial hole just because you have a fear of missing out on summer fun. Sunshine and warm weather are free, and there are plenty of ways you can enjoy both without breaking the bank.

The average three-day vacation cost for a family of four came to about $3,609 as recently as 2022, according to a Forbes survey released last year. That total included flights, lodging, car rentals and restaurant meals. That was just the average, too. If you want a high-end experience, you might spend twice as much.

Eliminating expensive summer vacations from your budget can save you thousands of dollars that are better spent elsewhere. You can save a lot of money by driving rather than flying. Staying with family and friends will cut out the hotel bill, and you can offer to take them out to dinner as a way of saying thanks.

There are plenty of reasons you might want to dine out more often during the summer, ranging from being in a festive mood to avoiding hot kitchens. But if you spend $100 or more a week dining out, that alone might cost you $1,200 or more over the course of the summer.

Cooking at home saves money not just on meals but also on tips and parking.

The average cost of a summer camp can range as high as $500 a week for a day camp, $1,000 a week for a specialty camp and $2,000 a week for a sleepaway camp, according to the TrustedCare website.

If you want your kids to enjoy a summer experience that involves the outdoors, take them to local, state or national parks in the area. Better yet, you can have your own family camp experience by going on a camping trip where you can enjoy activities like hiking, fishing, canoeing or swimming.

If you hire a contractor to cut the grass and take care of other yard chores over the summer, you probably pay hundreds of dollars over the full season. If you have the physical ability to do so — or kids who have the ability to do so — you can save a lot of money by doing the work yourself.

Given the increasingly intense heat waves that have hit the United States in recent years, it’s understandable if you want to crank the A/C up as high as possible. But doing so also cranks up your energy bill. You can cut your energy bill considerably over the summer by taking some of these steps:

• Set your thermostat so that it maintains a set temperature rather than turning on and off frequently.
• Close your curtains during the hottest part of the day to keep rooms cooler.
• Use fans in rooms you spend a lot of time in to help cool the air.
• Seal leaks that allow warm air inside, such as around windows and doors.