How We Saved Money the Month of June

With every passing year I find that our budget seems to become more stretched during the summer months. When the kids were little, I was able to find LOTS of free or low cost activities, but as they have become older, their activities have become much more expensive. Although we love helping our children enjoy their summer, there is only so much we can do financially, so we encourage our children to get a job if they want to have more spending money. Our youngest recently started their first job, so we currently have all 6 of us working. Needless to say, it has already been a very busy summer but, with all our kids having their own jobs, they have their own spending money for wants, which definitely takes some pressure off us.

As I am driving more, I make sure that I do whatever little errand that needs to be completed around work pick-ups and drop-offs. (we live too far away for those not driving to walk or bike to work and way to dangerous).

I keep cooler bags in the van in case I have some time to kill and I can make a run to the grocery store. I don’t want the food going bad before it even gets home.

I keep a bag of things I can do in the van. Because I spend time waiting for people, I want to make sure I can keep myself occupied and not feel compelled to wait at a nearby store. I also keep a drink with me at all times so I do not feel the need to head to a drive-thru.

For Father’s Day the kiddos and I all pitched in together to purchase snack basket for Mr. SF to keep at work. This not only was practical but a money saver for him.

We mentioned that we were in need of a bed and a nightstand and a family member happened to have both in very good condition that they were no longer using. Sometimes it just takes mentioning needs and others are more than willing to help out.

We made sure to open the windows when the temperature went below an acceptable level for us to bring all the cooler air into the house and shut them early before the house began to heat back up. This definitely saved us money from running the air conditioning all night long.

We took part in our community’s tox drop, which takes place once a year in our small town. Our local solid waste district runs this event to help keep medications, chemicals, and other toxins from going to the landfill and polluting our environment. It’s free for most items which saves us from having to pay for proper disposal.

We took a week off from going to the grocery store by eating creatively out of our pantry and freezer. This allowed us to send all the extra money straight to debt.

We always love to hear from you! If you have had any money wins this month, please share and let us celebrate with you!