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Each month, NerdWallet suggests one wallet win to help you feel more confident about your money. We focused on money-saving strategies the past two months. For May, we’re switching gears to talk summer spending.
Why make summer plans now?
If you’re anything like me, the expenses don’t stop at travel. My summer usually also involves sorting out childcare, preparing for multiple birthday celebrations and tackling back-to-school shopping.
Maybe you’ll host a Fourth of July party, or pack your calendar with concerts and sporting events.
What’s motivating me: In January, I was proud of myself for getting a head start on arranging my son’s summer activities. I booked him a week at one of the most popular (and expensive) camps in our neighborhood.
I fully intended to keep the momentum going, but life — and, honestly, laziness — got the better of me. It’s nearly four months later, and I still have *checks notes* nine weeks of the school break to fill. The longer I wait, the less time there is to spread out the cost.
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Time required: Less than an hour to start. Chipping away at your plans may take a few hours, days or weeks depending on how elaborate they are.
We decided to prioritize summer camp planning because it’s the heaviest lift. Another parent emailed me and a few others about coordinating camps for our kids. My husband and I started looking into the suggested locations, compared costs and bookmarked a couple of options in our price range.
Researching vacation destinations and camps, and coordinating schedules with relatives and fellow parents is a work in progress. I expect it’ll take about a week to tie everything up.
What worked: Getting the details in place for some of our larger expenses was a huge relief. I have a solid understanding of how much we can comfortably spend between now and the end of summer, and a few less items on my to-do list.
The most valuable part of this challenge was reminding myself how much spending we’re about to do. It motivated me to look for expenses to trim to offset costs. We’ll limit takeout orders for the next month while we pad our savings — that could easily free up $200 or more.
What didn’t work: As much as I wanted to wrap up planning quickly, it’s going to take time. I’m an overthinker, for one, and the parent email thread has moved at a glacial pace.
How you can try it yourself
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🚘 Revisit the plans you’ve made. Consider whether you need to adjust for any changes in your life, or the world. Gas prices may have you rethinking that cross-country roadtrip.
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📱 Check your savings, income and expenses. Knowing how much money you have coming and going can help you make a budget that won’t strain your finances. NerdWallet’s app is one tool you can use to check your cash flow on a regular basis.
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💰 Price out your plans. Estimate the costs of summer purchases you expect to make — and not just the obvious stuff like airfare or music festival tickets. How much might you spend on restaurant meals during vacation? Are property taxes or car insurance premiums due?
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⏰ Give yourself a timeline. Plans and budgets can fall apart if you wait too long. Schedule savings contributions and set booking and buying deadlines. Get other participants involved as early as possible so you can lock down dates and reservations.
