Soak Up the Fun, Not the Costs: Smart Spending This Summer

Jessica Quindlen: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Sound Cents podcast. I'm Jessica Quinlan. Today we're discussing summer budgeting. I have with us Katie Griffin, our Supervisor of Community Education. Hello, Katie.

Katie Griffin: Hello.

Jessica Quindlen: And Stephanie Hayes Levi, our Community Outreach Specialist. Hello Stephanie.

Stephanie Hayes Levi: Hi.

Jessica Quindlen: And welcome Stephanie. This is your first one. I'm so excited to have you.

Stephanie Hayes Levi: Excited to be here.

Jessica Quindlen: Alright, let's dive right in. Why is it so easy to overspend during the summer months?

Katie Griffin: I think a lot of us tend to stay indoors a bit more like during the winter months, so when the weather starts getting a little bit nicer, we want to get out and have fun.

For me personally, warm sunshine automatically means spending money because I'm just out doing more things. I want to be outside; I want to soak up the sun and just have a good time. A lot of that's typically paired with things that actually cost money, like different expenses and things.

So, I might want to have a meal out on a patio or get an ice cream cone or go to a baseball game. My friends want to hang out more. [00:01:00] There's more social activities, amusement parks, water parks. All of the things happen in the summertime and a lot of these things do cost money, so it's easy to overspend.

And I think there also tends to be a carefree treat yourself attitude in the summer months, so that can contribute to spending a little bit more as well. A lot of us are taking our main vacations in the summertime as well. And those are additional expenses that we weren't accounting for the rest of the year.

Jessica Quindlen: Yes. I super, super relate to this. I also think, kids are home, and I know mine's home already and that's more food and more activities and more things to do. So, for anybody who's also a parent, there's all that fun money.

Alright, so Stephanie, what are some simple ways to plan a summer budget without feeling restricted? I want to have fun this summer. I want to enjoy things with my daughter, but I also don't want August or September to come and I have negative money.

Stephanie Hayes Levi: Great question. One thing that's [00:02:00] worked for me is turning a “no spend habit” into something that actually feels rewarding. So a “no spend habit,” what does that mean? In January of this year, I started this no spend bucket.

Every day I didn't spend money on things that I really didn't need, like coffee or eating out, I put a little bit of money into this extra savings share within my online banking, and I put "no spend." It was just a way for me, every time I'm spending my money purposefully, to reward myself.

So, what I'm going to do for the summer is just switch that title. Instead of just saying “no spend,” which kind of looks and feels restrictive, I change it to “summer fun.” So, every time that I'm thinking about spending extra money on little things that I don't need here and there, I can be putting money aside and giving it to my future self to spend on some of those spontaneous trips or maybe going out to eat with friends or something like that.

Jessica Quindlen: Oh, I love that. That's such a good idea. And I like the idea of changing the name because I know no spend for me would just feel sad and restrictive, but summer fun, I'm like, “oh, I want to do [00:03:00] that.” That sounds fun.

Alright, so are there specific categories people should include or adjust in their summer budget as opposed to their annual budget they've been thinking about?

Katie Griffin: Yes, absolutely. Having a budget in the summer is just as important as having a budget the rest of the year. And you could potentially argue that it's even more important because there are so many added temptations in the summertime, and it could be a lot easier to overspend.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of folks are taking their main vacation in the summertime, and that is a factor we want to include in our summer budget. If we're buying plane tickets, or paying for extra gas for driving or accommodations, and whatever that trip is, planning it out so it's part of your budget and doesn't turn into something that's totally throwing everything off track is so important.

Don't forget about the souvenirs. We always buy some extra things when we go on these trips. So, factor all of that in.

Aside from budgeting for a vacation, you also want to consider your food budget. If kids are at home for the summer, you might be spending a little bit [00:04:00] extra on food because they're going to be around the house more.

Or you may need to pay for summer camp or some type of daycare, so that's a different piece of the budget you might not have the rest of the year. Other factors like utilities may look a little bit different, so you want to factor that in. Or if you're spending more on water to water the lawn or garden, whatever like your summer hobbies are that don't take place the rest of the year, those can cost a little more as well.

Overall, same types of categories as the rest of the year, but maybe some extra ones, like that vacationing or extra utilities or kids, things like that.

Jessica Quindlen: Great. So, what are your favorite, affordable – or my favorite price, free – summer activities that people might overlook?

Stephanie Hayes Levi: I'll jump in here. I was talking to Katie earlier about this phrase, “go fly a kite.” Have we heard this before? I had not.

Jessica Quindlen: Not as a phrase. I'm sure someone had told me to fly a kite at some point, but okay, go fly a kite.

Stephanie Hayes Levi: Right? So sometimes people say, “go fly a kite.” I [00:05:00] took that literally. My husband really enjoys flying a kite, and I thought it was funny and silly at first, but now we find ourselves walking down to the park with our dog.

He flies the kite on a nice breezy day. I turn on, Denver's DIA air traffic controller station and we listen to the planes come in, set up a little picnic, and it is so calming and peaceful. It sounds silly, but I just really encourage everyone to just find your little slice of peace.

Whatever brings you calming and peace and that is free and affordable and do that. If you enjoy hiking, if you enjoy off-roading – or whatever that may look like for the summer – find your slice of peace and really lean into it. We have 300 plus days of sun here in Colorado, so go use it and enjoy it.

Jessica Quindlen: I love that. Playgrounds too are great for the kiddos. Also, I was today years old that I knew that DIA had an air traffic control station you could listen to, so I made a note of that because I'm fascinated by this.

Stephanie Hayes Levi: We always [00:06:00] try to guess where we think they're going, or where/when they're landing. I don't know. There's something so peaceful about it.

Jessica Quindlen: No, that's great. That's so interesting. All right, that's good to know.

How can families or friend groups plan trips or activities together without putting pressure on anyone else's finances?

Katie Griffin: Communication is going to be so important with this one. We must have these conversations about what we're comfortable with spending.

So, I have a couple different friend groups that will go on trips together, and the very first conversation we have is, what is everybody's budget for accommodations. Typically, if we're going as a group, we might get an Airbnb or something like that, so we're all pitching in on where we're staying and that has to be the first conversation.

What is everybody comfortable with? Then we know how much we can spend. Then we'll narrow a search down within those parameters so we're not looking for something and it ends up being super expensive and then folks don't feel comfortable and all that. So that communication piece is going to be really important.

No [00:07:00] pressure, no judgment. and then, you can go from there. And then we'll also keep a spreadsheet of any expenses. If we're all sharing food, for example, we will keep a spreadsheet of how much all of that costs, so it's not just one person that's buying all the groceries for everybody.

And then at the end of the trip, we go through the spreadsheet and divide up all the expenses, so everyone is paying their fair share and it doesn't all land on one person's shoulders.

That's with friend groups, but traveling with family is the same thing. That communication piece is really important. Being realistic, maybe making some compromises. And then with that translates also into doing different activities.

My friend Steph here, for example, the other month she was getting a group together to go see a play in Denver, and she had picked out some seats that she thought were going to be really great, but it was a little bit more money than I wanted to spend.

So, I just told her. I was very honest about it being more money than I wanted to spend. And I was prepared to just not go. So that might be something that you have to be ready for. Saying I'm just not going to [00:08:00] participate in this. But then Steph came back, found some other seats, and we made that compromise, so we're going not spending as much money.

Jessica Quindlen: That's great. I love that.

This question, I will admit, is very much for me, but I'm sure there are others out there. How do you recommend people avoid impulse spending, while still enjoying the spontaneity of summer?

Stephanie Hayes Levi: This is tough because yes, summer just feels spontaneous, right? A friend calls you up, let's go out to eat, grab drinks, do this, the sun is out. Let's do it.

Katie is at a concert maybe once or twice a week. Things kind of pop up, but really what's helped is creating that cushion. I know I talked to that “no spend fund,” but using that envelope method to create that separate budget for those summer fun things, but give yourself a little bit more cushion knowing that, “hey, I want to say yes to more things.”

I'm lucky. My husband is a great cook, so I don't eat out all that much, but I know in the summertime I'm probably going to say yes a little bit more than [00:09:00] usual, right? I just make sure I'm padding up any extra money that I have instead of thinking about, “oh, what can I buy for the house?” or extra things here. I'm putting it in that summer budget because I really don't want to be grabbing out of my emergency fund or other areas of my savings just to go out and have fun with my friend Katie here.

Jessica Quindlen: All right, so we've touched on this a bit, but for parents, how can you keep kids entertained on a budget when they're not in school.

Katie Griffin: I think it's important to keep in mind that you don't have to spend a ton of money to make good memories. Some of the best memories don't cost a thing. Some of my favorite memories growing up in the summertime was my dad would take me to the state park, and we would just walk around and look at all the different trees and those are some of my core memories. And that didn't cost anything at all. We just drove to the park and took a walk.

So just keeping that in mind but also knowing there's lots of other resources available. The library, for example, is a phenomenal resource [00:10:00] not only with like books and games and stuff like that, but in the summertime, they'll have special tickets for museums or different amusement parks or water parks.

It could be free tickets, or it could be heavily discounted tickets. So, checking out that resource as well. And then, some places like museums will do free days on certain days in the summer.

You can also get into making a scavenger hunt, or different DIY crafts or projects. I know I'm not a parent myself, so I'm certain that this is a lot easier said than done but just try not to put that pressure on yourself, that you have to spend a lot of money to make memories with your kid.

Jessica Quindlen: No, I agree, and I love that. Also, before I was a parent, I always thought libraries had to be quiet, but so many libraries now have kids sections where they can be louder. So don't be afraid because you have children and they're not quiet. They have so much to do there.

And I agree, there's so much pressure. I know I feel that all the time, but it's true. Most of my core memories as a kid are not those super expensive, [00:11:00] lavish things that we did. And frankly, boredom is also not going to destroy them, so you don't need to entertain them every five minutes a day.

I'm saying this to y'all to say it to myself, but truly, there's nothing wrong with being a little bored. You will create something. That's where imagination comes from.

Katie Griffin: I definitely had imaginary friend. And we had the best time, right?

Jessica Quindlen: Nothing wrong with that. And your parents spent $0 on that imaginary friend. Alright, what's one small financial habit that can help people enjoy summer without future regret?

Stephanie Hayes Levi: Sure. One small habit that's really helped me keep on track is a Sunday checkup. I look at my little social calendar and see what I have coming up in the week and see what I want to say yes to and what I can say yes to.

And then I take a look at my account and see how I'm doing with spending. It's not a huge deep dive. I'm not spending a lot of time going through spreadsheets, I'm just spending 10 minutes to look in my account and see if I'm comfortable where I'm at so I can pre-plan those spontaneous outings, if that makes sense.

But that's what [00:12:00] really helps me stay on track because I'm a big organizer planner once I get started, but then, as the weeks trickle on, I move away from that a little bit. So just reminding myself once a week, take a peek, see where I'm at, and make sure I'm creating space and time to have some fun.

Jessica Quindlen: That's great. Well, that brings us to the end of our show, Katie. Stephanie, thanks so much for being here. It was wonderful having you.

Katie Griffin: Thank you. Happy Summer.

 Jessica Quindlen: And now for our segment brought to you by Dave Logan, the iconic voice of the Denver Broncos.

Dave Logan:  Hi, this is Dave Logan, and it's time for your 2 Minute Money Drill. A quick tip to help you make smart money moves fast. Whether you're planning to save or looking for ways to get ahead, here's a financial play you can put into action right now.

 If you struggle with overspending, try using cash for your discretionary purchases. When you've only got a set amount in your wallet, you're less likely to go overboard. It's an easy way to stay in control of your budget.

Jessica Quindlen: Thank you for listening to Sound Cents from Ent Credit Union. Be sure to follow our podcast as well as rate and review us. I'm Jessica Quindlen. I will see you next month. Same time, same place. [00:11:00]