How to Save Money this Summer

With summer here, you can still find ways to save money this summer. Having a budget is smart in the summer months, as more families go on vacation.

Many people don’t think they can save money during the summer months. From long days at the pool and delicious BBQ food to fun vacations and concerts in the park, most people look forward to summer each year because it means warm weather and lots of outdoor fun.

That being said, summer months can be some of the most costly for your budget. With so many opportunities to spend more, that doesn’t mean you need to save less.

It’s important not to forget about your money goals especially if you want to build an emergency fund, cut your grocery bill, pay off some medical bills, or save up for your next trip.

Over the course of a year, I made over $4,500 in side hustles, which much of my income coming from the summer.If you’re looking to save more money, these 7 ideas will help you out.

Here are seven ways to save money this summer

Save on regular household supplies and expenses with these apps and websites.

Shipt

Purchasing groceries regularly is a must, but the amount of time it takes to grocery shop tends to add up quite a bit.

This is why I recommend trying out Shipt so you can save money and time.

I have been using Shipt for almost two years now. I am always short on time, and I use Shipt to get my groceries and items from Target.

Depending on where you live, Shipt will shop at your local grocery stores, Target and pharmacies.

Shipt allows you to use their app or website and shop online for groceries, pet supplies, health and beauty items and more from your favorite brands.

Then you pick the time you would like your items delivered. A Shipt shopper will text you and let you know when they start shopping for your order, if any items are out of stock and when your items will be delivered.

Because of my relationship with Shipt, you can become a member for just $49 (regularly $99), and enjoy a full year of unlimited delivery service.

On average, most people who use this service save eight hours per month of time, which is crazy. What would do with an extra eight hours of time per month as well as saving gas money?

Here is a $50 credit when you sign up with Shipt. 

Ibotta & Other Grocery Apps

If you prefer to do your shopping in person, Ibotta is a free app you can use to save money and earn rebates on groceries, beer and wine, pharmacy items, and more.

Before you go shopping, you’ll need to check Ibotta to see which items have rebates and cash back offers. Then, buy the featured products you need at the store.

Afterward, you can redeem your rebates by taking a photo of your receipt and earn some cash back.

I earn around $20 per month with Ibotta and I’m letting the cash rollover each month so I can use it to help pay for Christmas presents during the holiday season.

Sign up for free and get $10 here with Ibotta.

Another app similar to Ibotta is Fetch, but instead of getting cash back, you get points for each receipt you scan, no matter what you buy. You can get 2,000 bonus points just by signing up with this link.

Boxed

Thanks to my mom’s recent recommendation, I recently tried out Boxed and loved it. She likes to use Boxed when ordering cleaning supplies, household items, personal care and buying in bulk.

Boxed also offers groceries, beverages, wine, school supplies and home decor.

This is not a membership site, so you just order when needed. Boxed also has super cute packaging, which makes getting cleaning supplies in the mail a bit more fun!

Get a $15 credit here.

Amazon Prime

I have been using Amazon Prime for years now and it’s super convenient. If you don’t have a membership, I recommend getting one as it pays for itself pretty quickly.

Outside of getting same day delivery, I use Amazon Prime to watch most of my TV shows and movies. Since I don’t have cable, which can cost over $100 per month, I consider having the tv and movie options with Amazon Prime a major perk!

Start a free 30 day trial here.

Earn Cash Back and Score Discounts When Shopping Online

Everyone shops online these days, and who doesn’t like earning cash back?

If you shop online at least once or twice a month, you need to try using Rakuten so you don’t miss out on discounts and cash back.

Rakuten is one of my favorite sites for saving money on regular purchases and earning extra money with little effort.

Rakuten partners with hundreds of popular retailers to offer cash back for online purchases you make.

They also automatically searches for discounts that online retailers are offering whenever you shop online.

Need to buy something for yourself or a gift for someone else? Are you traveling?

Sign onto Rakuten so you can save and earn cash back on the purchase.

As long as your cash back balance is higher than $5.01, Rakuten pays out the cash back you earn quarterly via check or PayPal.

You can send the money to charity or a family member. This is such a fun and easy way to save money without doing any work!

Sign up here for Rakuten and get $10 off your purchase!

Sign Up For Automatic Savings

Another easy way to save money this summer is to sign up for automatic savings.

If you’re trying to reach a particular savings goal preparing or Christmas or going on a mini vacation, putting your savings contributions on autopilot can really help and relieve some stress.

Nothing feels better than automatically setting money aside over time then looking at your account and realizing that you met your goal.

If you want to start putting your savings on autopilot, I’d recommend checking out one of these apps to help you get started.

Qapital

Qapital is pretty much like a free savings account! Every time I make a purchase with my debit or credit card, I can choose to have $1 – $5 go into Qapital automatically. It’s been a great way to help keep my spending in check so I can still prioritize saving as well this summer. Plus, I don’t even miss the money out of my checking account.

I’m currently using my Qapital account to:

• increase my emergency fund
• a vacation fund
• save for the holidays.

In roughly a month, I’ve saved around $185 that’s been divided into all three of my savings accounts.

Qapital works for me because the withdrawal amounts are so small that I don’t feel like my checking account is taking a hit and I’m missing the money. Plus this gets me really excited to see how much I can save over the next few months, year, etc.

Sign up for free with Qapital here!

Digit

Another automatic savings app I recommend is Digit. I have been using Digit for a little over a year now and am happy with it!

Digit basically connects to your primary checking account and helps you save ‘spare change’ automatically.

Digit studies your spending habits and bank account transactions for a few days before making small automatic transfers.

You can pause Digit’s transfers at any time or even transfer some of the money back to your checking account whenever you want.

However, my guess is you won’t even notice the small amount of money Digit saves for you on a regular basis and it will definitely add up after just a few months.

You can learn more about Digit here! 

Acorns

Another app you can use to save money automatically (and start investing!) is Acorns. The app rounds up your purchases and invests the change. You can withdraw your money at any time, or watch it grow.

Sign up with Acorns here! 

Start a Flexible Side Hustle

Don’t forget that you can save extra money by earning extra money this summer. Side hustles will always be one of my favorite ways to boost your income.

By increasing your income through a flexible side hustle, you can set more money aside to save without giving up whatever you like to do for fun or entertainment.

To get started, you need to ask yourself what your skills are and what you’d enjoy doing. Then, find a way to monetize it by either selling your services or selling items.

You can:

Instead of just getting a basic part-time job this summer, consider working a side hustle where you can choose your own hours and get paid more than minimum wage.

Take Surveys Online

If you don’t have much time to do extra work, you can try taking surveys to earn extra cash you can save or use to supplement your income. Taking surveys online is super easy and requires little skill.

You just need a computer, internet connection, and an opinion to share. You can take surveys before or after work, during your daily commute, during your lunch break, while you watch T.V., or in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.

Most survey sites will pay you in cash or gift cards for popular retailers. If you earn gift cards by taking surveys, you can use them to lower your out of pocket costs to dine out at certain restaurants or purchase certain products or services you need.

Here are some of the best survey sites to start using. I’ve been taking surveys since I was in college, so these ones are legit These are ranked with my favorites on top:

Save Money on Hotels For Vacation

If you have any upcoming travel plans, be sure to consider Airbnb to save money on costly hotel stays. Hotels and lodging can be some of the biggest expenses when you travel.

If you’ve never heard of Airbnb before, it’s an online marketplace and hospitality service that allows people to rent or lease short-term lodging at an affordable price.

With Airbnb, you can get a private room or even an entire house or apartment at a fair rate allowing you to save money on the cost of your trip.

We use AirBnB quite frequently as we can bring the dogs. We also tend to rent an entire home and try to book homes that are solely for Airbnb, meaning that the homeowner doesn’t live there. We’ve stayed in cabins, tiny homes and apartments.

When you first sign up for Airbnb, you’ll receive a $40 credit you can apply towards your first booking! 

Order Food and Supplies During Summer Trips

Another way to save money while traveling this summer is to reduce the amount of money you spend on food. Food is the next highest expense when it comes to your vacation budget.

If you use Airbnb and have access to a kitchen, you can store food and prepare some of your meals to save money.

You can order fresh food from Amazon Fresh or Amazon Pantry, which is apart of Amazon Prime. Generally, when you place your order you can haver everything delivered same day and within a matter of hours!

Start Saving Today

There are only a few weeks of summer left, but you can start saving today using a variety of these trusted recommendations and keep up with the habit year-round.

Related reading:

How do you plan to save money this summer?