Sonic drinks, Royals games, and new fishing gear. These are all things that are great about summer, but they come at a cost. Summer for a college student may seem like the time to make lots of money and gain valuable field experience in their future careers; this is true, but summer is a time for financial laziness as well. I know I struggle to set my budget in the summer as well because it lacks the same scheduled atmosphere that the school year provides.
The summer months provide a chance to make more money, but also beckon to many more opportunities to spend one's hard-earned cash. Having a savings and a checking account and cooking meals at home are two concrete ways to save money during the months when the money in one's pocket seems to be as hot as the temperature outside.
Two separate accounts create a real divide between what money can be spent and what has to be saved. These two accounts are a great idea any other time of the year as well, but especially in the summer. Making a clear effort to put a percentage of every paycheck in savings makes saving money much easier. Having two accounts is not enough to keep that savings money away; communicating with a friend or parent about how much one is putting in the account is a great way to be proud of one's smart money habits, but they also can serve as a guard against using that money for any reasons. Confide with that trusted person before taking money out of the savings account so it will not be used in a split second purchase. The point of savings account is security for a rainy day, so an effort to preserve this money is necessary.
The last way to save money is to avoid eating out after that long day at work. It may seem like a no-brainer to grab a Subway sandwich after a long shift, but that bread at home is just as good. Grabbing lunch with friends seems like a great idea, but ordering out three days a week quickly makes that paycheck go faster than it should. A great alternative to eating out with friends is learning how to cook something new. It may take more time, but creating new dishes with friends and family is a rewarding experience regardless of how the food turns out. If it is delicious, then one will have bragging rights on the usual supreme cook of the group, but if it doesn't turn out well, then the laughs to come will make up for the lost appetite. Often times the supplies to cook a home meal for three or four people cost the equivalent of one person's tab at a restaurant, so those homemade and cooked burgers just make sense!
