Saving for summer

As the days get warmer it is a clear indication that summer is just around the corner. We’ve collated a few different ways you could save money this summer in your home, for parents to keep their kids entertained, or even booking your summer getaway. 

Saving money around the house

The UK Met Office has forecasted that this year will be one of the hottest on record with temperatures between 1.08C and 1.32C above usual levels. Here are a few of our favourite money saving suggestions:

• On summer days with clear conditions swap your tumble drier for using your washing line. Using a washing line to dry your clothes will not only save you money but also help reduce your carbon footprint. According to data from Uswitch, a tumble drier costs households in the UK an average of £86.84 per year. (Please note this is an estimated average cost. Prices will vary depending on the energy rating of your machine along with other factors such as age).
• Set some time aside during the summer to find unused/ unwanted goods around your house and list them online. A study carried out by Which? In 2022 found, from a group of 4000 sellers, that the most popular items sold were clothes (32%), books (26%), furniture (21%) and games (21%). Marketplaces such as Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and eBay were also ranked by Which? as the top places to sell second hand items.
• Save money on furniture by using the ‘Freecycle’ This app is a non-profit movement of people giving and getting free second-hand furniture, barbecues, and other bits in their local towns. (Please note we are not directly endorsing this brand. This example is for illustrative purposes.)

Keeping the kids entertained

Keeping children entertained during the summer holidays can be expensive, especially if you try to give your family a jam-packed calendar. So here are a few low cost/ cost-free activities for you to try with your kids:

• Go on a ‘painted rock’ treasure hunt. You could get the family active by painting rocks and hiding them in a local park for your kids to find.
• Identify stars with a free stargazing app. The Star Walk 2 App is free to download on Apple and Android and allows you to explore the night sky, identify planets and asteroids, and much more.
• Watch planes take off at your nearest airport. If you have an airport nearby, look for a park, café, or pub from which you can watch them take off. To maximise your experience, you could download the free Flightradar24 App that lets you follow live air traffic simply by pointing your phone in the sky!
• Camp out in the garden! You can avoid the expenses of booking a campsite by setting up a tent in your garden! This is a fun family activity where you can make use of the resources in your homes such as pillows, torches, etc, and make it special by toasting marshmallows or buying other treats for your kids to enjoy.
• Make homemade pizzas. You could feed the family by helping your kids make their own personalised pizzas, you could use the BBC Good Food
• Go for a hike! Going for a hike can be low cost and keeps the family healthy. If you are unsure where to go on your hike use the app AllTrails, a free app with over 400,000 curated trails to explore.

(Source: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2019/07/tricks-for-summer-magic/)

How to save money on holidays

To save money on holidays try to avoid expensive times of year, such as the school holidays. However, this isn’t always possible. Some schools finish their terms earlier/later than others and this could provide an opportunity to grab a good deal! You can use the Gov.UK website to check when schools break up. If you don’t have children, it can be helpful to use this to choose the best time to fly (by seeing when to avoid), or if you do have children, you can see if your child breaks up at the same time as other UK schools as there may be an opportunity to save money.

You can use comparison websites to try and find the best deal. When booking flights abroad, you may want to check price comparison websites before going direct to an airline. Price comparison sites aim to show you the cheapest flights to your chosen destination by scanning many other websites. However, there may be some airlines which aren’t included on these sites, and you may want to consider any reward schemes or airmiles which may help to finance your next break! Some popular comparison websites include Skyscanner, Kayak, and Expedia. Alternatively, when it comes to booking accommodation sites such as Trivago and Booking.com could help you to find a good deal.

You may want to consider using travel cards when spending abroad. Although your credit card will allow you to spend abroad, when doing so you may be charged a ‘non-sterling transaction fee’ of about 3% – so £100 worth of foreign currency costs you £103. Alternatively, some cards don’t charge these fees and make it fairly low cost to spend abroad. Companies which promote their services for use abroad include Chase, Virgin Money, Revolut, Monzo and Barclays. You can visit their websites for more information but make sure you read about each product in depth before applying!

Written by,

Joseph Thakker

Student Marketing Officer