{"id":95219,"date":"2022-06-17T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bondora.com\/blog\/?p=95219"},"modified":"2022-06-17T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T10:00:00","slug":"8-tips-to-not-overspend-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/blog\/8-tips-to-not-overspend-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Tips to Not Overspend this Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Summer can be an exciting time filled with warmer weather, adventures, and fun with friends and family. Most Europeans travel during the summer, making it many people&#8217;s favorite season. While fun and travel are certainly enjoyable, they aren&#8217;t free, and it can be easy to overspend when you&#8217;re having a great time. Taking advantage of all that summer offers doesn&#8217;t have to break the bank, and we&#8217;ve got 8 tips on not overspending this summer while still having fun in the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-978.png\" alt=\"Summer fun doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend a lot of money.\" class=\"wp-image-95220\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" \/><figcaption><em>Summer fun doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean you have to spend a lot of money.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-honestly-assess-your-financial-situation\"><strong>1. Honestly Assess Your Financial Situation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With summer around the corner, <strong>ask yourself how you&#8217;re doing financially<\/strong>; make an honest assessment of your earnings, debt, obligations, savings, and investments. If you&#8217;ve spent too much earlier this year, you might want to limit your spending this summer. Maybe you have a lot of debt hanging over your head, in which case you may want to prioritize paying that off to avoid high-interest charges. Regardless of what happened during the year, think about where you stand financially and what you must do to meet your financial goals this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-plan-travel-ahead\"><strong>2. Plan Travel Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re interested in traveling this summer, take the time to plan. <strong>Planning your travel long before your departure can help ensure you get the best prices<\/strong> on plane or train tickets and that you don&#8217;t overpay for accommodations. Besides saving you money, planning your vacation ahead of time gives you a chance to build a fabulous itinerary and get the most out of your trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-979.png\" alt=\"Planning your travel saves you money and can help you make a great itinerary.\" class=\"wp-image-95226\" \/><figcaption><em>Planning your travel saves you money and can help you make a great itinerary.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Avoid Tourist Traps and Busy Travel Times<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the world&#8217;s most popular destinations are rife with tourist traps, where local businesses charge a premium for everything, from hotels and restaurants to experiences and souvenirs. Take some time and figure out where the locals go by looking on travel forums or business review sites. <strong>Steering clear of tourist traps can save you money, not to mention you&#8217;ll usually get a better, more authentic experience<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The solution to tourist traps is finding places and activities off the beaten track. By exerting a little effort, you can save a lot of money. Rather than going for the well-known tourist attractions, see if you can find a cheaper destination that offers more affordable options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another related tip to keep in mind to avoid overspending is avoiding busy travel dates when fares are more expensive. If you can, aim for off-peak dates, such as weekdays or non-holiday weekends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Create a Budget<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can be a real challenge not to overspend on summer activities or when you&#8217;re on summer holiday, but creating (and sticking to) a strict budget can keep you in line. Think about how much you want to spend in a given period or on a specific activity. Set a total trip budget and a daily budget if you&#8217;re traveling for several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The key to budgeting for a trip is to do so before the temptations of a holiday present themselves<\/strong>. For example, if you have an activity in mind that exceeds your daily budget, you&#8217;ll have to draw on the funds from a different day to make up for the increased expense. Creating a budget and planning ahead go hand-in-hand, helping you have a great trip without overspending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. Use Cash Instead of Credit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using cash can help you stick to your budget. <strong>With cash, you can&#8217;t spend more than you have<\/strong>, and you&#8217;ll be more aware of how much you have and how much you&#8217;ve spent. In many places, cash can also get you better prices or help you avoid credit card fees. If you absolutely must use a credit card, consider using a travel card if you&#8217;re going to a country that uses a different currency, so you can avoid foreign transaction fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goandgrow.eu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-980.png\" alt=\"Using cash can help you stick to your budget and be more aware of your spending.\" class=\"wp-image-95232\" \/><figcaption><em>Using cash can help you stick to your budget and be more aware of your spending.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. Try DIY Activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DIY activities can be an excellent, <strong>more affordable alternative to some more traditional summer activities<\/strong>. Children can enjoy obstacle courses, arts &amp; crafts, sports, and more. For a great family DIY activity, you can take your kids to the pool or beach, or even spend a night camping out in the backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>7. Open a Separate Bank Account for Summer Spending<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You may find it helpful to separate your summer funds from the money you use during the rest of the year. Much like keeping a separate savings and checking account, <strong>a summer spending account can give you more precise insights into how much money you have and what you can reasonably afford to spend<\/strong>. In addition, maintaining a discrete bank account for your summer spending can help prevent overspending or dipping into funds earmarked for non-discretionary expenses, like rent, insurance, and other bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>8. Use a Waiting Period Before Buying Discretionary Items<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to buy something you don&#8217;t really need, try and enforce a waiting period of a day or two before making any discretionary purchases. <strong>Think about how much time you&#8217;d have to spend working to buy the item you want<\/strong>. Then, consider whether you&#8217;d rather spend the money on something else or put it into a savings or investment account. A waiting period can help you evaluate if you really want something or if it&#8217;s just a fleeting desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Summer spending can quickly set you back financially, but if you prepare appropriately, you can avoid overspending. Thinking ahead by planning travel well in advance and setting a budget can help you stay on track with your spending. Adding a waiting period before buying discretionary items and using cash can help reduce the likelihood you&#8217;ll get buyer&#8217;s remorse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Which one of these tips will you use to control your summer spending?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summer can be an exciting time filled with warmer weather, adventures, and fun with friends and family. Most Europeans travel during the summer, making it many people&#8217;s favorite season. While fun and travel are certainly enjoyable, they aren&#8217;t free, and it can be easy to overspend when you&#8217;re having a great time. Taking advantage of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":95220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119],"tags":[103,104],"class_list":["post-95219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-financial-well-being","tag-english","tag-finance-tips"],"acf":[],"featured_image":null,"categories_names":["Financial Well-being"],"category_name":"Financial Well-being","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95219\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goandgrow.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}