All winter long you dream of warm weather – yet when it finally comes, you’d do anything to get away from it. Yup, we’ve all been there. Figuring out how to stay cool in summer is a tale as old as time. You want to stay in, but the thought of your electric bill after a month of blasting the air conditioner gives you all the chills you need. So what do you do?
While staying indoors seems like the best option to beat the summer heat, there are plenty of ways to do it without driving up your own bills. Better yet, there are a lot of free or cheap ways to stay cool in summer that you’ve probably never considered.
Ready to learn how to save money in the summer while staying cooler than ever? Let’s get into it.
Spend Time in the Library
What’s the best public resource everyone forgets about? The library! Whether or not you’re a book reader, there’s definitely something for you at your local branch. Flip through the latest magazines, browse the internet, take a community workshop, or listen to an audiobook – often completely free and in that perfect cool temperature to keep the books in pristine condition.
Get a Part-Time Summer Job
If you don’t want to blast the air conditioning at your own place, consider going somewhere else (and getting paid while you do it)! Your local ice cream shop, grocery store, or corner shop could probably use the help, and they’ll want to keep it nice and chilled inside to draw in customers.
Become a Volunteer
When you think of volunteering, you may picture manual labor under the hot summer heat – well, luckily, that’s not always the case! Check your local listings for volunteer opportunities that take place indoors such as working in a hospital, putting together meals at the food bank, or socializing kittens looking for homes.
Get a Summer Pool Pass
If you’re a pool lover, it may be worth exploring a summer pass to your local pool. With unlimited access to the water and the ability to bring your own snacks, you’ll spend so much time there that you’ll keep yourself from spending money elsewhere!
Get a Kiddie Pool
No good pool options in the area? Or maybe you just don’t want to share… Either way, a kiddie pool is a great option to stay cool from the comfort of your own backyard. With some fresh air and a cold-water hose, you’ll be living your best summer life by the pool for a fraction of the cost.
Enjoy Lighter Meals
If you’re looking for an excuse not to cook – here it is! Stay away from the stove or oven during the warmer months to get the most out of your air conditioning. Instead, spend afternoons putting together your favorite sandwiches, salads, and perfectly in-season fruit. The light meals and high water content will also keep your body temperature lower in general!
Go Thrift Shopping
We all want a brand-new summer wardrobe, but it’s not always in our wallets’ best interest to get one. Instead, head to your local thrift store to give some great clothing a second life. If nothing else, the nice cool store temperature alone may be enough to draw you in…
Make Your Own Ice Cream
Summer = ice cream season. We don’t make the rules, we just enforce them. But instead of that daily cone from your local creamery, try your hand at making your own ice cream! It’s fairly simple, you can make it exactly how you want, and you’ll have a perfect frozen treat at the end of it.
Work In-Office
Although we all love that WFH life, summer may be the perfect time to visit the office. Suddenly those freezing cold meeting rooms don’t seem so daunting, and you can set your thermostat at home to be a little higher while you’re gone to save on your electricity bill as well.
Host a Field Day
Maybe you’ve got kids, maybe you don’t. Either way, everybody has fond memories of their elementary school field days, so why not recreate them? Games involving water balloons, frozen t-shirts, and wet sponges are the perfect way to connect with your inner child and stay cool under the hot sun with just a few bucks to get started.
Wash the Car
We know, chores during the summer are the worst, but this one is perfect for that hot summer day. Save yourself that $15 at the local Super Wash by breaking out the hose, sponges, and soap and giving your car(s) a good old-fashioned scrub down.
Make Your Own Popsicles
Easier than ice cream, and still so many possibilities. Spend a few dollars on a popsicle mold and then make a batch using your favorite juice or soda. You’ll be able to enjoy a free frozen treat whenever the hot weather is getting the best of you.
Go to the Beach
If you’re lucky enough to be near a body of water, take full advantage of it. Many beaches are totally free or only charge parking, so pack your snacks, ice water, and sunscreen to enjoy a day cooling off by the waves.
Visit a Museum
Museums are famously cold year-round to preserve artifacts, so you can count on a full day of air conditioning in exchange for the cost of admission. Even better if you can visit on a free or discounted day of the week!
Go Shopping and Get Rewarded!
What?! Isn’t shopping the worst way to save money? Well, that depends on how you do it! You have to spend some money to survive, so make sure you’re getting everything you can from those transactions using an app that provides cashback on all of your purchases.
With Receipt Hog, you get rewarded every time you shop. After you buy something – anything in-store or online – simply snap a picture of your receipt and start racking up rewards. To sweeten the deal, everything you buy stays in the app, making it easy to budget or return items as needed.
To get started, visit the App Store or Google Play Store to download Receipt Hog and start saving money before the summer’s over. And we promise we won’t judge when your first purchase is water balloons and a kiddie pool.
