Balancing Time with Money in the Summer

By Marilyn Sullivan Family and Consumer Resource Educator for Merrimack County

Question: We’re a family with young children. With the higher costs of everything, especially food and gasoline, it’s going to be a challenge balancing our money with the desire to take a “family vacation”. Do you have any ideas that could help a young family like ours stretch our dollars to have enough for some recreational time together?

Answer: That’s a great question that almost all families are facing this summer. You raise the old conundrum of time versus money, but with a different twist in that you have the time to spend with your family, but maybe not the same resources as in the past.

A trait of healthy families is the time they reserve for fun activities together, so it’s important to designate the time. It allows you to build a family identity, a sense of unity, and memories for the future. Furthermore, research tells us that strong families eat, play, work, and share outside activities together. Think of the extended daylight and time off from work or school in the summer as bonus hours for you to find meaningful and sufficient time together recharging your family bonds.

Unfortunately, family recreation expenses are among the first to be cut from stretched budgets. However, having family fun and doing so within a budget are not mutually exclusive choices. There are many creative and inexpensive ways for a family to experience a summer of fun and easy living. The key is to think about what you are trying to accomplish during your free time together. Families paying off credit cards and installment loans, or saving for an important goal will surely be challenged to balance fun and finances. Family recreation expenses shouldn't interrupt the financial plan, but be a part of the plan. If a family is actively striving to reach an important goal by funneling money in that direction, then the recreational activities will have to be thrifty.

The best money management tool to help keep costs under control is a summer budget. You will have to do some planning ahead about what you'll do, the costs, and arrive at a total estimate which you won't exceed. Figuring in the cost of gas will have to be a part of the total expenses, too. After taking a look at one's fixed expenses and flexible expenses, and analyzing how these can be pared down, there may be more surplus money for family summer fun than you previously thought!

Take a look at your needs as well, since they may change with the seasons. A decline in winter-related expenses may free up dollars for your summer budget. Also, the extra things you spend money on beyond the daily basics, use up money that could be used for summer family activities. Think about how you can re-capture those disappearing dollars.

While you're thinking about your family's needs and wants and re-adjustment of spending, think also about what family activities offer the most pleasure, satisfaction, and "wow" for the buck. Keep in mind strategies that will allow you to use your resources where they will do the most good and go the farthest. Also, families can achieve their summertime goals by finding ways to economize: substituting with less expensive choices, conserving by avoiding waste, utilizing what they already have in new ways, working cooperatively with family, friends, and neighbors to obtain goods and services, and scanning their community for low-cost opportunities.

Gather your family for a brainstorming session on appealing activities. Look for commonalities or a theme among the ideas, and be sure the ideas finally selected are appropriate for all family member's ages and stages. Then, pick out the dates which you will spend together and mark them on the calendar.

If your plans include activities at home, then take the phone off the hook and make sure you don't do any errands or housekeeping chores that will distract you from your family times. Even if you are staying at home, you want it to feel like a vacation.

Whether you stay home, take day trips, or leave town, you want to create fond memories of your time together and a feeling of satisfaction that the time and money was well spent.

Here are some thrifty ideas from other families to get you thinking:

Borrow museum passes from your local library.
Picnic lunch and games at a state park or in your backyard.
Walk on an established trail, bring a wild life identification book, start a collection of tree leaves, flowers, rocks.
Spend a few hours each week at the library, attending a story hour or craft time.
Go "camping" in your backyard. Set up a tent, cook outside, and build a fire for roasting marshmallows. Sing around the campfire before retiring.