5 Easy Ways to Save for Your Summer Vacation and Lower Your Car Insurance

It’s been a crazy year so far! Our year is flying by and has been jam packed with lots of fun (and sometimes not so fun) work and personal stuff. Since Spring Break two months ago, it doesn’t feel like our schedule has let up at all. We’ve gone from entertaining friends, to family visits out of state, to an epic blog conference, and finally the vacation I’ve been planning since last year is finally here!

Since we started the family beach vacation tradition, we’ve come up with some ways to save once we’re at the beach. Things like visiting the store immediately when we arrive for groceries and beach supplies is such a big help in ensuring we save as much as possible. We love enjoying the local restaurants, but by planning ahead and buying drinks, breakfast items, lunch fixings, and snacks we’re able to dine out more often without blowing our budget.

Making the yearly trek to the beach for vacation and relaxing with my family in paradise is definitely one of the highlights of my year. The price of vacations can quickly add up, so while we make efforts to stay within our budget once we’ve arrived, we have to be mindful of our spending leading up to our trip as well. I have to research home rentals to find something that meets our needs – large dog friendly and with room for each girl to have their own bed. Since we always drive to Florida so that Dude, our bulldog, can go with us we have the added expenses of gas and a full day of driving each direction, expenses can rack up.

To help make the time with my family (and your time with yours) as enjoyable as possible, I’ve come up with 5 Easy Ways to Save for Your Summer Vacation. These are things you can do to stretch your budget before you arrive so you can concentrate on having fun and staying stress-free once you’ve arrived!

1.  Compare Car Insurance Rates. Periodically review your car insurance rate to make sure you’re not spending more than you need to for auto insurance. Quickly and easily enter in your current coverage and start saving!

The website is so easy to use! I brought up my current insurance coverage in another window and was able to put in the info as the website asked for it. There were a few times when the wording was confusing or wasn’t the same on my current policy and on the AutoInsurance.com, but by clicking the question mark icon I was able to get a little more information and ensure I was inputting the correct values.

I’ve been with my current carrier since I got my learner’s permit, so was curious to see what kind of savings I might find. I was impressed after plugging in info about our vehicle, my husband and my driving records, and our current coverage that with www.autoinsurance.com we could expect savings of $14/month or $168/year!

2. Make your own coffee.  It sounds simple enough but taking the extra few minutes to brew a pot of coffee can add up exponentially. Not only are you saving money on the cost of your drink but also time by avoiding the long drive-thru line.

3. Cancel your cable TV subscription.  We haven’t had cable since 2008 and honestly do not miss it. With services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on cable to see your favorite shows. By choosing to not subscribe to cable, it makes you more mindful of your TV viewing habits. We no longer just turn on the TV and aimlessly channel surf, we’re intentional and limit ourselves so we can spend more time living life.

4. Review your cell phone plan.  If you’re not under contract, call your carrier and inquire about lower rate alternatives. But don’t stop there, check out switching carriers to see if you can receive a more competitive plan for less money. Just as you reviewed your car insurance rates, review the services you receive and drop any unnecessary features. In this day and age, if you have a cell phone it’s a pretty safe bet you don’t need home telephone service.

5. Be mindful of your utility usage.  Unplug appliances and electronics when they’re not in use. While this doesn’t work very often in Texas, before turning on the air conditioner, try turning fans or opening the windows first. When you do turn your air conditioner on, turn it up higher when you’re not at home. Use your slow cooker or grill during warm months to avoid heating up your house unnecessarily.

These 5 Easy Ways to Save for Your Summer Vacation are just the start of simple ways you can free of money in your budget. Try them out and let me know how much you save!

What are ways you use to save for your summer vacation?