15 Money-Saving Moves to Make Before Summer Ends

This summer, you may be focused on fun in the sun and enjoying a break from school. But this season is also an ideal time to make some smart money moves before fall rolls around and life gets busier.

If you want to end the summer with more cash in the bank and a plan to invest more in the future, following these 15 money-saving tips can help.

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If you have kids, you know buying back-to-school clothes can be very expensive. But you can keep your costs down and save yourself quite a bit of cash by buying used.

Start shopping thrift and consignment stores now, before the back-to-school rush begins, so you can get some bargains and make sure your kids are well dressed at a price you can afford.

ALSO READ: 3 Ways to Save Money on Supplies for the Upcoming School Year

Parents typically also end up spending a lot of money on school supplies. But you may not need to buy everything new. Chances are good you have folders, binders, backpacks, pens and pencils, and other items left over from prior years.

Search around your house and get all of these items together now, so when your school supply list comes, you won't end up spending extra money to repurchase items you already have.

If you aren't doing so already, now is a great time to get into the habit of clipping coupons or printing coupons from online. Many stores offer fall specials and back-to-school sales, and if you make it a habit to always check for discount opportunities, you should be able to realize significant savings.

ALSO READ: Best Coupon Apps of 2022

If you have to buy some school supples new, be sure to check sales flyers from local big-box stores to find out which has the best deals.

Most places put items on sale as loss leaders, such as notebooks for 10 cents. If you start looking for deals now, you'll have time to hit several stores during the summer so you can take advantage of the opportunity to get most items at a bargain price.

Kids' activities can be expensive, and many children end up overscheduled and overextended. This can be detrimental to both them and your pocketbook. Take the time now to evaluate what activities your kids will really enjoy so you can spend your dollars smartly and save on unnecessary extracurriculars.

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Before winter arrives, take the time to weatherproof your home. This can mean sealing window gaps and doorway cracks, adding extra insulation and more.

Energy costs have surged this year, so this could make a huge difference in your monthly bills -- and it's best to act before summer ends and cold weather comes.

ALSO READ: Winterize Your Home

Chances are good you've noticed that gas is pretty expensive right now -- although not as costly as it was a few weeks ago. The good news is, there's a simple step you can take before summer ends to reduce your costs at the pump. Just clean out your car.

You've probably accumulated a lot of extra clutter during summer outings, so take all these unnecessary items out now to reduce your vehicle's weight and get better gas mileage.

Many people get lax with cooking out in the summer when it's hot, and it's easy to throw items on the grill or stop at the local ice cream store. But you'll want to make a solid plan before fall comes -- especially if kids are going back to school and family meal times will become more chaotic.

Making a weekly meal plan based around the sales flyers, batch cooking, and buying in bulk can all help you to save money at the grocery store.

ALSO READ: Inflation Is Everywhere, but Some Grocery Items Are Getting Hit Worse Than Others

If it's been a while since you watched a particular streaming service or since you hit the gym, now is a good time to cancel these unnecessary services. Many people simply stick with the status quo, but this can come at a big cost.

Take a close look at your credit card statements and call up the companies that aren't justifying their value to cancel ASAP before you get into the busier fall season.

If you haven't updated your budget for a while, the end of summer is an ideal time to take a look. There will likely be a bunch of costs coming up for the back-to-school season and various holidays. You'll need to account for those so you can avoid overspending.

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It's a good idea to keep track of all that you're spending for at least a few weeks, if you haven't done so recently. Inflation has surged, and many people haven't really made a conscious effort to figure out where their money is going with this new reality -- so now is an ideal time to find out.

You can manually track your spending or use an app to do so, and either approach should help you find some cuts you may be able to make.

ALSO READ: 3 Benefits of Tracking Your Spending

You most likely will have some things you want to spend money on over the upcoming months, whether that's a vacation to get away from winter weather or a big Christmas celebration.

Figure out how much you plan to spend on these things and set a goal to start saving for them now so you'll be prepared and ready when the time comes.

Making automatic deposits to your savings accounts is one of the best ways to make certain you're depositing the right amount to accomplish your goals. If you aren't already doing this, set this up ASAP before summer ends.

You can make automatic deposits on payday -- or even before you get your check in the case of a 401(k). Set up these deposits to retirement accounts, as well as to other savings accounts.

ALSO READ: Put Your Savings and Investing on Autopilot

You may have many different financial accounts that are charging you fees, ranging from your bank account to your investment account. Take the time this summer to look at all of these costs. If you can switch to a different bank or find cheaper investments, it may be well worth doing to save more money.

Finally, if you have debt, make a plan to try to pay it off ASAP. This could mean embracing the debt snowball method of paying off your lowest balances first. Or it could mean using the debt avalanche method and starting to work on paying down your debt with the highest rate.

Whatever approach you choose, commit to sending extra money to creditors so you can become debt-free ASAP. Saving on interest is the single best and easiest way to keep more money in your pocketbook.

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Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
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The more of these tips you follow, the greater your chances of ending the summer with an improved financial situation. Start working on them ASAP, as you're running out of time in this season to increase your net worth both now and in the future.

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