If your house is anything like mine, the Fall can be a very exciting time. The kids go back to school, my wife (a teacher) goes back to work, most of our children’s sports activities start again, and life goes into extreme overdrive! But with that sudden burst of excitement and lack of spare time, it can be easy to break your household budget and fall off the wagon. So rather than ignoring your money design, here are a few simple steps we can take to make sure they stay on track.
Clothes and Accessories:
The back-to-school time and Fall season are littered with tons of great deals on clothes and accessories. This is usually the transition from when summer items go out and winter items come in. Not only are most new items discounted to entice shoppers, most relatively new items will still be on the clearance rack and slashed from 50 to 80% off. It never hurts to stock up for next year!
Don’t forget about your online retailers can help with your household budget too. Online retailers like Old Navy.com, Macys.com, Glasses.com, and even Target.com can round out everything you need to be looking sharp for the Fall.
More Things You’ll Need Around the House:
Clothing stores aren’t the only places to holding mega sales around the back-to-school and Fall time. Lots of handy tools, grills, accessories like furnace filters, and even outdoor appliances such as lawnmowers or weed whackers can suddenly be discounted or placed on clearance. What would have cost you full price in the Spring and Summer time can now be $100 to $200 off the regular price. Definitely comb through your weekly ads and keep an eye out for some great deals if you were considering one of these types of items for the upcoming Spring season.
Pimp Your Ride:
Although anytime is a good time get on top of your automotive maintenance, the Fall and following cold season is particularly important. You don’t want to get stranded in the Winter! Check your tires, change your fluids, and get a tune-up. While you’re at it, don’t be afraid to shop around for a better price on car insurance or search online loan providers for better refinancing options. Your household budget will thank you for prevention of problems that comes from a smoothly running car and good insurance plan.
Trimming the Household Budget:
One of the biggest breaks in our expenses comes with the cold season and the fact that we’re not at home as much. As sad as we are to see the Summer go, the cold can help trim things off our household budget that we no longer need or use:
• If you have a programmable thermostat, you can eliminate the need to run air conditioning as the temperature outside decreases.
• If you own a sprinkler system, you can shut it down and conserve on water costs.
• If you own a pool, you can close it for the Winter and save on chemical / operating costs.
• Keep electronics off that you’re not using during the day such as lights, cable boxes, and computers.
Readers – What do you do to conserve on your household budget and spending in the Fall?
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The Fall is one of our favorite times of year because we don’t have to set the thermostat to cool or heat:) We love saving money througout the year by being thermostat nazis. It is even better when you don’t have to turn it on.
Greg@ClubThrifty recently posted..How to Get an International Bank Account
The Spring and the Fall are great for the thermostat! I usually dress in layers, so a little chill the air is okay with me.
I love Fall! I love the cooler temps and college football, so it’s probably my favorite time of year. Great tips on looking for deals on clearance & stocking up for next year. My wife & I have three kids, so we commonly do that. I never thought of buying something for the yard though. I have to look into that as our weed whacker recently gave out on us.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..What the Government Teaches About Living Without a Budget
In terms of things for the yard, I believe there is a new grill coming my way for Christmas (from clearance this year!) Sure I probably won’t use it in December, but give it 4 months.
We don’t focus on getting back in any one season; our budget pretty much stays the same year-round. If anything we spend more money in the fall as we have more friends over and enjoy fires in our backyard.
Jason recently posted..Recipe: Vegetarian Enchiladas
I like to grab a few notebooks while they’re on sale for the back-to-school crowd. Maybe some summer clothes if they’re on clearance.
CF recently posted..Eating well while traveling
Even though they’re only a few bucks different, I always stock up on notebooks too for some reason!
Thanks for the reminder. I need to cut back on watering my lawn now that the summer heat has passed. Should save me some decent money!
Lance@MoneyLife&More recently posted..Is Being On Reality TV Worth the Money If You Don’t Win?
The best part is you won’t have mow the yard as much!
I don’t really do anything special to improve my finances in fall. I guess since I don’t own my own home and I have no kids, there is only so much I can do. These are good tips to consider though.
Modest Money recently posted..Get Your Finances in Order With the Help of the Internet
I save the most money on the utility bills in the fall. Like Greg mentioned above, we love to open up the windows and let the outdoor in until it gets to cold. It provides a nice drop in my electric bill
Jason Clayton | frugal habits recently posted..5 Reasons I Love Having a Health Savings Account (HSA)
There is just something in the air at Fall that makes it great! It is one of my favorite times for having the windows open as well!
We have a programmable thermostat, but the problem is it’s sometimes cooler outside than it is inside, but if we open the windows the outside traffic is too loud.
Veronica @ Pelican on Money recently posted..Increase Your Traffic by Writing Effective Titles for Search Engines
I am looking forward to the cooler weather. It is still quite hot here and in a few weeks it will switch to snow. We just bought new tires to get us through the winter. We also use a programmable thermostat. My husband wouldn’t be without it.
Tackling Our Debt recently posted..101 Frugal Tips to Help You Save Money
I think I’m due for tires this year too – Uggh! That’s another $1,000 I’m not looking forward to spending …
[...] Household Budget Tips for the Upcoming Fall at My Money Design [...]
If you own a pool, can you let me know who you are so I can plan next summer accordingly?
Kathleen @ Frugal Portland recently posted..20 Things to Do (and Not Do!) Before 2012 Ends
Tell you what – see if you can lobby to have FinCon near Detroit next year, and I’ll have everyone over to my house for a pool party!
The point I like the most is : “Trimming the Household Budget”… in every change of season we tend to buy new stuff even if we don’t need them.
For this purpose every six month I use to clean my basement, how much stuff we really throw in there.
Readtoawake recently posted..5 Money Mistakes That Make You Poor