Summer Savings are Happening Now

Everywhere you look this time of year there are “end of summer” commercials and ads coming in the mail, summer savings really are happening now, but there is still more of summer to enjoy outdoors.. While this is a wonderful time to get certain items on sale, I still hate to think about these weeks as the “End of Summer”. There is still great weather ahead and wonderful free things to do before the kids head back to school.

These are great days to be having summer barbeques at your home, or having get-togethers at the parks with your family and friends. These are fun things to do that do not cost any extra money, but they do make summer enjoyable.

Remember, many foods that you grill are less expensive than meals that you make in the oven or on the stovetop, and somehow they just taste better when they are cooked outside, on the barbeque. Hot dogs and hamburgers seem to be the favorite food for BBQ, but it is simple to buy a package of inexpensive chicken tenders or beef and make shish kabob with them. All you need are skewers that you can buy at the dollar store, and you favorite vegetables.

I like to put chunks of green and red peppers, mushroom caps, and onion quarters on my shish kabobs. I will start with what is usually one or two chicken breasts that are left from the large packages that you can buy, (I only get them when they are sale, it is much less expensive) and I cut them into pieces that are about one inch big. I cook the vegetables in the microwave for a few minutes before putting them on the skewers, this gets them softer than they will get on the grill. Then I put one mushroom cap on the end of the skewer, next I put a piece of chicken, (or beef) and layer the veges, than repeat, at the end of the skewer I put another mushroom cap and they look and taste great. Best of all this is a really inexpensive meal, that has everything you need on one skewer and you do not have to heat up your house when you cook on the grill.

This is only one way to get make a good cheap summer meal on the BBQ, there are many others, hopefully some of you would like to share yours and see them posted here, just drop me an email, or leave a comment

This is only one way to enjoy the weather while it is still nice, do some other outdoor activities with your family, friends, pets, or by yourself. There are plenty of summer things to do, that don’t cost money, it just seems like most people have forgotten them. People used to go for walks to enjoy the cooler summer nights, or kids would catch fireflies in jars and then release them. Even baseball games with people who live on the same street seem to have been forgotten, and you hardly ever see people gathering on someone’s porch to talk any more.

These days it seems that if it doesn’t cost money or isn’t electronic it just isn’t fun, and I think that makes it very hard for those of us who are trying to save money on the cost of living.

When you think about it, if you get yourself or your whole family out of the house on summer nights, you are saving electricity by not having one or more TVs on, along with all the lights or video game. When you can do this a few nights a week there will be more than one benefit. You will be saving on your electric bill, but you will also be gaining quality time outdoors.

TIP: For those of you who do not go outside because of those annoying little bugs, someone told me  yesterday that Listerine works great for keeping mosquito’s away. Either put some on a cotton ball and rub it over your skin, it will not harm you, or keep it on a cotton pad and place it on your chair. You can even put some in a small spray bottle and spray it on yourself or your clothing. I have not tried Listerine yet, but I wanted to pass it along because I am always getting bitten and I know that these pests can ruin a nice night, plus bug spray can be awful if you get it on your hands or in your mouth.

These are a few of the great summer savings that are still happening now and you can enjoy outdoors. Remember summer is not over yet.

As for the “end of summer” savings on things you can buy, they are all over the place. This is a great time of year to go clothes shopping if you are not a person that needs to have the newest styles when they come out. Most department stores will have clearance racks with clothes that they did not sell last year for 60% to 80% off the regular price.

I will be writing more on exactly where the best savings are and how you can get them, even by using the dreaded credit card.

The sharing of ideas is a wonderful way to get other, little known ways of saving money, and surviving the cost of living spread to others. So please share yours here.

My posting stopped when I found out that my husband might have had Malignant Sarcoma, everything else but concentrating on his health and how we were going to survive now that the only real income we had was gone stopped when his diagnosis was confirmed. Now that his schedule for treatment has begun before they can perform surgery, life is not as hectic and I will be finding even more ways, and bigger ways, to survive the rising cost of living.

Any links I find that I think may be of help to someone, will be posted here. All of these links may not apply to everyone but some may save others hours of searching for help on the internet. Believe me, I have already spent hours looking for help and some links are buried deep within other websites, it seems no one wants to put them upfront, but I will when I can and I know the website is real.