Summer Vacation is the time that kids are eager to waste no time having fun. On the one hand, you're excited to spend more time with them and not have to worry about projects being due. At the same time, you're worried about how you're going to keep them entertained without draining your pockets.
Lucky for you, there are a few ways to have the kind of summer break that builds memories without adjusting your budget. You can use these months not only to teach your children valuable lessons about financial responsibility, learning how to save or make money along the way while spending quality time together as a family. Look at a few of these financially encouraging ideas.
Start a Small Summer Business
Children always want to spend money, yet they don't ever realize the efforts that must come to make that money. A great way to teach your children the value of hard work is to earn their own wages. Having an allowance is always an option, but certainly is not the only option. Getting your kids to start their own business teaches them responsibility and teaches them the rewards of hard work.
Summer months always seem to be the months to play catch up on outdoor chores. Smaller businesses in town are always seeking window washers. Elderly community members need assistance with their yard work's upkeep, from mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and even planting and learning to take old furniture and refurbish it and sell it for profit. Any of these small businesses would be a great start to keeping them productive with their time and something they could continue to do year-round.
A business is not valuable by the money it grosses but by the honorable individuals known for it. Along with all the lessons and responsibilities that can be learned from the start, there is also the time to appreciate spending teaching and supporting your children.
Having a Yard Sale
If there is one thing to instill in your children, it is to teach them that less is more. Encourage them to go through all their old toys that are collecting dust. Have them pick one to two items every day for a week that they can contribute to a yard sale.
Keep them involved. Show your children how to advertise on social media sites. Encourage them the value of word of mouth method. Have them tell their friends, your neighbors, even the mailman. Show them how to find the value of their items. Teach them how to work the cash box and counting back change. All these skills are skills that they will take with them in the near and far future.
After the yard sale is finished, have a conversation with them about what to do with the money. Teach them what they can do with it. They can spend it on something that they need. They can put it towards their college fund or save it. Let them contribute to what they can do with the proceeds. This is a chance to teach them the importance of budgeting while encouraging them not to hold on to things that they don't need.
Plant a garden
Planting a garden is one of the most cost-effective things families can do together, believe it or not. Seeds cost a small amount, and the amount of produce you receive is useful in the winter months. You can pickle, dry, preserve, or can the extras. You can then choose to sell them to friends or keep them for your pantry. This can also teach them the importance of food preservation.
Instead of using costly fertilizers, you can compost kitchen waste. If you have chickens, you can use their compost as well. You can find old barn wood or pallets you located last week at the dump to make raised beds for your plants. You can save seeds from produce to use for the following year.
Planting a garden doesn't save money but can encourage your family to eat healthier food options. Take the chance of teaching your children the responsibilities of growing a garden and the benefits it has to tend to it.
Plan a staycation
The most valuable parts about a family vacation are the memories that can be made. You don't always have to break the bank to obtain those memories, nor do you have to go far. Sometimes, the best memories come from right where you're at.
Plan a weekend/day in your hometown. Find a local festival or event and make it a family tradition to go to it every year. Go out to eat at a nice restaurant and come home to your beds at night.
Creating the tradition for a staycation can show your kids the importance of supporting their communities while appreciating their hometown culture's riches. Tell them stories of their hometown and how it ties to you. They'll understand the deeper knowledge of where they come from, and you can appreciate the togetherness and the savings!