| By :
Molly Wider
Finally, the summer is here. Long lazy days with plenty of sunshine. A time to relax and let go. Just don't relax on your budget. Spending in summer is outdone only by spending at Christmas. And don't the retailers know it. Every magazine shows newly painted houses, fabulous must-have swimsuits, fantastic weekend getaways, and umpteen other ways to Spend. Your. Money. Don't fall for it. Stick to your plan and do things you can afford. There are plenty of cheap ways to enjoy a vacation this year. Swap houses with someone from another province, or even another country. Plenty of people advertise their homes online (even rentals, if your apartment's big enough) to afford a vacation that would otherwise just be too expensive. This can be a really great choice if you have kids, and need at least a couple of rooms to house everyone. This kind of vacation usually requires a little extra planning, so start early. Visit a farm. Very few people have ever been on a farm, but every province in Canada has plenty of them. Do scope things out a bit first, especially if you're planning to take kids along, to see where farms are in your area. Then just ask. Most producers will be thrilled to show you their farms. And if you go early enough in the spring, you may see young calves, lambs, and kids. No farm? Visit a petting zoo. Some have farm animals that kids can feed as well as pet. Drive and camp. Gas prices always rise in the summertime, but they're still cheaper than air prices if you're not going too far. So pull out the map for your province, and make it a driving vacation to your nearest provincial park. And you don't need any fancy gear-buy everything used on ebay or kijiji or borrow it from friends and family. Not interested in camping? Consider a series of day trips to neighboring communities or provincial parks. Sometimes just having lunch on a roadside rest area can be a lot of fun. Buy an inexpensive swimming pool. A pool just 8 or 10 feet across, and as little as 30 inches deep, can provide hours of fun. They can almost always be purchased for well under $100 and you can toss them at the end of the season (which is about how long they last). They can be set up in just a few minutes, and will give kids the time of their lives. Add in a few games-diving for coins or beach ball, for extra fun. Still too expensive? Fill balloons with water, and have a water fight. Water is the perfect answer to pretty much everything on a hot summer day. So have fun this summer, but keep your lifestyle within your budget. Come fall, you'll be glad you did.
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