September is upon us, and retailers want you back. If you have children, it’s time to buy pencils, notebooks, backpacks and face extravagant requests for shoes, clothing and tech gadgets that apparently “everyone else has.” And before you know it, it will be Black Friday, when the siren song of consumerism reaches its highest pitch.
But what if you already went over budget in the summer?
Overspending during the warmer months is common – so much so that the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) have taken to writing a report every June to warn about the dangers of summer splurges. And this year may have been particularly bad, with higher interest rates and gasoline costs eating away at whatever disposable incomes families had set aside for summer fun. According to the CPA, almost a third of Canadians were on track to spend between $500 and $2,000 more than last year this season.
READ MORE: Canadians expect summer to come with a higher price tag this year: survey
Here are four steps to recover from the summer spending hangover:
1. Assess the damage
First off, you need to look at your credit card and other bills, said Sheila Walkington, a certified financial planner and co-founder and chief financial officer at Money Coaches Canada.
“See how badly you went off track.”
And while you’re at it, scour your banking statements to see if you’re routinely paying banking charges for overdraft or for using non-affiliated ATMs, Walkington added. That’s fat you can easily trim from your financial diet.
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2. Set a deadline and make a new budget
As they say, a goal without a plan is just a wish. So once you know how much you need to pay off debt or replenish your savings, you need to set yourself a deadline and map out how exactly you’re going to do it, Walkington advised.
If you didn’t have a budget, you’ll need to make one. If you did have a spending plan and went off track, you’ll need to craft a leaner one for the fall months.
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3. Switch up your routine
You’ll need to do more than simply return to your pre-summer spending patterns. You’ll need to change some of your routines as well.
One relatively painless way to shrink your monthly expenses is to dig up some fun fall recipes, draw up a meal plan and stick to home-made meals, Walkington said.
Another one, if you don’t live too far from the office, is to start walking or biking to work instead of driving or taking public transit, she added. In September and October at least, you can probably count on enough clement weather.
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4. Generate some extra cash
If cutting back isn’t enough, think about ways to boost your income, Walkington said.
“A fall cleanup can be a way to clear up all the clutter around your house and bring in some extra money,” she said. You can sell online or have a yard sale.
Or could take up a side gig, like dog walking or food delivery, Walkington added.
But make sure to estimate how much you’ll actually be making after tax and after accounting for costs like additional wear and tear on your car. If you’re going to work evenings and weekends, you want to make sure it’s actually worth the effort.
READ MORE: Have a side job? Make sure you’re really bringing in extra money after tax
Two to three months isn’t a lot of time to get your budget back on track. On the flip side, though, it’s also a short time to put up with some with some serious financial austerity.
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