5 Quick Ways to Stay on Top of Your Money This Summer

Melty red popsicles, sticky sunscreen, naps on lawn chairs…

Summer is finally arriving and we’re all about it. Especially after months of quarantine staring at nothing but our family members and our living room walls, or protesting and feeling drained about the state of the world, we're eager for summer to give us a chance to recharge.

Summer’s also a great time to catch up on things that we’ve been putting off during the beginning of the year, and it’s a chance to get ahead of the busy months to come.

Today’s quarterly check-in is about taking it easy, while also feeling on top of your game.

1. Reclaim Your Time

If we’ve learned anything from the past few months of juggling kids at home with all our other priorities, it’s that time is more valuable than ever. If we can find a way to help you claw back any spare minutes, count us in.

One way to do this is to automate your transactions. That includes transfers to savings and bill payments. (Still review your bills, though, so you know where you’re spending or if, say, your electricity costs have spiked.)

You can also save time by getting all your financial accounts in one place. Fabric’s free mobile app lets you upload your financial accounts, and even grant access to your spouse to make managing your money that much easier.

2. Get Your Life in Order

Summer’s a great time for going through your closet and old albums. While you’re arms deep in memories, update or write down a list of your important files, accounts and details so your loved ones would know where to find everything if something happened to you.

That could range from a copy of your driver’s license to where to find your will, and info on your life insurance policy. (Full disclosure: If you don’t have life insurance, you can apply for term life insurance through Fabric, online, in about ten minutes.)

3. Regroup on Your Career Priorities

As the weather gets crisp in the fall, people might start going back to work in person, and jobs might become even more demanding than ever.

In the meantime, list out your career objectives. What do you want over the next year? Five years? Ten years?

If you’re thinking about returning to the workforce after taking time away, this is an opportunity to think about your timeline. Same goes if you’ve recently been set back by the pandemic and its economic crash.

Think: Who can you network with? What kinds of jobs are you interested in? How will that affect your family’s finances and your childcare needs?

4. Check In on Your Credit Score

We like to suggest that you check your credit score once a quarter, to make sure that your finances are trending in the right direction and that there’s no foul play on your account. You can use a free service like Credit Karma to get your score—and they have an app, so you can even do it from under a beach umbrella.

While you're at it, you might take the opportunity to focus on ways to improve your spending and saving habits. For example, you might take a critical eye to whether you're actually using all your monthly subscriptions (do you really need Netflix and Hulu Plus and Disney+?). You might also try some techniques to lower your summer electricity bill, optimize your bank accounts and credit cards through a site like Bankrate, and compare auto and home insurance rates through Insurify.

5. Daydream a Little

Soon enough, that teething baby will be waiting up for the Tooth Fairy; that ranting toddler will be going on their first date. 

Let yourself daydream about your long-term goals: Are you saving up to buy a house? Do you want to go on a big family vacation? And what about things like retirement and saving for college—are you on track? If not, no need to harsh the summer mellow. Just pull out your phone and do some reading on where you are and where you should be, and make a plan for the future.

And, of course, when it's time for back-to-school season again, we've got you covered with 14 ways to get your finances back in the game, too.

Fabric exists to help young families master their money. Our articles abide by strict editorial standards.

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