How to Budget for Your Big Summer Plans

Have you been feeling good about your budget lately? We’re guessing yes. It may be because the sun is shining a little more, and those extra doses of vitamin D are lifting your spirits. Or it could be due to the fact that it’s the midyear mark—and you’ve actually managed to stick to your financial resolutions. Regardless of the reason, kudos to you!

Of course, now that the weather outside is a little less frightful, summer temptations will soon come calling—outdoor concerts, weekend trips to the beach, al fresco dining. Translation: You probably can’t ignore the itch to get out there and do things (read: spend money) now that you no longer have the Polar Vortex as an excuse to stay put at home.

It’s a common conundrum: Limitless summer diversions, not-so-limitless dollars to spend. We hope you already have a budget in place. And if you’ve been using the 50/20/30 principle of budgeting—one easy rule of thumb for seeing where your money goes—you may already allot 50% of your budget to essential costs, like your mortgage or rent; 20% to such financial goals as retirement and debt repayment; and 30% toward “fun” lifestyle expenses, like eating out and grabbing drinks with friends.

Given that it’s often those very lifestyle costs that have the potential to bust budgets—especially during peak travel and entertaining season—we asked three lifestyle experts, plus our own LearnVest CFP® David Blaylock, to share their summer “fun” budgets to give us an inside look at their own warm-weather spending. Hopefully, you’ll be able to glean some tips on where to consider shaving costs—and feel better knowing that even the pros allow themselves a little room to splurge.

For the full article, please visit Learnvest.