Summer sunshine causes willpower to evaporate
Posted June 19, 2015 9:07 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – No matter how much sunscreen you slap on, it’s not going to protect your willpower from all that hot sunshine.
A new survey suggests many of us take a mental vacation from worrying about money during the summer.
The Pollara poll for Bank of Montreal finds about half of us want to be able to say we had fun at the end of the summer, and we’ll spend a lot to make sure that happens.
The average Canadian plans to spend more than $2,000 on trips, over $1,100 out socializing, and another $1,000 on entertaining at home through the season.
Chris Menard with BMO says it’s all too easy to play now and worry about paying later.
“You get the hot weather going, people are having fun with family and friends and vacationing,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“A lot of people (42%) don’t bother budgeting. The summer living gets the best of everyone; they want to live it well and enjoy it and that’s what they tend to do.”
The poll suggests credit cards are the most popular payment method for the majority of summer expenses, especially out of town vacations, which can lead to a summer spending hangover at the end of the season.
“Exactly,’ says Menard. “And then we have that little bit of time before the holiday season to recover. That’s why we advise people to spend wisely. We talk about utilizing coupons for things like amusement parks and to set a bit of a budget.”
He recommends setting aside a few thousand dollars for fuel and accommodation and trying to stick to your budget… within reason.
“Everybody wants to have a good time in the summer, but try to stay within that ballpark.”
