This post is by staff writer Honey Smith.

Maybe it’s the years of conditioning we receive as children to think of summer as an endless stretch of time to be filled with fun and relaxation. Maybe it’s the fact that my day job is at a university, and during the summer dramatically fewer students are on campus.

Whatever the case, each spring when the semester is drawing to a close, I find myself making plans. At the moment I don’t have plans to travel, but there are plenty of other fun and frugal things that I’d like to accomplish during “summer vacation.”

Use my vacation time creatively

I could conceivably take a week or two off of work entirely. However, summer is generally a low-stress time of year for me and one of the best times to get ahead on projects and the next year’s events. As a result, I don’t tend to see the point of taking that much time off simply for a stay-cation.

Two years ago, however, I hit upon a vacation-hours strategy that I simply adored, and which I think I’ll be implementing again. Rather than taking a week off, I arranged to leave work two hours early for a month. The same 40 hours, just a different configuration.

The difference? Structuring my vacation this way gives me the freedom to do several things that aren’t possible during a “normal” workweek.

1. Take care of weekday errands

Eye appointments. The dentist. Annual veterinary appointments for the pets. An oil change and new tires for my car. There are so many things that can only really be accomplished between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a weekday, and we’re not all fortunate enough to be able to literally run our errands.

It’s certainly possible to take care of these things as a one-off. However, these are also the type of errands that can pile up before you know it. Additionally, mentally it’s easier for me to keep track of my time if it’s consistent. I’m much likelier to remember to make it to my dentist appointment if it’s the same time that my eye appointment was the day before.

Some errands, like grocery shopping, have to be done more or less on a weekly basis for me. After a full day at work I’m often too exhausted or frustrated to want to spend an hour or more in the store, especially since that’s when all the other exhausted, frustrated people are in the store too! That means this task is generally relegated to a weekend. While it’s the best solution for me, I do dream of not having to spend the weekend playing catch-up.

But if I’m leaving work at 3, it feels like a party! Like I’m playing hooky, even if I did work harder throughout the day so I could leave early. I can make it to the store, beat the crowds, and free up my weekend all in one.

2. Experiment in the kitchen

Speaking of the grocery store, when you combine taking care of that errand with getting home early, you have a situation that is the perfect storm for cooking! Cooking is probably my favorite hobby, and summer is my favorite time to engage in it.

Since Arizona doesn’t observe daylight savings time, it’s usually dark by the time I get home during the winter months, even if I don’t stop to run any errands. In the summer, not only am I able to get home sooner, but it will be sunny out until well after 7 p.m.! As a result, I’ll have both the time and the motivation to try some more complex recipes.

Summer is also one of my favorite times to cook because fresh ingredients are much more varied, high-quality, and less expensive than during other times of year. I just made my first batch of fresh salsa yesterday, and I can’t wait to put it on everything. So easy, and so much better than store-bought salsa.

Honey’s Easy Salsa (Hot!!!)

• 4 Anaheim chilies, roasted and peeled, then de-seeded

• 4 jalapenos, de-seeded and chopped into quarters

• 5 Roma tomatoes, chopped into quarters

• 2 habanero chilies, de-seeded (omit if the heat scares you!)

• ½ cup apple cider vinegar

• salt and pepper to taste

• Directions: add all ingredients to food processor and blend. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving

Seriously, do yourself a favor and never eat store-bought salsa again. But salsa is just the beginning. Huge salads full of fresh vegetables, roasted veggies on the grill, gazpacho galore, berry and rhubarb crisps and cobblers. It’s the best time of year to learn to cook!

3. Start an exercise routine

For you lucky ducks who don’t live in a place where the weather is extreme, you may have plans to engage in outdoor sports. Here, that’s not really possible unless you leave town or hike at 5 a.m., which I don’t enjoy. However, it has come to my attention lately via the waist of my pants that I should really start exercising more.

Exercise is one of those things that is easier once it becomes a routine. It’s challenging, however, to get an action to become a habit. I figure by giving myself extra time in the evenings (I’m not going to cook every night!) I will have removed all the excuses and start something I’ll stick to. For the last few months, I’ve been using Groupon to try and find a gym that offers something I’ll enjoy enough to do every day. After trying four or five different places, the one I love the most is Bikram yoga.

Unfortunately, yoga is expensive. Fortunately, my SEO side gig has experienced a recent uptick. And I have other ways to exercise while I save. First, because I still have some Groupons to use up from places that I didn’t like as much. Additionally, it looks like I’m eligible for a settlement class with LA Fitness that will net me a 45-day free pass.

In other words, even though yoga is a luxury, I won’t buy a membership until 1) I can pay in cash without derailing my debt payment schedule and 2) I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of the other methods of exercise I’ve tried.

What about you?

I find that by taking off only two hours per day I give myself the Goldilocks of free time — an amount that’s just right for increasing my productivity, without increasing the temptation to while away entire days at the mall or movie theater.

What are your plans to have some fun without spending too much cash this summer?

GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.

This reader story is from a longtime GRS reader Sumitha, who blogs at afineparent.com. Some reader stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success or failure. These stories feature folks with all levels of financial maturity and income. Want to submit your own reader story? Here’s how.

I said goodbye to a promising career with a six-figure salary last month. I have dreamed about this moment for over two years. Still, when it was time, I spent several days wrestling with acute anxiety and insomnia. This has, by far, been one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life.

Get Rich Slowly reader stories about quitting (here, here, here and here) provided me with immense insight into making a life-changing decision like this. The hundreds of comments on those articles gave me different perspectives to ponder. Together, they helped me work things out for myself. I want to give back, in some sense, by sharing my story.

Background

My husband and I came to the U.S. for higher education, and when we graduated, we joined tech companies as software engineers. Our jobs paid well, and as financially sensible DINKs, we paid off our loans quickly, started saving diligently and bought a home with 20 percent down payment.

Life was good — for a while, anyway. Then the 2008 financial crisis hit. I was expecting a baby at the time, and the worry that I would lose my job while I was pregnant drove me to work long hours all the way to my due date. I left on my maternity leave praying I would still have a job when I got back.

I did, but the stress of working in an uncertain environment on a high-profile project while raising a baby started to take its toll. Things hit rock bottom around my daughter’s second birthday. For the first time, I remember thinking I really want to quit. I didn’t know what I would do after I quit — I just didn’t want to go on like this for the next 20 to 30 years.

Then, I pulled myself back together and carried on.

The breaking point

A few months after that, however, my husband had a major health issue. It was the kind where you sit nervously outside an emergency room and question everything — from the quality of your life, to the kind of work you do, to the kind of person you’ve become, all the way to the existence of God.

It was the last straw on the camel’s back. When the storm passed, I realized I had a choice – pull myself back together (again!) and continue like before, or treat this as a defining moment and build a new life.

I chose the latter.

Financial planning

Part of the change was to move out of the high-stress tech job. It took me around two years from then to finally be ready — financially and emotionally. Here’s what I did:

First step: mortgage

From the time the layoff rumors had started we had been saving money like squirrels on steroids. Also, right from the beginning, we had been paying off the mortgage at an accelerated pace. So the first big change was to finish off that mortgage.

Second step: savings

My first “plan” was to keep working and save diligently until we had enough. But, both my husband and I are financial paranoids, and one fine day, it dawned on me : We’d never have enough. So I set a rule for myself: when I had enough savings to pay myself a salary that covers my average monthly expenses plus a small buffer, for the period of a year, preferably two, I would quit. These savings were after the 401(k), emergency fund, HSA, and vacations. I knew it would take me at least a couple of years to get there.

What’s next?

After my husband’s emergency room episode, I went through a period of intense introspection. I didn’t like what I saw. Somewhere along the way, I had let the stress of my life turn me into an impatient and snappy cynic. And the person who got the brunt of it was my little 2-year-old daughter.

I wanted to do something about it, but change was proving hard. One day in a desperate attempt, I indulged myself by buying over half dozen self-help and parenting books.

Those books changed my life.

I’d heard a million times that being a parent is the most fulfilling thing in the world, but for the first time, I started experiencing it. It felt like magic.

That’s when the light bulb went on.

There must be a million parents out there just like me, struggling with who they have become and the impact it has on the way they raise their kids. These folks want to become better people and better parents but don’t know how or where to start. There are people like me who make a resolution to change but give up as the demands of everyday life interrupt.

What if I could be the catalyst for change? What if I could build a blog that challenges people to improve the people we are, and in turn, improve the kind of parents we can become, and thereby the kind of people our kids will grow up to be? What if I brought together the best advice from different fields and helped them apply it to everyday parenting challenges?

I don’t remember the last time I was as excited. I went out and bought afineparent.com, and spent every free minute dreaming, planning and fantasizing.

Planning for success

Anybody can start a blog, but turning it into an honest livelihood – that takes a bit of planning and work. I could potentially figure it out by myself, but considering there are so many proven experts out there, why reinvent the wheel?

I joined an intensive coaching program by Jon Morrow, someone who is as well known for his keen marketing savvy as his exceptional writing style. With this choice, I spent most of my “learning” budget, but gained a mentor who’s been in the trenches and knows the terrain well. I’m hoping that will improve my odds of success just like having a mentor did back in the corporate world.

Besides, plunking down a chunk of change does wonders to your commitment.

Will I succeed? Financially — I don’t know. I sure hope so.

Otherwise, to some extent, I think I already have. I’ve broken the status quo and started on the course of a positive change for myself, for my family, and hopefully for a bunch of people around the world that I am yet to meet.

GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.

This is a guest post from personal finance writer Gwendolyn Pearce, who has written previously on chicken coops and cooking challenges.

In a recent post, staff writer Lisa Aberle provided an excellent outline of the kind of financial information and preparation you should provide for your loved ones in the event of your incapacitation or death. It’s no fun to prepare this information, which may be why so many people avoid it. But as we’ve discussed, it’s necessary to have a plan to help people navigate your finances during what is sure to be a highly emotional time. But what about highly emotional times that aren’t actually bad?

It’s not very likely that you’ll get hit by a bus or fall into a coma tomorrow, but you know that you need measures in place, just in case. Well, it’s also not very likely that your office pool will win Powerball or that you’ll receive a large, unexpected inheritance, so why would the fact that it’s not likely stop you from being prepared to handle a windfall should one come your way? Do you have a plan in place in the event of a windfall?

Many people are not prepared for the various ways that money could come into their life, whether through the wildly improbable lottery or gambling winnings or slightly-more-practical payouts such as an insurance settlement or profits from selling a home or business. The news is rife with unfortunate stories of lottery winners whose winnings didn’t last very long. In fact, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education, about 70 percent of people who suddenly receive large amounts of money will lose it within a few years.

There is a lot of information out there on what to do with your windfall once you have it, but not too much on how to prepare for a sudden financial gain. Make an outline of information that you can reference in the event of a windfall; a touchstone to reality in the midst of all the emotion and excitement could be a financial lifesaver. Granted, the amount of money that comes to you will probably dictate how far down this list you can go. So, think about making a couple different versions of this list, perhaps “10-50K,” “50-250K,” and “Greater than 250K.”

Window shop for a lawyer and a financial adviser. This step may or may not be necessary if the amount is on the smaller side. If you don’t already have/need one, narrow your choices down to a top three and record their information on a spreadsheet. You may want to go so far as to have a free consultation.

Bank accounts and taxes. Your financial adviser will be able to help you decide where to park your funds and how to plan for your tax obligations.

Debts and obligations. Create a list of all outstanding debts. Remember to update this list every few years as your obligations change.

Splurge. Giving yourself permission to splurge – just a little bit – will feel like a treat without going nuts. What percentage would you splurge? Two to 10 percent seems to be a common suggestion. Set a limit for your future self to have some fun.

Financial goals. Write down your financial goals. Pay off credit cards? Pay off student loans? Pay off mortgage? Fund retirement account? Fund Junior’s college account?

Charity. This includes gifts to friends and family. Who would you help if you could? Making these choices before you come into any extra money could help you identify your priorities. Pay for niece’s college? Pay off parents’ car? Become a donor for a local charity?

Personal goals. Your financial obligations have been met; now, it’s time to use money as a tool to help reach some of your personal goals. What personal goals would this money help you achieve? Would you start that business? Go back to school?

We’ll all pass away one day, but none of us are guaranteed to hit a jackpot with a seven-figure payout. Do you think planning for an unlikely event is worth your time and effort? What additional information would you have ready in order to be prepared for a financial windfall?

This is a post from staff writer Holly Johnson.

This year, our office welcomed a 24-year-old professional into our tight-knit group. Aside from making everyone else in the office feel really, really old, it’s been fun and exciting learning what the younger generation is into these days. Let’s face it — her life is much more exciting than mine. On weekend evenings when I can be found bathing my kids, making meal plans, and doing laundry, she is usually out on the town. While I spend my free time writing and slaving away at our housework, she is planning fun outings or visiting friends from college. She can stay out until 5:00 a.m. and sleep in until noon if she wants to, and she often does. Hearing her recount all of the fun things she’s been doing makes me miss the days when I didn’t have so much responsibility.

My new co-worker is also extremely frugal. She makes practical choices and typically buys all of her business clothes second-hand. A thrifty shopper, she frequently uses coupons and doesn’t try to impress others with material possessions. In fact, she carries a purse that she bought at the Dollar Store for something like $8. I had no idea that the Dollar Store sold purses and that is exactly what I find impressive; she always finds new and interesting ways to save without sacrificing style or function. To top it off, she is allocating all of her extra money toward repayment of her student loans. I love hearing updates and cheering her on as she aggressively kills off her debt. If only I could’ve been more like her at her age, I would’ve been much better off.

Projecting my insecurities

Despite her obvious competency, I still have to stop myself from giving her unsolicited advice. It’s not that I think she needs it. On the contrary, I know that she’s making great decisions compared to many of her peers. But despite her ability to manage her finances quite well, I want to prevent her from making all of the tragic mistakes that I once made. I can’t help but project onto her wishes for my former self when I was 24 years old. If only I had someone around to smack some sense into me, maybe it would’t have taken me nearly as long to get my financial act together. There are so many things I should’ve done differently.

Can you imagine what it would be like to start adulthood over with a clean slate? Since my friend is so financially aware for her age, she has the opportunity to avoid many of the pitfalls and traps that young people entering the job market often fall into. Unfortunately, my twenty-something former self is a perfect example of “what not do do.” There is a plethora of advice I desperately needed in my 20′s, and watching her make all of the right decisions has forced me to come to term with my own mistakes. This got me thinking, “What would I tell your former self, if I had the chance?”

Start saving for retirement immediately. Due to the magic of compound interest, it’s beneficial for young people to start saving for retirement as soon as possible. I wish I would’ve started saving immediately so that I wouldn’t have to work so hard now to catch up.

Avoid debt like the plague. It’s tempting to buy designer clothes or a fancy car when you first start out. When I was her age, I definitely tried to impress others with material possessions I couldn’t afford. In my early twenties, I ran up my credit cards too many times to count. Unfortunately, I punished myself this way many times before I matured enough to stop. I wish I would’ve lived within my means and spared myself the enormous burden of debt in the first place.

You don’t need a new car. When I was 23, I financed a $25,000 car that I definitely couldn’t afford. While getting a new car proved to be fun and exciting, the payment that came with it became a huge burden. I wish I would’ve forgone the new car and kept the one I already had.

Live cheaply while you can. Saving as much money as possible before getting married or having children is an ideal way to start off adulthood. Creating your own safety net provides stability and creates peace of mind. I wish I would’ve lived cheaply while I had the chance. Now that I have a family, I have to work that much harder to save.

Your friends are probably broke. I remember seeing what my friends owned in my early twenties and being really confused. Did they really have that much more money than I did? The reality is that easily available credit makes it nearly effortless to enjoy a lifestyle you can’t afford. Now that I’m older and wiser, I realize that the majority of people I know are making payments on most of their stuff. Knowing that fact in my twenties would’ve explained a lot!

It’s stressful knowing that I wasted so many years before getting serious about saving and investing. On the other hand, always looking backward can be counterproductive. Each day presents a new opportunity to make better choices, and I’m proud to be on the path to financial freedom. It’s certainly better late than never. And, who knows? If I would’ve made better choices, my life might be completely different. The thought of a different life is terrifying, and I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to learn so many things firsthand. I’m glad for each lesson, even if I had to learn them the hard way.

The fact is, my co-worker is a smart and sophisticated young lady. She gets to start her adult life with a clean slate, but not everyone has that opportunity. Still, all is not lost. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s never too late to get your financial life in order. After all, mistakes are only insurmountable if you insist on repeating them. I’ve made my share, and I’ve moved on. And I know that at this moment, I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

What would you tell your former self, if you had the chance?