The mercury is rising again and I’m starting to sweat the small stuff – in fact, it seems like I’m sweating all the stuff.

But, I’m determined to find some ways to cool off for a bargain in the process and now I’m sharing my non-traditional penny-pinching tips.

Treat yourself with AC. This is an old trick from “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”, a great novel in which a poor, turn-of-the-(19th)-century family is trying to save money to buy land.

Admittedly, they treated themselves with heat to save cash, but you can do the same with cool air.

I cool myself as well as I can throughout the day without AC and then crank it on for the night, since I can’t sleep well when I’m sweating. (This also works great if you’re at an air-conditioned job all day – turn it off at home to save!)

Here’s some ways I save on air conditioning:

• Stretch your juice budget. When frozen, concentrated orange juice goes on sale, I buy several jars and keep them in the freezer. On hot days, I spoon a little of the slush into a glass, top it off with chilled water and voila! A chilly, healthy, flavored drink. For even more flavor, brew herbal tea, chill it and mix that with the juice. Heaven, I promise.
• Turn off the computer. Yes, I love my computer. But there’s a reason cats curl up on these things in the winter – they get hot. Okay, I know we need our electronics even in hot weather. But a little planning and diligent efforts at hitting the off switch when we don’t absolutely need our gadgets can cut down the overall heat in your house.
• Learn to love the library. Guess what. My local library has tons of free entertainment – and it’s air conditioned. Is there a better combination around? I think not. Even if you’re not much of a reader, most libraries have impressive DVD and magazine collections – great for chilling out on a sultry summer night.
• Find projects to cool yourself down. Here’s a double money-saver: when my shower curtains start to get a little less than sparkling, rather than buy new ones, I sprinkle them with bleach and scrub them down with cold water in the bathtub. In the process, I get cooled down – kind of a sprinkler for grown-ups. Other watery cleaning projects: washing the car/dog, hand-washing delicate clothes, cleaning out the fridge/freezer.

Enjoy your summer, and don’t let keeping cool for you to file bankruptcy.

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