Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and traditionally people spend a lot of time, energy, and money trying to have a nice special holiday. However it’s easy get lost in the festivities and spend a lot of money and resources. I thought that I would outline my plans for a nice relaxing fourth of July while keeping my financial and environmental costs to a minimum.

First off I plan on walking over to City Hall for a free community pancake breakfast. It will be a great place to meet people, run into people I haven’t seen for a while, and eat free pancakes. Yum.

After the breakfast I’ll probably head back home and relax for a little while then fill up my water bottle, slap on some sunblock, and go out and watch the town parade. Yes, I’m sure it will be cheesy, but it’s a quick walk and again it’s free. Plus cheesy can be entertaining.

During the day I plan on hanging out in the apartment with my dog, reading a book I picked up from the library, and I might call a friend or two. In the evening I plan on hopping on my bike and riding over to the fireworks display about a mile and a half way.

I decided not to grill because to me firing up a charcoal grill for one person’s lunch is both an environmental and financial waste. I will just have a nice sandwich and maybe a cold beer. Plus it’s suppose to be quite hot tomorrow, and standing if front of flames under a blazing sun doesn’t really appeal to me.

I know that some people might think that limiting themselves to only these activities would put a damper on their celebrations so I came up with a list of additional ways to scale back the expenses and waste, but still have tons of fun.

1. Go easy on the food (and beer). It amazes me how much people are willing to spend on food for one day. If you can share the barbecuing with friends or neighbors it can really help cut down on costs. Had I not been so busy with school work (socially lazy) these past few days this is likely what I would have done. It’s a great way to save on financial costs and environmental impacts; it takes about the same about of charcoal to cook two hamburgers as it does six and you can enjoy them in good company.

2. Buy supplies ahead of time. July 5th is probably a great day to buy Independence Day supplies. But even if you don’t want to buy so far in advance, you can buy red decorations after Christmas, and can likely find a good selection of items after Labor Day. The same goes for outfits. And really as far as clothes are concerned, I would recommend buying kids outfits on clearance (or at a garage sale), or they can simply wear something they already own that’s red, white, and blue. If you’re on a tight budget (or should be) then buying special holiday outfits shouldn’t even be on the list.

3. Avoid driving whenever possible. Fourth of July celebrations often draw large crowds. If you drive you may end up stuck in traffic only to park far away from where you are trying to go. It’s a waste of gas, a waste of money, and a big pain. If at all possible walk, bike, or take advantage of buses or shuttles.

4. Seek cheap entertainment. Watch a parade live or on TV. Watch a movie, perhaps Independence Day, or check out a TV show marathon on cable. There are plenty of ways to entertain yourself without spending a lot of money. If you want to get out of the house seek a local park, or a free (cheap) swimming area. You could also get away from the crowds and take the family on a nice hike.

Well these are my suggestions for reigning in financial and environmental during the summer holidays. Anyone have any others?