A few weeks ago, Earth Hour had me sitting home alone in the dark on a Saturday night… again.

I didn’t really know what to do with myself, so I decided to put in motion an experiment I’m trying out called: Operation Beach Bod… When I got back from my run, I was exhausted and still had 50 minutes to kill alone in the dark… (operation failed).

I started thinking about the summer ahead and getting psyched about all the fun I was going to have with friends back home. But I was also thinking about the huge amount of money that I somehow manage to blow every summer on ridiculous outings. I should be able to find a better balance…

I considered playing “Earth Hour” every Saturday night for the rest of summer, but instead I came up with this list of five small things that I can do this summer to cut costs.

1 - Brown Bag it! So what if even the IT interns make fun of me? If I bring my own lunch to work, it’ll give me an excuse to eat at my desk and finish reading my latest nerd book in private.

2 – Potluck Patio Parties. I spend a ton of money throughout the summer, hanging out with people after work, grabbing food and a couple drinks on pub patios downtown. This summer, I’m going the way of collaborative, backyard patio parties. Fire up that barbecue!

3 – Run, bike, exercise! This summer, I’m skipping the gym membership and getting in shape the old fashioned way. That’s right, outside. Operation Beach Bod… take 2!

4 – Carpool. – Dude, have you seen the price of gas? Take the carpool lane!

5 – Library. I’m a total bookworm and lately, my routine Chapters splurges have been running up an astronomical bill! Since summer is usually my time to get down to some of my own reading, I’m going to try and spend more time at the library and less time in book stores. (Unless you know of any good used book stores!)

Saving money and finding ways to cut costs as a student can be tough, but it doesn’t have to send you dumpster diving.These are just some of my goals, based on my own spending habits for cutting costs and having fun this summer. How are you going to save this summer?