Summer arrives and suddenly you need everything: a new pair of sunglasses, a BBQ for the garden, swimwear, outdoor furniture, a fan, sandals, a cooler for the beach. The sun is out and your wallet is wide open.
But summer purchases are tricky. The season is short -- 3 to 4 months in most places -- which means your window of use is limited. A purchase that looks cheap can have a surprisingly high cost per use when you factor in how few times you'll actually use it before autumn rolls around.
How We Calculated
For seasonal items, we factored in:
Cost Per Use = Purchase Price / (Uses Per Season x Number of Seasons Before Replacement)
This is where summer purchases diverge from year-round items. A BBQ used 15 times per summer for 6 summers has 90 total uses. A beach towel used 10 times per summer for 3 summers has 30 total uses.
Summer Buys: Worth It
1. Quality Sunglasses
| Detail | Budget | Mid-Range | Designer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £10 | £50 | £200 |
| Uses per season | 100+ days | 100+ days | 100+ days |
| Seasons | 1 (lost/broken) | 3 | 5 |
| Total uses | 100 | 300 | 500 |
| Cost per use | £0.10 | £0.17 | £0.40 |
Sunglasses are worn almost daily in summer. Even budget pairs at 10p per wear are good value -- but they break easily. Mid-range sunglasses with UV protection and durable frames at 17p per wear are the sweet spot. Designer pairs are fine if you won't lose them, but the cost per wear premium is steep.
2. BBQ / Grill
| Detail | Portable | Mid-Range | Premium Gas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £30 | £150 | £400 |
| Uses per season | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| Seasons | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Total uses | 30 | 90 | 160 |
| Cost per use | £1.00 | £1.67 | £2.50 |
All three are reasonable per use -- but the portable at £1 per cookout is surprisingly good value. Unless you BBQ twice a week and want the premium features, the portable or mid-range option delivers excellent value. Remember to factor in charcoal/gas costs too.
3. Reusable Water Bottle
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £20 (insulated) |
| Uses per season | 90 (daily, 3 months) |
| Seasons | 5+ (year-round use) |
| Total uses | 1,825+ |
| Cost per use | £0.01 |
The reusable water bottle is the undisputed champion of summer value. At a penny per use (and that's before counting year-round use), it pays for itself within a week of replacing bought water. An absolute no-brainer Buy.
4. Sun Cream / Sunscreen
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £8 (200ml bottle) |
| Applications | 25-30 |
| Cost per use | £0.27-£0.32 |
Sun cream isn't optional -- it's essential. At about 30p per application, it's cheap protection against something that costs significantly more to treat. Buy it, use it generously, and don't try to save money by applying less. This is one area where the cost per use is irrelevant; your health comes first.
Calculate the real cost before you buy
Stop guessing. Skip or Buy shows you the cost per use of anything — so you only buy what's truly worth it.
Summer Think Twice: Context Matters
5. Garden Furniture
| Detail | Budget Set | Mid-Range Set | Premium Set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £150 | £400 | £800 |
| Uses per season | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Seasons | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Total uses | 60 | 150 | 240 |
| Cost per use | £2.50 | £2.67 | £3.33 |
Garden furniture is one of the worst-value seasonal purchases. Weather exposure kills lifespan, and you only use it 3-4 months per year. At £2.50-£3.33 per use, it's borderline. The budget set actually offers the best value here because it minimises your loss when weather damage kicks in. Use covers to extend lifespan.
6. Paddling Pool / Inflatable
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £30-£80 |
| Uses per season | 10-15 |
| Seasons | 1-2 (punctures, degradation) |
| Total uses | 15-30 |
| Cost per use | £1.00-£5.33 |
If you have young kids, a paddling pool gets heavy use in hot weather and the cost per use is reasonable at the lower end. For adults, it's a novelty that gets used twice. Be realistic about who'll actually use it and how often.
7. Electric Fan
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £25-£60 |
| Uses per season | 60 nights (2 months) |
| Seasons | 5 |
| Total uses | 300 |
| Cost per use | £0.08-£0.20 |
A fan at 8-20p per use is reasonable, especially during heatwaves. But consider: do you really need a new one, or is last year's still working? Fans rarely break. This is a classic case where underconsumption thinking ("use what you have") applies.
Summer Skips: Poor Value
8. Matching Outdoor Cushion Sets
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £60-£120 |
| Uses per season | 20 |
| Seasons | 2 (fading, weather damage) |
| Total uses | 40 |
| Cost per use | £1.50-£3.00 |
Outdoor cushions look great for about 4 weeks before sun bleaching and rain damage set in. At £1.50-£3 per use with a 2-season lifespan, they're one of the worst-value summer purchases. Use old indoor cushions brought outside temporarily instead.
9. Novelty Summer Inflatables
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £25-£50 |
| Uses | 2-5 |
| Cost per use | £5.00-£25.00 |
The giant flamingo float, the inflatable drinks holder, the pool ring shaped like a donut -- they're Instagram props, not practical purchases. At £5-£25 per use, they're some of the worst-value items you can buy in summer.
10. Single-Occasion Summer Outfits
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Price | £30-£60 |
| Times worn | 1-2 |
| Cost per wear | £15-£60 |
Buying a new outfit for every BBQ, festival, or holiday is the summer equivalent of fast fashion waste. At £15-£60 per wear, it's a Skip. Build a small capsule of summer pieces you'll wear repeatedly instead.
The Summer Spending Summary
| Item | Price Range | Cost Per Use | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reusable water bottle | £20 | £0.01 | Buy |
| Sunglasses (mid-range) | £50 | £0.17 | Buy |
| Sun cream | £8 | £0.30 | Buy (essential) |
| BBQ (portable) | £30 | £1.00 | Buy |
| Electric fan | £25-60 | £0.08-0.20 | Buy (if needed) |
| Garden furniture | £150-800 | £2.50-3.33 | Think Twice |
| Paddling pool | £30-80 | £1.00-5.33 | Think Twice |
| Outdoor cushions | £60-120 | £1.50-3.00 | Skip |
| Novelty inflatables | £25-50 | £5.00-25.00 | Skip |
| Single-occasion outfits | £30-60 | £15-60 | Skip |
The Seasonal Spending Rule
Short-season items need to work harder per use to justify their price. Before any summer purchase, multiply your expected uses per season by the number of seasons it'll last. If the total is under 50 uses, be cautious. If it's under 20, think hard.