Emily Sherman is a contributing writer for USA TODAY Homefront specializing in affordable home purchases and managing home budgets. She has written about finance, education and consumer services industries for publications such as Buy Side from WSJ, U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek. Emily is a travel enthusiast who loves to use credit card points and miles to score free vacations, but when she’s not on the road, she can be found at home curled up with a good book or testing a new recipe. She has a bachelor’s degree in English Writing and Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University in Austin, where she still lives.
Summer is just around the corner and vacation temperatures are coming in hot. The National Weather Service predicts that from August to October, temperatures will be between 33% and 60% above normal. Staying cool is more than loading up on popsicles, especially if you are on a budget and want to temper your energy bills.…
TEST Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.
The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.