As you may have noticed, this year's summer has finally arrived in Britain and is asserting its questionable authority (on these shores anyway) more than usual. As such, we are being treated to long, balmy evenings, trips to the seaside, ice cream and the obligatory summer holiday. Not to mention the World Cup of course.

However, little in life is free, and while the kids can waltz through the carefree summer months oblivious to the costs of the holiday's innocent pleasures, the parents are left footing the bill.

Unfortunately for Britain's parents, school summer holidays are "one of the most stressful times" due to the expense involved. Recent research, cited by the Sunday Herald, reveals that parents pay around 1,700 to entertain their kids or pay for summer childcare over the six-week break. The National Lottery study found that the average amount spent on childcare is 463, while the average spent on day trips ranges from 25 to 56. Ian Maxwell of campaign group One Parent Families Scotland warned that summer holidays "can turn into a bit of a nightmare for single working parents". And these costs don't even include a family holiday abroad. Often parents are caught unawares by the inflated costs of flights during the school holidays and overlook essentials such as travel insurance and bank charges for using a card abroad.

Travel insurance, for example, is a holiday must, yet 13 per cent of holidaymakers ventured abroad without necessary cover in the last 12 months perhaps because they didn't have the disposable cash so they decided to take an unnecessary risk. However, neglecting to take out travel insurance can result in huge medical bills and financial loss in the event of an accident.

Another unforeseen cost of travelling abroad is charges incurred by your bank when using your debit or credit card abroad. Indeed, Nationwide Building Society estimates that in 2006 holidaymakers will be charged over 535 million in foreign usage fees by their credit or debit card provider. You could use a Payday Loan to avoid such charges by converting it all into foreign currency or travellers cheques before you set off.

Meanwhile, with the World Cup inspiring kids across the country to practice their budding footy skills, one insurer is warning of a surge in smashed windows. With back gardens becoming sporting arenas, Halifax Home Insurance already witnesses a 20 per cent increase in claims against broken windows during the summer months. Thus another unwanted cost, given that you'd have to fit the bill for the new window before the insurer pays you back.

Vicky Emmott, senior underwriter for Halifax Home Insurance, comments: "World Cup fever combined with die-hard Wimbledon and cricket fans could lead to our highest level of claims ever for the summer months. Undoubtedly fans will be eager to 'Bend it like Beckham', emulate Rusedskis previous record breaking 149 mph serve or hit a boundary like Freddie Flintoff."

The bottom line is clear: prepare for unforeseen financial occurrences during the summer holidays. In fact, separate research from Lloyds reveals that 60 per cent of the UK population suffer unforeseen financial occurrences over a year, many of which are likely to occur in the summer months.

Selecting a cash advance from My Payday Loan (http://www.mypaydayloan.co.uk ) is an ideal short-term financial solution to a short-term period of summer madness. As soon as the kids go back to school, you'll be in an ideal position to pay off the payday loan in the knowledge that the summer's major expenses have, hopefully, been taken care of. Payday loans offer short-term support for unexpected expenses, yet without the long-term financial burden. And because a maximum payday loan is 1,000, you will unlikely find yourself out of your depth.

Disclaimer: All information contained in this article, is for general information purposes in the UK only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.