Back to School Preparations

Wow, where did this summer go? We are in August and school openings are around the corner.

During the summer the routines changed regarding what time everyone woke up…breakfast choices entailed more cooking than normal and lots of outdoor family-related activities and vacations occurred.

Now with schools opening again, what can we do to make this transition easier?

Here are some tips…

Look around your home,

• If you have breakfast at home, do you have staples in the pantry for fast quick breakfast meals?

You may want to prepare a meal schedule that would alleviate this chore.

• Is the area where you all get together prior to leaving the house uncluttered?

 Are the sweaters, jackets, coats, and boots out at a place easy to reach for those hurry-up mornings?

ï       What about the sleeping routines?

Good time to start getting the little ones used to going to bed earlier to ensure they have a good night’s rest. Nothing like having to deal with a grumpy child when you are trying to get them ready.

ï       Need to buy those School Supplies?

Good time to shop around for the back-to-school clothes and school supply sales.  The time the sales go on is when all other items are at full price and if you are like me..you buy one on-sale item and three full-price items. You may want to consider partnering with another parent and buying your school supplies in bulk at places like Costco, or Sam’s Club.

ï       Then you have the transportation issues of getting the little ones off to school.

       Do you have a routine bus stop where you will be dropping them off?

Time to have that chat with them regarding what to do and not do on a school bus and whether to allow someone else other than the designated person to pick them up from school.  As a family, we shared a password known only to us so that in case of an emergency and someone picked up one of our children from school the child would ask for the passcode. If it was a stranger or even a family member and they do not know the password, then “NO” that child would not go with them.

ï       Do you drive your children to school?

Now is the time to get that tune-up on your car to ensure it will be functioning during the cold or snowy mornings. You see if not, then not only your child will get to school late, but you will be off schedule as well.

This is August and all that will be happening simply because school is around the corner. Well before you know it the fall, and winter seasons just creeps up on us as well,  so put some tax-saving initiatives in place now.

1.       If you have a mortgage, make an extra payment this fall. This will save you thousands of dollars of interest and help pay down your home sooner than planned.

2.       Review your credit card balances. We all add a few hundred dollars to them during the holidays so why not check them now so you can plan accordingly?

3.       Clear out your closets, if you haven’t used an item or piece of clothing all year, consider donating it to someone who can and will use it. This will allow someone else to be blessed and you can take the tax deduction as well.

So, Summer was fun. Remember back to-school days mean that for children between the ages of 6 to 15 you’ll  only have 9 summers to enjoy with them…make it memorable, fun, and lasting and that my friends is divas two cents.