Back to School

 If you’ve every visited France at this time of year or even had a conversation with French person, they will inevitably refer to “La Rentree”. It is something of a national obsession. La rentree roughly translates to “the return” and principally refers to the return of the school year. But it is culturally so much more than that. Even grown adults with no children will speak of it as a pivotal time of the year.

Most French (and Europeans in general) will take their vacations in July or August and these are usually a month long. It a time to renew and reflect. When they speak of la rentree, they are really referring to something like a rededication to their principal endeavor whether that be of a scholastic, professional or personal nature.

We might consider adopting some aspects of this philosophy as Summer winds down, the school year starts up again, and football season returns along with the prospect of cooler temperatures.

Invitations to overspend (a.k.a. Back to School Sales)

 One rededication we might consider, after our own Summer vacations, is to our spending plans. This is one of those times of year when we are bombarded with invitations to spend on back-to-school clothes, supplies, sales tax holidays and various other incentives to break the bank and even take on debt. .

It seems like the overwhelming impulse is to go and buy everything “needed” in one outing! But some strategies such as those mentioned here can help slow, and possibly even eliminate, some of the purchases. There will be PLENTY more sales coming in the next few months.

Learn something new

 Even if you’re not returning to school this Fall, you can still learn new skills and techniques. One popular time and energy management technique that many professionals are using is the Pomodoro Technique. It is increasingly understood that humans are not machines and cannot focus (effectively) for hours at a time. Customize it to your own work style!

Once you’ve mastered the art of time management, you can redirect some of that free time to picking up a new skill that could help you advance at work or nurture your personal life. Udemy is a great place to find courses on just about anything and they often offer serious discounts so keep checking back.

Employee benefits

 If you actually ARE an education professional, you will be evaluating your employee benefits as you start a new school year. Even if you are not, open enrollment for many companies is coming up in a couple of months and it is a great time to make sure you are taking advantage of every perk offered by your employer. Some considerations:

·         Has your life situation changed? A new partner, spouse or child will impact your benefit planning.

·         Evaluate your employee benefits alongside those of your partner or spouse to see if there is any unnecessary overlap.

·         Make sure your beneficiaries are up to date for any employer life insurance, pension and other retirement savings plans.

·         Will you be 50 years old by the end of the year? You can defer more into most retirement plans at this milestone age.

·         Does your employer offer a health care plan with an HSA or FSA? These are valuable savings tools!

Should you need personal guidance with respect to employee benefits, retirement plan selections or any other aspect of your financial life, we stand (and sometimes sit) at the ready to help.