School’s In!

by Carmen Gonzalez

With the start of a new school year, normalcy begins to enter all of our schedules again. Routines are being set as homework is sent home and extracurricular schedules are being decided. You might find yourself rushing from one thing to the next which can make managing everything difficult. From mealtime to a stretched budget, adjustments have to be made as schedules change. You know you have to make a plan, but where do you start?

The most important factor to adapting the school year routine is communication. Find the best way to share schedules and plans with your family so everyone knows what is happening. You can choose a mobile calendar app that everyone can share or get a physical calendar or planner that you can post in commonly visited area in your home like the kitchen. This keeps schedule changes and updates easier to share with everyone so no one is forgotten. It also helps to choose one day of the week to go over who’s going where and when so everyone knows what responsibilities they have. Sundays are a great day for this because it’s the start of a new week and typically the day with fewer obligations.

Whatever day you do choose, it can be helpful to also discuss mealtimes at this point before grocery shopping. Share dinner ideas for the week, and let your family choose your favorite. If your schedule is extra busy in the evenings, choose one night the family can eat out together and plan crockpot meals for the rest of the nights. The easier it is to prepare and eat your meals, the more likely your family will eat at home instead of running through a drive-thru. Eating at home is important because it ensures you know what is going into your food nutritionally, and it can save you money. If you’ve been eating home for a while and are at a loss for what to come next, look into subscribing to a meal box plan that provides you the ingredients and recipes to make your family delicious, healthy meals.

From busy schedules to mealtimes, making a plan for it all will also help you make a plan for your budget. You might be adding additional costs to your budget that you didn’t have to think about during the summer months like dance shoes or football uniforms. You can plan ahead for these expenses by saving back some every week to cover the cost; or if the expenses sneak up on you, you can pay with your Centric’s Rewards Visa^® Credit Card. Be careful not to spend more on your credit card then you can pay off; and if you need help managing your school time budget, you can meet with a Centric Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor.

School time provides us with schedules and routines that give us stability in life after the whirlwinds of summer. We might not always enjoy the back-to-school season, but when we can plan ahead and communicate with our families, it can be a great time for learning and growing. Keep a shared calendar for you and your family so everyone knows what is happening, and you can all make meal suggestions. Most importantly, make sure you prepare or adjust your budget for all of the extracurriculars and needed supplies throughout the school year.

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