September can feel like a bit of a breather.
Summer travel is winding down. School is back in session. The holidays still seem far enough away that you don’t need to think about them quite yet.
But for postal workers, you know better than most: the busy season has a way of arriving quickly.
Before calendars fill up, holiday spending starts and workdays get even busier, September is a great time to get a few financial tasks out of the way.
Here are six things you can do now to make the months ahead a little easier.
1. Take a Quick Look at Your Summer Spending
You don’t need an elaborate spreadsheet. Pull up your accounts and look at where your money went over the last couple of months.
Did vacations cost more than expected? Did eating out creep up? Did back-to-school expenses hit harder this year?
Knowing where you stand now gives you time to adjust before adding holiday expenses to the mix.
Pick one or two categories you’d like to rein in rather than trying to overhaul everything at once.
2. Start Your Holiday Fund Before the Holidays
Gifts. Travel. Food. Decorations. Events.
The holidays can bring plenty of expenses—and waiting until November to pay for all of them can put unnecessary pressure on your budget.
Instead, estimate what you’d like to spend this year and divide it by the number of paychecks you have left before the holidays.
Even $25 or $50 from each paycheck can make a difference by December.
Better yet, automate the transfer so saving doesn’t become one more thing you have to remember.
3. Give Your Emergency Savings a Checkup
Holiday expenses aren’t the only things coming.
Cars still break down. Appliances stop working. Home repairs pop up. Life generally doesn’t check your calendar before sending you a bill.
If summer took a bite out of your savings, September is a good time to start rebuilding.
Don’t get discouraged if you can’t put away hundreds of dollars at once. Consistency matters more than starting with a huge amount.
4. Get Ahead of Your Calendar—and Your Bills
When life gets busy, little things are easier to miss.
Take 15 minutes to look at the next few months and write down any expenses you already know are coming.
Think about:
Once you know what’s ahead, you can start setting aside a little at a time instead of letting each expense become a surprise.
5. Put Your Paycheck to Work Automatically
The best financial routine might be the one you don’t have to think about.
If your paycheck is deposited automatically, consider setting up automatic transfers to savings at the same time.
Treating savings like any other monthly obligation can make it easier to build the habit—especially during months when your schedule doesn’t leave much time to think about finances.
PostCity offers checking and savings options designed for its community of California postal workers and their families, including checking with access to payday up to two days early.
6. Make Sure Your Money Is Working as Hard as You Are
September is also a good time to ask a question we don’t ask often enough:
Am I getting enough from where I keep my money?
Look at what you’re paying in fees, what your savings is earning, the rates on your existing loans and whether you’re taking advantage of the benefits already available to you.
At PostCity, deeper relationships can also unlock additional benefits through PostCity Perks, including potential loan discounts, fee benefits, ATM reimbursements and special savings rates depending on relationship tier.
Sometimes improving your finances isn’t about cutting another $10 from your budget. It’s about making better use of the money you already have.
Deliver a Little More Peace of Mind This Fall
You spend your days making sure things get where they need to go.
This September, take a little time to do the same for your money.
Review where you stand. Prepare for what’s coming. Automate what you can. And give yourself the gift of heading into the busiest part of the year with a plan already in place.
Because when November and December arrive, you’ll have enough to deliver without financial stress being one more thing on your list.
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