It’s that time again! Time to put away the slip ‘n’ slides and crack open the books. Time to buy school supplies and start setting the alarm. Time to figure out where you stashed your backpack after the end of last school year. Or buy a new one… when you realize that the old one is lost forever.

Ah, yes. Can you tell that August was my favorite time of the year when I was in school? For some reason I always adored back-to-school. I loved getting back to the library – because the public library kind of creeped me out. And I loved getting back to all of my friends and favorite teachers… Is it also obvious that I was one of the nerdy kids? I thought so…

You know… even my friends that weren’t nerds liked going back-to-school because it always meant being one year older and one year “cooler”. Now that I’m out of school – I associate it with feeling older – and a little more out of touch. But, before I wrinkle up and die – let me give you a few helpful back-to-school tips and pointers. (No I’m not that old! Only 23!)

• Clean your room before school starts. It will help you feel fresher and more capable of tackling any obstacle.
• If Mom and Dad are still paying for your lunches you might consider getting a separate account for storing lunch money. It’s a good way to convince Mom and Dad that you’re responsible. Instead of bugging them every day for money you put it into an account  to help learn budgeting before Mom and Dad aren’t able to bail you out of trouble. Trust me, budgeting will become  very important when you’re halfway through the month and have no lunch money left.
• Consider packing a lunch – it’s healthier and cheaper
• Buy your textbooks used. Bookstores charge high prices because they can – not because they should.
• Pull out the remaining supplies from last school year and use them before you buy all new stuff. We used to spend a fortune on school supplies every year because I thought I had to have new stuff. And hey, who doesn’t like new stuff? I’m just thinking that we probably threw away a lot of good stuff because it was “old”. And that gets expensive.

Any other ideas? These are just a few of the things I’ve learned over the years, but I’m sure there’s more that I’ve forgotten. I guess that comes with age… maybe I should’ve stayed in school longer… at least I’m able to share my wealth of knowledge with the world. (Yep… definitely a nerd.)