It used to be that Labor Day marked the start of the academic year. Not these days. For numerous districts across North America, late August is when class is in session, and that suggests the back-to-school season starts a bit earlier than typical, too.

This week's collection of Wise Bread classic articles takes us back to back-to-school when again, with suggestions and tricks on minimizing school supplies, conserving time, and conserving the environment.

How to Minimize School Supplies Without Going Crazy - Carrie Kirby shares how she saves time and money on back-to-school by looking for materials from unexpected sources, making best use of benefits points, and taking advantage of loss leaders.

6 Back-to-School Items You Need to Always Purchase the Thrift Store - We enjoy the thrift shop for all kinds of fantastic buys, from clothing to furnishings. Tisha Tolar reminds us that the thrift shop is an excellent location to discover back-to-school savings, too.

Back to School Time Savers - One thing summer does is spoil the mindful academic year routine many families follow to arrive on time (and to stay sane). If you've actually forgotten exactly what that routine appear like, have a look at the time savers Debbie Dragon's household follows.

Save on School Expenditures Without Destroying Your Children's Youth - Once the academic year gets underway there'll be a lot even more school-related expenses to budget for, everything from school photos to field journeys. Julie Rains reveals us ways to meet those costs on the inexpensive, without humiliating your student in front of his/her peers.

6 Paths to a Greener Back-to-School Period - Chris Birk teaches us how to re-supply for the academic year without destroying the environment (or the family spending plan).

Trapper Keeper Returns

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It’s the end of 2013 already. That zipped by didn’t it ?! It looks like just the other day I was starting this new, regular feature for Wise Bread. And as anticipated last month, the Xbox 360 did plunge to under $100! Now, with Christmas almost upon us, this is most likely the most vital upgrade of the year. So, what’s hot, and what’s not? Let’s dive in.

First, What to Buy…

Black Friday lags us (phew), however Cyber Monday 2013 is on December 2nd this year. You’re going to find deals for almost everything on that day, so this isn’t the place to list them. But once it’s been and gone, exactly what’s still worth purchasing?

Thanksgiving Merchandise

Let’s start with the evident, now is the ideal time to plunder the shops for next year’s big event. You’ll find killer offers on designs, cards, pots and pans and much more. There are also going to be substantial discount rates on Thanksgiving themed food and beverage. Grab it now, it’s just as tasty.

HDTVs and Plasma TVs

Even after the enormous discount rates seen on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, HDTVs continue to be priced well under the recommended market price. You’ll see the biggest discounts from the less well-known brands, but even the huge boys are chopping their prices. Plasma TVs are going to begin being phased out totally in 2014, so if you don’t mind the slightly inferior innovation, you could get a genuine take on a cinema TELEVISION.

Movies and Shows on Blu-Ray and DVD

With the HDTVs come big rate reductions on Blu-Rays and DVDs. If you’re trying to find some terrific entertainment for yourself, or for gifts for friends and family, this is a great time to stockpile on many of those motion pictures and shows.

Christmas Decorations and Goods

NOT before December 25th. However after that, it’s party time! The stores don’t want all that product clogging up their shelves. Anticipate to see 50 % -90 % cost savings on everything from trees and lights to backyard designs, cards, and gift wrap. Bear in mind, Christmas will be right here again next year, so purchase now to save later.

Cars

As the year comes to a close, and the bad weather begins hammering most of us, automobile dealerships are aiming to clear inventory. And they’ll drop prices to do it. If you don’t mind braving the weather on those cold, open lots, you could drive into 2014 with a fantastic deal.

Houses

Just like car dealers, sellers of houses have it hard at this time of year. A lot of just take their homes off the marketplace to ride out the winter season months. So if houses are on the marketplace, the sellers are EXTREMELY inspired. Now is the time to do some house searching, and attempt to undercut asking costs by a chunk.

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Kitchen Goods

Sales from last month will continue well into this month, as makers understand this is the season for cooking impulse purchases. A well timed discount will tip individuals from ‘perhaps next month’ to ‘I’ll take it.’ So with all the different vacations and occasions coming, you can stock up on new kitchen gizmos and conserve even more than a couple of dollars.

Toys. Really?

This one puzzles me, but I’m not going to question it. Offers on great deals of toys turn up in December every year, despite the fact that they’re in high need. The only reason that comes to mind is the crazy competitors in between all the different toys, therefore makers are cutting rates to get your attention. Anyway, it’s good news for you and the kids!

It’s Tool Time

It’s not a great time to be doing Do It Yourself, but it’s a good time to stockpile on the fundamentals everybody needs to get the jobs done. You’ll see costs cut on all sorts of tools and equipment, from power drills (go for Lithium batteries) and bench saws to screwdrivers, wrench sets, and sanders.

And, What to Avoid…

After Cyber Monday, you could still have a lot on your shopping list. If any of the products below are still on it, beware and browse. Use the web, the offers websites, and consider carefully utilized items. Otherwise, you’re going to be paying leading dollar.

Electronics

From digital video cameras and MP3 players to video games and headsets, this isn’t the very best time to buy electronic devices. A lot of older models will be changed in the early part of 2014, so wait until then. If you need to purchase them, search the offer websites and see to it you actually are getting a deal.

Jewelry

People love giving precious jewelry at this time of year. And when people enjoy doing something, sellers love charging them top dollar for it. So unless you really need to drop a few of your cash on rings, pendants, and other gleaming items, wait until next year for that costly item.

Calendars…Again

You’re going to be very, very lured to purchase them, so you can pop them up on New Year’s Day and start 2014 afresh. Don’t do it. Within a couple of weeks, the prices will drop significantly, by at least 50 %. By the time February rolls around, stores will be practically providing them away. You can make it a couple of weeks till then, especially now that most of us have smart phones and computers with built-in calendars.

Gym Memberships

The New Year means New Year’s Resolutions. In anticipation of this, health club memberships are bought as presents or by individuals all set to begin 2014 with a fit new attitude. Whatever the reason, gyms are going to be charging full price for the next few months.

Winter Gear and Clothing

A no brainer to end the list. It’s cold out there. Snow shovels, big coats, hats, gloves, boots, and all the various other winter equipment is marked at full rate for the next few months. If you truly need them now, think about Craigslist or thrift stores to conserve some money.

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What’s going on, Wise Bread neighborhood? This is Jeff Rose, Certified Financial Coordinator and founder of GoodFinancialCents.com. The people at Wise Bread wanted me to do a fast introduction video since I’m the brand-new monetary planning specialist here to address your concerns. That’s right. Wise Bread has its own resident CFP to help respond to any financial planning questions that you have.

But before we get into that, let me provide you a quick introduction of who I am.

I’m a Certified Financial Organizer. I’ve been in the monetary service market for over 10 years. That’s right – a decade. (That’s why I’ve a lot of gray hairs. I’ve got 3 children, too, so that type of helps out.)

I started my career with A.G. Edwards and Sons, which isn’t around. They were purchased out by a big bank. I spun off from them and started my own wealth management company, Partnership Wealth Management, LLC, which is where I’m at today.

In case I look familiar, no, I’m not The Rock. My eyebrow doesn’t go up. I don’t do the people’s elbow, whatever that is, although The Rock’s kind of cool. No, I’m the creator of GoodFinancialCents.com personal financial blog site. I’ve done a couple of movements: the Roth IRA Movement, the Financial obligation Motion, the Life Insurance Motion where I bust out some dance skills.

My mission has been to offer people details they should make clever decisions about their cash. When I was maturing, I understood absolutely nothing about investing. I knew absolutely nothing about cost savings. And I literally stumbled into an occupation of being a monetary adviser. And thank goodness, due to the fact that the discovering experiences I’ve gotten conference with genuine people and their real life battles have actually really opened my eyes to exactly what I need to do and to show other people the best ways to make smart decisions with their money.

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This September, I’m happy to announce I’d my first book coming out called Soldier of Finance. This book reveals individuals how to invest their money and take charge of their future. I see many people who’re making bad choices or simply don’t understand exactly what to do, and I desire this book to motivate them. You need to desire more and want your life to be different. So if you’ve the motivation and the discipline, I want to reveal you how to get there.

Some of my previous work has actually been showcased on MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Market Watch, and even more significantly, Wise Bread. So I’m intending to offer it back to the Wise Bread area by answering any questions you’ve regarding financial planning.

Now, certainly, financial planning is a broad classification, but I’m below to respond to anything associated to that. This can consist of retirement, investing, university savings strategies, life insurance policy – anything that relates to money and your life, I’m right here to answer it. And if I can’t respond to the question, I’ve a network of trusted experts that’ll be delighted to address the question for you. Basically, I’ve got your back.

So if you’ve any questions, just struck me up on the Wise Bread blog site. We’ll be pleased to get that question addressed in a future video and some possible Google hangouts. But if you require a quicker response, you can always hit me up on Twitter, Facebook, social networks. I’m there, that’s where I hang out.

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There’s nothing even more reassuring than getting in all your individual information to a life insurance quoter and just waiting to see what happens. Does your details get offered? Are you getting phone calls from 10 different individuals simultaneously? Hey this is Jeff Rose from Wise Bread and I am today to answer what takes place when you begin the life insurance application procedure.

Gone are the days of the life insurance coverage agent pertaining to your kitchen area table after dinner attempting to offer you the perks of life insurance and which business to select. Nowadays, you can head online and actually have a quote in less than a minute, with the application procedure starting possibly 10 or 15 minutes after that. At Wise Bread, you’ll see that we’ve a life insurance quoter that’ll give you an instantaneous quote of over 60 various carriers in literally less than a minute. All you’ve to do is enter in your age, your weight, your date of birth, the state that you reside – and after that you’ll have a quote. As long as you don’t have any pre-existing health conditions, that should be rate that you’ll get. You then can finish the application process by entering your address, contact number, your best email address, and how we are going to contact you.

After you struck the send button, let me assure you that we don’t offer your details. did not0 not getting calls from 10 different life insurance coverage representatives in your area all trying to sell you the exact same thing. Trust me, I’ve actually been with that process before and it’s not enjoyable. They just keep calling you and calling you and calling you. It’s extremely, really irritating which isn’t what happens with us.

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Once you hit send you’ll get a call from one of our life insurance coverage experts just ensuring that you’ve the right quote. We have had a number of people that get life insurance coverage and who did not recognize that their previous medical history could influence the amount of the expense is going to be. We just wish to make certain that you’ve a reasonable expectation of the amount of life insurance coverage is going to cost. So, after you hit the send button. you are getting a phone call from among our life insurance experts.

This expert will be able to examine your scenario, specifically if you’ve any pre-existing conditions. We work with a few of the top carriers so we understand that if you’ve diabetes, hypertension, or any other clinical condition, we know which carriers will be able to deal with that condition and get you the best rate. After they match you with the very best carrier with the best rate, they’ll then validate the individual information that you sent. We are going to get your Social Safety Number, your driver’s license, your home address, your recipient details, and other information just like that.

After that we will to move you to our back policeman to validate some of the medical info and the individual information that you offer to us. They are basically just there to double check us to make certain we’ve actually asked you all the right concerns. At the end of that phone meeting they are going to arrange a traveling registered nurse to come to your home or to your location of employment (whatever is most hassle-free for you) to do the blood and urine test. That can be done within a week or so of carrying out the phone meeting – it’s that fast. After did not1 finished the clinical examination, that’s turned over to the life insurance policy underwriters and they’ll evaluate the medical exam based on the phone meeting and afterwards give you an offer based upon their findings.

All in, this procedure maybe takes 20 to 30 minutes, that means, you don’t have someone pertaining to your residence interfering with your nighttime TV programs. This can all be done with the ease of a notebook and a mobile phone, and you can have the procedure of the life insurance coverage start. It’s that basic.

Nathan and I have decided to go on a spending freeze for the month of November. It's not an emergency situation, but rather to avoid a financial emergency in the future and to better understand our finances. I first read about the idea on Wise Bread. Basically, you only spend money on essential items (food, shelter, medication, utilities, etc.) and all discretionary spending is put on hold. I think that it makes it easier to cut down on spending because rather than considering the expense of each option, the answer is just no or not now. This gives us a clean slate on which to examine all of our expenses.

During the freeze, we will also: 

organize and simplify our budget (check out the 50/20/30 Rule from LearnVest)

commit to a savings plan

start preparing for our taxes

discuss charitable spending (I think Anne Frank said it best.)

I'll be interested to see how much money we save by the end of November. Luckily, my family is in New York and we won't have to travel for Thanksgiving. I know the holidays are a difficult time to try to save, but I also think this is a good way to detox from our consumerist culture. That's really not what the holidays should be about.

Pro tip: Ever since I committed to buying only ethical fashion, I have really slowed down my impulses to buy and have bought very little in the past few months. I'm also sending some items I don't want to Twice, so I will actually be making a little money. 

A spending freeze is a very simple way to cut back on spending and slow down expenses. If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to ask! If you want to join in and get some moral support, email me or talk to me on Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to help!