End-of-Summer Checklist: What to Take Care of Before Fall

The end of summer is a natural transition point in the year. The school year starts, routines change, and work schedules can change, too. The final few months of the year come quickly, and many people are already thinking about holiday plans, year-end expenses, and the things they want to take care of before winter makes them harder to deal with.

As fall approaches, it helps to consider what everyday tasks and errands you can deal with now so you don’t have to fit them in when things get more busy.

Get Your Fall Schedule in Order

Give yourself time to sit down and consider what major things you have to do in the last few months of the year, like errands you’ve been putting off or annual appointments. Some of your checklist items may include:

• Look ahead at major expenses through the end of the year.
• Schedule appointments you’ve been putting off.
• Keep track of upcoming bills and their due dates.
• Add school, work, and family schedule changes to your calendar.

The goal here isn’t to plan every hour of the next few months. It’s to get a better sense of what’s coming so a deadline or forgotten errand doesn’t catch you at the worst possible time. A few minutes spent looking ahead can make it easier to decide what needs attention now and what can wait.

Knock Out the Errands on Your List

Financial errands and vehicle services are the types of regular chores that can take up a lot of your time, especially if you have to wait in line at the DMV or make multiple stops in a day to get everything done. When you’re juggling several errands, the time spent getting from one place to the next can make even a simple to-do list feel like a bigger project.

One way to make your list feel more manageable is to stop thinking about every errand as a separate trip. Consider which tasks can be done at the same time and place. One trip can feel a lot easier than a list of five different places to go.

With member locations across Illinois, the Community Currency Exchange Association (CCEA) can connect you with a neighborhood currency exchange that makes your errands more manageable. CCEA member locations serve as a one-stop shop where customers can get multiple errands taken care of in one trip. Depending on the location, available services include:

• Renewing your license plates
• Renewing your vehicle sticker
• Taking care of a title transfer or registration
• Cashing a check
• Purchasing a money order
• Paying bills
• Exchanging foreign currency
• Loading a prepaid debit card

Many member locations also offer evening and weekend hours, so you can find a time to stop by that fits your schedule. Find your nearest location and call ahead to confirm its hours, available services, and the documents you may need to bring.

Don’t Let Deadlines Sneak Up on You

You don’t need to handle every item on your list immediately, but it helps to know which ones have a hard deadline and which ones can wait. Missing a deadline for vehicle registration renewal, bill payments, or travel paperwork can create a problem if you forget about it. Other tasks may not have a deadline, but they can still become harder to deal with once your schedule fills up.

These are some other items you can add to your end-of-summer checklist to make sure you stay on top of everything.

• Check upcoming vehicle registration or sticker deadlines.
• Make your travel plans through the end of the year, and check whether you need foreign currency for upcoming international travel.
• Review important payment deadlines for bills and other regular payments.
• Make a list of holiday-related tasks you can handle early.
• Set reminders for anything you can’t complete yet.

Make the Move Into Fall a Little Easier

The end of summer is a natural time to take a step back and look at what’s coming up in the rest of the year. Taking care of a few key errands now can leave you with less to think about once your schedule starts filling up. Look at the deadlines coming your way, and take advantage of opportunities to handle more than one errand in the same trip. A little time spent clearing your list now can make the transition into fall feel a little less hectic.

Check off more of your list in one stop. Find a CCEA member location near you.