Labor Day Kicks Off "Fall Saving"

Happy Labor Day! Although it seems an oxymoron to use the word "labor" in the name of a holiday that's usually a blissful reprieve from work, that doesn't prevent us from enjoying the day off. What exactly is Labor Day? You might not know this, but it actually started as a Canadian holiday.

From trusty Wikipedia,

"The holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes ("Nine-Hour Movement")...In 1882, American labor leader Peter J. McGuire witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto. Inspired by events in Toronto, he returned the USA, to New York and organized the first American 'labor day' on September 5 of the same year."

In addition to celebrating the drive and ingenuity of the American worker, let's face it: Labor Day is a day celebrating the de facto end of summer and transition into fall. They say that spring is the time for "spring cleaning." Well, fall may be the time for "fall saving." Chances are you spent a tad more than you wanted to for your summer vacation, so now you're looking for ways to cut costs before the holiday shopping season.

Here are some tips to help you do just that:

What does "fall saving" actually look like? It means assessing your financial situation for the rest of the year and seeing how much you can afford on a day-to-day basis.

This requires:

1. Itemizing all of your expenses. This means ALL of your expenses - down to the smallest impulse buys of candy bars.

2. Determining the minimum amount you want to save every month. Be realistic, but also try to exceed your goal.

3. Shopping for deals now. Generally, if you're looking for deals on Savings, the search bar is your friend. Typing in "Labor Day" comes up with a whole string of Labor Day sales. There are plenty of ways to save.

It may seem strange to start shopping now for the holiday season, but if there's a good deal out there, it's a good idea to grab it. The problem that people run into is thinking short-term, rather than long-term. December is only three months away and one thing you don't want to do is put all of your Christmas gifts on credit come December 20th. You might not pay off the interest until the following Christmas--if then.

So take a good hard look at your finances and determine how much you need to be saving in order to build up a decent amount at the end of the next three months. Even if the savings are not used for holiday shopping, use this time to find ways to put a little more cash in your pocket. If Labor Day is the day to celebrate the American workforce, you can also make it the day where the American workforce figures out ways to save the money they've earned.

What are you doing for Labor Day? Me, I'm going to go to Disneyland. It's awesome - no lines this time of year. That's a great tip for amusement-park aficionados: go off-season.

Let us know in the comments how you're going to celebrate this Labor Day: eating, shopping, vegetating, all of the above?