Summer, for me, always has that trend of spending more money than I should, so when September rolls around my bank account feels a little lighter than normal.
Back when I originally started in education; I didn’t get paid in the summers (since I’m a 10-month employee), so I had to be really good at budgeting myself through the summer since I would be missing my paycheck. I did work at a camp throughout the summer in those days to supplement, but it, obviously, wasn’t nearly as much as my normal paycheck.
At my previous school, we could elect to be paid over 12 months (and still be paid as a 10-month employee), which meant our normal paychecks were a little less than a typical 10-month employee, but we still “got paid” during summers. It was essentially what I was doing early on, anyway, but they were holding it for me instead of me holding it in a separate account.
At my current school; everyone gets paid 12 months, regardless of whether you’re a 10-month or a 12-month employee (it’s also my highest paying school to date – thanks to being in the wealthiest county in Maryland). So, it’s like working the whole year, but I don’t have to be here in the summer.
It’s nice. In fact, this past summer was the first summer I’ve basically “taken off” in….ever, actually. Meaning, it was the first summer I didn’t actively work 40 hours at a summer job as I had in previous years. Like I said, it was nice. Especially with the wedding and traveling and having to be at my school a bit more than normal, anyway, not having another commitment was really helpful.