This is the next set of tips for your continued financial health! Whenever I think of September, I think of back-to-school time, the end of my favorite season, and fresh starts. For many industries, the end of September is the end of the fiscal year, so for them, September is the last opportunity to handle unfinished business for the year. In many ways, September is significant to a lot of people.

I usually advise tax practitioners to take certain actions in September that set them up for success as they prepare for the flurry of activity that will close out the calendar year, but since this post is for everyone (not just the tax pros), I’ll avoid talking about those things. Instead, I’ll focus on beginnings, and things you may want to start doing as we prepare for the fall season. Here are three tips that you can do this month to impact your financial health:

• Consider opening a 529 plan. If you are a parent, grandparent, or other adult invested in the education of a child near to your heart, then a 529 plan may be a great idea. These are education savings accounts that can be used to cover expenses from kindergarten to post graduate education, and these offer significant tax benefits for the folks that set them up. These can be established in numerous ways so you’ll have to research your state’s rules to see whether this is something that will work for you.
• Research and open a high yield savings account. This is something that I advocate everyone do, so that your liquid assets have the chance to grow a bit faster than they would in a standard savings account. Check out Bankrate.com to see which banks are offering the best interest rates on savings accounts. Then, once you open an account, move your money over there, so it works a little harder for you as it sits and grows.
• Review your current health benefits and plan to take full advantage of those benefits before the year ends. Most of us have tremendous benefits included in our health insurance that we never tap into. Spend a little time this month looking through your benefits documents, and see which services you’d like to schedule this year. You may have incredible savings just waiting for you to access them!

That’s it for my September tips! If you have had success with any of these things (opening 529 plans, using a high yield savings account, or tapping into lesser known health insurance benefits) let me know in the comments below: I’d love to hear about your experiences!