When I was a young boy, August was the third month of summer. Although I am a fan of the current school calendars having fall and spring breaks, I sometimes find myself reminiscing about August summer fun.
Being born and raised in Warren County, I am partial to this place and our people. I believe we are among the best places in the world to raise a family. Every time I pass by one of my childhood haunts, I smile at all the good times I had as a kid. We played for hours on the old, rusty surplus jet airplane at Covington Woods Park, imagining we were flying through the air (Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silver wings….). Hours of tag, hide and seek, kickball, catching fireflies and tadpoles, riding horses, traveling all over the place on my bicycle, always finding ways to play.
I don’t remember my parents and grandparents expressing the same amount of worry it seems we do today. Sometimes I think it’s because we now have more exposure or awareness to the bad in the world. Perhaps when I was a kid we didn’t seem to know about the dangers and evil as much. In my family, we all had chores to do. Sometimes it seemed like those chores would never end. Yet, my parents and grandparents always encouraged my sister and me to get our chores done so we could then play.
My upbringing encouraged curiosity and wonder and play. I am grateful for these things. We worked hard, and we played hard. Some of my greatest lessons have come from digging post holes through the burr rock; mowing three-and-a-half acres of yard with a Yazoo push mower that weighed more than I did; breaking the ice on the pond for the cows to have water; not making the cut on Mr. Harold Dexter’s little league team when I was 8 years old – and him encouraging me to keep practicing and getting better; at nine years old, making Mr. Ed Goins’ little league team and witnessing a true gentleman help mold young lives – as our first African American role model of the highest distinction.
Every time I visit J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Chapel on Broadway, I take a moment or two to look over toward the former Eleventh Street School baseball field and smile at how wonderful it was to play there. Oh, how I miss the French fries from Chicken Box on Broadway – even though they never had cooled air. Back in that day, August was full of fun. We knew school was about to start, but we stayed busy drinking in all the summer fun possible.
I am hopeful that our children and grandchildren will look back on their childhood as fondly as I do. All generations tend to say that times have changed. Of course, times have changed. Since the beginning of human existence things have changed. That doesn’t mean that times have gotten worse, as some like to say. Just different.
One thing that hasn’t changed is rising prices. In the American experience, we’ve always had rising prices (inflation). Sometimes prices have risen faster than others. In the past year or so we’ve been through a period of faster increases in the cost of living. The Federal Reserve (The Fed) has been raising interest rates in an effort to slow the growth of the economy down enough to lower inflation. What the Fed has been doing, so far anyway, has been working. Inflation has been lowering in the past several months. The Fed wants us to have about a 2% rate of inflation over the long haul. Some areas of our economy operate with lower inflation, some much higher.
When I think of August and begin to think about back-to-school, it leads me to think about the cost of education. Inflation (rising prices) in higher education has progressed at a rate much higher than the overall inflation rate. Simply stated, post-high school education costs have gone up faster than most things (except healthcare costs). One of the best ways to overcome the high cost of education is: Saving. We don’t have control over the rising cost of education. We can, however, start to save for the future. Every little bit helps. Our advice to parents and grandparents in our discussions when it comes to financing education for their loved ones is to start by specifically putting money away for that future time. There are a few ways to save for future education expenses. In some instances, a tax-advantaged college savings plan is the right vehicle (529 College Savings Plans). In some cases, a custodial account for the young person is the better choice. Simply stated, the most important factors in saving for future education costs are 1) the discipline of saving, and 2) time (the earlier we start, the better). Every situation is unique. If we can help you regarding saving for future education costs for a loved one, or any other area of financial concern, please give us a call.
Here’s to you having a fun third month of summer!
-by Ben Smith
Registered Principal, RJFS
313 East 10th Ave. • Bowling Green, KY 42101 • Phone: 270-846-2656
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