How to complete back-to-school shopping on a budget is a common struggle for parents.
If you are a seasoned parent, you know your kids lose things throughout the school year.
According to a story by HuffPost below is the percentage of kids who lose certain types of back-to-school items.
1. 43% outerwear jackets and cardigans
2. 57% hats and gloves
3. 36% lunch boxes
4. 52% school supplies
5. 14% backpacks
When reading the back-to-school list take everything on it with a grain of salt. Most of the items are suggestions rather than must haves.
Unfortunately, teachers need to turn in their back-to-school supply list for parents before their entire lesson plan is approved by the school district.
In short, there may be items on the back-to-school list that your child may actually not use or need.
In addition, if the list is suggesting multiples of certain items only buy one for now.
More Articles You May Be Interested In:
How To Save Money On A Tight Budget
What Makes Your Credit Score Go Up
Are Debt Settlement Companies Legitimate
How To Break A Bad Habit In Your Finance
How much does back to school shopping cost
According to an NBC news, report the cost of Elementary School supplies have increased from $350 to $650.
Middle School supplies have increased from $525 to $1,000.
Moreover, High School supplies have increased from $800 to $1,500.
The main reason for the increase in cost for parents is that school districts are losing funding from the government.
Some teachers’ are even buying some supplies for their classrooms out of pocket.
For example, some teachers are personally purchasing tissues, glue sticks, scissors, and paper towels.
As most of you already know, due to changes from the covid-19 pandemic, technology needs at home have also increased, leading to rising costs.
What is a good budget for back to school clothes shopping?
Clothes intend to be an area where parents spend the most money. A market study as of 2020, the average parent planned to spend $234.48 on clothing alone.
As a starting point for your back-to-school shopping budget for clothes try spending half of that, around $117.24 per child.
Here are some tips to achieve that:
1. Reuse articles of clothing from your child’s current wardrobe. Shirts usually fit more than one year in a row.
2. Do a Google search to find back-to-school clothing sales in your area. This will give you the perfect dates of when to shop as well as where to shop.
3. Do not buy an entirely new wardrobe for the entire school year at one time because children grow constantly throughout the school year. You need to make sure you are only buying clothes they are actually wearing.
4. Only buy one pair of new shoes at the beginning of the school year. They may outgrow the shoes you buy before they wear them out.
5. Consider only buying enough clothes to create five new outfits per child. If you are reusing shirts then you only have to buy pants, socks, and some accessories.
6. Stay away from big brand names. If they outgrow the clothes in 2 months then why spend $100 on one pair of jeans.
7. Consider having your teenagers purchase luxury clothing items themselves. For example, growing up if I wanted to purchase from Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, and Express I needed to save my money to purchase those items myself.
This last one may seem a little harsh but it helped teach money management and an appreciation for expensive things.
My family had multiple children and it was not budget-friendly to spend $300 just on clothes.
Do not feel guilty for having your teenager’s purchase needs for themselves with their own money. Instead, view it as a teaching moment.
They may not be aware of how much these things actually cost at the end of the day.
Tips for shopping back to school on a budget
Most of you are also aware every August there is a national tax-free weekend in the U.S.
This year the tax holiday begins at midnight on Friday, August 6, 2021, and ends at midnight on Sunday, August 8, 2021.
Mark these dates on your calendar and put a reminder on your phone.
Here is my best back to school shopping tips:
Make small purchases throughout the school year.
Do not buy everything at one time. Yes, I have said this a lot, because I really want this to sink in.
Take advantage of holiday sales
Consider holiday sales later in the fall for purchases like clothing and shoes. This will help you plan which items to purchase later in the semester.
Price matching is your friend
Price match, all of the items from the back to school list online. Some companies will price match if you find a cheaper item online.
Write down future school-related costs not on the school list
Try to anticipate other school costs that can occur throughout the school year.
For example, school lunches, parking passes, school fundraisers, yearbook purchases, and school trips that needs partial funding from parents.
Shop your own home first
Before shopping, look through your home for what you may already have.
Off-brands are budget savers
Buy a different brand than what the teacher suggests on the shopping list. Off-brands tend to be cheaper.
Only buy in bulk if necessary
Only buy certain items in bulk if you have more than one child using that item.
Does your technology really need replacing?
Do not buy new technology unless absolutely necessary. Just because this year’s teacher suggests a different type of calculator does not mean the one from last year will not work.
Also, stay away from new technology with all of the bells and whistles.
Review what you spent on back to school last year
Look at your bank and credit card statements from last year.
What did you actually spend in August for back to school?
Did your children actually use all of those supplies?
Try cutting last year’s budget in half for this year if there is a lot of unnecessary spending.
Hold off on strange teacher requests or find substitutes
Avoid buying an item on the list that seems out of the ordinary until your child tells you they actually need it.
My mom’s secret weapon was waiting until the teacher confirmed in class that the unique item was actually going to be used.
For example, my list had pipe cleaners, rubber cement glue, a yoga mat, and a gym uniform.
None of these items were used or they could be replaced by items I already had at home.
I know the Ticonderoga wood pencils are a popular teacher suggestion, but a simple wood pencil that is cheaper will suffice.
More isn’t better for your budget
Stop buying the large crayon and marker packs. The basic color choices are all that is necessary.
Buy cheaper options for items you will need to replenish
Only buy the cheapest version of items you know you will have to replenish throughout the school year.
For example, backpacks, lunch boxes, pencils, crayons, paper, and notebooks.
Subscribe and you'll receive our weekly posts right in your inbox. You'll also be one of the first to be notified when our free budget course opens. Hope to see you there!
Your take action guide
The below list is only a starting point for you so you can get started quickly. I urge you to revisit this post and go through each section one at a time.
It is a great way for you to absorb all of the tips without feeling overwhelmed.
Start here:
1. Look through your child’s closet to identify what still fits them. Only purchase clothing that is actually needed. One pair of shoes and a few new outfits will suffice.
2. Review the school supply list before you shop. Circle items your child needs for the first month of school.
3. Price check, the items you plan to purchase online first. Take note of the prices on the back-to-school shopping list.
4. If a brand is too expensive, look for a cheaper off-brand.
5. Add all of the prices you wrote down together to find the final price. Does the number fit into your budget comfortably? If it is too high, try to narrow down your list a little more. You can always purchase more of these items in the following months.
More Articles You May Be Interested In:
How To Save Money On A Tight Budget
What Makes Your Credit Score Go Up
Are Debt Settlement Companies Legitimate
How To Break A Bad Habit In Your Finance
As you are completing your action steps make sure you are reviewing the tips for shopping back to school on a budget section.
The reason this post not giving you an exact budget amount is that your budget is dependent on your situation.
In this post, you have the tools you need to pre-plan your budget, create your shopping list, and create the cheapest budget you can.
Additionally, as your child/children go through their school year try to anticipate items you may need to purchase in the future.
Then start to set money aside for those anticipated purchases each month.
Just because you receive a school supply list for the entire school year does not mean all items need to be bought before the first day of school.
The biggest secret weapon to budgeting successfully is learning how to spread out your purchases across several months.
As you get better at this one new skill, you will see a tremendous change in your monthly spending and finally master the ability to start saving every month.
References
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/back-to-school-shopping_n_3751079
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/back-school-supplies-cost-much-average-mortgage-n797191
Subscribe and you'll receive our weekly posts right in your inbox. You'll also be one of the first to be notified when our free budget course opens. Hope to see you there!
