Monday, August 1, 2011

Back to School: Plan Your Budget

Back to school means expenses! Clothes, shoes, and school supplies can drain a budget quickly. According to The National Retail Federation, the average family with school-aged children spends $606 on back-to-school items--clothes, shoes, supplies, and electronics--each year. It’s no wonder setting a budget is essential for all parents with school-bound youngsters.

To avoid falling into debt at back-to-school time, plan ahead for how much you want to spend. You also may want to budget for the changing technology of school supplies. More classrooms are using computers and computer-related study materials. And with many electronics now somewhat affordable to most families, classrooms may be requiring or recommending tech-smart supplies and materials.

Also, don’t forget about doctor checkups, school fees, and athletics or other extracurricular fees, which often are overlooked when setting a back-to-school budget.

3 comments:

  1. With three kids we do a lot of repurposing. Last years clothes for the older son gets passed to the younger. We reuse lunchboxes and backpacks until they are falling apart and aren't too proud to use second hand anything. I try to pay attention to sales and catch things as low priced as I can.

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  2. We reuse items such as lunch boxes, back packs, scissors, pencil sharpeners, and rulers. As a family with three kids we pass clothes around and big brother's clothes get passed down to little brother. We've been blessed by having friends who give their hand-me-downs to my daughter. As far as school supplies I try to look for sales as much as possible.

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  3. My mom always bought up all the paper and pencils when she found good sales and had them stock piled as we wnt though school. Now that I'm the student and trying to support myself I try to remember the tricks she taught me on how to save money when it comes to school supplies.

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