Save On These Two Back to School Expense by Starting Early
So, this week’s post and last week both deal with pretty harsh realities: the end of summer and the corresponding horror that is the back to school season.
Horror for students only, mind you. It’s pure paradise for parents, right?
Well, yes and no.
Back to school is a double-edged sword for parents everywhere. On one hand, your children aren’t going to be lying around the house all day craving attention and stimulation. So that’s a bonus.
On the other hand, children grow like weeds, so you need to prepare for a financial hit. We trust you’ve budgeted everything out responsibly.
What are your kids going to need when they head back to school?
Clothes
It might be easy to find back to school clothes if your children didn’t care what they wore to school, but we all know that this simply isn’t reality. Nope, kids want the latest fashion trends because they want to keep up with their peers. It’s hard for the person footing the bill to justify the expense, so hopefully your children are receptive to some compromise.
Yeah, right.
The answer?
- Watch for sales
- Teach your children about the downfalls of corporate branding (no-name clothes cost less)
- Hand-me-downs are always in fashion
Supplies
Depending on how old your children are, you should get a supplies list sent from your school. If you haven’t, request one. There’s nothing worse than spending money on expensive supplies your children don’t end up using.
Pencils, pens, binders, glue, rulers – all the items your children do need are easily available this time of year at a dollar store near you. There’s no need to buy expensive supplies at chain stores. Besides, most of these items are going to be completely destroyed in a couple months anyways.
Other Upcoming Expenses
Clothes and supplies, this won’t be so bad, right? On their own, maybe not.
But there’s a lot more to spend your money on when the calendar switches over to September. Sports will start up soon, which means new equipment and registration fees will be required. These expenses add up, particularly when there’s more than one child in the house.
The best way to organize these expenses is to get a head start, hence why we’re posting this back to school article in the middle of the summer. To be honest, when it’s all added up you might not save a ton of money, but steadily taking care of your expenses over time makes them much easier to handle fiscally as well as mentally. Back to school is a stressful time for everybody, so alleviate that pressure by checking a few items off your to-do list now rather than waiting for last minute panic to kick you into gear.
Besides, last minute panic is only good for those Sunday nights spent cramming for a test the next morning.
Yay, back to school!
