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Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

How to Manage the High Cost of Back-to-School Expenses

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Do you remember the back-to-school excitement?  Your parents likely took you out shopping for new clothes and new folders, pens, pencils and other supplies.  While you couldn’t wait to get out of school in June, you were equally excited (at least temporarily) to go back in August or September.

Yet, now, many parents may dread the back-to-school season because of the financial burden.  Yahoo! recently reported that the average back-to-school price tag for a high school student is $1,402!  That includes the cost of back-to-school supplies, musical instrument rentals, sports and field trips.

If the high cost is concerning you, especially if you have more than one school-aged child, there are plenty of ways to save.

Back to School Supplies

manage back to school expensesWhen it comes to back-to-school supplies, there are several cost-cutting measures you can take.

Shop the sales.  Target, Walmart, Office Depot, they all offer back-to-school supply sales.  Cherry pick the best deals, and you won’t have to pay much for school supplies, especially when you can get notebooks for .05 a piece!

Check out the dollar store.  Your local dollar store will have school supplies at a fraction of the cost of retail.  This is a great one-stop shopping place to go if you don’t have the time to cherry pick sales.

Clothes

Buying your kids new clothes for school can really eat into your budget.  Try these strategies:

Take inventory first.  Before you buy any clothes, take inventory.  You and your child can look through her closet and see what clothes are still in good condition.  You  may find you have very little to buy.

Stagger your purchases.  There’s no rule that says you have to buy all your child’s back-to-school clothes the week before school.  Buy some jeans and long sleeve shirts before school.  Then, in October or November when the weather cools, buy some sweaters.  Stagger your purchases based on need and sales.

Buy second hand.  Another option is to buy second hand, either through a consignment store or a place like Goodwill.  You can also try joining and buying from Facebook groups selling the brands of clothes you like.  You’ll save a bundle!

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are important for your children’s development, and in the high school years, participation also helps to round out their college application.  Yet, extracurriculars can be expensive!  The key is to find ones that your child enjoys and that you can afford.

Look for free extracurriculars.  Especially when children are younger, look for things that they can do for free.  When my son was young, choir was free, but after school gym cost money every month.  He joined choir, and then later he also joined Art Club, in part because it was free.

Choose one extracurricular.  As your kids older, choose one extracurricular activity that they excel at.  Have your child focus on that one.  Then, you only have one expense to pay versus three if he was on a sports team every season.

Have your child become a teacher.  Has your child been taking piano since she was five years old?  If she now has 10 years’ experience, she could start offering lessons to younger students to help pay for her own lessons.  There’s nothing wrong with a high school student helping to pay for her activities and interests.

Combine these strategies, and you’ll find your back-to-school expenses are much more affordable.

What are your favorite strategies for saving on back-to-school items?

Ways to Save When Back-to-School Shopping

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After the long days of summer, many parents look forward to their children’s return to school.  Unfortunately, preparing for the return to school often includes a large financial outlay for back to school supplies and clothes.  However, there are several strategies you can employ to limit how much you have to spend.

Back to School Supplies

-In late July, try to obtain your child’s back to school supply list from the school.  Scour the ads for great deals and look at sites like A Full Cup to learn which items you can get for free.  It may take several weeks for all of the items on your child’s list to go on sale, which is why you want to start shopping in late July.  I employed this strategy last year and got all of my son’s school supplies for $12, and I bought extra to give at Christmas too.

glue army-Keep in mind that stores such as Staples, Office Depot and Office Max have a price matching policy.   If you find a lower price at a competitor’s store, bring in the ad, and the store you are shopping at will match the price.  You can save gas by taking advantage of this policy, but beware that most have a 7 to 14 day window for the competitor’s price, and a few stores exclude prices advertised on websites.

-When you can obtain items for free, try to buy more than you need.  Then, if your child runs out of some of the supplies mid-school year, you won’t have to pay full price to buy more.  You can just shop in your supply you got for free.

Back to School Clothing

-Before going out to shop for clothes, first go through your child’s closet to see what clothing they already have that still fits and is in good condition.  Make a list of items and colors so you can look for matching pieces when shopping.

-Check out stores like Once Upon a Child.  They often have new designer clothes for 1/3 to ½ the retail cost.

-Buy on eBay.  Many people list their children’s gently worn clothes on eBay, and you can find many auctions in late July and August.  To make sure you get a good deal, read the description thoroughly.  A good seller should specify how worn the clothes are and any flaws in the clothing.  To make sure you are dealing with a good seller, check their feedback.  It should be 100% positive.  I never buy from a seller with lower than 98% positive feedback.  Also, the more feedback a seller has, the more experienced they are.  Finally, feel free to ask questions about the clothing before you bid on it.  Consider buying several auctions from one seller who combines shipping to save on shipping costs.

-Check out Craigslist.  People often list their children’s clothes for sale and when they are having garage sales.  You probably don’t want to buy all of your children’s clothes used, but you can find some high quality clothing at a fraction of the cost by considering used clothing markets.

-Buy mix and match clothing.  Try to buy 3 to 4 pairs of pants and 5 to 6 shirts that can be interchanged.  This dramatically extends the variety of outfits your child can wear.

-Stagger your buying.  Buy some lightweight fall clothes early in the season, and buy sweaters and warmer clothes later in the fall.  This can help you distribute the money that you spend over a few months.  Wait for seasonal sales such as Columbus Day.  Also, the stores frequently reduce the fall merchandise to make way for the winter items; try to buy more clothes when they are on clearance.

The average American spends $600 on back to school shopping.  You can reduce that amount by half or more by following some of these strategies.  If you take the time to plan ahead and wait for the sales, you can dramatically cut your back-to-school expenses.  Happy frugal shopping!

photo credit: me and the sysop