Self-help articles and educational publications from Myvesta US As ready as you may be to see your kids back in school after summer break, you may well be dreading back to school shopping and the drain it will place on your wallet. With some careful shopping and smart planning, though, you may be able to stick to your budget and get the kids what they need.
There's one strategy that will make your job a lot easier: plan early. Talk with each child and create a back-to-school plan before the end of summer break rolls around. Planning will give you time to shop for bargains and give your children time to earn some money if you can't, or won't, get them everything they want.
Most kids can understand basic budgeting concepts, which you can adjust depending on their ages. Younger children can help you make a list of what they might need and will benefit by talking with you about the differences between needs and wants. Older children will especially benefit by learning how to create their own budgets, negotiating with you about what you will cover and then finding a way to either earn more money or make choices about what they really want.
Help your kids learn the value of budgeting and the costs involved in preparing for the new school year by using the handy budgeting chart included at the end of this publication.
Money Saving Tips
Following are some specific suggestions for sending your children back to school without breaking the bank.
Supplies:
- Create your shopping list as early as possible to allow for bargain shopping throughout the summer.
- Visit dollar stores for inexpensive supplies, such as off-brand inexpensive tape, glue, etc. Discount office supply stores can be a good place to buy pens, notebooks and other stationery items.
- Back-to-school sales can offer some of the best prices of the year. Shop when they begin for the best selection.
- Throughout the year, keep an eye on office supply store clearance bins and sales. Stock up when prices are low and save supplies for later.
- Kids can get into recycling. Urge them to use supplies left over from the previous year.
- Small children will enjoy "dressing up" plain notebooks, pencils or even lunch boxes with pictures or stickers. This will also give them something to do when they complain of boredom on a rainy summer day.
- Organize a sale of school supplies at your children's school. Negotiate a deal with a local discount office supply store and everyone can save.
- Check out office supply catalogs such as QuillCorp.com, OfficeDepot.com and Staples.com. You may want to join with other parents to negotiate a group discount.
- Consider quality when buying items that can last more than one year, such as backpacks.
Alternatively, keep an eye out at garage sales for used items. (It's easier to pass secondhand items on to younger children than older ones, but it is always worth a try.)
- Don't forget to find out exactly what your child will need for school and be aware of any rules regarding certain types of supplies that might or might not be allowed.
- Businesses will sometimes give away leftover supplies, such as preprinted conference binders, notepads or pens. Hold a drive with local businesses and request donations.
- Consider upgraded or refurbished computers if your child needs one. Canvass local businesses for donations of computers that are outdated but can be upgraded.
Clothing:
- Organize a friend/neighbor/relative swap. Get together and trade clothes that your children have outgrown. Again, this works best with younger children, but if your older children know they have a certain budget to stick to, they may be open to creative ideas.
- Shop early in the summer for end-of-season clothes kids can wear in the fall. At the end of summer, shop for items your kids can wear next spring. If you do buy end-of-season clothes, consider buying them in a larger size so your kids will grow into them the next year.
- With your older children, establish a budget. Then give them some leeway to choose what they want to buy, within your guidelines. If they want expensive, name-brand items, they'll learn they may have to give up something else.
- Try garage sales and thrift shops — bargains are out there!
- Keep your eye open throughout the year for basics that are on sale for good prices. When you see a good sale, take advantage of it.
- Buy your kids some new clothes for school, but insist they wear older ones when they are hanging around at home or playing outdoors.
Food:
- Avoid small, packaged convenience foods for lunch boxes. Instead, buy snacks like chips or cookies in bulk and repackage them into individual plastic bags yourself. (The kids can help!) Recycle those plastic bags for even more savings.
- Make muffins in large batches and freeze them for a quick and healthy breakfast or lunchbox item.
- Make tortilla roll up sandwiches. You can make several days worth and refrigerate or freeze them for the week. This is another project where the kids can help.
- Plan a week's worth of school lunches on the weekend and enlist your children's help in making sure you have the ingredients. Prepackage whatever you can to save time, hassles and money.
Activities:
- Consider buying children's toys, candy and snacks in bulk when they go on sale: you'll save money and won't have to scramble to buy or make something when your child remembers an upcoming school event or birthday party at the last minute.
- With your kids, decide on a spending budget for activities like sports, clubs or special events. Then let them raise any money they need over the limit.
- If other kids' birthday parties are costing you a fortune, talk with other parents about holding parties without gifts, or pooling funds for one larger gift. If that doesn't work, give your kids a "gift allowance" and let them make up the difference if they go over the budget. Younger kids typically receive more gifts than they can enjoy at one time anyway.
It's fun to save money, especially if it means you can use it for other things. When it comes to buying back-to-school stuff, there are a lot of ways to save as we have described in this publication. In many instances, you'll probably be able to re-use a few things you bought last year. However, there will still be a few things you'll need to buy.
Use this handy chart to create a back-to-school budget. Keep track of how much you spend on each item. Try to get the best deal you can on the things you need and do your best not to spend more than you planned to on any single item.
Item |
$ Budgeted |
$ From Parents |
$ Needed |
Actual $ Spent |
Electronics |
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Clothing |
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Fees |
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Sporting & Extra Curricular Activities |
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Dorm Room Supplies |
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Desk Supplies |
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Transportation |
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Other |