{"id":23335,"date":"2010-08-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/?page_id=23337"},"modified":"2025-02-19T05:09:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T13:09:33","slug":"how-to-maximize-your-back-to-school-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/blog\/budgeting-saving\/how-to-maximize-your-back-to-school-budget","title":{"rendered":"How to Maximize Your Back-to-School Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;off|desktop&#8221; top_divider_style=&#8221;curve2&#8243; top_divider_color=&#8221;#e7dff3&#8243; top_divider_flip=&#8221;horizontal|vertical&#8221; bottom_divider_style=&#8221;curve2&#8243; bottom_divider_color=&#8221;#5b25af&#8221; bottom_divider_height_tablet=&#8221;80px&#8221; bottom_divider_height_phone=&#8221;50px&#8221; bottom_divider_height_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; da_is_popup=&#8221;off&#8221; da_exit_intent=&#8221;off&#8221; da_has_close=&#8221;on&#8221; da_alt_close=&#8221;off&#8221; da_dark_close=&#8221;off&#8221; da_not_modal=&#8221;on&#8221; da_is_singular=&#8221;off&#8221; da_with_loader=&#8221;off&#8221; da_has_shadow=&#8221;on&#8221; da_disable_devices=&#8221;off|off|off&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1>How to Maximize Your Back-to-School Budget<\/h1>\n<p>Kids will soon be headed back to school, and for many families this represents one of the year\u2019s largest one time expenses for the kids. Buying new school supplies, backpacks, lunchboxes, shoes, clothing and electronics can quickly become very expensive. Here is how you can maximize your back-to-school budget:<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"align-right\" src=\"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/back-to-school-supplies_feature_blog.jpg\" alt=\"Learn how to maximize your back to school budget.\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Take stock of what you have and determine what you need<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Contact your child\u2019s school or teacher to find out three things:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>What school supplies will your child need?<\/li>\n<li>Does the school have a dress code or is any clothing off limits?<\/li>\n<li>Will you have to pay for any field trips or other activities? If so, you\u2019ll likely want to add these to your budget.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Often schools provide supply lists in June or post them on their websites. If you look at the information early enough, you\u2019ll have more time to watch for sales rather than fight the crowds as you buy everything at the last minute.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sit down with your child and create a list of what school supplies and clothes are needed for the school year. This is your opportunity to help your child distinguish needs from wants.<\/li>\n<li>Take stock of what your child still has from last year. Reuse as much of last year\u2019s school supplies and clothing as you can\u2014especially those things that are still in good condition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to buy school supplies and clothes on a budget<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can save money by only buying the essential school supplies right away and then purchasing the remaining school supplies as your child uses up last year\u2019s pencil crayons, glue, and other supplies. If you are able to put off these purchases for a little while, you may be able to pick up these items on sale once the back-to-school rush is over.<\/li>\n<li>Hold off for a bit on a new backpack, or clothes or electronic devices. Let your child see what\u2019s trendy this fall before you spend a lot of money on something they&#8217;ll hide at the back of their closet.<\/li>\n<li>Watch for sales. Sometimes great sales pop up before September. If they do, stock up\u2014especially on supplies that you will need to buy again during the year like pens and paper.<\/li>\n<li>If your kids want to buy expensive name brand shoes or clothes, then offer to pay the first $20, $50, or whatever your budget will allow and then let your child pay for the rest. Younger kids can use gift money towards their &#8220;wants&#8221; and older kids can use part-time earnings to top us what they&#8217;d prefer to buy.<\/li>\n<li>You don\u2019t need to splurge on a new wardrobe for each of your kids in September. The weather will still be warm, so the kids can continue wearing their summer clothes. As the weather turns or your child\u2019s growth spurt slows down a bit, then you can consider buying new jeans or other clothing items.<\/li>\n<li>You don\u2019t have to buy only brand name clothing for your kids. Look at buying one or two name brand items that are really important to your child and then coordinate those name brand clothes or shoes with less expensive items. When clothes are coordinated well, most kids don\u2019t think to look for brand names\u2014and if they do, they only pay attention to a few key brand names. A few new accessories or clothing items may be all that\u2019s necessary to accent last year\u2019s wardrobe and make it look new for this year.<\/li>\n<li>Before you hit the stores, make sure you have a list of all the back-to-school items you need. Studies show that people who shop without a list pay as much as 23% more than those who make a list. Agreeing on a list of items before you go shopping with your child should also make shopping much easier and less expensive. If your child knows you are only buying what\u2019s on the list, they will be less likely to ask for everything they see, and if they do, it will be much easier to say no.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Getting maximum value from your budget<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Limit your spending by setting a specific dollar amount for your back-to-school budget, and then don\u2019t spend any more than this. You don\u2019t want to get carried away and go into debt over this.<\/li>\n<li>Use this back-to-school shopping experience as a way to teach your kids about money. Consider splitting your back-to-school budget among each of your kids and tell them that this is all the money you are going to spend on new clothes and school supplies. You\u2019ll be surprised how quickly name brands can lose their appeal as your child carefully tries to make their budget stretch. Then again, if a name brand pair of shoes or jeans is incredibly important to your child, they may choose to make do with more of their old school supplies so that they can have enough money to afford the name brand shoes or jeans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Plan for the future<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>If you know that your family\u2019s back-to-school expenses will be around $300, then begin planning for next year right now. Open a separate savings account and aks your bank to transfer $6 a week into that account. Once next September rolls around, you\u2019ll have the money you need ready to go.<\/li>\n<li>Another way of saving some money during the school year is sending a lunch with your child rather than giving them lunch money every day. If you only give your child lunch money once a week rather than every day, you can save more than $1,000 over the school year (assuming lunch costs $7). That\u2019s enough to take your kid to Disneyland, pay for music lessons, join a sports team, or do any number of great activities.<\/li>\n<li>Be aware of long term commitments, like cell phone contracts for your teens. While $25 a month might not sound like a lot, over 12 months, that\u2019s $300. Before you commit to a contract, ask your teen about their plan to pay for their portion of the $300 \u2013 and any additional fees they may incur. Then decide if this is an expense you can afford right now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you consider this back-to-school time, remember to include your kids in the planning process. Rather than getting into debt to buy everything they need right now, talk to your kids and find out what\u2019s important to them. You might be surprised to find out that they\u2019d like to re-use their favourite binder and pencil case from last year or that three after-school activities aren\u2019t what they feel they can handle. As parents we often forget that our kids\u2019 expectations may be very different than our own, and when it comes to back-to-school spending, it\u2019s a great time for our kids to learn about budgeting and paying for needs versus wants first.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re struggling with budgeting or would like more help, here are some options:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/budgeting\/budgeting-tips\">Learn more about how to budget<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mymoneycoach.ca\/budgeting\/budgeting-videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Watch a budgeting video workshop<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/contact-us\">Contact us for free one-on-one budgeting help<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/financial-education\/financial-workshops-webinars\">Attend a budgeting workshop<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nLast Updated on February 19, 2025 \n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nomoredebts.org\/blog\">&lt;&lt; Back to the Blog<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new school year for your kids means buying new school supplies, backpacks, shoes, clothing, and more. Here\u2019s how to maximize your back-to-school budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budgeting-saving"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.8 (Yoast SEO v24.8.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Maximize Your Back-to-School Budget - Credit Counselling Society<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new school year for your kids means buying new school supplies, backpacks, shoes, clothing, and more. 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