3 Ways to Shake that Expensive Back-to-School Feeling

Do you feel it– that all pervading back-to-school feeling that happens every year at this time?  It is the sound of parents feeling that they have to spend money to get their children ready for school.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

There is no way to shake this feeling of anticipation, excitement, concern, even dread and most people try to handle it by throwing money at it and hoping it will go away. But you really don’t need to spend too much.  Children may want many things to help them start the year off right – but what do they actually need?  Students only really need two things – something to wear and some basic school supplies.

The ‘something to wear’ may be a couple of small additions to what they wore last year rather than a whole new wardrobe.  If this is a problem you can help your child learn how to handle peer pressure and even talk to the teachers if you think the school does not help with this.

School supplies – one binder with dividers can hold most of what a child needs for classroom use.  Multiple binders often cause confusion and are easy to lose!  If your child is a visual learner colored pens will help him learn, otherwise a good supply of pencils and a pen should be adequate for all your child’s needs.

If you are not sure what your child really needs for the next school year try –

1. Asking the school to tell you exactly what your child needs – or reviewing the checklist they gave you at the end of last year. They DID give you one didn’t they?    If not, you might want to suggest that they do it at the end of this year.

2.  Asking your child to make a list of needs and wants.  Check the list of ‘needs’ to make sure that you child can justify everything on it. Then try to supply the things on the list.  Tell your child that you will try to buy one thing from the ‘wants’ list depending on what cash you have left.

3. Setting up a monthly school supplies allowance for your child.  Not everything has to be bought at the beginning of the year. By having a monthly allowance just for school supplies your child can choose either to save up for a big purchase of to spend all the money on immediate needs.

And good luck!  It is one of the hardest times for parents to handle because of all the emotions that are swirling around about the big day.