Back to School Budgeting Tips

Back to School Sales?

For parents and anyone spending on back to school supplies. There are definitely still some good “back to school sales” however it's important to try your best to stay in budget. Try to avoid spending too much money on things you might spent on in the prior year. Your child is unlikely to not need all the essentials they did last year! Buying less clothes and less expensive backpacks is the way to go! It’s likely your children will not need these items as much. Moreover, if you have more free time on your hands, take an active approach to some DYI activities. We still do not know how Halloween will look this year, but if you have the free time, now is a great chance to try making some DYI Halloween costumes.

After School Starts is the Best to Time for Discounts

Many have come to realize that after school starts is typically the best time of year to get into the real sales. You’ll likely have a grab at all the leftover inventory for extra cheap after school already started. If you’re a savvy consumer who already had enough from last year you can use this to your advantage and wait a little to start buying for back to school sales. Those are patient and wait just a little more than most other consumers can typically come out ahead. However, there is typically going to be back to school essentials that are unavoidable in buying if you are out of supplies. So do you best and try to save where you can without skimping on “needs”.

Entertainment & Outings

In regards to entertainment and outings. Although, we are all practicing social distancing more, this doesn’t mean we have to be stuck in our house all day! Autumn is by far the number one season for free and cheap events/activities. Your options include apple picking events/festivals, pumpkin picking outings, drive-in movies, outdoor corn mazes, haunted houses and numerous other types of family oriented outdoor harvest activities. There really is a lot to do for very little in fall, so don’t feel that you have to be stuck at home in order to keep your budget slim this school year!

Back to School Budgets

Everyone is on a budget nowadays and it makes total sense. Things have gotten expensive and high inflation over the years (even though it’s come down more recently) has really done a number on the American consumer. It’s getting harder and harder to get ahead financially and many consumers are simply struggling with just making due. In some scenarios we are left having to choose between savings vs. investing because our emergency funds have been running low.

All in all, there are many ways to save for back to school, regardless of whether your children or child started going back to school or not yet. You need to try and be creative in your shopping and save money where you can by trying to do “certain” things on your own.