The National Retail Federation says the average household spends $660 for back to school items. This includes school supplies, clothing, shoes, and electronics. While it is great to start the new year with a fresh new outlook — and new backpacks, lunchboxes, binders, and calculators — it is also a strain on many families. If you are already in debt, what can you do? We have a few tips.
Struggling with Debt?
Your children are still going to school, and they'll still need supplies. The best step to take, if you haven't already, is to seek out credit counseling.
A credit counselor can help you better figure out how to budget and save. They can also direct you toward strategies to pay off the debts you carry. A major component of credit counseling is education, but this kind of going “back to school” fits your schedule and is all about making sure you know how to manage your money well and giving you the tools to do so.
You may also find that a debt relief company can be of great assistance: they can offer options like debt management plans or debt settlements that can help you climb out of debt faster and more efficiently than if you continue going it alone.
Above all, if you're in debt, make sure you just buy your children the basics. The best gift you can give them beyond this is to get out of debt yourself so you can begin saving for their future. Credit counseling or a debt relief company can help you do this.
Don't Forget Gift Cards
Chances are, you've got a gift card stocked away somewhere. People and businesses love to give out gift cards when they don't know what else to get you. And that's fine! It means you have extra money to spend on things like school supplies. If it's a gift card to a clothing store, it's great for school clothes, sports gear, shoes, and backpacks. If it's a gift card for groceries, you've got school lunches covered for a while.
If it's a gift card you absolutely can't use for school supplies in any way, there are online trading houses that allow people to exchange gift cards, or that may pay you for yours. You won't always get as much as the gift card's worth, but $30 you can spend on school supplies is better than a $50 gift card for a restaurant you don't plan on going to.
Comparison Shop
For more expensive items like clothes, calculators, backpacks, and the like, see what the same item costs online. You may be able to find discounts and sales this way that let you get the same item at a lower price.
You can also look online. Major retailers often have back to school specials that offer free shipping. Their prices may already be less expensive than retail stores – it's just the shipping that evens it out. Yet if they knock off the shipping, you can get many items at deep discounts.
The reason they do this is hoping you'll get their less expensive items with free shipping, and then splurge on something more expensive. Impulse buying is remarkably easy to give into online, especially when you feel you're saving money on other things. It's easy to think, “I just saved X amount of money, so it's a wash if I spend it on something else.”
Catch yourself when you do this. Lay some ground rules if you've given into this before. You're here for school supplies, and to save money. Stick to that.
Buy Early, Save for Later
After the back to school season, you may find many items on sale for less. Anything extra that they weren't able to sell in the prime season, stores will still want to move so they can make space for fall, winter, and holiday items.
This means that many back to school items will quickly go on sale after the surge ends. Don’t fall into the “back to school” shopping craze. If your kids have enough to start out the school year, wait a few weeks. You can also think ahead: buy these now and save them for later – spring semester or even future years.
A great time to do this is when summer rolls around. Plan ahead, and look for back-to-school items in May or June when school lets out. They'll almost always be cheaper, since there isn't a high demand for them when children are getting out of school for the summer. This is a perfect time to stock up at a discount, and save yourself the hassle of diving into the fray come August.
Be Thrifty
We have two words to help you save money: thrift store. These stores have great, gently-used items for much less than retail. In the past, it may have been a source of embarrassment for many folks to shop in these stores. Today, it’s trendy. Whether you’re picking up some soccer cleats for $2 or a few t-shirts for $5, you can save a great deal of money -- and your children will still look as cool as they are!
If you have your own outgrown gently-used clothing, try consigning it. You can get cash or trade it for clothing for your children. Also, teach your kids to be bargain-hunters. Give them $10, for example, and have a contest to see who can find the best deals. Thinking thrifty is a fad we love!
The bottom line is this: retailers have made “back to school” the new Christmas. They pressure parents into thinking they have to spend a fortune. You don’t. What kids really need for learning is food, shelter, love, and the support of their parents. Everything else is window dressing.
For more help in getting out of debt, or keeping yourself out, contact an experienced de