Saving money as North Texans prepare to head back to the classroom
NORTH TEXAS – Back-to-school shopping is well underway, with North Texas students heading back to the classroom in a matter of weeks.
The National Retail Federation predicts total back-to-school spending in the U.S. will reach nearly $39 billion, which is an average of $875 per household. That's up $178 from just five years ago.
"I think inflation absolutely plays a part," said Sterling White, a father of four and a certified financial planner with Northwestern Mutual. "And there is an aspect of social media, keeping up with the Joneses."
He and his wife have to get all the typical supplies for three of their children this year.
"It's very easy to blow the budget if you say, 'Hey let's just walk in and see what you have,'" said White.
White says the first thing you should do is take stock of the inventory you have at home.
"What do we have?" White said. "What can we reuse? What can we pass down from big brother to little brother? What supplies did we use in fourth grade that we can pass down to the next kid?"
Then, create a list of the essentials and start looking for discounts.
"When you see a flash sale or you see something on Amazon, you say, 'Hey, that's something I need, it was already kind of high on the priority list,'" said White. "You can get those at a lower price."
A few other recommendations from Northwestern Mutual to help you save money:
- Time your purchases carefully: Once school starts, there are also often drastic price reductions. By then, you'll know more clearly what you actually need, and you can make sure that your kids' "must-buy" items are on trend among their friends.
- Combine your efforts: Buying in bulk can be a great way to save. But while you probably don't need a huge quantity of glue sticks or notebooks, other families will also need a few and you can all split the savings. Another option is to swap gently used items that your kids no longer need, such as sports equipment from a long-abandoned activity, a class-specific graphing calculator, outgrown school uniforms, or other clothes and gear, in exchange for these extra items you'll need.
- Try before you buy: Before investing in a musical instrument or hockey skates, ask if you can borrow from the school or a sponsoring facility first – or perhaps consider renting what you need for a trial period.
- Get paid to shop: If you're going to be spending money anyway, you might as well be rewarded for it. On cash-back shopping portals such as Ibotta or Rakuten, you can choose the brands you're interested in and shop as you normally would. You'll automatically earn rebates that you can redeem for cash or gift cards. Other apps like Fetch allow you to earn points you can redeem for gift cards by scanning receipts.
White also advises involving your kids in the process, especially if they're old enough to earn money from chores or a job.
"There are certain things which say, hey, we will spend X amount on a backpack. If you want something nicer than that, you can go buy it out of out of your budget," White said. "And so it teaches them the value of work and teaches them the value of deferred gratification that, hey, do they really want something? And sometimes they experience buyer's remorse, which is good for them to learn."
It can turn a yearly tradition into a lifelong, foundational skill.
"There has to be balance," he said. "There's planning for the here and now and there's planning for the future."
