NATIONWIDE — It’s inevitable. Come late summer, the lists of school supplies go out.
Once the list was short: notebook, pencils or pens, maybe a Trapper Keeper-type binder, a lunch box …
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NATIONWIDE — It’s inevitable. Come late summer, the lists of school supplies go out.
Once the list was short: notebook, pencils or pens, maybe a Trapper Keeper-type binder, a lunch box if you weren’t buying food. (Yes, that’s going back decades. Sorry, making a point here.) And don’t forget the new clothes and shoes for school.
Recent supply lists are a lot longer. Eighteen items on average per list, according to a report at TeacherLists, a website that focuses on school supply lists.
What’s on those lists? According to various schools: A backpack, pens, pencils, highlighters, notebooks, binders, a water bottle, facial tissues, colored pencils, erasers, anything related to a school-provided tablet, index cards, headphones, glue and a calculator (possibly graphing calculators for high school, although some schools will loan them out).
Accounting firm Deloitte’s annual back-to-school survey found that 57 percent of parents are concerned about the higher cost of back-to-school supplies, and 33 percent say their family financial situation is worse compared to 2021.
Those costs have gone up 32 percent, according to a TeacherLists press release.
Parents, the Deloitte report said, are planning to spend over $660 per child on back-to-school items. That’s led by clothing and “accessories,” with spending up 18 percent, and general school supplies, up seven percent. (On the other hand, spending on technology is down eight percent.)
How can parents save?
The internet, as always, has answers.
Shop at home first. What came home from school last year? Use anything left over, said money-management site Ramsay Solutions. And then check around. Maybe there’s something useful in the junk drawer.
Nerdwallet suggested buying in bulk and splitting the cost and the stuff between families.
Keep a list, said livingonthecheap.com, and follow that list. Look for sales and coupons.
Tap into the community, said Nerdwallet. (Example: Pike County’s back-to-school event, where families in need can get backpacks of school supplies.)
Check with the school. Sometimes there are supplies on hand, or the school can send you in the right direction.
Get school clothes at thrift shops or yard sales. Kids outgrow their clothes really fast. Why pay full price?
Shop sales and stick to a budget, Ramsay Solutions added.
And connect with your community. Reach out on social media. Maybe people are cleaning house and getting rid of office supplies. Maybe other parents have stuff to give away or sell cheaply. Ask.
Panic setting in?
Don’t let it. The thought of all the needed supplies and limited funds might be overwhelming, but there are many resources out there. Reach out.
Deloitte survey: www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/articles/us175490_back-to-school/DI_Back-to-school-2022.pdf
The TeacherLists report: www.teacherlists.com/blog/teacherlists-reports-a-32-increase-in-the-cost-of-the-most-common-supplies-requested-by-teachers-and-schools-on-the-2022-2023-back-to-school-school-supply-lists-mid-season-update/
A couple of money-saving sites:
www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-save-on-school-supplies-by-tapping-your-community
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