Take a look at your spending plan and income and determine how much money you have available for school clothes and supplies. If you have been putting money aside each month for this purpose, look at how much you have saved. This will tell you how much you can spend. Using credit is not a good idea unless you will have the money to repay the charges within the next 30 days.
Before you spend money on clothes and supplies, take a look at what you already have on hand. Make a list of the clothes that fit and are usable for fall school days. Do the same with supplies like pencils, note books, and paper. Contact the school and learn what specific supplies your child will need to begin the school year. Compare this to things you already have on hand. Then you can make a shopping list for things to buy.
Most stores have “back-to-school” sales in the month before school starts. Check the local newspapers for specials on school supplies and school clothes. Compare prices and shop in the stores that offer the best supplies for the lowest cost.
If you need school clothes, remember to first shop at thrift stores or consignment shops. Thrift stores sometimes have new merchandise donated by clothing manufacturers or clothes that are almost like new from someone who no longer needed the item. The price of an item from a thrift store or consignment shop will be less than a new item from a retail store.
Some parents expect their older children to pay for their own school supplies and clothes. If your child has a summer job, or an allowance, you can give them the responsibility of doing their own shopping with some of their money. When it is their own money, they are very careful where they spend it. Other parents take the amount of money they plan to spend on their child and let the child be responsible for buying their clothes and supplies.
For more information on being a smart shopper, contact the Logan County Extension Office. Source: Suzanne Badenhop
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