Summer vacation is ending for many parts of the country, which can only mean one thing: kids are going back to school. And for a lot of parents, they are already worrying about how they are going to pay for their children’s back-to-school supplies and essentials.
As a matter of fact, a whopping 70 percent of moms and dads have gone on the record to admit that they are worried about how they are going to pay for their kids’ school supplies this year. According to the Vancouver Sun, parents who are stressing out the most include the ones that have kids going to either daycare or college. That’s because all of the supplies and fees are impacting their family's finances in more ways than one. If that weren’t enough, 80 percent of parents say that they plan to compare-shop in order to stretch their budgets.
If that weren’t enough, about 40 to 60 percent of parents say they can’t afford to buy their children what they need for school. This includes backpacks, lunch boxes, pens, pencils, rulers, notebooks and anything else they will need to make it a successful school year. Over 50 to 60 percent of moms and dads say that they are already feeling stressed just thinking about it.
With that said, the group of parents who will most likely fret over all the costs include ones that have kids in either part-time or full-time pre-school. More than half of parents who have children in grades Kindergarten to the 6thgrade worry about school costs while about two-thirds of parents with kids in 7thto 12thgrade feel the same way.
Not only do kids need all of the essential tools for the classroom, but many schools require that kids do their homework or follow up assignments on a personal laptop or tablet computer. This, of course, already adds to the number of expensive items that parents have to buy each year. And for families that have more than one child, this makes it incredibly difficult.
The good news is that about 80 percent of parents compare prices to get the best value for their money, and of course, keep costs down.