Dont freak out if you think youre spending more for your back-to-school items. Prices have gone up.
Huntington Banks annual Backpack Index, released in late July, found that parents with at least three children in elementary school will pay $649 for supplies, where as parents with three middle school children will pay $941 and those with three high school children will pay $1,402 for their supplies.
These are all increases from last year, according to the report. Parents with elementary school children have seen a 1 percent increase in prices, where as middle school parents have seen a 2.5 percent price jump and high school parents have seen a 9 percent increase since last year, according to the report.
This can be a problem for low-income families, who may struggle to afford all necessary back-to-school items, according to George Mokrzan, the director of economics for Huntington Bank.
With the ongoing slow growth in wages, it is difficult for many families to meet the rising costs of sending children to school, Mokrzan said in a press release. For a family of five living at the poverty level guideline of $28,410, the cost of sending three children to school would consume as much as 10 percent of their income.
Thats especially troubling since one in every five school-age children lives below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Thats about 10.9 million children overall.
Back-to-school shopping has long been a spending issue for families since theyll often buy the popular backpacks and latest fashion trends. It doesnt help that back-to-school shopping comes weeks after summer vacations, which can also be costly ventures.
But not all parents budget for back to school. In fact, a survey from Retail Me Not found that more than half of parents dont budget their back-to-school shopping and will spend about $300 on their childs wishlist of back-to-school items, according to 660 News.
Still, a back-to-school budget is highly recommended by experts.
Sandra Hanna, the CEO of Smart Cookies, told 660 News that a budget will make the back-to-school shopping season less stressful for families.
You can rework things in your budget. If you allocate, say $40 for a backpack, and then your little one decides they want to spend a little more, and you work with them on that, then I think that that is a learning opportunity, Hanna told 660 News.
Hanna recommends that parents have their children spend their own money on the more high-priced items, which could teach youngsters a lesson about personal responsibility.
Tell them, if you want that new iPad, if you want the new computer, whatever it is, then you need to come up with how were going to pay for it, Hanna said. So whether that is digging into their allowance, doing extra chores around the house, maybe they help with the neighbors yard.
My colleague Kelsey Dallas wrote about this issue last week and pointed towards CNNs Moneys list of best back-to-school deals for technology and a U.S. News & World Report list of apps that can replace some commonly expensive back-to-school items, which can help those parents in search of affordable ways to handle back-to-school shopping.
For more on back to school, see our articles here:
Cant wait for the kids to go back to school? These parents cant either
Simple back-to-school tips that can help your child improve in school
Parents looking for ways to save on back-to-school purchases
Huntington Banks annual Backpack Index, released in late July, found that parents with at least three children in elementary school will pay $649 for supplies, where as parents with three middle school children will pay $941 and those with three high school children will pay $1,402 for their supplies.
These are all increases from last year, according to the report. Parents with elementary school children have seen a 1 percent increase in prices, where as middle school parents have seen a 2.5 percent price jump and high school parents have seen a 9 percent increase since last year, according to the report.
This can be a problem for low-income families, who may struggle to afford all necessary back-to-school items, according to George Mokrzan, the director of economics for Huntington Bank.
With the ongoing slow growth in wages, it is difficult for many families to meet the rising costs of sending children to school, Mokrzan said in a press release. For a family of five living at the poverty level guideline of $28,410, the cost of sending three children to school would consume as much as 10 percent of their income.
Thats especially troubling since one in every five school-age children lives below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Thats about 10.9 million children overall.
Back-to-school shopping has long been a spending issue for families since theyll often buy the popular backpacks and latest fashion trends. It doesnt help that back-to-school shopping comes weeks after summer vacations, which can also be costly ventures.
But not all parents budget for back to school. In fact, a survey from Retail Me Not found that more than half of parents dont budget their back-to-school shopping and will spend about $300 on their childs wishlist of back-to-school items, according to 660 News.
Still, a back-to-school budget is highly recommended by experts.
Sandra Hanna, the CEO of Smart Cookies, told 660 News that a budget will make the back-to-school shopping season less stressful for families.
You can rework things in your budget. If you allocate, say $40 for a backpack, and then your little one decides they want to spend a little more, and you work with them on that, then I think that that is a learning opportunity, Hanna told 660 News.
Hanna recommends that parents have their children spend their own money on the more high-priced items, which could teach youngsters a lesson about personal responsibility.
Tell them, if you want that new iPad, if you want the new computer, whatever it is, then you need to come up with how were going to pay for it, Hanna said. So whether that is digging into their allowance, doing extra chores around the house, maybe they help with the neighbors yard.
My colleague Kelsey Dallas wrote about this issue last week and pointed towards CNNs Moneys list of best back-to-school deals for technology and a U.S. News & World Report list of apps that can replace some commonly expensive back-to-school items, which can help those parents in search of affordable ways to handle back-to-school shopping.
For more on back to school, see our articles here:
Cant wait for the kids to go back to school? These parents cant either
Simple back-to-school tips that can help your child improve in school
Parents looking for ways to save on back-to-school purchases
