Parents pinch pennies for back-to-school shopping

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts) Jul 23rd 2008 10:00AM

Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Teens & tweens, Money & Work, In The News, Education

Gas prices, food prices, a lazy stock market, heck, even my dog's food increased in price significantly last month. There's no denying it, the cost of every day living is on the rise, and families are feeling it in their pocketbooks. That might not be good news to retailers, most of whom are gearing up right now for the back-to-school season. A whopping 90% of parents who completed an online survey said that they'd change their shopping habits this year, while 71% said they'd spend less, and 83% said they'd cut back on new clothes.

I can almost hear the protesting teenagers now.

As a mom and a grown woman, the pragmatic me says, "Kids don't need new clothes in July (or September, for that matter). Why not wait until they weather cools down, or even until Christmas?" The teenager who still lives inside of me, though, cringes. I remember needing that "perfect" outfit for the first day of school. My own daughter is young enough to be thrilled by a new backpack and some sharp looking pencils (as well as the dozen other items her teacher will likely require), but I know my day is coming when how much we spend on school clothes will be an issue at my house.

Will your back-to-school budget be affected by the economy this year?

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Comments (14)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

erica 7-23-2008 @ 10:21AM

The economy is making everyone cut coners. Its sad that we are being forced to not being able to provide for our kids as we normally are,I'm a single parent of one child and my heart goes out to all of those parents with multiple children....

the goddess anna 7-23-2008 @ 11:06AM

My daughter starts school this year (kindergarten), and we're going to try and balance our purchases for her. If she wants a Dora backpack, she'll get it, but I'll make sure I get the lowest-costing one in the area. Stuff like that. I always bargain shop, though. The rising cost of things is finally starting to effect even us, though... the boys may have to wait a little longer to get some new duds because their sister gets priority (they stay at home with me, where it's no problem to wear slightly stained/battered clothing).

KimberlyMom in the City 7-23-2008 @ 11:07AM

My son is going to preschool for the first time this year. I'm not going to let the economy spoil this first. I plan on having a blast getting him prepared (with supplies, clothing, etc.). There are other things that I'd rather scrimp on.

ninainindia 7-23-2008 @ 11:21AM

Ok, the economy is not so great right now but we still have it very good. And judging from the comments here it's the same in the US. It's luxury things people have to give up a little but it's a long way before we have true reason to complain.

mevs5bratz 7-23-2008 @ 1:44PM

I have 5 kids and with my oldest is starting middle school and my youngest starting kindergarten I am trying to cut corners. I am a big believer that everyone needs at least a couple of new outfits and a new pair of sneakers but when it comes to supplies i will be going to dollar stores and any where that its cheap.

Abby 7-24-2008 @ 5:09PM

From the very beginning my husband and I agreed that we wouldn't spoil our kids or make them "label" snobs. They get what they need--that are reasonably priced and every now and then get a "special" item that is normally a "high-ticket" item (such as an PSP or mp3 player, etc). I am a bargain hunter--I have shopped at The Children's Place when they have their sales (phenomenal bargains!), scour Target's clearances, and yes, brave the Marshalls, Rosses, and TJ Maxes out there to get nice clothes at reasonable prices. I have also bought stuff at Walmart and Kmart. While I have never needed to buy stuff at a Consignment shop, I know of a woman who buys her young children's clothes there--because let's face it, young kids tend to ruin clothes easily. As we face a reality where the cost of gas, food and necessities are rising, we as parents have to come to terms that buying our children designer clothes will not make them more popular or set them up for success in life. Will it make them more confident--maybe. But then again, it's not the clothes or the things that make a person. It's their character. We should emphasize on building a strong character foundation for our children rather than worrying about little Jimmy only getting a plain old tennis shoe from Payless Shoe Store because we couldn't buy him the more expensive Nike.

try2doitall 7-23-2008 @ 2:45PM

As a single mom of two, girl in middle school and boy in grade school, pinching pennies has always been the name of the game. It used to be my check would spread out to 40% to rent, 10% to retirement savings, 15% to food, 25% to utilities&fuel&car&etc, and 10% for incidentals(field trips, clothing, movies, holidays etc.)

With fuel costs soaring, increasing food costs, and every utility I have hiking prices higher every day, I am not sure where to start. I currently have dropped my "carbon footprint" to in town only. No more trips to the next town over to go to the mega-conglomerate store, gas prices totally negate the savings of going there. Errands are in one day every two weeks, in a straight line, no going back, period. We haven't been to the movies in over a year, we were having "staycations" before it became the "in" thing, our entertainment is strictly the library(thank GOD they love to read), I even canceled the cable(boy did my son flip). Even with the limits I have imposed (I am not heating the outside, close the door and go put on another sweater!!! screaming included) my contract for my oil for next year is DOUBLE what it was last year. God help me trying to explain to my kids the money for the holidays is going into the pockets of Exxon and Mobile...

So... School clothes used to be 2-3 new outfits. They wear shorts for the first 4-5 weeks anyway and by the time they stopped wearing shorts everything was on clearance so they could get 4-5 more outfits for what I would have spent on 1-2. This year it will be 1 outfit only. I have spent all of my free time this summer at the local thrift stores, goodwill, tag sales, and clothing swaps trying to outfit my children in nice clothes that won't keep me from keeping us warm this winter, but it has not been easy. Thankfully my daughter has discovered the thrill of the bargain rather than the disdain of the "used" (although I scored 4 pairs of GAP jeans for her, with tags still on, for $2.50 each, yay me).

I wish it could be differently, but then I remember the stories of when my grandmother was growing up (depression era) and it kind of gets put in perspective. Grams had two dresses and was thankful. My daughter can be happy with her $2.50 jeans and my son will live without cable, even if he is convinced he is going to die without Cartoon Network(secretly I am SO happy it is gone).

Do I think we will ever see $2 gas again, NO. I would be happy if milk came back down under $5 though...

rebecca Biernesser 7-23-2008 @ 4:35PM

It is hard with the prices the way they are. My husband works full time and I stay home with the babies, b/c let's face it, two in daycare would be my entire paycheck. We are having to budget in two week periods and some (most times) times we are budgeting 500 or less to buy food, gas, and everything else.

Back to school is going to kill us. I try to buy when things go on sell, but we moved and this school wants things that my old school said was fine. I have to buy almost everything this year. Shoes are a must (they speak to us...) as well as a bookbag. Clothes are not so much. I second the The Children's Place and will add Old Navy to it, for those of ya'll that like deals.

Heather 7-31-2008 @ 7:07AM

We usually only by 1 new outfit for school anyways. We save it for after when the sales start and for Christmas.

Katrina 7-24-2008 @ 2:43PM

We already scrimp and save thankfully I currently only have one in school the second wont start school for another two years and with one on the way. We don't have the extras to cut out with both myself and my fiance working full time we both need our vehicles as public transport doesnt start until after we've been at work for several hours. We have already cut out land line phones, cable and internet for over a year now. We only use our cheap prepaid cell phones and add minutes when we can generally once a month.

My son has all the necessary supplies for school this year already. I purchased him some shoes on clearance this past winter. It will be shopping at thrift stores for clothes and maybe a couple "new" outfits off clearance racks. We also put 50$ in his savings for any events in which he needs money to attend during the school year.

My daughter will most likely not get any new clothes this winter until xmas time, unless she hits a major growth spurt between now and than.

I think with the economy the way it is people really need to cut back where they can. Since for us car, gas, electric, food, daycare and rent are not areas where we can cut back it is going to be on the extras we generally buy for our children.

Jenny 7-26-2008 @ 1:51PM

I took a staycation with my 10 year old pretending we were in Brazil the native home of the TickleMe Plant.
We had so much fun growing it from seeds and watching it move when tickled.
You can check out the cute picture at www.TickleMePlant.com but the best part is growing it and seeing the leaves close and branches fold when tickled!

Denise 7-27-2008 @ 8:00PM

I dread this time of year. I have three kids in school and the lists of the "required" school supplies alone are killing me. We have decided to not buy any clothes until the weather cools down to cut down on expenses this year.

John 8-29-2008 @ 2:09AM

When there are people in other Countries just struggling to live, (because they do not have a place to live, food, or EVEN WATER to drink), I really wish people would concentrate on the BLESSINGS we still have in this Country, instead of the almost CONSTANT complaining.

Alaina 8-29-2008 @ 10:40AM

I'm a mother of 2 kids and I'm also a bargain shopper. I'm not into brand name clothes or shoes. I only buy the necessary items that they need and a few new outfits for school. Yes, it would be nice to have brand new things, but it is just too expensive, right now. I always wait to go shopping when there is a sale or on special occasions, like birthdays and Christmas.

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