Summer breaks can feel like a pressure cooker for parents — it certainly feels like one for me. I’m tasked with working full time, keeping my pantry fully stocked, entertaining my energetic 6-year-old son and engaging him in learning activities.
But as summer ends, the pressure surrounding back-to-school shopping builds. I’m sure many parents can relate, especially with the recent increases in the cost of living, even though inflation is cooling.
According to NerdWallet’s 2024 back-to-school shopping report, those who are parents of K-12 or college students and who plan to do back-to-school shopping this year will spend $541, on average, on school supplies and clothing for their kids’ upcoming school year.
Four moms — including myself — with children of various ages share tips on how to shop for clothes and supplies on a budget. Even if you’ve already gotten a head start on shopping, these gems may still come in handy for next year.
Separate needs from wants if you have a larger family
Back-to-school supply lists can seem endless. When you do finally get to the end of the list, you may find that you’ve broken your budget. Kimyatta Williams, a day care owner from Atlanta, has a vibrant family with six children and has mastered staying within her budget by separating needs from wants. Williams’ oldest child is 23 and her youngest is 9, so she’s well-versed in back-to-school shopping.
“I can’t afford to get all these things on the list. So I’m making the priority to prioritize the needs from wants,” Williams says.
“So crayons versus markers. I’m not gonna buy both. They both do the same thing. So I may purchase the markers versus the crayons or I may purchase the big pack of 64 crayons versus the markers, especially at a grade level of a first grader or a second grader,” she adds.
Additionally, Williams attends back-to-school events, which usually give out free supplies. You can search for these events on Google, Eventbrite, Facebook or your local government’s website.
“When you’re a family size like mine, I can only do what I can. I make sure that they have everything they need for the first day to be successful in school,” Williams says.
Consider sustainable clothing if you have younger kids
Clothing can be a major expense for parents when their kids are going back to school. Gyna Uhrlass, an entrepreneur and content creator in Manhattan, New York, is a mother of three who focuses on using sustainable clothing options to help budget for clothing expenses.
She says one of the most frustrating things about back-to-school shopping for her is how expensive everything is, especially because of inflation. She finds that clothes and shoes are her biggest expense.
“My family is Caribbean. When I was growing up, we never did any hand-me-downs. Now that I’m older, I am all about hand-me-downs,” she says.
Uhrlass regularly gets used clothes from her friend who has a son a year older than hers.
“I have not had to buy a significant amount of clothes for him in years,” she says.
She also keeps the tradition within the family by keeping items like her older kids’ vests to pass down to her younger kids.
Set a budget and negotiate if you have older kids
Samantha Danielle Sharpe, a content creator and mother of three located in Nashville, Tennessee, has a home full of teenagers, ages 14, 16, and 18. Since her kids are older, she approaches back-to-school shopping by setting a budget and negotiating with them. However, that’s sometimes hard to do because of social media’s influence.
“I think there’s just a lot of pressure to get your kids so many different trendy items,” she says, adding that her daughter requested all pink supplies.
Sharpe tackles this issue by setting a budget for each of her children so they can learn to manage money and prioritize.
“As a single mom, I’m really honest with my kids. For me, it’s not just about the resources that I have. It’s about me wanting to make sure that I set my kids up for realistic expectations in life,” she says. “I don’t wanna set the expectation that everything that you want, you’re gonna always get.”
Other strategies Sharpe uses include following moms who share saving tips on social media and tapping into her community. Her family has a group chat where they post any items they aren’t using and share sales they come across.
“It may only be for like $100, $150, but it’s like my little reward back to myself for shopping for my kids,” she says.
Shop multiple sales and buy over time
I’m a single mom with one child who is going into the first grade this year. I opted to give myself one less thing to stress about by spreading out back-to-school shopping. I started buying my son new shoes — which he outgrows in a scarily short amount of time — during the summer. When buying household items in stores like Ross and Marshalls, I would also pick up a pair of sneakers from the sales rack because that tends to be my biggest expense after clothing.
As for clothes, I have also shopped between sales. Comparison-shopping has taught me that just because an item is on sale doesn’t mean that’s the best price. Also, I look for websites with deals on multipack shirts or shorts so I’m paying less per item.
I also pay attention to the clothing brands and materials I bought last year that held up and bought more of those items this time around. Having clothes that can withstand school activities that include slime, soil and Play-Doh has definitely saved me money over the past year.