Back to School

It is back to school time and there is the usual problem of trying to find the money to buy all of the things that are necessary.  How should we deal with this problem in order to avoid the stresses that come with it?
The first thing is that we need to be prepared, during the year we need to put some money aside so that when September comes we can avoid the stress that comes with having to borrow money.  This will require us to give up something that we would normally buy or do in order to ensure that we can save for back to school.  Take advantage of sales when they occur, book stores often have their sales at times other than at back to school time.  There are some items that you can buy anytime during the year such as notebooks, pencils, pens etc.
Text books are the single most expensive item that you can buy so we need to have a plan.  I would recommend that all text books should be wrapped in paper or a strong plastic.  I have used old plastic bags, paper bags or even newspaper to wrap books.  Secondly encourage your child not to write in the textbooks, unless it is a workbook, but rather to make notes in a separate notebook.  The idea is to protect the textbooks so that you can pass them down to the next child or if you have no others pass them on to a relative’s/friend’s child or you can sell them.  This can reduce what we buy or the sale will help finance the next purchase.  We need to work together more in order to make it easier for everyone.
When buying items such as shoes, bags, uniforms etc., cheaper is not always better.  It may suit you to buy a more expensive item because it will last longer.  I survived with one school bag throughout all my years at high school.  A good pair of shoes can last for years depending on how quickly the child is growing and they can also be passed on to others.  Buy those uniforms with extra length in the pants or skirts and let out the length as the child grows because often times the child’s waist size does not change over a two year period.
I know that it is not popular to suggest such things because we are so conscious of our status and maintaining our image but when you are careful with your money your children then learn that same principle and avoid making your mistakes.

Feedback question:  Are schools recommending too many textbooks?