How tight is your back-to-school budget?
Back-to-school shopping season is upon us again. As students and their parents hit the stores, this could be a critical season for retailers facing tight consumer spending.
Many, especially image-conscious teenagers, will want the latest fashions. But will parents, facing inflation and job uncertainty, limit the couture to the not-so-haute?
A story in today’s Post-Dispatch points out that in our gloomy economy, retailers are particularly hungry for teen shoppers who often have their own money and are more likely to spend money on apparel and other discretionary purchases than their parents.
“Nationally speaking, enough people are hurting that there will be damage to back-to-school,” said Josh Weil a partner of Youth Trends, Inc, a New York City-based marketing research company. “A bad back-to-school doesn’t bode well for holiday.”
In another effort to help the back-to-school shopping crowd, Missouri is again waiving sales taxes in another week to help parents shopping for their kid’s clothes and school supplies. Missouri’s Tax Free Weekend is Aug. 1-3. The holiday always starts on the first Friday in August and it ends at midnight on Sunday.
How tight is your back-to-school budget? Have you asked your teen to use more of their summer job money for school supplies and clothing?
What will your kids do without?
I have raised two teens that are not one to go with the crowd. They shop sale or clearance and yes they shop at Target sometimes. They don’t buy in season all the time. But their spending habits will not be affected this year. The bottom line is, the parents and the teens that you interviewed are self serving and lazy. There are alternatives to shopping at American Eagle and there always have been. You have Marshalls, JC Penney Outlet in Jamestown, Steve & Barry’s at Northwest (most clothing less than $11.00), and of course Value City. All of the stores mentioned have “name brand” clothing that your children “require”. What ever happened to you buy what you can afford. Come on parents, stop whining and start teaching your over priviledged kids to become better than your generation and learn how and when to shop. Just get in your SUVs and drive to the store that fits your budget and stop trying to fit in with a crowd that is probably over extended financially anyway. Shop smarter and stop blaming high gas prices!!
As the new school year approaches, school suppy list are everywhere! Some of the list are over the top. One year a box of freezer gallon bags where on the list! I scan over the list and get the basic’s, but when a school demands a “brand” for a pair of scissors….come on…scissors are scissors no matter the maker! I am set to register my daughter for school the first week of Aug., the school mailed a newsletter giving details. School locks (required) $6, planner (required) $8, yearbook (not required) $52, school pictures taken at registration (not required)unknown cost, depends on package selected, funds put on lunch card (required)…so in essence the registration will cost approx. $100.
As far as new clothes….all summer long we have been frequent shoppers of the clearance isles! I recall as a child how exciting it was to wear new clothing the first week of school!
My daughter is also active in a sport. Being on the fundraising committee I am active and creative about paying for her sport.
I am a single mother than has never given thought about taking away from my daughters school experience, but have become very creative in paying for them. It’s not what she can do without….it’s about what I can cut back on and myself doing without. All about becoming creative and resourseful.
I don’t have any school age children anymore but I do have a wife that teaches. Even she likes to buy something new to wear weather she needs it or not. She mentioned the other day that she needed to do some shopping because she had to return to work in a few weeks. I had to laugh when I look into her big walk in closet and find it bulging at the seams. I think going back to school buying is directly related to marketing by the big stores. Open up the newspaper and look at the ads on Sunday. Watch television for any amount of time and you are sure to see advertisement.
When I see some of the list that school districts put into the stores I wonder what they buy. Where are all the tax dollars going?? You would think scissors and glue would be purchased under consumable supplies by the district. I retired as a teacher a few years ago but my department always order consumable products such as those. Things are changing faster than we know.
To me it all starts with basics, pens, paper, erasers, notebooks. My child also participates in a sport. Sports keep the child active, and contributes to being a well rounded person. And can help alot with college expenses in the future. Being a single mother and my last daughter starting freshman year, I do understand the importance of having “cool” clothes. It’s not the brand with my daughter, it’s the look. To me it’s the durablility! So we will shop and look, then talk about what she has in the closet. She get’s a budget, always has. It is up to her to select the 2 higher end outfits or the 4 mid end or the 6 discount outfits. We have to set the rules and if old enough let the child decide!
Some comments herr made me think about the list for my kids sent from the school for the upcoming year. They both needed three green pens…for what I can’t imagine. Sometimes I wonder if the school districts, being always short of money somewhere, don’t add things to the “kids” school supply list to supplement their own supply cabinets in the office. Looking at everything they need it isn’t hard to realize there is no way one kid can blow through all that in a single school year…
Tim: I was required to purchase green ink when I was in high school. We used “green” in English composition class when we reviewed and corrected another student’s essay. Then the teacher did the final review, and of course he used “red.” If at the end, there were more “red” corrections than “green” corrections, all hell broke loose!
The key question is “What’s the over-under gonna be on days until the first fundraiser comes home?” I’m guessing 7 days.
Back to School=No problem at our house. Sure we have the obligatory list and about a hunert bucks or two for clothes then I yell “NOW GO LEARN SOMETHING!”
Ryan, that’s why I think it is really for the teachers. Mine are 1st and 3rd graders, and I notice some teachers mark with green ink. I have read that child psychologists say using red ink is too negative so other, more “soothing” colors should be used instead. Who knows for sure, but one thing I am sure of: My wife is looking forward to the first day of scool…
Most parents will shop at Wal-Mart to save $1.75 and then complain their kids can’t find good paying jobs after they graduate and can’t get any healthcare….
Only your kids will Garrison. My children will be busy earning their keep and won’t be blaming others for their lot in life. They will be taught that a WalMart job won’t afford them many comforts and if they settle for a menial job, they should expect menial wages.