Inflation gives back-to-school shoppers headaches. Expert shares how to alleviate that stress
BALTIMORE - A study shows that 68 percent of back-to-school shoppers feel stressed this year about paying for school supplies.
And while affordable school supplies have always been a need, inflation has made buying those supplies even harder.
The National Retail Federation reveals that families will spend $41 billion on back-to-school shopping, averaging about $900 dollars per child.
"Back-to-school supplies encompass a whole lot of things, it's everything from shoes and backpacks to computers to furniture and all of this sort of stuff so it really does kind of run the gamut," said Matt Schulz, Chief Credit Analyst at LendingTree.
In a survey by LendingTree conducted back in June, results show that:
- 33 percent of shoppers think they'll go into debt to pay for back-to-school shopping.
- 34 percent expect to spend more this year due to inflation.
- The items most plan to buy include clothing (84 percent), school supplies (77 percent), shoes (73 percent) and backpacks (60 percent).
Experts say it's best to start your shopping early in the summer to spread out the costs, but also:
"Letting that backpack or that lunch box go a second year without replacing it if it's still in good shape might be a good idea," Schulz said. "Getting some hand-me-downs from big brother or big sister or from friends and family who don't need that stuff anymore, that sort of thing can really help."
Now parents, they say to alleviate more of that stress, it's important to sit down with your child and prioritize what's most important in planning that back-to-school shopping and allow them to be a part of that process as yet another way to save money and more importantly alleviate that back-to-school stress.
