According to professionals this year it costs about $600 for the parents to send one child to school. Nonetheless the expenses can be minimized if you create a saving strategy and you stick to it.
Inventory
Before you actually start shopping look through the clothes of the child and see what you can use from last year. Prepare an inventory sheet and have the child try on everything to see whether it fits or not. If it does, it goes on the inventory sheet. In case clothing doesn’t fit, it should go into the donation box.
Regarding the supplies, lunch boxes and backpacks, you might have to get a new one every year, because the requirements change in every grade.
Budget
There are some items that are non-negotiable, such as the required supplies, but when it comes to shoes, clothing, lunch box and backpacks you have a higher degree of flexibility.
You could start by taking a look at how much you have spent last year. This could motivate you to make bigger savings this year. Naturally the budget varies from one family to the other. You could be using the system of envelopes, placing the money you wish to spend on school items in a separate envelope. It is also a good idea to teach older children about saving if you offer them a clothing allowance.
The list
Using the inventory sheet you will be able to determine what you need to buy. Regarding the clothing the little one should have about 5-7 items that can be mixed and that shouldn’t be very expensive.
As an example in case of a girl there should be about two pairs of jeans, a pair of black pants of khakis, a sweater, two shirts and also a skirt or a dress. Also add some inexpensive T-shirts, scarves, tank tops, belts and tights. The good thing about accessories is that children can’t outgrow them. You could also consider getting summery items, like a dress that can also be used in the next season by wearing it with a sweater and leggings.
Make sure that you use the checklist that you have made so that you won’t have to see your child fall in love with a shirt that is just too expensive.
Bulk
One of the best things you can do to save some money is to buy in bulk items like paper and pencils.
