Back-To-School Shopping & Budgeting

Use back-to-school shopping to help teach your kids about budgeting and learning the difference between needs and wants.

The new school year is upon us, which means it’s time to get the family’s school supplies ready! Back-to-school shopping is a great opportunity to teach your kids about budgeting and the importance of prioritizing what you need, not what you want. This activity is most appropriate for those who know how to count and do basic math; however, parents can encourage and guide little ones as needed.

Top Back-To-School Budgeting Tips  

Develop The Rules  

• Determine the child’s budget – make a reasonable estimate based on how much you’ve spent in the past.
• What items need to be prioritized?
• Will they have free rein on what they can purchase, or do they need your approval?

Establish Their Spending Limit

• It’s important they know their budget. Make sure they understand they can’t spend more than what’s given to them.
• Pay with cash so they see the funds decrease as they spend it.

Assess What Is Needed  

• Go over all the required school supplies with your child.
• Are there any supplies they already have? Check their supplies from previous years – can any be reused? Help them understand that if they reuse items then they can apply the money they would’ve used to purchase something else.
• What non-required items do they want to get? For example, do they need a new backpack or new clothes?

Develop Their Shopping List

• Have them write down what they need to buy and explain how following a list will help them stay on budget.
• Look through ads and online coupons to comparison shop and explain the benefit of comparing prices.
• Encourage them to write down the best price and the store by the item on their list. For example, if you find notebooks for $.25, have them write the price and the store name on the list next to notebooks.

Have Them Organize Their List

• Where do they need to go? Can they get multiple items at one store?
• If they need to go to multiple stores, does the savings justify driving around? Talk about how multiple trips or longer distances impact fuel costs.

Get Ready, Set, Shop

• Though you’re there to help, kids should make their own shopping decisions. Depending on their age, you can step in as needed to guide them, but this exercise is to help them learn from their decisions – good and bad.
• If you notice they’re making a poor decision, talk with them about it in the moment. Ask them to explain their purchase.
• Take advantage of tax-free weekend (August 9-11). This can help with making the most out of their budget.
• Let them take the lead at the store.
• Emphasize the importance of following their list, and cross off items as they make purchases.
• Make sure they take prices into account to avoid going over budget.
• If they find something they want to buy that’s not on the list, talk with them about needs and wants. Remind them there’s a limited amount of money to spend. What’s more important for them to buy?

Checkout

• Before checking out, talk through their decisions and ask them to go over their purchases.
• Have them pay with cash so they can get used to counting money.

Review  

• After everything has been bought, review their purchases with them.
• Ask questions about what they learned: What was the hardest part? What was the most expensive?
• If they ended up under budget, encourage them to put that money into savings.

Summary

Early exposure to financial concepts can foster a healthy attitude towards money and instill good financial habits, such as budgeting and saving money. Use the tips above to help your kids practice money-smart skills.