How much do you spend

[Michie]

on back to school stuff? supplies, clothes and such?

I actually do fairly well. I go through her supplies to see if she has anything she can reuse. I loathe waste. I buy her clothes year round. But oh my gosh, I am always suprised at the "hidden costs". I feel for folks who are on a tight budget or have a more than 1 kid to buy for.

 

[mum4jenn]

I try to find all the great sales like at Staples last week and at Walmart. I get clothes all year long a Target and Walmart when they are on clearance. I even bought a ton of folders when our Office Max closed. This year I bought extras so I hope most can be used the next couple of years. It still runs into money no matter how I do things!! We are going today to look for tennis shoes(sneakers or whatever different regions call them ). I will still have to buy things at her school(planner,class T-shirt,disk for computer,lunchmoney). I will be glad when I am finished!!

 

[aunt kelly]

I buy the clothes year round too, so I don't have a big clothing outlay in August.

I buy basic school supplies when I find them on sale throughout July and August. Right now Office Depot is having a sale on loose leaf paper, pens and pencils, so I am stocking up. (I don't have the kids' supply list yet, but I know they'll need these things).

No matter how much I try to plan ahead there are always big back to school expenses I just can't get around. I have two kids and usually put $100 each on their cafeteria cards. There are always extra school supplies to buy (gym clothes, locker assecories, etc.).

August and September always put a big dent in the checkbook!

 

[SC Minnie]

I still have supplies from last year so I will probably spend less than $15 on actual supplies. Clothes are another story. DD should be able to wear capris from last year (no shorts allowed) but her jeans are all too short. She will need to shoes too. I will probaby end up spending about $250 on clothes. She needs slims and they are hard to find at Target and WalMart so I usually end up at JC Penny or Sears.

 

[golfgal]

For just notebooks, pencils, etc. it is usually around $60 for the 3 kids. If they need backpacks, etc. obviously that is more. DS14 has a good backpack that should last him through high school. The twins had rolling backpacks but since they will now ride the bus I think they will get new, good backpack that will last them through high school too. This year we will have to buy DS14 the expensive graphing calculator that they need for high school. They sell them at the school during the open house, hopefully they have a good price on them.

I wait to buy winter clothing until they need it, mid-October or so. That gets spendy but they need clothing.

 

[anewvance]

My younger dd's list isn't bad at all, really not supplies but stuff to stock the classroom like wipes and paper towels. Even my older dd's supplies aren't too bad. My younger dd can use my older dd's uniforms this year and I found older dd some at a thrift store recently (kinda amazing since they have specific uniforms that have the school embroidery on them).

But this year, we have to pay a $350 each dd ($700) total for books and other fees. That's amazing! Oh and ouch!

 

[lowie]

i'm lucky that we live in south florida and don't have to buy whole new wardrobes for each season.

last year though i stocked up on school uniform shirts when they went on sale and the school went and changed the allowed colors

my dh works at target so he gets a discount, plus we usually get an additional 10% off card ffrom using the target credit card, then florida has a tax free week on clothes and supplies. so that week we go and buy everything at once. although my kids already got their backpacks, one has an ipod holder, sooo cute!

i'll probably spend about $150 per kid for clothes, shoes and supplies.

 

[MushyMushy]

I usually budget about $250 per kid on clothes only, but sometimes we go over and sometimes under. This year might be more pricey because DD is now starting to wear misses sizes.

I also budgeted about $500-800 on myself for back-to-school clothes. ARGH! I need absolutely everything. I hate shopping for myself, and it kills me to have to spend that much money on myself.

Supplies -- not too much. A few pencils, a notebook or two, and a couple of folders. The schools here pretty much supply everything, but my kids like to have their own stuff as well.

 

[MareQ]

WOW - around here we don't have to buy school supplies until the kids are in high school. All I have to provide is a backpack which my kids have.

As for clothes - it depends - could be nothing - could be $500. My oldest and middle one (only ones in school) grow VERY slowly. They can get at least 2 summers of out summer clothes, 2 winter's and falls etc. So - for oldest DS for school he only will need sneakers - DD will only need a few shirts - next year will be a buying season though - lol

 

[Sandy V.]

It is an incredibly expensive time of year!

I just spent $56 at Walmart buying school supplies for a college freshmen and a high school junior. I still need to pick up things like a stapler, staples, 3-hole punch, etc., for our DD to take to college, as well as a box of printer paper.

And then we still need to find a laptop as well for her to take. . . Ahhhh! Then we've bought a comforter, sheets, towels - I don't even want to think about the rest.

High school gets expensive because of parking passes, yearbooks, school photograph packages (they take your picture on the first day of enrollment here and use it on your school id), activity/sports participation fees.

And then there is the clothes. I give each of them a set amount ($400) and they're pretty good about making smart decisions because it has to last until Christmas. That money has to pay for everything from school clothes, to shoes, to underwear, socks, and a coat. My daughter works at a Levis Outlet store, so both kids bought jeans, etc., with her employee discount. And my son was really proud of how he bought 8 shirts at Old Navy for $40. I was happy too!

I usually feel VERY poor by the end of August. I've written so many checks my hand hurts!

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Well, my kids have to wear uniforms. This year, I'm organized and already ordered their polo shirts from the Gap! (Usually I wait too long and the size selection is bad!). Anyway, I ordered 12 shirts and the damage was $159.38. I still have some shorts that my DS can wear but I need to order his pants still. That will probably be somewhere in the ballpark of $100 or so. DD will need two new skirts and a couple of pair of pants, so again probably around $100 or so. Then we can't forget shoes, socks, new underwear, etc. We already paid for and ordered their school supplies through the Women's Guild at school so that's done. Everywhere I look the school supplies are out already! Our school starts August 24th.

 

[Brianne]

It was $250 total to fill in gaps for uniforms, especially since my youngest needed everything uniform-related. Then another $100 at Walmart for school supplies--$20 of that was for a flash drive.

I don't recall schools ever requiring such specific things when I was in school---now they're getting picky even about brands!

 

[Bunchkin]

Well this year I took advantage of the school supply kits that our PTO sells. It comes complete with everything they need, per grade, and we even ordered a really nice backpack through them as well. These will be ready beginning of Aug when they have the information packet pickup day. That's when you find out what teacher the kids will be getting.
So to order supplies and the backpack was, I believe, $85.

Our school has high registration fees!! For DD, who will be going into 3rd grade, it was $285!!!

Clothes wise, we might need new jeans and pants. DD just had a growth spurt! Maybe a new pair of casual shoes, usually loafers by Lands End. We just bought new sneakers. So maybe around $100 for clothes/shoes.

We are looking into a preschool for DS, so I have no clue if there will be any expenses involved in that. But clothes wise, he may need new jeans/pants too.

 

[MushyMushy]

Wow, Bunchkin, is that a private school?

Dang.

 

[lindakmonty]

ds5 is going into kindergarten...so this is our first year buying supplies and everything. His class is everyday for 2 1/2 hours so they told us not to go crazy. I've paid about $20 for his supplies and maybe $200 for clothes and new shoes...

 

[Luv'sTink]

The thing that makes me upset is the list I received last year, they didn't use half of it! They actually sent some home the first few days saying "Oh, you don't need these yet" They never did need them!

Our total will be about $300 for DS9.

 

[powellrj]

I expect DDs (5th grade) book fees to be around $150, plus we spent about $75 for supplies (since when do 5th graders need expensive calculators). We will wait until about october to buy clothes.

DSs (10th grade) bookfees will be over $300, plus activity fees, school pictures (they take them at sign-up) and supplies which will be at least another $150.

I HATE back to school.

 

[paigevz]

Not that much..........younger DS is included in the preschool tuition except for a crib sheet, blanket and travel pillow for naptime. I saved my baby stuff, so have the crib sheet and blanket........just need to get a travel pillow. I've bought some shorts and shirts on sale, and my mom is getting him some Land's End climbers for when it's cold later. Other than that, we have lots of hand me downs for him, so like 150 total, plus 20 dollars a month for computer class.

Older DS wanted some particular things, which I found on Ebay........spent about 40 bucks. He wants some shoes that'll be about 65 dollars, and my mom will buy him a new outfit. He still needs some long pants and undershirts/socks. The underthings will be about 20 bucks, and we'll wait on the winter stuff and see what the style is in middle school. We spent about 10 bucks on his supplies on sale, two things totalling about 10 left to get. He's not getting a new backpack as his old one is quite fine. He also costs me 50 bucks a month for band instrument rental. So, 200 to start, and then 50 a month and probably another 150 in winter clothes later.

Totalling 350 for a middle schooler and a preschooler to start. Not bad.......................

I think the real big bucks come in high school, but for me, beginning school is not bad as I can plan for it and portion it out. It's after school starts and we suddenly need a metronome, and a school shirt, and a lock for the locker, and school picture money, and yearbook money, and lunch money, and extra supplies for this class or that program..............