-By Francis Rigby

The past 12 months have been challenging for many families, with time constraints and financial pressures only adding to the stress. Knowing that many families are looking for practical ways to stretch their hard earned dollars a little further, I wanted to share some practical tips on how to manage the back to school financial pressures. 

It’s that time of the year again, when we are getting ready to send our son back to school and with it comes all the thoughts around how to manage the extra financial burden and deciding on what to buy and what not to buy.  I thought I would share the tips I have learnt personally as a parent, as well as those tips shared with me by others.  Hopefully this will save you some time, money and stress.

The key is preparation. Here are 8 tips to help during this time:

1. Take Stock: Before you get started with the shopping list and budget you need to take stock of what you already have:

a. Start with all school clothes and shoes; do they still fit, can you fix the buttons and polish the shoes, if so maybe hold off on the extra purchases.

b. Stationery; what do you already have that was not used from last year

c. Look at all the things you have for lunches; did the lunch boxes and drink bottles make it home in an ok condition at the end of last year?

d.  Finally, how is the school bag, will a good clean see it through another year?

2. Shop Online: The best place to start is online, do your preparation for the bargains. Can you click and collect or save on the extra unwanted purchases if you went out shopping?

3. Look for Pre-loved Items: This is a space that you can use for the bigger items;

a. School Clothes: This really needs you to get in early as the right sizes can sometimes be hard to get.  Remember you may also want to buy slightly larger sizes, especially in those earlier grades. 

b. Technology: Type in preloved technology and your school into google to find sites that will help you save large amounts of money by buying preloved.  The other option is refurbished technology, again much to save.

c. School Books – This is a great option and where you can, go online to source a bargain.

4. Understand Assistance Options:  What scholarships are available; can you prepay school fees and save, is there any government support you are eligible to receive? Whilst some people have come off the back of a very tough period, it is also important to appreciate that there are some very helpful local charities that are always looking to support those in need. Don’t be too proud and always ask for help if you genuinely need it.

5. Plan:  Now you are ready with all your research, it’s time to set a budget and make sure you have all your lists. You can also start planning for the extra financial costs during the year by putting aside a small amount of funds each week to help pay for those extra school shoes, activities or the lost lunch box.  Should you be struggling to pay upfront for items, you can explore your finance options however, don’t get caught up in the fast but expensive money options.  Many schools have supportive programs in place to spread the burden.

6. Label Everything: Now you have everything purchased it is important to make sure everything is labelled properly. Spend the money on a good labelling tool as it could save you money by ensuring your purchased items come back during the year.

7. Pack Lunches: How to save you may ask?  Involve the children! What do they like eating?  They will also like to get out quick and play, so what is quick and easy for them to eat?  It will be a balance to try and keep it interesting and as healthy as possible.  This has helped our family as our son was not eating at school, wasting the food and then getting home after school extremely hungry and then cleaning out the fridge. 

8. Transport Options: Depending on your proximity to school, treat the journey to school as family exercise via either bike or walk.  If a little too far then consider car-pooling as this is a definite saving of both time and money. 

The final thing I would like to leave you with is the importance of involving the children in the shopping trips, the list making and the budgeting.  It is also important to involve them in the conversations of what else can be done with the money as a family if you are able to save it (linking it back to family fun is always a great motivator).  This will help teach those basic money management concepts that will set them up for the future 

For more tips and useful website links please go to our website www.financialwellnessmatters.com.au. Please also feel free to share any specific tips you have in this area as we would love to share them in the work that we do through our financial wellness programs within workplaces and schools.