CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Back to school shopping is underway, and based on a new survey, parents are expecting those costs to double form last year.
Since more schools are moving back to in-person learning, back-to-school shopping will be a little different for parents this year.
Inflation is driving up costs for clothing and supplies, but there are still some ways to save.
“As schools start to shift back to being in-person, so are the ways that parents are spending,” Savings.com Industry Analyst Corie Wagner said.
A survey conducted by savings.com asked 500 parents of school-aged children what they expected to spend this year on back-to-school shopping.
“We found that on average, parents were expecting to spend in total $697 on supplies and other services for back-to-school shopping,” Wagner said.
Last year, only 6% of parents expected to spend over $600, but this year, inflation has taken that number up to 40%.
“Much like with food, gasoline, and utility bills, the cost for school supplies is rising, and parents are preparing to spend more this year than they did in 2021,” Wagner said. “If you have some back-to-school shopping of your own to do, having a list and a plan is going to help save money by preventing any kind of impulse shopping, even if there are little things that can add up really quickly.”
Wagner also encouraged shoppers to take advantage of tax-free weekend, which began on Friday, August 5, and ends on Sunday, August 7.
“For clothing, parents can spend up to $100 on each clothing item and get that totally tax-free, and then for schools or school supplies, it’s going to be $20 per item max to get the tax-free benefits, Wagner said.”
If you’re planning on shopping soon, look out for any back-to-school promotions at your your local stores and organizations holding school drives.
