After a long summer break, children are finally going back to school. It can be an expensive time with new school uniforms to buy or replacing stationery. We have put together some money-saving tips to help you have a stress free back-to-school.
Recycle and reuse
Reuse last year’s backpacks and lunchboxes rather than buying new ones. Sometimes they just need a good wash and will look as good as new. For stationery such as folders and pencils, these can be used again for the new year. If you have spiral-bound books with unused pages, why not use these as loose-leaf paper? This way you are recycling and also saving some money.
Eliminate disposables
Plastic resealable bags for school lunches are only cheap to start with but you have to stock up all the time. Instead, invest in reusable lunch containers for sandwiches and snacks that will not only help in saving the environment but all for your pocket.
Buy plain and get creative
Sometimes the children would like trendy school supplies. Why not get them involved in creating their own? Simply get plain while binders or folders and get the children to jazz them up. This way they will have something unique that can be easily identified.
Buy second-hand
It’s easy to get small ticket items such as art supplies but can be quite expensive to get sports equipment. Therefore, rather than buying a new hockey stick from the sports store, look around on Facebook Marketplace, eBay or other second-hand online stores where you could get a bargain.
Get your children to buy their own items
One of the ways to show children the value of money when purchasing school items (so that they can learn how to look after their things), is to encourage them to budget, save and purchase the item for themselves. You can get the basics but if they want something which is an “upgrade”, they can spend their own money. You will see how quickly the pester power will decline.
If you need any help with covering the back to school costs, you can get our Child Benefit Loan which has a low-interest rate. Find out more.