Lifestyle
Saving Tips For Back To School Expenses
Finances seem to always get tougher at certain times of the year, and it can be difficult to deal with them if you don’t have enough cash to see you through. In financial emergencies, you may look at getting one of the best payday loans in the UK, but what do you do when something as simple as going back to school is going to drain your account? When the kids head back to class after the summer holidays, they’ll want to be armed with everything the need to succeed. However, what they need can soon turn into a spending spree and before you know it, you’re completely wiped out. So, if you want to reduce your back to school spending, keep reading and discover our top saving tips that will lower your expenses this year.
Start Early
One of the most important things you can do is start saving early. Don’t leave it all to the last minute and expect money to have magically appeared in your bank account. Start saving before they even finish for the holidays! This way you’ll be ahead of yourself and won’t have to worry about picking up that new uniform as you’ll have plenty of cash to do so. You could even have a separate savings pot purely for their back to school kit. You could continuously add to it throughout the year and then come summer, you’ll have more than enough to get the kids what they need.
Don’t Buy Straight Away
Although it can be tempting to buy everything as soon as it hits the shelves, you’re probably going to end up spending more than you’d like. This is because everything will still be brand new, and no deals will have been applied to it yet. While you don’t want to leave it all until the last minute, giving it a few weeks won’t do any harm. You’ll notice a lot more deals pop up the closer it gets to term time, as shops will be wanting to get rid of the stock. So, don’t be in a rush to kit them out, as you may find that shopping at the end of summer can really help you save more money.
Not Everything Has To Be Brand New
While we all want to give our children the best of the best, sometimes this can be quite expensive to achieve. So, this year, why not try buying some things second hand? There’s nothing wrong with buy pre-used items, and in fact, you’re doing your bit for the planet too by keeping it out of landfills. Uniforms in particular can be expensive, so buying pre-worn clothing can be a great way to keep the costs down.
Consider Purchases Carefully
Although you may have a huge list of things to buy, try to whittle it down to only the absolute essentials. There will be things that are still completely fine to use that the children already own from last year, so don’t buy new just for the sake of it. You want your money to go on things that they really need for school, not just any old thing. Similarly, when it comes to purchasing items, try to look for a cheaper alternative. Instead of buying mechanical pencils, just buy regular ones that need a sharpener. You’ll find it a lot cheaper buying regular pencils and a sharpener than if you were to buy a pack of mechanical ones. So, don’t feel like you have to go for something expensive just because your children may want it. A standard HB pencil will do just as good a job as a costly mechanical one!
Back to school shopping can be exciting, but the prospect of spending all that money can be daunting. So, to combat that anxiety, try taking these tips on board. You’ll soon find that with saving early and buying when the deals are at their peak, you can actually save a whole lot of money. You don’t have to break the bank to kit your kids out for school, so don’t keep doing it to yourself year after year. As long as they have their essentials, they’ll be fine! So, armed with these tips you should be able to make this year’s back to school shopping a breeze, and you’ll definitely not be spending as much as you have in the past.