Jesse Jones: Back-to-school shopping tips

SEATTLE — School is right around the corner so last-minute back to school shoppers need to have their tips and tricks ready to go.

According to the National Retail Foundation, back to school spending is set to reach more than 38 billion dollars this year.

“Back-To-School shopping is definitely expensive”, says Bankrate analyst Ted Rossman. “The National Retail Federation says the average kindergarten through 12th grade student, their parents spend $875 to send them back to school. And that’s electronics. It’s clothes, it’s backpacks and shoes, and of course, all the classic school supplies”, Rossman adds.

Rossman shared a few of his tips for families trying to save money.

First, check your inventory before shopping. Also check social media sites for “buy nothing” groups.

“There’s lots of people in the local community that want to pass things on. Maybe their kids have outgrown them. You can find these on Facebook and other platforms. We get a lot of clothes and toys and school supplies and, you know, things from friends and neighbors and acquaintances”, Rossman says.

Sterling White, a Certified Financial Planner says parents should.

get online and price check everything on your list.

He says, “When you see, you know, a flash sale or you see something on Amazon, you say, hey, that’s something I need, it was already kind of high on the priority list. You can get those at a lower price.”

Rossman says to be wary of credit card use and popular Buy Now Pay Later options.

“Companies like Affirm and Klarna now have physical payment cards. So, it’s not just an online play anymore. Like, you can have a physical card that you can use in a store. Some people get into trouble overspending there.”

Finally, White says to get your kids involved in the budgeting process, “And there are certain things which say, hey, we will spend X amount on a backpack. If you want something nicer than that, you can go buy it out of out of your budget. And so, it teaches them the value of work.”

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