Back-to-School Economic Strategies Employed By Savvy Parents

We're not out of the woods yet! The recession may be over, but the working parents we spoke with at SBC Advertising said that they are still employing money-saving strategies to recover during the back-to-school season this year.  Some mothers told us they plan to continue using strategies formed in the last few years. So what has the recession changed?

Re-using or recycling school supplies from the previous year was one important cost-cutting measure mentioned by the parents we spoke to.  A mother of five said that she used to throw away everything at the end of the school year and shop for all new supplies before the next school year. Now, she saves anything salvageable and keeps it through the summer for her children to use come fall. 

Another mother said that she now postpones haircuts until right before school instead of having intermittent summer haircuts. This allows her children to look good for school pictures without spending money on multiple haircuts during the summer.

Clothes are another expense left until the last minute according to our working parents.  Kids grow quickly, so some parents said they now wait until August to buy new clothes for school. "What fits in June isn't necessarily going to fit in August," said a mother of one. Clothing can become expensive as kids begin to demand name brands, so one mother suggested taking children to a used clothing store and giving them more money to spend there because "they get more there than we'll end up spending somewhere else."

What measures have you used or do you plan to use this coming back-to-school season to save money? Did the recession change your habits?

Image: greenphile/freedigitalphotos.net

Back-to-School is second to holidays in spending, according to working parents. And kick off begins right after July 4th

We talked about that funny Staples ad in our last post. The ad made an analogy on behalf of parents that back-to-school was akin to Christmas as Andy Williams croons "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Interestingly, there are a few other things the back-to-school shopping season has in common with the holiday season: Increased spending and changes in typical shopping patterns.

Our working parents told us that back-to-school is the second most expensive shopping trip of the year next to the holidays. Between new backpacks, clothes, lunchboxes, shoes and replenishing basics like underwear and socks, parents said they have an exhaustive array of items on their shopping list. However, parents aren't just buying for their kids. Our working parents told us that due to slashed teacher budgets, they put items like hand sanitizer, tissue and dry erase markers on the shopping list too.

And the kick off to the back-to-school season begins just as the celebration of our country ends.

Why so early? Parents told us that retailers start advertising their back-to-school sales "All of a sudden Target and Staples and all those start making [back-to-school] the top of their flyer" said one working mom. Parents also said that they do more browsing in the beginning of the season, and will only purchase when the deal is too good to pass up.

Back to school changes normal shopping behavior
Our parents said they peruse store fliers and circulars just as they do during the holidays, but weekly shopping behaviors are expanded while heavier price comparisons begin. They'll visit stores outside of their normal routine, too. "It's when I start comparing and that's when I might actually make the trip to Meijer or Big Lots or somewhere that I don't normally frequent" said a mother of two. This year, we think that lower gas prices will increase the likelihood of parents shopping outside of their normal footprint too.

Fill 'er up, and let the shopping begin!

photo credit: Flickr/emilyonasunday