Every semester students begin the mad dash known as back to school shopping. With incentives like tax-free weekend, supply shopping continually increases.
Rajiv Grover, dean of the Fogelman College of Business and Marketing, broke down the difference in spending between college, elementary, middle and high school students.
“There are a lot of kids that are coming in as freshman, and they are staying away from home for the first in their life,” Grover said. “So, they need everything from laundry baskets to laundry detergent, bed sheets and if they are moving into an apartment, then they will need the mattresses, the desk, chairs and so on. These are all must haves, and you just can’t do it without them.”
According to Scholarships.com, the national average for books and supplies for college students are around $1,100 without tuition factored in, and in another a report conducted by American Express Spending & Savings Tracker, parents’ spending average for this back-to-school year is around $1,239. It is up 8 percent from 2014, and 24 percent since 2011.
On the elementary and secondary side of things parents often have different approaches when it comes to school supply spending.
“I overspend so that I won’t have to purchase more of the same thing later in the school year,” Janet Blue-Jackson, a mother of three, said. “That way, you can concentrate on clothing, shoes, and other things that may come up.”
While on the other hand, Heather Brown-Townsend, a mother of six takes a different route.
“I don’t overspend,” Brown-Townsend said. “I obtain items through coupons and during the year, when it’s cheaper. Most of (my kids’) supplies come from my stockpile. I also don’t get everything on a school supply list until I check with the teacher to see what they really need.”
Even with adults, peer pressure may account for some of the back to school overspending. Many kids often push for name brand items for the first day of school — so they won’t be left out of the loop.
“I think some parents overspend because they feed into the excitement of the new school year, and they associate academic success with making sure their children have the very best, no matter the cost,” Heather Banks-Hampton, a mother of three, said.
