As back-to-school season arrives, the National
Retail Federation is predicting that families with children in elementary
school through high school plan to spend an average of $848.90 on school items
this year - $59 more than last year.
With this increased spending as students return to school, some for the first
time since spring of 2020, budgeting expert Jamila Souffrant says that her
first tip for saving is to check what you have at home.
"Before you go out and buy anything, take inventory of what you have"
says Jamila. “The other thing you can do is create a budget.”
She also recommends tracking your spending, especially with school supply
shortages this year that may happen due to many kids returning to classes. When
it comes to online shopping for back-to-school products,
Jamila recommends checking to see how you can use points or browser extensions
to save when shopping online.
"Just make the decision on what you are going to invest in and what you
are going to spend” says Jamila. “That way you don’t have to keep re-buying the
item.”