There are few annual events that can put more financial pressure on parents than back-to-school time. According to our recent survey of over 1,800 Irish mums, the cost of sending just one child to primary school costs the average family €2,211, while sending one child to secondary school will set parents back €3,375 per year.
While some parents may have put money aside for this during the year, others will not be so lucky and that is a massive financial burden to take on at one time. Here are some handy tips to help you manage this big bill and stay in the black.
Take stock
First and foremost, rather than blindly following the list your school sent out, take inventory at home before you hit the shops. You more than likely have lots of stationery left over from the previous year and you may realise that shirts and PE t-shirts still fit. It could turn out that you need a lot less than you initially thought.
Avail of hand-me-downs
Ireland has a culture of bargain-hunting and no one is prouder than an Irish person when they get a good deal. The popularity of charity shops has risen significantly in recent years with teens and 20-somethings scrambling for the best pre-loved outfit and ‘second-hand’ is currently very much ‘en vogue’. Ask around family and friends and see if anyone has textbooks you can reuse or outgrown uniforms that are still in good nick.
Consider shopping online
Ed Farrell from the Irish League of Credit Unions says: “We would urge parents to shop around for the best value in back-to-school items... Many parents have told us that they do a lot of their shopping online to avail of better value offers and many of the larger retailers will have good value offers available.” I guess we’ll be hopping on the computer then!
Be savvy with uniforms
Your school may insist you buy a crested jumper or school tracksuit from a specialist shop, but that doesn’t mean the entire uniform has to cost the earth. Grocery stores like Tesco often have great offers on trousers, skirts, pinafores and shirts, which can save you quite a bit of money.
Books
If your school already runs a book rental scheme, availing of this can save you a big chunk of change. If they haven’t set one up yet, gather parents together and approach the school’s board of management to have one established.
It won’t be set up in time for this September, but you’ll be saving yourself a lot of money for years to come. In the meantime, see if you can get second-hand copies of books from parents with older children who used the same edition you need. Swapping a used maths and Irish book for a bottle of wine sounds like a very fair trade.
Grants and allowances
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance was created to help parents meet the cost of school uniforms and footwear. To qualify, the child’s parent or guardian must be getting certain social welfare benefits or payments for training, employment schemes or adult education and total household income must be below a certain amount. This scheme is open until 30th September.
Another option is the School Books Grant Scheme, which is available to State primary and post-primary schools and aimed at low-income families or those experiencing financial hardship. While funding comes from the Dept of Education, you should apply for assistance directly to your child’s school principal.
Loans
Sometimes it’s just not possible to cut enough corners, especially if it’s an expensive year, like a child starting secondary school. A recent credit union survey found that 32% of parents are likely to get themselves into debt to cover this cost, which is a worryingly high number.
12% of parents plan to put some or all of their back-to-school cost on credit cards, while 5% will borrow from a credit union and 2% are planning to go to a moneylender. However, the ILCU’s Ed Farrell is urging parents not to turn to moneylenders and we here at MummyPages strongly agree. If you absolutely need to take out a loan, turning to your local credit union is a much better and cost-friendly option that can help lessen your stress at this financially worrying time.
