How Much Do You Spend on Back to School?

i do my back to school shopping thru out the summer. when i see clothes on sale at Kolh's and have 30% off or kolh's cash.....in fact i just jueans for my son at kolh's at buy one get the second one half price....i think i paid $11 per pair...socks and underwear the same way. i do my grocery shopping at walmart so everytime i go grocery shopping i pick up a few things on the list of school supplies!! that way i don't feel the pinch at one time and i'm usually done by the end of july so i can sit back and watch everyone scramble for thier items. and if i see a good deal on school supply that i know he'll go thru half thru the year i'll pick in the month of august!!! i think with school fees and supplies and clothes i probably do about $250.00!!

I just bought school supplies for the first time tonight for my soon to be kindergartner. :( It was about $25 for the supply list. $15 for backpack/lunch box. I do clothes shopping throughout the year as stuff is on sale dirt cheap, so maybe $30 for winter clothes. (Most of his stuff I bought 2 years ago for $1 each) And I'll have to get him some new shoes. So total about $100. Not too bad.

Way too much! With everything, i can hit 500. This is usually on the years that they need new school bag, all need sneakers, clothes, 4 school supply lists, hair things etc. Highschool makes it tough. The calculators alone are expensive. Then they need a million different size binders, graph paper, blah! This year it looks like even the elementary school wants flash drives. I am starting to feel like it is Christmas with the expense :(

ps. our schools ask for paper towels, sanitizer, wipes, tissues.... i wish they could supply all of that. it is really hard to do. i cant always contribute :(

Last year the school supply list totaled $65. I'm guessing I spent about $250 on clothes shoes and a fall/winter jacket. About $125 on backpack, lunch box, and lunch containers/thermos. I did spring for an llbean backpack. They have a lifetime return policy (for product failure) and I don't think I've ever actually seen one fall apart! I also expect to get at least 2 years out of the lunch items.

Eta, For the locker make sure to get a shatterproof mirror. I remember being totally embarrassed in High school when my mirror fell out of my locker and shattered into a million pieces!

I have a K and 2nd grader--I don't go out and buy new clothes just because school is starting. I shop all year at the thrift stores and stock up on the next sizes so my kids are pretty much set for clothes for the next 3 years. School supplies run me about $20 total. I jump on the deals at staples/office depot where they will have supplies for a penny or 25 cents. It might take me couple trips into the store, but worth it if I can save $50. My 2nd grader is using my backpack that I used in 5th grade. It is a generic Jansport backpack, which I sent back to the company once to have the zipper replaced since they have a lifetime warranty. Why would I buy a new backpack every year? I might buy my Kinder a new lunch box, which would be a splurge, because I like the bento style boxes, but we'll see.

Haven't done my back to school shopping yet this year...but just the 'school supply list' from last year was $45/per kid, ouch!

My experience... In elementary school I bought the school supplies through the PTA, about $50.

In 6 th grade, 1st yr of Middle school, I bought the PTA packet BUT. .. On day 1 of school, daughter got a new list from each teacher for supplies for each class.

After that, Ive waited until she gets each teachers list ( shell be in 12th grade this fall). Most teachers in higher grades give you a grade for bringing in specified supplies ( easy 100 for the 6 week period).

So we have a gist of what she needs and then we buy per teacher recommendation.

I spend? I guess I spend $100+ for supplies alone and supplement as needed throughout the year. In high school she uses her MacBook Pro laptop (a must have), flash drives for presentations and a lot of trips to Hobby Lobby for projects. It's endless.

Ps daughter never used her locker. At least at this point she can go to her car.

Locker should have mirror, period supplies and planned stops per day in middle school.

Best wishes.... Time flies

ETA: if you count her hair and clothes, I probably shell out $600+

I'll have 1 3rd grade 1 kindergartener 1 preschooler =$500-600 estimate to begin shoes clothing supplies

I just got the school supplies and they totaled around $50.00. I could have gone cheaper if I had chosen a different lunch box and backpack. I haven't done the clothing yet but I'm hoping to keep that around $150.00 (for two girls, age 2 and 5). I get a lot of hand me downs from my sister so that helps.

I spend very little. We have two boys going into 3rd and 9th grades.

We buy school supplies for our youngest through the PTA for about $50. Our oldest just needs a few folders, highlighters, pens, paper, etc.

We don't buy new clothes at the beginning of the year because they don't need them and don't want them. If we had girls it would likely be different. My oldest is growing quickly right now, so he will need new clothes sometime in the fall, but neither of my kids care at all about clothes, so a few pair of jeans and 8-10 shirts each, and they're set for the year. ;)

Our boys get attached to the backpacks/binders they use, and don't want new ones until the old ones wear out, so we rarely have to buy those. We don't need new ones this year.

So, as for a total beginning of the year cost, I figure it will be under $100 since it will just be school supplies.

Now, I'm a high school teacher, and I spend a few hundred each year at the beginning of the year on my classroom supplies. I've already started buying stuff on sale. :)

I spend about $20 per kid, or less. I do not buy new backpacks, clothes or lunchbags for back to school. I buy those things when they are on clearance, and only replace the old ones as needed. I also buy school supplies after they go on sale after school starts for the next year. A lot of my kids supplies were in good enough condition to reuse again in the fall. I buy clothes mostly second hand, and because I have two boys the younger one gets his brothers hand me downs. Dollar stores have all kinds of stickers and mirrors and such for decorating a locker.

Because it stays warm in Nor Cal for the first few months of the school year I don't spend much on new clothes. They wear summer clothes for the first few months of school anyway. I start buying new clothes and shoes when the weather changes and the prices go down, right before Thanksgiving.
Backpacks and lunch bags/boxes are replaced as needed, so that's rarely a back to school cost. Quality ones usually make it through at least a few years (I don't do the cheap disposable "character" stuff.)
We don't get supply lists until the week before school starts but it's always been less than $20.
And no need to spend money on locker decor! Let your child do that, cutting and pasting photos and magazine pages is SO fun at that age. I assume you have pens and tape and markers and colorful paper lying around the house, right?

I've got two going into 4th and one going into 3rd. What I started doing last year, was go through their school supplies from the previous years and reuse what I could. (with the idea that if the white board markers started running low sometime during the year, then i would replace them. I was amazed and how much had accumulated and didn't have to buy much but glue sticks, notebooks and folders. We only buy backpacks every other year unless they are just useless and falling apart. We also do what some others have said and buy clothes throughout the year, not all at the beginning. They usually get a nice new outfit, because school pictures are during the first few weeks of school at our school.

If you go to the District website you can already pull up the 2012-2013 school list and start shopping now ( I went and pulled it up yesterday). I saw Wal-mart is already marking stuff down for back to school!! Good Luck.

My son does not get a new wardrobe for school. I buy things throughout the year, on sale, or at the thrift store, as he needs new clothes. The only really expensive thing I budget for is a new pair of shoes once per year. That and band fees at the beginning of each school year eat up whatever budget I may want to put into play. Ugh, he will need a new pair of marching shoes again this year.

He has used the same mesh backpack for the past two years (since he entered high school). I splurged and bought it from Academy, and just throw it in the washing machine as needed.

Notebooks and school supplies that are reusable get reused. He is good about holding onto his mechanical pencils, so I just buy lead.

Fortunately, high school has much smaller supply lists than middle or elementary. No more crayons or scissors. LOL

I just do not have the money to shell out hundreds of dollars each year at one time for school wardrobes - especially since kids clothing seems to be at its priciest (and trendiest) right before school starts.

But, I still average about $200 per year in August for it all.

Backpack - $15 - 20. I usually go to Toys R Us when they have the free lunch box deal.

For my elementary days was $40 - 45 for supplies.
For middle school would probably be $60 for supplies depending on what type of binders and calculator they want.

Shoes - $20 - 30 a pair.
Clothes - $40 a kid. I buy throughout the year so I usually just buy new socks, 3 new shirts, or 2 full new outfits.

Wait to decorate the locker. It doesn't need to be decorated the moment she steps in to school. It is more like a piece of art that develops throughout the year. There are standalone shelves, magnetic mirrors, small white boards, etc. Mostly just magazine cutouts and tape. :)

our 6th grader we havent done school supplies yet we will just wait until the first day of school but to start out i will send him to school with a notebook and pencil..and my 3rd grade she has a 65$$ school list... as for school clothes we do things different i only buy summer school clothes now and later winter school clothes so that way we get use out of all our clothes, i spend 200.00 each , shoes and backpacks and clothes, then in oct, i start winter clothes, and sometimes we dont even use them until December..thats Oklahoma for ya..