Budget for back-to-school buying

With summer school starting in two weeks, it dawned on me that we need to start preparing for back-to-school shopping. How much did you budget for all the purchases: supplies, backpack, clothing, etc? I don't imagine that we'll go hog wild with new clothes, but we'll probably splurge on something special to wear the first day of K in the fall.

 

This will be my first time buying supplies for school as well. I havent even thought of a budget. We are moving in about a month, so after that, any extra money we have, we will probably buy clothes here and there, but I doubt we'll spend a WHOLE lot of money. Supplies shouldnt be that much. The list for K shouldnt be too expensive.

 

I never buy back to school clothes--having boys and their having a grandma who is a shoppahaulic takes care of that problem. I don't really budget, just keep their list close at hand, and pick things up as they go on sale.

 

We've been told that we'll have about $65 worth of fees per child and about $20 worth of school supplies per child.

As for clothes, I'm not big into a whole new wardrobe for school idea. I shop clearance year-round so that there are some clothes/shoes waiting in their closets for when they grow. I'll have to fill in a few gaps like more pants for Timothy. I got their backpacks last summer when Lands End put their school stuff on clearance to clean out for fall. They were about $14 a piece then.

Marissa

 

I don't budget for it. If I buy supplies at Target, it's always pretty reasonable. As for clothes, I just make sure they have a couple pairs of pants that fit for when the weather cools down (which usually seems to happen quite suddenly), and they get a new pair of Stride Rites for the year (Grandma buys those). I buys them shirts all year round and new pants when they get too short or get holes, rather than making big wardrobe purchases all at once.

 

I don't have a budget set really but plan on buying about 3 new outfits for each along with new shoes or sneekers.

 

Our boys have to wear uniforms to school. We bought 6 shirts from the school at the end of K. for a total of $50. That should last all year along with some from last. They will need at least 3 new pairs of shorts each & 2 pants. I used my points from a C card to get a JCPenney gift card to cover that & hopefully new shoes.

 

Well, I know they both need new shoes and a backpack, so I'll start there.
We budget to the penny every paycheck, so I have to set a budget because otherwise there is no money. I think I'll just set aside a set amount each payperiod so that I build up a small fund.