Parents struggling with inflation: ‘I left that $25 backpack for my preschooler

On Sep 5, 2022

Like Longmore, many parents — regardless of income — are finding their back-to-school dollars aren’t going as far as they once did. Inflation is at levels not seen in decades, with prices spiking for groceries, gas, home goods and just about everything needed to run a household.

Just 36% of parents said they would be able to pay for everything their kids need this school year, according to Morning Consult’s annual back-to-school shopping report. That’s down sharply from 52% in 2021, when inflation was lower and stimulus checks plus advance child tax credit payments helped some families.

“My shopping habits have changed significantly,” said Longmore, an HR professional who lives in the Poconos in Pennsylvania with her husband and five children.

The Longmores earn more than $100,000 a year, well above the median US household income of nearly $65,000. But with five young children, the family’s expenses are also well above average, and Longmore said it’s not enough to keep her household running comfortably — a problem underscored in the back-to-school season as four of the couple’s children are of school age.

“Not everyone got everything new, [and] not everyone could get everything,” Longmore said. The 12-year-old chose new clothes instead of a new backpack and stationery, for example. The younger children are inheriting siblings’ backpacks and desks that still have life in them.

Other families are likely making similar decisions.

Parents are expected to spend about $661 to $864 on K-12 school supplies for the 2022-23 academic year, according to estimates from consulting firm Deloitte and the National Retail Federation.

“Families consider back-to-school and college items an essential category, and they are taking whatever steps they can … to purchase what they need for the upcoming school year,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. Those sacrifices may include buying off-brand items, hunting for sales and cutting back on discretionary spending, he said.

Some families always face these challenges at the beginning of the school year. But it’s not something Longmore is used to.

“It’s been at least 20 years since I have had to pull back to this extent,” she said. “This is a new and humbling experience for me as an adult.”

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The cutbacks the NRF suggest might help, but they may not be enough to help every family afford what their children need for school — even as retailers including Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Kohl’s (KSS) and others drop prices on merchandise to cut down on their bloated inventories.

Wisconsin mother of four Molly Schmitz said she frequently recycles supplies from the previous year, as Longmore did.

She invests in Lands’ End backpacks that have a lifetime guarantee, and carefully maps out her shopping. “I begin at dollar stores followed by Walmart and Target, although even the dollar stores have upped their prices to $1.25,” she said, adding that she bought many supplies for her three school-age kids for less than $50 total.

Longmore has been shopping more at Walmart and Target to score better discounts, especially on kids’ clothes and shoes. Still, her credit card debt is “not looking great right now,” she…

Parents struggling with inflation: ‘I left that $25 backpack for my preschooler

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