Back to School

Kick Off Summer by Preparing for Back-to-School: #4 Create a Budget

It’s easy to overspend during BTS. Even if you only buy the essentials, those items can be a lot of money. You must sit down with your list & create a budget. Knowing ahead of time what BTS is going to cost prevents surprises.

Creating a budget is not just know what you have to spend. You must also know how much different items are going to cost. This is so much easier than when Katy was in school. You have the advantage of the internet so you can compare prices. You can also compare prices as you shop for other items over the summer.

As I said at the beginning, it is easy to overspend at BTS if you don’t understand the needs of each child, determine what you have, & create a list. Some items for school can be expensive. If one child is taking up an instrument & another plays a sport, you may have some extra expenses when school begins on top of your regular items. I know many families are able to undertake these expenses without any hardship but some of you may not be able to spend $500-1000 in one month. You may suddenly have surprises you forgot about & lack the money to pay for those things. You may want to consult a payday loan expert to see how much money you are able to borrow.

Look over bank statements & credit card statements from last year, even the last 2 years to see what you spent to prepare for the school year. There may be items you forgot about. Don’t just look at the summer months. Look at September & October to get a good idea what additional expenses came up the first few weeks of school. Remember those school year photos? Yearbook fees? Club dues? And more.

Budgeting can be hard & scary. You might realize you don’t have the financial means to pay for everything. This is when creativity comes into play. You need some time to come up with ways to cover the various expenses or more frugal ways to get the things your kids need for the coming year. Budgeting helps you control your costs while still making certain your kids have everything they need for the new school year.

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