Back to School Costs Are Higher Than You Think (And Here's How To Plan and Budget For Them) | 600

0:26Are you nervous about back to school expenses? financial future? Do you want to get debt-free, but you don't want to live on beans and rice? Or you don't want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes? If you don't already know how to budget, or if you're using credit cards to get through the month. If you want to seem like you have your finances all together, or you're not on the same page with your spouse when it comes to finances. We know what you're doing probably isn't working, but guess what? You're in the right place. We're Shana and Vanessa. We're best friends, business partners, and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey.

0:58We've been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast, we'll share with you everything we know, plus everything we're working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals. We want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget, improve your marriages, and even bring your kids in on the conversation. We can help you no matter where you're at, whether you're the single mom who's never had$500 in her savings account or the millionaire who's paid off four real estate mortgages.

1:30And we're not going to shy away from the tough love. We'll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time. This is the Financial Coaching for Women podcast. Are you nervous about back to school expenses? Yeah. Are you starting to have dreams of them racking up like ding, ding? And you're like, how am I going to pay for this? How is it going to mess with my budget. What am I forgetting? That's really the main thing, right? That's okay, because you're in the right place. Today, we're going to talk about all the things that go along with going back to school. Yes. Here's the deal, Vanessa.

2:02Back to school, it comes every year. It's almost like Christmas that way. It comes every year, but guess what? We're all like, oh my gosh, I have forgotten about the back to school. There's so many things I have to pay for. There's so many things I have to do with my hands. And it's a brand new information, a surprise every year. Yeah. And I think people think of it as an unexpected expense. You guys know how much we love that word, but it's not. Like Shana said, it comes every single year. Wait, it doesn't come when you're in year 13. It doesn't come when you're 13? When you're in year 13 of school.

2:35Oh, yeah. Unless you go to college, obviously. So then I help. But you have so many years to check out before you get there. I was like, I guess it could not come for some people. But yeah. But I think the problem is that it comes right after the summer. So we ended the school year in May, June, and then we went on vacation. We had sports camps. We did all this fun stuff. And then it's, oh, by the way, I have to go back to school. Now we have to budget and all this stuff. So it's almost people, I think they just forget when they put it off. They do. And it's not even necessarily maybe that they forget.

3:02There are so many different things vying for your time and money when it comes back to school that you might forget some of it. You won't, you know. I think they forget on purpose. Like I know we're never going to forget when the tuition bill comes. That's not we're not forgetting that no matter what time of year. I'm in your face. But we might forget that the sports physicals or something. So like it's not necessarily you completely forget. But we were today we're going to help you figure out how to plan and manage all of it so that it's not an unexpected expense. It's not a surprise. And it's not overwhelming.

3:32It is a lot. Kids are a lot. Love them. It is a lot. But hopefully we can help you feel like it's not that bad. Do you remember what that involves? Like what does it entail? How many different fees? How many different things do you have to purchase to get ready for this? I believe when a client and I were looking for this, we were trying to figure out like a budget amount of what she was going to spend. And Google said the average person spends about$800 on back to school shopping. So guys, that's not a small feat. Like you need a budget for that. I know I don't want to take$800 out of my August budget to be able to budget for that.

4:04So we're trying to do this in advance and kind of plan ahead here. because we've started to make August budgets here and there, or even we're getting ready for August. So in July, we're talking about back to school and people are very much over underestimate. Oh, I'll just need a hundred dollars. I'm like, no, last time we did school supplies, it was more than a hundred dollars per kid. And I was flabbergasted. I'm like, she's in preschool. Why do I need to spend this much money for school supplies? Your point is that you're probably not budgeting enough. So we're going to help you because let's be realistic.

4:36Let's put it in the budget the correct way because otherwise you're just going to be trying to find it and steal it from somewhere else. And then everything else gets messed up. And that's not what we want for you. Yeah. And like Shana said, we're helping you plan here. And the reason why we want to plan ahead for this is so it helps reduce stress. We know that it can be a super chaotic time. Maybe you have a lot going on at work. There's maybe sports tryouts and all of that is going on. Oh, by the way, now you have to go shopping. Spend a whole day with your kids shopping to try to get ready for back to school.

5:01And so what we're trying to do is just reduce the financial aspect of all that. We have one of each at least. And it's like a whole, your kids are different. Getting my son to go back to school shopping is a joke. And I don't know if you guys would have kids like that. So I was just thinking about that when you're saying spending the whole day. I'm like, okay. And then the girls, I have to pull them out. No, no more things. So yeah, it's a whole thing. It's a whole thing. What we're trying to do is help you get your thoughts organized right now. So you can just walk into back to school like, what?

5:29I got you. I'm prepared. I got this. All right. So we know that it's going to reduce some stress. Another thing that we want you to do when planning for this is to take advantage of all the sales. There are a ton of going back to school sales going on in August. The tax-free weekend, I believe, is, I think we looked it up last time, it's the first weekend of August. So you can take advantage of that. So you just, planning is important. And like Vanessa said, it's going to help you feel better and it's going to help you save money. And so what, the part of the plan is going to be setting up a kid's savings account or in a kid's account.

5:59So we're going to set up an account because while we are currently talking about back to school, a lot of these expenses are symbolized stuff that's happening all year round or that are just to deal with your kids. So while you might have different things in the kids account, back to school and all of these things that we're about to talk about will be part of it. And so you want to have it separate. You can use cash if you want to when you're going back to actually do the shopping, but you want to have a separate kids bucket somehow. And remember, if you take from this budget in like March or something for something special that you want in the moment that you're tempted by, you're not going to be able to have the money to spend that you want on the school supplies or the transportation or clothing or whatever.

6:42So we want you to set aside a bucket specifically for back to school. And remember, I think you did, Shana. You had a client who had like a revolving bucket. And so like anytime she had a goal like in the moment that she was saving for, she renamed the account. And so she would rename it all the time for different things that she had going on. But we understand, oh my gosh, they're talking about opening another savings account. Save it in cash if you want. That's whatever. But having something very specific that says back to school is going to really allow you to know where your money is going and why when you look at your bank.

7:12Yeah. And I do think that you can also just put it in your kid's one. You have to have a kid's one. We just said that the last time. It's non-negotiable. If you have kids, it needs to be in there. Yeah. All right, budget besties. it's time for some real talk. You don't need another budget. You need a budget system. Our simplified budget system is what you've been looking for. It's going to allow you to be bougie on a budget. You'll be able to easily set up a system that runs automatically and shows you exactly where your money is going. And it's going to give you permission to spend. Everybody loves that.

7:44It's straightforward, pretty, and packed with walkthrough videos that break down the exact methods we use with our clients to get out of debt, set up a bills account, separate spending, build savings buckets, and end the paycheck-to-paycheck feel. If you're new to budgeting, this is the perfect way to jump in. And if you're already a budget nerd like us, you're about to meet your new obsession. This is the upgrade to your finances that you need. Now back to today's show. Before we jump in, it's important to know that you don't have to do all of these things. You need to, you can say no. Like Vanessa said, when you robbed from the kids' bucket earlier because they wanted to play a new sport or get a new instrument or go on this trip or whatever, then maybe they don't get to do something this time of year.

8:26Just because all of these things are available for you to spend your money on does not mean you have to spend your money on them. You get to decide, you and your kids get to decide, and we want to make sure the budget matches the goals that you guys have. So some things that may jog your memory as what you have to spend money on, school supplies and tech items like computers and things. So we are very lucky that our quote-unquote lucky, Our school supplies, they take care of it. We pay them a fee and we know lots of the smartest business ever was when the person decided I'm going to bundle this stuff and have them buy it.

8:55That was the most smart business I've ever heard of. But also check items. Like Vanessa just said, my son might need a new mouse for his computer. So whatever, maybe they need a new computer or they need new AirPods or whatever they are for college or whatever it is. So just think about all the different supplies that they might need and they'll probably give you a list if you're going to a certain school. For sure. and then clothing uniforms shoes guys make sure you budget enough money for all those items clothes listen inflation is crazy none of those things are cheap especially shoes i mean i always buy my son because his foot has to be done growing for a minute has to be so i just go ahead and buy him two pair like automatically off the bat during tax-free weekend it's just easy for me to know that because he's going to have a hole in them like they will have a hole at some point absolutely so i know that we can just replace those immediately so yeah i have two younger ones They're not necessarily done growing, but we know they're going to need two pairs of shoes because our kids wear the same shoes every day.

9:48Your kids might vary, so it might not be the same, but just know your kids. Know how much they're going to go through stuff. Think about if it's a growing year or not. Be savvy about that. Don't buy five different pairs of pants if you think they're going to sprout up. Just wait. Buy one that fits now and then add as they grow. Shoes are important. You need dress shoes. You need possibly flip-flops or Crocs for whatever. Or slides if your kids are in. Oh, slides. Slides. You need tennis shoes. Maybe they need sports shoes. Like just shoes. Shoes are like traumatic for me. So we just want to make sure you have shoes.

10:23Okay. Listen, there's going to be a fee for our thing. Our thing is going to want you to have a fee. Pay a fee for going back to school. Activities, parking fees, graduation fees, lab fees. Like there's so many different fees. So make sure when you get that paper from the school with a lovely piece of paper that has all of your fee amounts on it that you budget for all those. And here's a great thing, guys, is now you can actually know if you've never done this before. This is a great time to take note and really figure out what you're spending this school year. So you have that information for next year.

10:50Yep. Okay. So books. Hello. This is a big one. So a lot of times this might feel like it's more college, but there might be books that they need to get. A lot of times the school will only give them maybe an electronic copy. Maybe you want a hard copy because you don't want to be on our screen the whole time you're trying to read something. So just keep that in mind. And whatever other materials come with that, maybe like notebooks or special highlighters or whatever. I don't know. And next would be health and hygiene. Haircuts, right? Your kids, every single person is, their kids are getting haircuts before school starts.

11:23I always put a little mini first aid kit in my kit backpack because my daughter loves to be the one that all the kids go to for Band-Aids. She loves to be prepared and helpful to everyone. That's really brought her joy. But just make sure you take care of all that stuff. And if you have a daughter, she needs to have a hygiene kit anyway. Hey, you know what? Let's talk about the boys. I'm going to take that back. I actually make my kids have deodorant and cologne. And I even do Listerine strips. And I also do the toothbrushes. Remember I got you those disposable toothbrushes? Brilliant. I have all of that in their backpack every school year.

11:57It is a requirement. Yes. Because they need it. Yeah. Especially deodorant. Especially deodorant. It's important. They need a little hygiene kit. Okay. Food and snacks. Here's another thing. it's time that they're not going to be at home possibly and so we're gonna have to figure out how to get them food when they're not at home which is fine because maybe they'll eat less they'll be too busy hanging out with their friends running at sports they're gonna eat more no shh we're gonna save money once they go back to school it's gonna be fine anyway so if you have a school lunch account you're gonna get that set up you're gonna figure out how you're gonna fund that maybe they need a new like lunch box or like a lunch container maybe they need new ones of that or like our kids, if the water bottle is so damaged that it does no longer actually stand up straight, the way that you're doing groceries might change as they're going back to school.

12:41So you might have more grab-and-go items or you might have the specific things that they like for their lunch that maybe they weren't doing over the summer or something like that. My husband runs a grocery store, guys. They have two-week sales going on. Take advantage. They have a ton of bogos going on, a ton of sale items. Take advantage of all that. Buy it all up. Maybe even you can budget a little bit more for food and stock up so that way they'll save you some money in the long run. Yeah. Okay. Transportation. Look, whether your kid is now driving like mine's going to be, and that needs to be taken into consideration.

13:11Maybe they need parking passes they have to pay for. Maybe you're sending kids off to college and you want to make sure that they're going to get there safely and they change the oil or rotate their tires or whatever. Just think about that. Take care of some maintenance stuff before you send your children away for college. I'm sure that'll make them feel good and it'll make you feel good to know that they're leaving in a safe vehicle extracurriculars listen is it like a requirement now for all kids to be in some type of extracurricular it is we don't know what to do with our hands otherwise there's a lot of them this is the biggest part of your budget all the rest of it let's just be real honest about the extracurriculars so club memberships i had a client her son was in like the science or robotics club and they have dues twice a year so that would be one that you would put in your budget but there might be any other club memberships that your kids have to pay for whether it's sports or like maybe they're on debate team and there's some like national or like an honor society do you have to pay those and we're it's been a couple years since we were in school but yeah so don't forget about those yeah and tutoring dance classes like all the things that you have that are extra make sure you add those in because they're not cheap and we don't want to forget about them yeah and the same goes if your kid is an instrumenter if they're a musical person a band fees are whatever they're going to be rental fees and and then however much they charge you to rent those music things that they use with their mouth and their hands.

14:32Whatever those are called. And then, of course, you guys, don't forget about sports. Its own. Bark it about the sports. Yeah, its own budget category. So I will say, when my daughter fell in love with volleyball, I was like, this is a super cheap sport. No, incorrect. I was so excited. It's like, I just need e-pads and a ball. Oh, no. Then it was like, oh, you have to have special insoles, and now you have to ankle braces, and you have to have special shoes, and there's all these extra things. So many. Ended up not being cheap at all. No, it's not. Make sure that you budget for all the things that your kids need, including the physicals that are required to allow them to play.

15:04Yep, and all the things that you don't think are necessary that they're going to require. The extra gym bag that you're going to have to buy that has the team logo or whatever. Like, just don't forget about those things. Then as people go back to school, your child care needs may change. So maybe you have to have aftercare because you can't get there on time. Or maybe you don't need it anymore because they're in school. So just make sure you think about how, if anybody's going to need care, daycare, aftercare, beforecare, whatever, figure out that part too. Yeah. All right. The last thing is miscellaneous category.

15:34So this is, what does their home study area look like? Maybe you need to upgrade their desk. Maybe they don't have a desk. Maybe you need to buy one. Maybe they need a new chair. I just thought I'd have this super cute golden yellow chair for her office. Office? She has an office. Yes. For her desk. And she is so excited. I can't wait for it to come in. but anyway I think that's really important to to figure out because it's not only just budget for it but make sure you're setting your kids up for success for them to do their papers to do their studying to do their reading whatever it is that's a great plan okay our kids are required to have a planner which is bananas to me but it's a thing so if you maybe you have to or maybe you just have a kid that's like super nerdy and like loves to be organized and that brings them joy make sure the planners calendars whatever it is that they may need and then don't forget about this one what's coming what's coming i know the spirit wear guys it is a thing make sure you have that in the budget your kids are going to want to buy it hoodies ain't cheap school spirit wear hoodies they're not cheap yeah and who knows what else y 'all i feel like when you go back to school we're trying really hard to prepare you but they're gonna they're gonna throw other things like yearbooks school pictures fall photos versus the year yeah so remember we started to be able to watch them grow started this conversation with all of this is not a have to not all this is a as a need or a must.

16:48So just make sure that you're being you're thinking about that. Not everything has to happen. So figure that part out. Okay, so now we've given you a huge list of things to budget for what this might make you feel like I'm not prepared. I don't have this account set up. I haven't even thought about saving for this before in my entire life. Never done it. That's okay. Yeah, I treat back to school like an unexpected sense every year. That's fine. We're not mad. We're just saying, hey, let's try a different way. So we know that me. So we just said the list created now a problem for you because now you realize that you're not prepared like shana said but we have a solution for you guys we really do what we want you to do is to figure out the total cost of all of this yeah now we're not asking you to get like super you just need to have some roundabout figure yeah so you're gonna get an amount you can go back and listen to what we said you can just look at what happened last year just figure out an amount and again perfection is not necessary we're gonna be prepared we might not get it right but we'll be way better than we were.

17:42Yeah, because having$500 saved for this is better than having zero. So even if you have something in the bank in the future, this is great. Yeah. So then you're going to set up that kids account like we talked about, whatever you want to call it. It's called kids back to school. It's called kids in general. It's called their name, whatever. However you want to figure, do the math, you're going to set that account up. And then you're going to put this in the budget. So if you're listening to this right now, back to school, it's like really soon. so you're gonna have to put the whole number in the budget but here's the trick is now if you can plan for all year long so now starting in September you can go ahead and put the monthly amount that way you'll be ready next July or August I think they're going to keep doing that they know what they're doing you can just be prepared and then have it ready for next year too yeah so basically I'm just throwing a number out there I know this is super low but let's just say that back to school is going to cost you 600 bucks so what you know now is that if you save 50 bucks a month starting in September for a year, you are automatically going to have that$600 come August when you're going back to school shopping in 2025.

18:40All right, guys, we hope this helped. We hope it jogged everything in your memory and you're going to do such a good job back to school budgeting. Yeah, good luck. And we'll see you next time. If you make good money, but have nothing to show for it, this quiz will help you figure out what's really going on with your money and what your next step should be. You'll get a personalized result and a simple action step to help you feel more organized and less stressed. Go to budgetbesties.com forward slash quiz and take the free quiz today. That's budgetbesties.com forward slash quiz to find out what's really going on with your money.