‘Everything is more expensive’: Canadian parents struggle with back-to-school shopping

A recent report found that over 80 percent of Canadian parents are stressed about back-to-school expenses.

For more than a decade, the team at Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank has filled backpacks with school supplies for children in need. Year over year they say their application list continues to grow.

“I can’t even tell you how much they are needed; every day we get people through our doors and people calling me, telling me you don’t know how much this means to me,” says Shelley Rose, the director of client services and operations at the Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank in Halifax.

“We are seeing their notice of assessment and wondering how they could possibly afford to do that on the income that they have.”

The organization supplies full backpacks to preschool-aged children all the way to adults and adult learning. The items depend on the age of the child.

“Markers, pencil crayons, rulers, geo sets, those kinds of things. Then you will see things like looseleaf paper, spiral-bound notebooks, calculators for the older kids,” adds Rose.

But she says it’s not just their clients -- many families feels the pinch around this time of year.

“Parents that aren’t even using our services are talking about the impossibility to just get the supplies that they want, they are having to do more thrift shopping than Dollarama shopping,” says Rose.

81 per cent of parents stressed about back-to-school shopping

A study conducted by the Mydoh app, a money management tool that’s designed for teens, also found that parents are struggling to meet these needs.

The study found that 81 per cent of Canadian parents are stressed by back-to-school shopping.

“The cost of everything is more expensive. I think also, depending on what age your child are, things are going to get more expensive the older that they get,” says Jessica Moorhouse, a financial counsellor and author.

“So, teens are going to require a lot more than say someone in elementary school or middle school. Sometimes those costs could be like a computer and it’s like, OK, that’s more expensive than a pair of shoes.”

Experts explain that back-to-school is often one of the most stressful financial seasons of the year for families.

“They also discovered that 60 per cent of parents say their kids understand the financial realities, which makes sense. Kids are very smart, they know what is going on,” adds Moorhouse.

“However, they seem to forget everything the second they enter the store or shopping starts. Another interesting stat I found was 40 per cent of parents say they overspend during back-to-school shopping to avoid disappointing their children.”

Moorhouse says, if a child knew their parents were going into debt to get them everything they wanted for back-to-school, they wouldn’t want that to happen. She advises parents to have conversations with their children about their financial positions to help them better understand what is realistic for their budget.

“Try your best as you can this season, but now you have this information for next season, keep track of everything you are spending your money on, keep a categorized list of all the items,” suggests Moorhouse.

“So, when we are back right here next year, you’re more prepared, you have an idea of what could be on the list again and what things you may not have to buy since you already have them.”

She advises people to start saving little bits of money every month or every paycheque in a savings account to avoid the struggles next year.

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