Beating Broke

How to Manage the High Cost of Back-to-School Expenses

August 27, 2015 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

Do you remember the back-to-school excitement? Your parents likely took you out shopping for new clothes and new folders, pens, pencils and other supplies. While you couldn’t wait to get out of school in June, you were equally excited (at least temporarily) to go back in August or September.

Yet, now, many parents may dread the back-to-school season because of the financial burden. Yahoo! recently reported that the average back-to-school price tag for a high school student is $1,402! That includes the cost of back-to-school supplies, musical instrument rentals, sports and field trips.

If the high cost is concerning you, especially if you have more than one school-aged child, there are plenty of ways to save.

Back to School Supplies

When it comes to back-to-school supplies, there are several cost-cutting measures you can take.

Shop the sales. Target, Walmart, Office Depot, they all offer back-to-school supply sales. Cherry pick the best deals, and you won’t have to pay much for school supplies, especially when you can get notebooks for .05 a piece!

Check out the dollar store. Your local dollar store will have school supplies at a fraction of the cost of retail. This is a great one-stop shopping place to go if you don’t have the time to cherry pick sales.

Clothes

Buying your kids new clothes for school can really eat into your budget. Try these strategies:

Take inventory first. Before you buy any clothes, take inventory. You and your child can look through her closet and see what clothes are still in good condition. You may find you have very little to buy.

Stagger your purchases. There’s no rule that says you have to buy all your child’s back-to-school clothes the week before school. Buy some jeans and long sleeve shirts before school. Then, in October or November when the weather cools, buy some sweaters. Stagger your purchases based on need and sales.

Buy second hand. Another option is to buy second hand, either through a consignment store or a place like Goodwill. You can also try joining and buying from Facebook groups selling the brands of clothes you like. You’ll save a bundle!

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are important for your children’s development, and in the high school years, participation also helps to round out their college application. Yet, extracurriculars can be expensive! The key is to find ones that your child enjoys and that you can afford.

Look for free extracurriculars. Especially when children are younger, look for things that they can do for free. When my son was young, choir was free, but after school gym cost money every month. He joined choir, and then later he also joined Art Club, in part because it was free.

Choose one extracurricular. As your kids older, choose one extracurricular activity that they excel at. Have your child focus on that one. Then, you only have one expense to pay versus three if he was on a sports team every season.

Have your child become a teacher. Has your child been taking piano since she was five years old? If she now has 10 years’ experience, she could start offering lessons to younger students to help pay for her own lessons. There’s nothing wrong with a high school student helping to pay for her activities and interests.

Combine these strategies, and you’ll find your back-to-school expenses are much more affordable.

What are your favorite strategies for saving on back-to-school items?

Our Cross Country Move: One Year Later

July 13, 2015 By MelissaB 4 Comments

Almost one year ago, our family made the move from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona. Honestly, I wasn’t that excited to be moving so far away from my family in the Midwest, but we thought the move would only be for two or three years. The move was a smart choice for my husband’s career (something we still believe), so I tried to make the best out of it.

Now, a year later, I’ve found that a cross country move can evoke a wide range of positives and negatives.

The Positives

Keeping in touch with relatives is easy, thanks to technology. My mom has made the trip out to Tucson three times in the year we’ve been here, so we’ve been lucky to see her so frequently. Because of the cost of taking our family of five such a distance, we only expect to be able to travel to see her once a year. She’ll likely cut her trips down to once or twice a year to see us from now on. However, thanks to Skype, keeping in touch is easier than ever. Whenever the kids miss grandma, we just Skype with her.

Having a back yard is priceless. In the Chicago suburbs where we lived, we just had a tiny patch of yard. Since we were renting, we couldn’t do anything with it. Now, we have a full back yard for the kids to play in and we have three garden beds (though we’re still learning how to grow anything in this crazy desert).

A cheaper cost of living rocks. No surprise, Chicago was expensive. We could never own a house because property taxes alone were $12,000+ a year, and starter homes in less than ideal conditions were easily $350,000 as a starting price. In Tucson, we’re able to own our own home, and the property taxes are a fifth or less of what they were in Chicago.

The Negatives

All health insurance policies are not the same. My husband’s health insurance policy in Chicago was generous, but we always found it very annoying that medical bills were not paid until 9 to 12 months AFTER the appointment. (Illinois’ tight budget was the reason.) When we moved here, I was impressed that our bills were paid within a few weeks. However, we pay more to insure our family here, and fewer expenses are covered. We did not estimate just how deeply medical bills would impact our bottom line, and right now we’re recovering financially from the nearly $5,000 we had to pay out of pocket for the first four months of medical expenses in 2015. (These expense would have likely been much less with our Illinois insurance.)

Moving is SO expensive. We originally hoped to only be out here for two to three years, but moving cross country is so expensive. Now I find myself hoping we stay here five years so we don’t have to spend so much money to relocate so quickly after relocating here. We need time to recoup our expenses.

Moving cross country has been an experience, but despite the expenses, we’re still glad we did it.

Have you made a large move? What did you learn a year or so into relocating? Would you do it again if you had the choice?

Frugal Multi-Cultural 4th of July Party Suggestions

July 1, 2015 By MelissaB 13 Comments

The 4^th of July is just around the corner, and with it, the official launch of summer. A favorite American pastime, a barbeque 4th of July party offers you the chance to enjoy the weather and the company of friends while enjoying tasty foods. If you don’t have much money to devote to entertaining, consider moving beyond the traditional favorites of hamburgers and hot dogs and trying some of these unique, cultural party food ideas.

Main Meals

–Fajitas on the grill. Buy some lower cost steak, chicken breasts and shrimp. Season them, grill them, and then mix them together so each fajita contains a mix of the three meats. Grill some onions and peppers on the grill, slice them, and make a fajita bar complete with tortillas, shredded lettuce, guacamole, onions, peppers and meats. Of course, you can choose to use only one or two meats depending on what is on sale at the grocery store the week of your party.

For a solid review of which grills have the best value, consider checking out: smokeygrillbbq.com. Its a nice little review site that I found last month – worth a read if you get a chance.

–Taco bar. Prepare a few different taco fillings with homemade seasoning including ground beef, chicken, and a vegetarian option such as black beans. If you have a bit more money to spend, buy some lower cost steak and also offer steak tacos. For variety, offer flour and corn tortillas. Then let your guests choose their main fillings, type of tortilla and their toppings. (Perhaps choose from shredded lettuce, cheese, refried beans, tomatoes, onions, guacamole, etc.) If you want to be even more creative, consider making your own pico de gallo.

–Pulled pork. Be your own pit master and search the web for the myriad of homemade bbq sauce recipes. Create your own bbq sauce and delight your guests with delicious, homemade pulled pork.

Side Dishes

Having spent the majority of your money on the main meal, consider these low cost side dishes. Choose the ones that best match what you are serving as the main meal.

–Deviled eggs. Even in today’s economy, eggs average 10 to 15 cents a piece, making for a very low cost side dish.

–Japanese potato salad. Potatoes can also be very cheap. If you want a new, creamy twist on potato salad, consider making Japanese potato salad. Your guests will most likely enjoy this newer version of an old classic.

–Corn on the cob. At some road side stands and farmers’ markets, you can find corn on the cob for 10 to 15 cents an ear. Consider going beyond the traditional and instead making some Mexican corn on the cob popular at food stands. Either add olive oil and red pepper, or add a blend of butter, mayonnaise and cheese. Again, search a site like food.com to find a variety of recipes.

If you have a small entertainment budget, consider some of these meal ideas. Most of them will require less meat per person than the traditional hamburger, and your guests will love the variety.

photo credit: Signe Karin