How Much Do You Spend on Back to School? Share & Enter to Win a $50 Target Gift Card!
Enter our Hip2Save’s Engaged Reader Monthly Giveaway and share how much you typically spend on back-to-school shopping.
Hey, Hip community! 👋🏻
In case you missed it, we recently started a new monthly reader giveaway where we celebrate & reward our most engaged readers! Every month, an unannounced surprise blog post will go live to spark some discussion in the comments.
July is nearly over, and with back to school on the horizon, we’re thrilled to announce our next Engaged Reader Monthly Giveaway below as we talk all things back to school spending! 🍎
We want to hear from you!
🚨 Engaged Reader Monthly Giveaway Question:
How much do you typically spend on back-to-school shopping [per child] — think supplies, clothes, & other school necessities. Has it changed over the years?
Share by putting your comment below about how you spend on back-to-school shopping for our Hip community to read.
By leaving a comment about your school supply budget, you’re entering to win a $50 Target Gift Card!
We know back-to-school shopping can put a serious dent in your wallet, especially these days with prices climbing on just about everything.
That’s why we’re so excited to pick TWO lucky winners a chance to win a Target gift card! 🎯 Just be sure to leave a comment below, and you’ll be entered to win a $50 Target gift card!
Whether it helps cover the cost of school supplies, lunchbox snacks, or a fresh first-day outfit, we hope this little extra cash brings some relief during one of the busiest (and most expensive) times of the year. 💸✏️👟
How to Enter:
- Comment below: Share how much you typically spend on back-to-school shopping [per child]. And has it changed over the years?
- Duration: The commenting entry period starts on Wednesday, 7/23/25 at 7 AM MT and ends on Friday, 7/25/25 at 6:59 AM MT.
- Eligibility: All approved comments within the entry period are eligible.
Winner Notifications:
Winners will be contacted via email at the email address associated with their Hip2Save account or the email used when leaving their comments. You do not need to include your email address within your comment. All giveaway correspondence will come from our giveaway team at giveaways@hip2save.com.
Here’s what our Hip team shared about how much they spend on back-to-school shopping & how it’s changed over the years:
“I don’t usually go into back-to-school shopping with a set budget since each of my kids has different needs at their different ages – this year I’ll have one in high school, one in middle school, and one in elementary school, so they’re always drastically different. I do make sure to shop at bigger box stores for affordable essentials, and thankfully, their North Face backpacks have held up so great over the years, I haven’t had to replace them yet!
For clothes, I mostly buy secondhand throughout the year, but I started a tradition 5 years ago where I take each of them to pick out one brand-new outfit before the first day, and they get to pick the store. I try to limit it to $100 per kiddo since name-brand pieces can add up quickly when you’re looking for a head-to-toe outfit. They all love it so much, and it makes their first day feel extra special, so it’s worth the one-time splurge to me.” – Sara
“I don’t set a budget, but I always shop sales and focus on essentials. As my kids got older, I spent less on supplies and more on clothes, aside from a good calculator. A quality backpack like Jansport lasts for years.
Early in the school year, I stick to basics: a few new tees, sweatshirts, and shoes since they can layer into fall. I shop outlets, TJMaxx, and discount stores for the best deals. For middle and high school, I wait to buy most supplies until classes start, since many use Chromebooks. When they were younger, I’d start earlier and shop Walmart and Dollar Tree to keep costs low.” – Amber
“I never kept track, but one thing I did to save money was to buy a lot when the school supplies started to hit the clearance section (especially Target). I would buy a ton to donate to the school and keep in a box for us to pull from throughout the school year.” – Angela
“I’m right there with Angela! I don’t necessarily have a set amount, I just make sure to shop around and throughout the year, if I see great deals, I buy them and store them to have in excess. I always price compare, sometimes I build the exact same cart at multiple retailers to find the best price points based on what Ava needs that year.
For things like clothing or shoes, I tend to only buy replacements or things she needs more of, new sizes, etc., and now I buy most of her shoes from Walmart lol. They are so cute and you can’t beat the prices! (especially when she hits a growth spurt every couple of months)” – Monica
“Back-to-school spending has definitely gotten more expensive for me over the years. When they were little, I could just buy everything for them, but now they each have their own style and, of course, are into name brands. I feel like we spend about double what we used to spend when the boys were in elementary school.
We actually went back to school shopping last weekend with all our boys (we’ve got three boys in high school now heading into 9th, 10th, & 12th grade). We still have a few things to pick up, but after we get those items, we will have spent about $350-400 per kid.
A breakdown of where that money went per kid:
- Shoes ($75-$100)
- Backpack & School supplies ($50-$75ish)
- New socks, underwear, and belt ($50-$75ish)
- Clothes (3-4 pairs of jeans, 3-4 pairs of athletic shorts, 5 new tees, & hoodie) $200ish
We spent a lot this year, but this is usually our big clothes shopping trip of the year for the boys. The rest of the year, we just get things randomly when we find them on sale/thrifting. I do feel like we got some really great deals (most items at 50% off or more). We shopped at discount stores like TJ Maxx & Marshalls first, then hit up a local Outlet Mall where we ended up getting a majority of things that way they could still shop their name brands they love, but we could save.” – Liz
“I no longer have kids in school (first year for that), but I will say I never really kept track or set a budget either. Mostly because when my daughter attended in-person learning, she went to a Catholic school and they required a specific uniform that could only be purchased through a company the school approved.
One way we saved money on uniforms was that our school runs a resale shop, and parents would donate uniforms that their kids had outgrown, and they sold them super cheaply. I saved money by purchasing 90% of my daughter’s clothes there and would then donate the uniforms she outgrew from the previous year. She always gets to pick out new shoes and a backpack, and I didn’t set a limit since those were the only things she could “wear” that expressed her own style.
She had a backpack from Vera Bradley that I bought on their discount site for years, and it held up so nicely that it still looks brand new, and she often uses it for vacations. The school also provided each student with a MacBook, so other than a notebook and pens/pencils, we really didn’t need any other supplies. I will say that her last year of high school was the best because she did online learning and didn’t need any supplies other than her laptop!” – Trish
We can’t wait to hear all about your back-to-school spending habits and kick off the start of another great school year with our amazing community!
Happy back-to-school from all of us at Hip2Save! ☀️ We love and appreciate you all. 💕
My kiddos are out of school now but back in the day I did school shop for clothing. The one exception was during their elementary school days they would need gym shoes so those were purchased before school started and they most likely came off the clearance rack somewhere. School supplies were purchased for the year and those came from sales at Walgreens or Walmart and maybe Meijer. Didn’t have a set amount to spend just watched ads closely and went after the best deal I could find. We still have college ruled notebooks that are unused and pocket folders but I’ll find someway to use those too.
I start school shopping as soon as school ends. With three kids in school from Pre K to 6th grade, I always try to space out my spending. We are two weeks out from school starting and we leave the shoes and backpack for last. Thankfully, all my children wear uniforms so I def feel like the cost is way less than if they had no uniform. I take advantage of back to school events for supplies.
I typically buy when the supplies hit the clearance prices. I stock up on essentials (pencils, paper, notebooks) then when I get the list I just add a few select things that particular class or teacher want. As far as school clothes are concerned I also buy a lot from Facebook Marketplace. If I can’t find it there then I go to the outlet stores. Thankfully, my son isn’t very picky and doesn’t care what he wears. 🙂
For my 5 grandchildren I spend around $250 each on their wardrobe for the school year and their parents purchase all the needed supplies for them
Usually around $40 on school supplies per kid, plus new shoes and one new outfit for the first day!! Otherwise, I buy clothes on sale, as needed throughout the year. 😉
It so much varies by year for our household. We are blessed with lots of hand me downs which get used first, then I buy what else they need while still trying to get the best deal. I also try to grab things while on sale through the year that I know they will like, especially when I have a $10 Kohls cash or something and I don’t have anything else to get. It’s getting harder as they get older though as they have become more picky. I reuse the previous years supplies when I can as well. Things like scissors, plastic folders, barely used colored pencils, etc.
My two kids are grown now, but I used to spend around $300 on each of them for supplies and clothing.
This varies by year depending on if we get them new backpacks and lunch boxes. This year 2 of my daughters picked new backpacks (lululemon) $75 and we got school supplies from Target including (2) Five Star binders ($25). The total was around $325 for 3 girls. This isn’t including new school clothes – haven’t shopped for that yet! School starts after labor day for us.
School supplies for 2 kids has been about $300 per year. Then it’s a few hundred more for new clothes to replace what they have outgrown. It has definitely gone up quite a bit since they first started school.
Each kid has a jar for their back-to-school fund. We shop at resale shops like Goodwill and Salvation Army for clothing. As others have mentioned, a good quality backpack should last for years, so not a every year purchase. Also we check internet sites for free or cheaper calculators and tech devices. Each child has different needs so the cost varies, but we’re always looking for the lowest cost.
Less than $100 for 3 kids this school year. I have a stash, and some of it I get from FB Buy Nothing group. We go through the stash first.
Even though I mean too I don’t keep track of the actual dollar amount. I did quite a few clothing orders in the spring that should take care of the whole school year but I keep looking to order more clothes that he doesn’t need. Just gotta still get the shoes! So I’m hoping thus far I have spent less than $500
First year buying school supplies, and clothes for school. I’ve spent about 200. New clothes,a back pack, mat and blanket, and all supplies on sale at staples or target.
We spend around $350 for back to school item, daughter goes to private school so uniforms add up quickly.
I have a teenage son who does not really care about the clothes aspect for back to school shopping so for us it is mostly supplies. I look at the supply list for the next grade he is going into the year before and start buying items when they are going on clearance. I spend maybe $50-$75 on supplies a school year, if that. He is a middle schooler for reference.
As a teacher with 100 students, I usually spend about $500 and start spending as soon as school ends, shopping the deals to make my money go as far as it can. I get a small budget from the school and many of the kids come with supplies from home, but not all. I do what I can to fill in the gaps.
For my grandchildren, they get their own special dayin the summer. They cab pick out something that they really want fit back to school. It is to celebrate school@?!
We shop for clothes at thrift stores and also have friends that give us their hand-me-downs. Thrift stores often have clothes that look new- especially if you go to ones in the nicer side of town. No set budget-just as little as possible lol.
I have twin teen daughters headed into 8th grade, and while we no longer need infinite amounts of 24 pack crayons like elementary, and multiples of other small priced supplies, we now need less, more expensive supplies (and pricer clothes). 2026-2027 they’ll be headed to high school and those TI-84 calculators, wowwww… gotta start slowly putting money aside soon..
My in-law’s are helping with some supplies, as my MIL adores back to school shopping. So that is a huge help. Mostly every year they tend to take the kiddos to a bigger mall, next city over, and drop a fair amount on clothes and accessories for the girls.
I’ve convinced the kids to reuse their canvas backpacks this year, by clearing them out and laundering them in the washing machine and air dry so they are clean for school, so that’s $40 saved for a new JanSport.
Thrift store shopping for clothes and watching for sale’s on supplies saves us a lot. Love going to garage sales in the summer to find some great deals. I hope to keep it below $200.
I try to stay around $200 total between school supplies and clothes!
Generally around $150 per kid, not including backpacks and lunchboxes. We have 2 kids and I’m also a teacher, so we purchase for our kids and then, in addition, I end up buying ALL throughout the year for my classroom kids.
My daughter starts kindergarten this year, so I know we will need the basic supplies, a backpack, lunch box, lunch bag, water bottle, clothes, shoes, and I’ll find out more as she starts, but I am guessing at least $100.
I’m a teacher so I spend a lot of money on classroom supplies for my students! I like to keep extra just in case some families can not afford to bring in supplies. I also look for deals on backpacks, socks, gloves, and toothbrushes/ tooth paste that some students might need throughout the year. I want every child to know that whatever they need I always have! 🩵
My kids have grown so much this year I think we’ll be spending more than ever. I’m hoping to stay under $200 per child, but that’s probably wishful thinking with today’s prices.
I spend between $100-150 per child. The older on typically needs more binders and stuff.
I spend about $50 per child on supplies. It has definitely gotten less expensive as they get older and there isn’t a list of things to buy. My high schoolers buy more expensive five-subject notebooks, but need much less. We try to get new clothes throughout the year to cut down on it being a big cost all at once. I am a teacher also, so that cost is much more!
Single mom of 2 current school age children -between mandated uniforms, supplies. Bookbags and etc roughly $300ish- although prices of things have gone up, & will only continue to go up, hoping to stay within range, and on strict budget
I have middle school and elementary school kid. Neither one needs a whole lot of supplies but we need clothes and dance equipment. We probably spend $3-500 for back to school and dance.
My teenager daughter loves to thrift shop which im so grateful for. Probably $200 total. Thrifted clothes, new shoes, backpack and supplies.
Mine are still young and in elementary, but I probably spend about $50. I took advantage of some Amazon Prime Day deals, woohoo!
We home school, so we don’t do much in the way of clothes shopping for back to school but it is nice to have new supplies and a few fresh educational things in the rotation for times I am working one on one with one child so the others can still be engaged. This totals right around $100 ($25 per child) for us usually and stays pretty consistent. We love to shop used books and curriculum!
We spend around $200-300 per kid depending on what new items are needed. It has definitely increased in the past years.
This year I have two in school! The school supply lists are very similar so saving money by buying in bulk.
I try to shop sales at Target and Walmart and budget around $100-150 per kid for supplies, gear (we reuse year to year if possible) and a few new clothes to get the year started.
The amount I spend? I don’t really know! As I look at each purchase as: what’s the best deal I can get for THIS item at this time (this period of time).
Now that my daughter is in college, I’m still spending on back-to-school shopping, but it’s for the dorm room supplies, not the actual classroom-school supplies (my daughter handles those purchases, as well as her clothing purchases).
Over the years it definitely has changed, in some years actually LESS $ than the year before (when we still have ‘inventory’ from the prior year).
I try to reuse/salvage what I can from the previous year. I have one kiddo, shop sales of course, probably spent between $100-200.
With my super little littles, it is all about clothes and shoes since they wear them down so quickly! (I love Cat and Jack shoes but my little goes through them like candy 😅) will probably spend 100-200 on clothes for back to school this year 😓
I never really set a budget, but I definitely try to find the lowest prices for what we need. Burlington always has cute backpacks and shoes for lower prices. I try to spend the same on both kids to keep it even.
I have two school age kids, one of whom is required to wear uniforms. I easily spend $150-200 on uniforms plus another $100 on supplementing the other kid’s wardrobe. School supplies are another $50-75 per kid. Plus they usually need new shoes at the end of the summer. My best guess is about $400-500 total.
Typically, we spend about $350- $400 per child (gulp!). The price of school supplies, shoes and hoodies adds up quickly!!! We do take advantage of our state’s tax free days to help make the money stretch further and I’m always looking at H2S for deals on the must haves for each school year….
$90 just on the supply list from my son’s teacher (prek) I want to get my son shoes with shoe laces so that he can learn to tie shoes also, so I’m guessing at least $35-$45 more. Hopefully that’s it. Thankful I have only 1 for one more year.
I have no idea because I have a supply stock pile and then have to supplement with stuff from their lists. I have already spent $125 on two new back packs for my kid’s Kindergarten and 3rd grade school year.
I usually start in July. Slowly start buying them essentials like socks ext.. so probably $50 between my 2 girls.
Then we start shopping clothes and shoes. The season changes pretty quick after starting school so I usually buy them each about $200 in clothes. Buy them each at least 2 pairs of shoes. Oldest probably $200 younger around $100. School supplies are usually around $120 for both girls.
My daughter is in middle school and usually we don’t set a budget but it adds up every year between school uniforms( regular & PE) , shoes, supplies, snacks etc . I always look for deals when it comes to at least the supplies but with the current economy anything helps! If I would have to guess roughly maybe like $400-500
I do my best to stay under $100 per kid. As they get older that’s a lot harder to do as the clothes are so much more expensive!
This year for a 16 year old I spent about $50 on school supplies, $150 on basics (socks, underwear, t’s, sweats). he will buy his own shoes and clothing. He gets a hoodie everywhere we go so he is pretty stocked up. Plus he is working now so he can use his money on anything special that isn’t in the pre-set budget I give him.
We always reuse our previous years supplies unless we really need new things
I always shop clearance throughout the year to prep for the following new school year. Staples and Target are the go to stores. I normally spend about $150 per child.
I typically don’t have a set budget as we get things as we need throughout the year. I estimate that I will spend around $100 as he wants a new backpack but we are good for shoes and clothing as I buy things on clearance for the next season.
Usually $300 per child. This includes clothes, shoes, new backpack and school supplies. This year I have a son going into high school and is joining band so it looks like I will have to spend a lot more this year on him.