A new survey reveals that parents are bracing for the financial impact of back-to-school shopping.
  • solsangraal@lemmy.zipEnglish
    70·
    1 month ago

    yet another article blaming inflation and not corporate greed, while the “advice” is to look for sales and beg money off of family

      • solsangraal@lemmy.zipEnglish
        11·
        1 month ago

        • least expensive things become as expensive as previously “luxury” things

        • ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

        • profit (except, not you)

      • Krauerking@lemy.lol
        5·
        1 month ago

        try to buy less expensive things

        • Have a rich parent

        That’s the advice I see and get every time. The buy less is not allowed for Americans and more or less just used to try and end a conversation.

  • mommykink@lemmy.worldEnglish
    34·
    1 month ago

    Put it on credit. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing for the things we can’t afford, right?

    • astanix@lemmy.worldEnglish
      17·
      1 month ago

      All the credit is already maxed out from food being too much and wages not going up.

      Maybe get a new 35% apr credit card? Probably have too many to get approved for another… luckily, because one more minimum monthly would break that camels back.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
        9·
        1 month ago

        And if you’re not bankrupt after that, it’s time for payday loans cash advance/earned wage loans/early wage/payroll advances/whatever else they’re calling themselves now to skirt regulations!

        • astanix@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          1 month ago

          If you are bankrupt it can just reset, right? Just get more cards after the bankruptcy… everything will be fine!!

  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    1 month ago

    My state of Texas has a “Tax Free back to school weekend” that’s mostly exploited by businesses to restock their office supplies and has virtually no impact on children in lower income families going to de-financed failing school districts.

    • Krauerking@lemy.lol
      2·
      1 month ago

      Ohhhhhh… That’s what it’s for… Yeah I honestly don’t really ever understand the tax free week in supplies when it’s like 6 more dollars when the cost of supplies themselves and need to individually buy them are clearly the more glaring issue.

      Of course it’s something to help companies exploit and be supported more.

    • MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
      11·
      1 month ago

      Hey at least you get the whole summer off work. And you have a nice 9-5 job that never bleeds into your evenings or weekends. Basically a glorified babysitter.

      (I’m totally kidding. Teachers are insanely overworked and underpaid.)

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        1 month ago

        Hey at least you get the whole summer off work.

        It’s frustrating because of how much of a lie this is and how persistently it endures. A three month long furlough isn’t a vacation. Teachers routinely do work during this period, as part timers in the service sector or as summer school instructors at diminished pay (or as contractors in careers that pay better than education). And that’s not even considering the teacher training and prep work that happens before the first day of class.

        People aren’t this clueless by accident, either. You’ve got a deliberately malicious rumor mill media that’s designed to perpetuate a myth any actual teacher could disabuse people of.

  • Fleppensteyn@feddit.nl
    151·
    1 month ago

    spend an average of $701 per child

    What are you Americans buying for school?

    Some notebooks, agenda, pens, pencil, ruler… It’s not all that expensive

    • Openopenopenopen@lemmy.world
      27·
      1 month ago

      We tend to buy a new set of clothes because our kids grew over the last year. We buy shoes. We buy everything our kids need to be ready for the upcoming school year. It’s not just school supplies.

          • Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee
            31·
            1 month ago

            I’m asking if it’s $700 because A) do they buy too much stuff, B) have they got one kid, then how the fuck is it 700, or C) are they breeding like rabbits, have five kids and they’re wondering why shit’s expensive

            It’s a pretty obvious question

    • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 month ago

      Most schools have lists of must-haves for children going to them that parents have to buy. A lot of companies take advantage of that and jack up the price of those items. There are also a lot of those things that parents have to buy multiples of at the beginning of the year and hand over to the teacher for the student to have access to over the next 9 months.

      • Fleppensteyn@feddit.nl
        2·
        1 month ago

        hand over to the teacher

        Weird. One teacher, so this is elementary school?

        We only have to buy our own stuff starting middle school and it’s only pens and paper and such. And a backpack but mine lasted all 4 years.

        • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
          3·
          1 month ago

          Yeah, it’s thanks to continual defining of our public schools in order to funnel money to religious and charter schools as well as private schools via voucher programs.