Surviving Back to School Season When You’re Broke
Back to school season evokes feelings of dread in almost everyone, but children feel it differently from adults. For children, the angst is about having to spend most of their waking hours in a strict routine, without the unstructured time and outdoor fun that they enjoyed during the summer. For adults, the worries are about money. If you are a college student, you see your student loan account balance getting higher. You wonder how many credits you can afford to take this summer without ruining your GPA by enrolling in more classes than you can reasonably succeed in, and therefore how soon you can graduate and start earning money. Even if you have little hope of ever paying off the face value amount of your student loan balance, the sooner you can start an income-based repayment plan, the sooner you can finish it. Student loans are only the tip of the iceberg, though. This year, you are more worried about your children’s back to school expenses. It seems like you haven’t had a free moment or a spare dollar since last year’s back to school season, and now the school has sent you a list of new items to buy. If back to school expenses have forced you to face reality about how overwhelming your debt situation is, contact a Philadelphia debt relief lawyer.
Consider Buy Nothing Groups, Even Just as a Thought Experiment
Ignoring requests to buy things can help you reduce your expenses. Tune out the advertisements about tax-free clothes shopping, and wear the clothes that still fit. Maybe buy each child one new outfit for the first day of school, but otherwise, let them wear the same clothes they wore in the summer. Once the weather gets cooler, decide which of last winter’s clothes still fit, and when relatives ask you what you want for Christmas, request clothes for your children.
As for school supplies, will your kids really use everything on the list? You probably have plenty of school supplies from previous years somewhere at home. There is no need to buy computers for elementary school-aged children. Many school districts provide computers when students are required to use them.
For inspiration, explore buy nothing content online. You might find someone who has free back-to-school stuff to offer. You might also just enjoy the company of others who are opting out of back to school shopping this year.
How to Find Emergency Funding When Your Emergency Fund Is Long Gone
Charging extravagant purchases on buy now pay later (BNPL) is disastrous, but you can probably use BNPL for the things you can’t afford not to buy, and spread out the payments throughout the school year. If you can’t qualify for a bank loan, peer-to-peer lenders might be willing to lend to you for an affordable rate.
Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com About Making It to the School Year
A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you consolidate or settle your debts if you are dreading another school year of financial stress. Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.
Source:
forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/back-to-school-shopping-how-to-save-lmandp5/
