This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Please don’t fall for it
New clothes, new shoes, new socks, new underwear, new backpacks, new notebooks, new pencils, and new everything else.
After a while, though, back-to-school shopping seemed sketchy.
Why did we continue buying this new stuff every year – especially if I wasn’t growing crazy anymore and could wear the same clothes? I rarely needed a new backpack because I wasn’t tearing up the ones I had. It’s not like all my pencils and many additional notebooks needed replacing either. We were buying into the back-to-school hype that bogs down millions of parents every year.
Back-to-school shopping is a trap.
For some reason, many people feel the need to purchase new school supplies and clothes annually when they can reuse last year’s stuff and save countless dollars, time, energy, effort, and stress.
It wasn’t until I left the traditional school system that I realized how crazy this shopping was. I no longer felt excited about getting new supplies, having a new backpack, or wearing trendy clothes. All I needed was to get my school work done and enjoy the time I got back to myself by not having to be stuck in the classroom for 6–10 hours a day.
Are you still stressing out about back-to-school shopping and the financial burden of it? If so, you can cut the chord for the practice starting this year.
Clothing
Go through your kids’ closets, and get rid of the stuff that can no longer fit, is destroyed, or is never worn anymore. Then, determine what is left. Do they have the basics? Do they genuinely need more clothes? Maybe they only need one new pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, or a coat. But they probably don’t require a whole new wardrobe and five new pairs of shoes.
Supplies
How many new school supplies do your kids need? Do they really need 5–10 new notebooks, 50 top-of-the-line pen and pencil colors, and another backpack? You might have several book pack options at home. If the backpacks aren’t damaged, your kids can rotate through the backpacks they’ve had over the years to bring a fresh taste to their school wardrobe.
But you really don’t need multiple book bags. You just need one.
Back-To-School Shopping Is Very Materialistic
If you think about it, back-to-school shopping encourages you to get rid of the old and buy the new every single year. It’s like upgrading your iPhone every year. Yeah, the technology is slightly better, but barely.
The new clothes, shoes, and supplies aren’t going to help your kids do better in school; all the new stuff will detract from your cash flow, though.
We don’t need to overhaul our stuff every year. It’s okay to reuse things and save money.
Not sure where this back-to-school shopping came from, but it’s time to rethink it and save money. That money that usually goes to back-to-school shopping can be invested in your retirement fund because, let’s face it, most people are off track with their retirement savings.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.