My little one is eagerly preparing to attend playschool next week. We’ve already visited the teachers, and she has begun her first autumn activity – ballet. These are all signs of her growing independence, inching her closer to childhood. It seems her future is set to include a lot more social and extracurricular activities.
These activities, however, come with a price.
The carefree summer, filled with free activities like playing with the sprinkler, visiting the park and public pool, and enjoying occasional snow cones, has been misleading. With the onset of the school year, financial reality hits, and we’re taken aback by all the extra expenses we weren’t quite prepared for.
RETURNING TO SCHOOL: A COSTLIER AFFAIR THAN EXPECTED
It’s evident that buying academic supplies is part of the deal. Items like backpacks, pencils, notebooks, Kleenex, rulers, crayons, glue, and more are part of the list. Thankfully, my child is still young, so our shopping is limited to hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes now. But the looming possibility of increasing school supplies as she grows older is hanging over us.
Unanticipated costs can also throw your budget off balance. If you opt for private schooling, tuition becomes a heavyweight. Fees are also applicable for public schools. For after-school activities, like ballet classes, there are registration charges and costume fees to consider.
Then comes the personal equipment. Outfits and footwear for the new term, school uniforms if necessary, and equipment for extracurricular activities. Items such as ballet shoes, baseball equipment, karate uniforms, and more can pile up, and if you have multiple children needing these things, it’s a considerable dent in your spending money.
Apart from all this, there’s the unseen cost of fuel. During summer, our outings are limited, which helps save on gas. However, as autumn starts, the constant driving around substantially increases fuel consumption.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE AUTUMN COSTS
So, what’s a busy parent supposed to do?
After becoming a mother, I quickly learned how crucial preparedness is to avoid chaos. For example, I make a point to pack lunches and decide on the next day’s clothes the night before to avoid morning chaos.
The same rule applies to anticipate autumn expenses. Going forward, we’ll put aside some money at the beginning of the year as “back to school” savings. We now consider it similar to saving for Christmas: an inevitable cost that’s better planned and set aside, rather than racked up on a credit card to be paid off throughout the year.
