School starting soon: Decisions on what to buy

Kids will soon be back in school again to start another year. Now is a good time to work with your kids on purchases for school.

With the summer months coming to an end and school starting back up, will kids be ready to start the new school year? What kinds of things will they need to begin school? Clothes can be purchased now as school sales are starting up, but do they really need it now? This is a good time to sit down with your child and begin talking about budgeting and what is a need or a want. It will depend how old they are and what grade they will be going into as to what they really need.

Younger kids outgrow their clothes so fast. Can they be handed down to their siblings to wear? Is there a dress code for their school? How much money will be needed to get kids back in school? Michigan State University Extension 4-H Youth Development has many resources on money management, financial literacy and family budgeting.

Families can start planning now for fall and the beginning of the school year. Make a list of what some of the needs are to get kids ready to start school. Have a modeling day where kids can try on their clothes and see how much they have grown. This is a great way to include the whole family. On the list may be some back packs or other needs for school. Going to garage sales this summer may help with some of these purchases.

The whole family can start making a budget together so everyone understands what it means to have a budget and see if they can stick with it.

To learn about the positive impact children and families are experience due to MSU Extension programs, read our 2016 Impact Reports: “Preparing young children to success” and “Preparing the future generation for success.” Additional impact reports, highlighting even more ways Michigan 4-H and MSU Extension positively impacted individuals and communities in 2016, can be downloaded from the Michigan 4-H website.

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