MACON, Ga. — Between students, faculty, and staff -- being back to school means so many different things. Teachers are getting eager learners ready for a fruitful school year. For most parents, though, it means getting their wallets prepared for back-to-school supplies.
"For us, it's always a little hectic adventure, so to speak," said parent Alexis Brown.
Her kids are in 4th grade and kindergarten at Burdell-Hunt Elementary School. Every year they go up a grade, and Brown notices something else goes up too.
"With every grade up or level up, the list grows, just to be honest. It gets bigger, and that means we have to provide more," said Brown.
Many schools around Central Georgia do try to help parents out when it comes to supplies. Brown's daughter got a free clear backpack courtesy of the school, but other than that, she says she and the kids' father cut the check.
Sherri Goss with Rosenberg Financial Group suggests scavenging the house for old supplies. If parents are looking to buy a lot of supplies, check Amazon.
"If you need to buy things in bulk, Amazon may be more attractive because you can buy lots of stuff," said Goss.
For parents with one or two kids, she said Walmart and target have competitive prices, but back-to-school shopping can help teach kids valuable financial lessons.
"It's an opportunity to teach your kids about budgeting, the differences between wants and needs and how to get the best deal possible," said Goss.
Goss says backpacks tend to be the biggest budget buster. She says, hopefully kids will be able to use their backpack from the previous school year, but if not, try to fix it up to save some extra cash.
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