Raise your hand if you’ve ever found yourself staring at a shopping cart full of supplies and thinking, “I can’t afford this—but she HAS to have the glitter gel pens or her childhood won’t be happy…” (Are we all raising our hands? That’s what we thought.)
According to NerdWallet’s 2025 Back-to-School Shopping Report, a whopping 56% of parents say back-to-school season is financially stressful on their families. Parents of K–12 and college students plan to spend an average of $741 this year—$200 more than last year—on everything from clothing to books. And while many will use credit cards or debit cards to cover the costs, more than half admit they’d go into debt to ensure their child can fit in socially or…