In 1996, Staples ran a back-to-school advertisement, using the classic 1963 Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”  My children are now in their 20s and 30s, but I still smile when I hear that song.

As a parent, I am reminiscent of the time when summer was over, and the new school year was about to begin. I loved our time off, but I also looked forward to the end of summer. The days would fall back into a routine, filled with structure and planned activities.

In May 2024, Deloitte surveyed about 1,200 parents of school-aged children to learn about their back-to-school shopping plans. The parents surveyed estimated that on average, they will spend $586 per child on school supplies and clothing. Additionally, the same parents estimated they will spend another $582 on extracurricular activities per child.

As a financial planner, I used back-to-school shopping as a learning opportunity for our children.

During the summer, we would establish a budget, identify what needed to be purchased, and estimate the cost for each item.

On the shopping day, I would withdraw cash from the bank and place it in an envelope, earmarked for each child. I wanted this process to be visual, so that as we spent money from the envelope, it was clear that the balance of the remaining funds available decreased.

Using an ATM or credit card would have been easier, but the emotional and visual impact would not have been the same. My objective was to teach budgeting without it being a chore. While hoping to make the experience memorable for us.

We would spend a day shopping, enjoy a special lunch at their favorite restaurant, while checking off our purchases from their lists. This worked for us because each child was engaged in the process and outcome.

They learned that if they choose to spend more on one item, then another item would need to cost less than planned or be eliminated from the list. They needed to prioritize what was most important and acknowledge that once the money in the envelope was spent, they were finished with their shopping.

This may seem a bit extreme, but the outcome was successful for our family.

Having a budget is important for financial success in all circumstances, especially for back-to-school shopping. It is hard to avoid overspending without a budget and a shopping list.

Back-to-school shopping can be stressful for parents and students. The parent may be concerned about their finances, and the child about fitting in at school. Sticking to a budget and agreed upon shopping list can help to minimize this stress for parents and children.

If your child is looking for a specific item, such as a brand name pair of sneakers, do some research online before you make a purchase. Often, you will find a coupon or promotion for the item that you are seeking.

Searching for coupons is one of the easiest and most effective ways to save money. Many companies offer products at a discount if consumers sign up for their email subscription, and there are many online services, websites, and browser plug-ins that can help locate the best deals on back-to-school supplies.

Buy in bulk for the year, during sales. Often, the stores will offer loss-leaders to draw you into the store. Select the items that are offered at a discount, then shop around or wait until the other items are on sale. Don’t be afraid to purchase generic brands as they may be manufactured by the name brand at a fraction of the cost.

To manage spending on supplies such as paper, binders, glue, and crayons, stick with the list of items your child’s school is suggesting. To help you with this, retailers such as Walmart allow schools to post on their website their suggested shopping list. Search” Find your school supply list,” and enter the school, city, and state. If you are fortunate enough that your school posted their list, completing your checklist online will be an easy task.

Be cautious about accumulating additional debt to purchase school supplies.  A recent NerdWallet survey found that more than half (58%) of parents’ plan on purchasing back to school items with credit cards. According to Forbes, as of August 1, 2024, the average credit card interest rate is 27.62%. This average card rate is calculated from a dataset of over 250 credit cards in the U.S. market. While credit cards are convenient, they are not the best form of payment if you are not able to pay them off monthly.

Tips to keep back-to-school budgeting on track

—Annually access the child’s back to school needs. Take inventory of the items you already have.

—Establish a budget.

—Regularly check for sales over summer break.

—Discuss ways to save money with your child and include them in the process.

—If you are using a credit card for purchases because cash is not available, over the next year, set aside funds in a separate account for the following school year.

—Plan to purchase basic supplies that are on sale throughout the year.

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—If you need to purchase books, search for used books.

Spend some time planning for this back-to-school season. Make the experience memorable for you and your children as you prepare them for their new school year. Then, on the first day of school, after you have dropped the kids off for the day, sit down with your morning coffee and remember, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

Teri Parker CFP® is a vice president for the Riverside office of CAPTRUST Financial Advisors and has practiced in the field of financial planning and investment management since 2000. Contact her at Teri.parker@captrust.com.

By LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is entering the Democratic National Convention with increased excitement from Democrats and a steady rise in her favorability ratings among Americans as a whole.

About half of U.S. adults — 48% — have a very or somewhat favorable view of Harris, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That is up from 39% at the beginning of the summer, before President Joe Biden’s poor performance in his debate against former President Donald Trump ultimately led him to drop out of the presidential race.

That’s not just an improvement for Harris but also from where President Joe Biden stood before he dropped out, when 38% said they had a favorable opinion of him. It’s also somewhat better than the 41% of adults who say they have a favorable opinion of Trump.

The rise in favorability for Harris comes as more Americans overall have formed an opinion about her while the Harris and Trump campaigns rush to define her nascent candidacy. The share saying they don’t know enough about her to have an opinion has halved, from 12% in June to 6% now.

The latest measurement is in line with how Americans viewed Harris in early 2021, when she and Biden first took office. It suggests renewed positivity toward Harris — the share of Americans who have a “very favorable” opinion of her has also increased over the same period — but she risks hitting a ceiling as she approaches her previous highest rating.

Potential strengths for Harris

Since June, Harris’ favorability has slightly risen among some groups that generally already favor the Democratic Party. She’s seen slight increases in favorability among Democrats, independents, women and young adults under age 30. There’s been no significant movement from Black adults or Hispanic adults — other constituencies Harris will likely need the support of in November.

Half of adults under 30 have a very or somewhat favorable view of Harris in the latest poll, up from 34% in June. That comes as more young adults have formed an opinion about her, with the share of adults who say they don’t know enough to say shrinking from about 2 in 10 to roughly 1 in 10. The number of young adults with an unfavorable view of her has not changed significantly.

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Harris has relatively high levels of favorability among Black adults, though it’s been relatively steady over the last month. Around two-thirds of Black adults have a very or somewhat positive view of Harris. That includes around 4 in 10 who say their opinion of her is “very favorable.” Black adults are more likely than Americans overall to have a favorable impression of Harris. About 6 in 10 nonwhite men and women have a positive view of Harris.

Johnita Johnson, a 45-year-old Black woman living in North Carolina, said she plans to vote for Harris in November, but she wants the campaign to be honest and realistic about what it can promise. She has a problem with politicians, generally, who overpromise what they will be able to accomplish in office.

“If (Harris) was able to do exactly what she wants to do and what she says she would do, she would do an awesome job,” Johnson said. “Well, we all know that is not going to go like that. She may get to do some of the things that she wanted to do. Will she do everything? I can’t say that she will. And she can’t promise me that.”

Johnson noted that while Harris is a historic candidate because of her race and sex, it’s not something that’s factoring into her support.

“It wouldn’t matter who it was. … As long as they are good, and good to us, that’s what matters to me,” Johnson said. “Yes, of course, to a lot of people, it’s exciting because she’s Black and she’s the first woman. But I’m not looking at it.”

Possible weaknesses for Harris

To win in November, Harris’ team will trying to limit the extent to which Trump can run up his vote totals among white and male voters, groups that have leaned toward Republicans in recent elections. Currently, about half of men have a negative view of Harris. About 6 in 10 white men have an unfavorable view of her. White men without a college degree, a group that has traditionally made up Trump’s strong base of support, are especially likely to say they have an unfavorable view.

Harris is seen more positively by white women, particularly those with a college degree. About 6 in 10 white women with a college degree view her favorably, compared to about 4 in 10 without one. Overall, white women are split on her: 49% have a favorable opinion and 46% have a negative one.

Views of Harris have been fairly steady among older adults. About half of adults older than 60 have a positive view of her. That’s generally in line with the 46% she had with this group in June.

Brian Mowrer, a newly retired 64-year-old in Mishicot, Wisconsin, who was a staunch Republican until voting for President Barack Obama in 2012, plans to vote for Harris in November. He likes Biden and had felt he could do the job for another term, but he was ultimately glad Biden withdrew from the race when it became clear his electability was shrinking.

“I think it’s great that Biden stepped down and that they chose Kamala Harris,” he said. “Well, I would probably support any Democrat at this point.”

Mowrer is motivated by ensuring Trump does not have an opportunity to nominate more conservative justices to the Supreme Court, as he worries about further losing the separation between church and state in the U.S. He also cares about electing someone who will defend access to abortion, which he sees as a personal freedom issue. He believes Harris will focus on both issues.

“I think she’s very good. She presents very well. I think she’s very authentic,” he said. “The policies, or at least the things she’s talking about wanting to do, that is along the lines of what I’ve been thinking needs to be done.”

The poll of 1,164 adults was conducted August 8-12, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.