Back-to-School Money Hacks: ADHD-Friendly Family Budgeting Without Debt | 77

0:00 All right, school is in session and now the expenses start coming in hot and heavy, right? School supplies, fees, sports, clothes, fundraisers, school pictures. Before you know it, you swipe the credit card. So today I'm going to give you 3 hacks to handle back to school expenses without debt so you can feel confident about sending your kids back to school without the extra money stress.

0:26 Welcome to the Debt Rebel Podcast where we discuss the insurance and outs of personal finance for families so you can eliminate the burden of debt, create financial margins, and learn a new way to interact with your money. I'm your host, Jules the Budget Nerd and I have been in your shoes. My husband and I have paid off over $107,000 in consumer debt until we finally threw in the towel and decided it wasn't for us. Throughout our journey, we learned another way to do life without debt and that's my hope for you.

0:55 You can learn more about our story and see full show notes on my website, julesthebudgetnerd.com. That's JEWLZ, the budget nerd.com. Now let's dive into today's episode. School is in session and we have a little bit of a break. New routines and that also can mean we can completely train wreck our spending because there's a lot of expenses that come up, especially at the beginning of the school year. This is something that we work on every single month in the Alliance coaching program. But today I want to talk to you about ways that you can save some money but still accomplish a goal.

1:32 Because that's what I love is being able to do the thing but not spend as much, but also to provide for your kids. Because there's a lot of things about back to school that are really, really great and exciting. And it is a time of transition and change, not only in our routines, but in the seasons too. So a lot of things can come at us and I know for myself, it's really easy to overspend, especially in back to school. Our youngest is in first grade. And so a lot of things are like, OK, do we actually need these things?

2:05 Or sometimes there are things that are absolutely your your kids going to need that for a successful school year. And so it's really important to think about those things, but remember that you're not failing. Most families don't plan ahead for this one. But today we're going to talk about a better way of doing it and ways that we can plan ahead and actually, you know, accomplish the goal. OK, so First off, one of the things that's super OK. So the first one, this is a really easy one to do for back to school.

2:39 But also I suggest this one for like the holidays and birthdays and all that kind of stuff. But we're going to focus today on back to school. And that's a sinking fund. That's just a category, a line item in your budget that you put a few dollars aside every single month. But you start, you either do it year round or you get started earlier in the year. So for example, so if you start in March and you put 20 to $50 in that category, then you'll have over $150.00 by August. So some stuff to think about is kind of looking at what last year's expenses were.

3:14 That's a great way to figure out how much you're actually going to need and then work the problem backwards. So depending on how many kids you have and how and what types of activities and things, if you participate in school photos, that kind of stuff. Fundraisers are a big one. That's actually kind of a hot button for me. That's another episode. But these are the kind of things that we talked about inside the Alliance coaching program. Also every single month is we make sure we factor those things into our budget because when those things come up, then we're less likely to go to our credit cards because we have that money set aside.

3:46 Another one is to actually look through close before you go shopping. So I said this is this is twofold. So one is know what you need and know what you have and then set a budget for that before you go shopping. So I know a lot of families might do it a little bit differently and say, OK, we're going to get these shoes. You know, we need we need new shoes. So you go get shoes and you're like, Oh my God, shoes are so expensive. But if you have a number set aside for for each child and stick to that, whether you use cash or debit card, it's going to help set you up for success.

4:22 And so some places that we love shopping when it comes to back to school. But I would say year Round 2 for ourselves is second hand stores, thrift stores. If you haven't had a chance to listen to episode 44 of the show interview a couple of amazing gals that have just between friends sale here locally, but it's nationwide and they've got some great tips about how to save money but provide for your family. And so it's really, really cool. Also keeps things out of the landfill. So that's a really cool thing about second hand stores is just and also clothing swaps.

4:53 I know I'm going to be participating in one here shortly with one of my mortgage friends and I'm really excited about it. Just being able to refresh our closets without having to spend a bunch of money. And then of course, clearance racks. I am all about clearance rack. There's some good stuff on there. And you know what the really cool thing is about that is that's a great way to find stuff that's like from the season that maybe we're currently in because they're trying to move that so they can make room in the stores for for the upcoming season.

5:24 So retail is always one season ahead of the calendar. So that's why right about now it's we're coming into fall time and you're seeing Christmas stuff that so and then that third thing is just is reusing and inventorying what we have first. So one thing we noticed this year was there were some supplies that my daughter didn't, she was asked to bring those, but then she didn't use them. So they were returned to us this last year. And so we just saved those for this year. And then just going through sometimes you don't absolutely have to buy brand new things.

5:57 It could be, you know what, maybe you've got a notebook that has a couple pages out of it is send that the kids won't know everything is used by the first time you open it up and a couple pages missing out of a notebook is not going to be the end of the world. And so that could those can be some really great ways to save, but just look and see what you have on hand. I know for us, or that's a really easy place to overspend is because we're thinking what we actually have already that we can just send send with hers.

6:26 Depending on what your school system looks like and if you have very specific things that you need to bring or if it's just general things, maybe you can reuse. I know we've used reuse backpacks from year to year now with young kids. I know that having having a backpack two years in a row was like, OK, all right, teaching our kids to, you know, take care of our things. That's something that we're trying to to install in our daughter right now. So that and those things last, just kind of checking to see what you have on hand could save you maybe 30 bucks, maybe 40 bucks.

6:59 And that's something you can take that money that you would save on those school supplies. You're still getting the school supplies that your child needs, but then you can take that money and put it towards your emergency fund or that debt if you're trying to eliminate your debt. So the cool thing about that is all of those things are possible without using a credit card. So you don't need to pull out that credit card so that you can pay for back to school if we plan ahead just a little bit with that sinking fund.

7:28 So 20-30 dollars a month really isn't a lot in the big picture. It's going to save you a huge amount of stress and interest in the future if you just use your debit card or cash for that and then set that spending limit for yourself. So you know, all right, this is these are the guidelines I have set for us when we go shopping. And then maybe if you have some other things lying around that you haven't used yet is send those with your kids. And so they are getting the school supplies that they need.

7:57 Everything doesn't have to be brand new. OK, so even if you only do one of these, you're going to be better off than you were last year. So you won't be putting those school supplies, you won't be putting those things on a credit card, and you're going to be farther ahead than you were last year. And that's a huge victory. So don't want you to lose sight of that. And also, I just want to say thank you so much for the feedback on the last episode, the mom guilt episode. This one kind of lines up with that because we can have so much, we can have so much baggage behind what we think back to school needs to look like and what we want to provide for our kids.

8:34 So if that's an area that you struggle with when it comes to spending, because we're talking about providing for our kids and you haven't listened to that episode, I would highly recommend you go back and listen because it's been it's been a really popular one That's episode 76. But if you are ready to stop feeling behind with your money, I do have a free guide for you. It's called the Debt Rebel Starter Kit and it it will just help you take control. It'll help you start building your emergency fund and find money that you might not have realized that's in your budget.

9:03 And then it's going to help you create that emergency fund, but pay off that debt faster than if you were doing it by yourself. So you can grab that at Jewels the budget nerd.com/starter kit. That's JEWLZ the Budget nerd.com/starterkit. I hope this episode was a blessing to you. And also remember that this is about progress over perfection and you're doing amazing. Mama, talk to you soon. Thank you for listening to the Debt Rebel Podcast. Now, if you want to take your next step, check out my website, jewelsthebudgetnerd.com.

9:37 That's JEWLZ the budget nerd.com. I've created a bunch of resources just for you, so hop on over, check it out and we can connect more there. If you love today's episode, I would be honored if you would hit that subscribe button and leave me a review. And remember, every step towards financial independence is a rebellion against debt. So stay strong, keep pushing forward, and fight the good fight until next time. Debt rebels stay resilient.