Shopping for school? How Canadian parents are saving up amid inflation
Two weekends ago, Anne Zarifa and her children sat down to make a list of clothes they’d need for the coming school year after sifting through their closets to get rid of anything too small or worn out.
The Montreal mother of three says leaving back-to-school shopping until the last minute can be a costly error for parents – one that’s more important than ever to avoid in a time of high inflation. Zarifa said she tries to get ahead of the annual Labour Day weekend rush by starting her spree in early August, which also leaves more time to search for deals.
“I find if you’re looking to save some money, the deal items, they go fast and then the (clothing) sizes get picked over very quickly,” said Zarifa, whose son James is going into Grade 5 and twin daughters Clara and Nora are about to start Grade 2.
“So giving yourself a bit of time, I think, is good. Making a plan, making a budget so that you don’t overspend.”
But Zarifa said the biggest key to her strategy for saving money each back-to-school season is shopping second-hand. She relies on online platform Poshmark, where sellers advertise items they no longer need at a usually more affordable price than Zarifa said she finds at her local mall.
“I find, right now, everything’s more expensive in general,” she said. “You want your dollar to go just a little bit further.”
A new survey by PC Financial found 46 per cent of Canadians are more worried about their finances during this back-to-school season than in previous years.
According to NerdWallet, Canadian parents who plan to back-to-school shop this year expect to spend an average of $524 on those purchases, as more than a quarter intend to buy fewer school supplies than in previous years due to inflation.
More than half
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