Comments on: Stop Buying Crap #13 – Back to School Crap

By: Poorer Than You » Random Money-Related Memory #1

Poorer Than You » Random Money-Related Memory #1 — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:18:42 +0000

[...] this stuff sticks with you. I can’t read a blog post about back-to-school shopping without thinking about the first day of fifth grade, where I got made [...]

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 06:05:00 +0000

I have so much school crap lying around that I don’t use, even though I have atleast a couple more yrs of college left. This year I resisted the urge to buy new pencils and pens since they are all over my apt anyways. I laugh when I see the commercials saying kids “need” new lap tops and cell phones for back to school along with all that other junk. Then again, this America and we do love to spend and waste our money.

By: The Cody

The Cody — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 05:28:30 +0000

I used the same backpack from 8th grade till 11th, when Really i didnt need to replace it, picked up another Jansport backpack and have been using it for close to 3 years and its like brand new, so I dont understand that either.

By: Old Skool

Old Skool — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:24:07 +0000

Im now a senior in college and I got a backpack from LL Bean my freshmen year of HS. It cost like $70 at the time but i still use it to this date. Even has my initials on it… Woot.

By: matthewd

matthewd — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:38:31 +0000

On the subject of magically disentegrating backpacks:

Some kids are more, shall we say, destructive than others. They do disentigrate.

I’ve noticed some of the backups sold at discount retailers are cheap because they are cheaply made. They don’t last. You get what you pay for.

Planned obsolesence is built into “character” backpacks. No way the Disney Princesses or the Barbie backpacks from K/1/2 are going to fly in the fifth grade. More of a problem for girls, perhaps, Spiderman will always be cool!

I think the best backpack my daughter has had so far is a denim backpack customized with bug and flower patches. Durable enough, girly enough, repairable, and won’t go out of style.

On clothes, kids of course needs clothes when they grow out of them or they wear out. But if sales are to be had during this time, it is a good time to buy clothes. On the other hand, I don’t like the aspect of having to have the latest fads/fashions. It’s like there’s consumer conditioning going on to train kids that they must buy the newest stuff to stay cool.

By: Cap

Cap — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 22:10:29 +0000

Single Ma made a great point right there, waiting for a specific day like “back to school” season to buy those type of necessities are just out-right silly.

majeest, you can always save those paper for your kids—that’s if they will even use paper later. hmm.

By: majeest

majeest — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 15:13:25 +0000

I wish my parents had done a better job of resisting my demands for all-new stuff. I’m thirty-one years old and still have unused notebook paper from as far back as second grade. I’m pretty sure I’m covered for notebook paper for the rest of my life.

By: Single Ma

Single Ma — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:36:11 +0000

Hmm, I have to agree with you on this one. Even with a school aged child, I think all the ‘back to school’ hoopla is ridiculous!

I mean, who really waits until a specific time of the year to buy their children clothes, shoes, and necessities anyway? If my daughter needs socks, I’m not gonna say “oh no, keep wearing the holey ones until you go back to school again.” WTF! And since when is a book bag meant to last only 9.5 months? Is there a recycling center for them or something?

As for the supplies, they don’t change much from year to year (pencils, pens, paper – nothing special). Stock up when they’re on sale and keep it moving.

In my college days, I either bought used books online, split the cost and shared with a friend, or didn’t buy the book at all. The only ting I splurged on (then AND now) was high quality sheets. I love the feel of 400+ thread count and I needed multiple sets because I like to change them often.

Back to school is just another brainwashed holiday to pump the profits of retail giants.

By: udandi

udandi — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:27:56 +0000

I was intrigued when I read about the backpack index and saw that parents will spend about $307 in supplies for elementary school-aged kids, $438 for middle school children and $669 for high school students!!

By: The Personal Finance Weblog

The Personal Finance Weblog — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:01:34 +0000

Other Voices: Links for 8/10/06…

Questions, questions: My Open Wallet: "Do you spend a lot of money just to smell nice? Do you think expensive hair and bath products and perfumes are worth it?" Young and Broke: "If you had $10,000, one day, and one……

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:06:01 +0000

I heard a great tip from Clark Howard that you should wait until just after school starts to buy back to school clothes and backpacks.

Retailers want backpacks after school starts like they want Christmas wrap after Christmas. Also, if you wait until a few days after to buy school clothes, you get big discounts, plus teen girls get a chance to see what everyone is wearing, and can then buy accordingly. Nothing worse than having a teen girl by the wrong thing and then not wear it at all.

By: Cap

Cap — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:55:52 +0000

that’s true, you can get by quite a few class just by going over lecture notes etc. since quite a many professors don’t even use the text.

problem is, those class that do need the books are usually the ridiculously expensive ones.

hmm. pretty lame post today.

By: cory

cory — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:30:06 +0000

I’m pretty sure I even stopped buying textbooks when I got into my sophomore or junior year of college. You can get by just fine without them most of the time.