School supply shopping on the rise with inflation costs

It’s that time of year again, back-to-school shopping season! But with the cost of supplies on the rise, you may be concerned about breaking the bank.

The National Federation for retail shopping estimates that the total spending on back-to-school shopping this year will be $41.5 billion. The data reports families on average will spend $890.07, which is $25 dollars more compared to last year, making it a record high.  

One local parent says the cost of supply shopping is higher than ever before.   

“Doing back-to-school shopping when I was younger, things were a lot cheaper. You could get notebooks for fifteen cents. You still can, but they’re not as good quality. The cheaper products are lower quality than what they use to be. And you have to spend the money to get good quality products.”, parent Britney Dillon said. 

Another local parent says it can be difficult finding the right deal and that’s why it’s important to plan. 

“We definitely noticed a difference this year in the price of things,” parent Sarah Sexton said. “It’s not so much of a complaint but you have to think ahead of time.”

Financial experts recommend using coupons and buying items in bulk to save more money.