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Their Finances Were Tough. Then Came 'Insane' Back-to-School Costs
Families are expected to spend $103.5 billion on college costs and $43.3 billion on K-12 shopping as inflation lifts prices, surveys found.
- K-12 back-to-school spending reached a record $43.3 billion in 2026, while college-related expenditures hit $103.5 billion, both surpassing the previous high of $41.5 billion set in 2023.
- Inflation, production costs, and tariffs on imported goods drove these increases, according to the Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation, which found typical school supply list prices rose 7.7% from last year.
- A Beyond Finance survey found 70% of parents feel social pressure to match peers' spending, while 45% of parents plan to take on debt for school costs, up from 34% two years ago.
- Omnisend reports 45% of households plan to use buy now, pay later services to manage expenses, with nearly half of parents sacrificing essentials like groceries or bills to accommodate rising costs.
- Experts suggest families budget for the entire school year and anticipate recurring fees for technology and field trips rather than focusing solely on initial shopping, potentially reducing reliance on debt.
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32 Articles
Star-Herald+24 Reposted by 24 other sources
Their finances were tough. Then came 'insane' back-to-school costs
The cost of a typical school supply list — including notebooks, paper, pencils and glue sticks — is nearly $175. Some essential items such as lunch boxes, notebooks and tissues cost 20% or more than they did a year ago.
Back-to-school costs don’t end in August: What families are paying in 2026
As the summer season comes to a close, families with school-aged children start to think about upcoming back-to-school expenses: laptops, notebooks, clothing and shoes, water bottles, backpacks, and all of the other classics. While most families consider initial purchases, many fail to include the various other costs that usually begin a few months into the school year and sometimes extend to the very end. Consider these the second, and sometime…
·Panama City, United States
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Total News Sources32
Leaning Left4Leaning Right1Center26Last UpdatedBias Distribution84% Center
Bias Distribution
- 84% of the sources are Center
84% Center
13%
C 84%
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