Parents pay back-to-school bill with loose change and kids’ savings

PARENTS IN WALES BATTLE BACK-TO-SCHOOL STRESS

MUMS and dads in Wales are battling the stress and soaring cost of back-to-school shopping by hunting for loose change down the back of the sofa … and even borrowing from their own children.

A Coinstar back-to-school survey shows half (51%) of parents in Wales say they find the process of shopping for new school kit stressful and say they expect to spend an average of £255 per child to return to school.

Parents in Wales say they foot the bill for the new term by delaying credit card payments (22%), borrowing from grandparents (19%) with 14% dipping into their children’s savings.

Two in five (43%) of parents in Wales say they would cash-in spare change found around the house to make sure their kids start school with the correct kit.

And three quarters (76%) fear they will be hit in the pocket again during the year to cover the cost of school projects and trips – with an average of £305.

Parents in Wales say rising costs and peer pressure to keep up with the latest trends fuels back-to-school stress

The Coinstar survey, carried out by Atomik Research, revealed nearly half (49%) of parents surveyed in Wales say school costs are rising and a third (30%) say they have to cut back on household essentials to foot the back-to-school bill.

A fifth (22%) of parents in Wales say they and their kids suffer from peer pressure to buy the most fashionable clothing to start the new academic year.

Parents of children aged 5-7 say their kids are the most likely (50%) age group to face peer pressure when shopping for new uniform compared to 33% of those aged 14-16.

Half (51%) of parents in Wales said clothing is the biggest back-to-school expense, followed by extracurricular fees (30%).

Three in five (59%) of Welsh parents rely on the big supermarkets to supply their back-to-school list, while 38% say they use specialist school uniform stores and just 14% shop online.

Mums and dads in Wales have different spending behaviour when it comes to back-to-school shopping.

Thirty-five per cent of mums in Wales say they are considering or will use spare change to buy school supplies compared with 53% of dads.

Mums are more laid back than dads when it comes to shopping for back-to-school, with 59% of men saying the find the experience stressful compared with 45% of women.

The research suggests dads should shop without the kids as 33% of men said they overspend when doing the back-to-school shopping alone compared with 43% of mums.

But mums are better at shopping with their kids as 38% overspend compared with 43% of dads when they take their children shopping.

Nick Harris, vice president of European operations, Coinstar Limited, said: “Back-to-school shopping can put stress on household finances, especially as costs rise.

“The Coinstar survey revealed that British parents are resourceful and are finding ways to meet this budget challenge.”

Parents wishing to turn their coins in for cash can find a Coinstar kiosk by visiting www.coinstar.co.uk.

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About Coinstar Limited

Coinstar Limited based in Bath, England, is a subsidiary of Coinstar LLC, the global leader in self-service coin counting. With nearly 20,000 kiosk locations worldwide, Coinstar provides convenient and reliable coin counting services at supermarkets and mass merchants. For kiosk locations and information, visit www.coinstar.co.uk.

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The Coinstar Back-to-School survey was conducted online by Atomik Research among 1,002 UK adults with school aged children (5 to 18 years old). The research fieldwork took place between 16th and 18th July 2018. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides to MRS code.