Back to School Budgeting doom and gloom for UK parents

• Parents facing budgeting misery as back to school expenses loom.
• Increasing costs hitting more families since the same time last year
• Q3 is the most expensive time of the year for families.

Parents in Wales are struggling with school holiday and back-to-school expenses, free budgeting platform Income and Expenditure (IE) Hub says.

Surging inflation and household bills are placing a significant strain on parents affording the school holidays and – buying new uniforms, shoes, P.E. kits and stationery – form a big part of those expenses.

Dylan Jones, CEO of IE Hub, said the summer months are always particularly tough for families already paying for extra childcare and summer schemes.

“Families are at the time of year where their finances are more stressed than ever, but new uniforms, shoes and school supplies have to be bought before the children go back to school in only a few weeks,” he said.

Figures from IE Hub say that on average £173 per child will be spent on primary school children whereas that figure jumps to £224 for secondary school children – both big figures to consider when it comes to budgeting.

Costs also appear to increase month-on-month.

IE Hub says that there is a £125 increase in expenses relating directly to children from Q1s to 3 which is thought to relate back to holiday cover in February and at Easter.

Dylan adds: “Like almost everything, costs have increased since and we have witnessed, via the Hub, that child-related expenses have risen by £50 since the same period last year.

“We want to encourage more parents to use our free IE Hub platform to manage their school spends and plan out their finances better in order to take some of the strain. It takes a matter of minutes and by doing so, parents can see how much money they have and how much money they owe. It really is a simple process and will enable better financial planning to be undertaken – whether for back to school or the entire year.”