Would you skip dinner to buy a backpack? 54% of parents say yes

Fast Company

17-07-2025

While back-to-school shopping is certainly an end of summer expense that many families dread, this year is shaping up to be even more financially straining.
Binders, backpacks, calculators, and even laptops (which about 94% of high school students use), definitely don't come cheap. This year, the stress over having to purchase the items seems to be mounting higher than ever. According to a newly released Intuit Credit Karma report, which surveyed 1,022 parents with at least one school-aged child, more than a third (39%) said they can no longer afford the back-to-school shopping trip.
Likewise, 44% say they'll have to take on debt to pay for the school supplies for the 2025/2026 school year. That figure has jumped by 10% (from 34%) in just one calendar year.
The data around back-to-school shopping gets even more concerning, too. According to the report, more than half of parents (54%) say they will need to sacrifice on essentials like groceries in order to get their children the necessary school supplies. And a large portion of parents—45%—say they can no longer afford after-school programs, sports, or other extracurriculars. 32% even said they're considering leaving their jobs or trimming their working hours to care for their kids after school pickup.
Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, spoke to the financial strain families are feeling this year in a press release. 'Back-to-school shopping can place a significant financial burden on families, often leaving them with little choice but to stretch their budgets,' Alev said.
In particular, parents seem to be worried about how expensive items have gotten. 60% said that skyhigh prices on items is the reason they will struggle with shopping lists this year, with 38% revealing they expect to spend between $501 to $1,500.
According to a new Deloitte report, they aren't far off. While prices on items have gone slightly down since last year, back-to-school spending for K–12 students is massively expensive, costing parents $570 per child on average, or around $30.8 billion total.
Adding to parents' expenses are their kids' own list of 'must-haves,' or, nonessential items they see on social media and sometimes feel (because it appears online like everyone has them) are necessary commodities. JellyCats and Labubu Dolls are particularly huge this year. And 51% of parents say their kids are begging for trending items. More than half (54%) say they do feel pressured to get their kids the items their IRL friends or social media friends have, too.
Alev urges parents to trim what they can, staying away from buying the nonessential trending items, saying, 'consider using it as an opportunity to have a thoughtful, age-appropriate conversation with your kids about money, teaching them the importance of budgeting and prioritizing needs over wants.'