Child Development Financial Literacy Prevent This

Prevent This: Back-to-School Buyer’s Remorse

While many things look and feel very different this fall, kids have still grown and moved onto the next grade, and smart back-to-school shopping still requires families to ask and answer the same three questions they did before the pandemic.

Back to School is arguably the most expensive time of year for families. How can you make sure you only spend what is necessary? By asking and answering the same two questions you did before the pandemic, and then ranking potential purchases from highest to lowest DIMS-DOES IT MAKE SENSE?® SCORE. If everyone in your family takes the hour or so required to answer the three questions below for all of the potential purchases on their BTS wish list (it takes less than three minutes to calculate the DIMS SCORE®), you cannot help but save time and money.

1) What do I already have? What still fits me and feels good? Do I have clothes that can be let out or let down? Can my shoes be resoled? Are there any hand-me-downs from older siblings or cousins that can be worked into my wardrobe? Is my laptop/calculator, bike lock, and knapsack still in good working order? What should I give away, sell, or discard?

2) What do I need to buy? What is the dress code at my school? Can I get from one weekend to the next without doing laundry? Do I have location and/or weather-specific wardrobe requirements? Am I going to a new school that requires every student to have scientific calculators, art smocks, separate gym shoes…

3) Which items on my wish list generate the highest DIMS-DOES IT MAKE SENSE?® scores? Almost everyone will have more “wish list” than a back-to-school budget. By calculating the DIMS SCORE® for every potential purchase, you can prioritize which items should be bought first. 10/10? It could be a “need”. 6/10? Sounds like a “want”.

Children aren’t thoughtless when they repeatedly ask their parents to buy them things; they’re inexperienced. Putting some structure around back-to-school shopping helps them acquire the experience they need to be money-smarter. For most of 2020, the difference between wants and needs has never been easier to discuss. So, categorizing possible purchases under those two umbrellas should be easier than ever.

See just how easy it is by clicking the pink or blue buttons below.

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Child Development Financial Literacy Prevent This

DIMS SCORE® Calculator How It Works