Get kids ready to go back-to-school with local resources. There are many places to buy smart to help save time and money.
The back-to-school shopping season accounts for about 50 percent of annual school-related spending and impacts approximately one-quarter of U.S. households. The average spending per household is $510!
While clothing and school supplies dominate back to school lists, the highest average spending is for computers and hardware. Here’s a breakdown of the average spending per family in each category:
- Computers & hardware $299
- Clothing & accessories $286
- Electronic gadgets $271
- School supplies $112
Look for local options first
Free Geek makes buying repurposed electronics of all kinds an option for any student with their focus on digital inclusion. Computer systems are the focal point of their thrift store space and you can also donate old computers and electronic equipment.
PDX Parent offers a list of the many consignment, resale and used clothing shops in the Portland region.
SCRAP PDX has supplies to create DIY one-of-a-kind items for school, like pencil bags from fabric, zippers and found objects, or to customize last year’s backpacks by adding sew-on patches or letters. They have paper of all colors and sizes, markers, pens, colored pencils, plus so much more.
If you are you interested in diving into more about back to school spending, there’s a survey about insights on spending and shopping trends. In the current survey, 98 percent of people said they plan to buy clothing and accessories and school supplies.
Check out past posts about kids in school - and use the Resourceful PDX map to locate resources near you.