Money Matters - Back-to-School Shopping Survey

 With back-to-school sales-tax holidays starting up, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its Sales-Tax Holiday Calendar highlighting the best times to buy in each state, along with editors’ picks for 2024’s Best Credit Cards for Back-to-School Shopping and a nationally-representative survey of parents. You can check out highlights below.

Key Findings

• Asking Too Much of Parents: More than 3 in 4 parents believe that schools ask them to buy too much during back-to-school season.
   
• Education Cost Crisis: 86% of parents think the cost of education is out of control.
   
• Increase in Back-to-School Spending: Most parents (52%) say they will spend more on back-to-school shopping this year than last year.
   
• Financial Literacy Needed: 95% of parents think financial literacy should be part of the core curriculum.
   
• Popular Saving Tactics: 33% of parents use coupons to save money on back-to-school shopping, making it the most popular saving method, followed by applying for a new credit card (29%) and shopping on a sales tax holiday (19%).
   
• Poor Grades for Google: Nearly 1 in 3 parents don’t trust Google to show them the best back-to-school deals.
   
• Sales Tax Holidays: Held in 17 states at different times during July, August and September, sales tax holidays offer savings of up to 7% on popular back-to-school items.
   
• Best Credit Card for Back-to-School Shopping: The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers 6% back on up to $6,000 spent each year at U.S. supermarkets, where parents can purchase a lot of school supplies.

“Talk of heading back to school starts disturbingly early each year, but the silver lining for those who begin thinking about a return to the classroom in the middle of the summer is that you can score some big deals. Not only can early birds in many states save up to 7% by shopping during sales tax holidays, but those who apply for a new credit card early enough can save $250+ extra during back-to-school season alone. With most parents planning to spend more than last year and already feeling like too much is asked of them financially by their kids’ schools, according to a new WalletHub survey, some extra savings can go a long way in the coming months.”

- John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor

 


 
More From WalletHub

• Best Credit Cards for Shopping
• States with the Best School Systems
• Best Cash Back Credit Cards
• Budgeting Survey
• Most & Least Educated Cities