With the government finally calling to an end the lockdown that has stretched for the last few weeks, life is slowly but surely returning to normal which, admittedly, is going to take some getting used to. All the commitments and worries about money have steadily grown bigger during the lockdown and now it’s time to face them all. Adding to all this worry is the fact that schools are slated to be reopening in the near future which means you would need cash now itself in order to start preparing.
Parents around the country are all probably wondering how they will manage the sudden uprise in expenses involved with children having to physically attend school. Your child’s education is extremely costly, whether your child goes to a government or private school. Apart from the obvious costs associated with schooling (like clothing, books etc.), there are so many other things that will require not only money, but also additional time and effort. While all this is part of your duty as a parent, there is no harm in admitting that it can get very overwhelming at times. After all, being a parent is very much a learn-as-you-go type of job.
Here is a Back To School guide for all anxious parents to help you deal with your kids returning to school after a long break.
Make a List!
As a parent, you will be constantly juggling your duties to your child in addition to your career, spouse, friends and your personal activities. Managing all this will prove to be difficult for even the most organised individual. When it comes to managing everything, lists will be your best friend. Now that you are faced with the monumental task of sending your child to school, it’s time to make a list of everything that you need to do.
Some of the activities on your list would probably be:
Purchasing school supplies
School supplies would include books, stationery, uniform, lunchbox, water bottles. You would need to figure out which items would need to be purchased new and then do the actual purchasing.
Arranging transport
Getting your child to and from school would require one parent to cover the commute or arrange for a school van/bus; you could also arrange a private transport service with a driver or carpool with another student.
After School care
If both parents are employed, you would need to arrange where and who your child would be returned to after school until the both of you come home after work. This might be a grandparent, relation or even a paid-for third party.
School Fees
If your child goes to a school that charges fees, you would need to ensure that all bills are paid up-to-date to avoid any embarrassment for your child. Keep in mind that once your child returns to school, there will invariably be additional costs arising as a result of any extra curricular or social activities.
While these are by no means the only items that will be on your list, these are some that would be on almost all parents’ lists.
Find the Money
A cursory glance over the above list will make it very clear that sending your child back to school means you need cash now to sort everything out. Finding the money needed to buy everything, pay for everything and settle all the bills is not going to be easy, added on top of managing all your other expenses that have probably piled up during lockdown.
Here are some ways you can manage all these expenses:
Prioritise
Prioritise all your child’s expenses and see where you can cut the cost. Rather than buying new books, look at getting some text books secondhand from a senior student. If your child can reuse the same school bag, lunchbox, water bottle etc. from last year, stick with those for the time being and plan to purchase new items later on when the financial burden is not so high.
Get a small loan
It might prove to be impossible to manage all these expenses on just your income, savings or emergency fund - and that’s completely understandable. You might need to get a small loan to cover these costs in the short-term, which you can repay in due course. While bank loans take too long with lengthy repayment periods, you might be wondering how to get a loan fast that you can settle fairly quickly. Luckily due to the widespread requirement for such loan services, there are many providers of cheap loans online such with short repayment periods. You could manage all your back to school expenses in one fell swoop and then settle the loan over the next 2-3 months. OnCredit.lk offers cheap loans online especially catering towards managing school expenses.
Having a child is extremely costly - every parent is aware of this and they all work tirelessly to provide the best possible quality of life for their child. Don’t allow your money problems to negatively impact your child by managing your personal finances properly.
