The cost of living just keeps going up as we hear more about inflation everyday. Food, heat and electric are basic requirements but they seem to be getting hit the most. Interest rates increasing so if you are renting or a house owner there is no avoiding the impact. Clothes and furniture prices have steadily increased. Is there anything that has not?
As mothers it is so difficult to managed the household dynamics looking after the family’s wellbeing and coping financially with the demands. Educating our children is obviously most important but nobody seems to tell the EA Education Authority or Government how expensive it is putting our children through school. The fees and the schooling costs are high by comparison in other countries and resources are stretched to the limited for families as cost of living goes up.
Zurich.ie ran a survey on The Cost of Primary School Education 2021 highlighting the costs to educate 1 child in 1 year of school. Lunches proving to be the highest cost €312 followed by books €176. Other costs were transport €149, clothing €123, shoes €112 and supplies €79. The annual cost of the combined expenses listed is €1,305 and if we forecast the overall cost of primary school education €10,440. Scary figures for parents and families trying to cope with all that is being thrown at them.
With little or no support available we must somehow adapt and fend for ourselves. So how can we save money? Rather than removing certain requirements which is not really feasible... finding cheaper budget options is a much better option.
School Uniforms are pricey when all the items are purchased. If the child has an older brother or sister these uniforms could be re used saving the expense of new uniforms.
Secondhand uniforms can be widely available searching Facebook Market Place. Parents in your local area selling or sometimes giving away school uniforms no longer needed. Browsing until you find the right school and sizes can sometimes take a few weeks. Just be patient with this and start searching early to allow time.
School Books high on the expense list and similar to school uniforms the same approach applies. Parents may have already purchased books for older children and not realise.. so definitely worth checking through the boxes in roof space. Secondhand books are a lot cheaper making absolutely no difference to your child's education. It is a no-brainer. Online Bookhaven.ie supplies secondhand school books covering the wide range of subject areas.
Accessories like pencils, pens and note books are pretty standard and can be purchased on budget but we cannot say the same about printing. Printing is becoming more frequent in Homework and as we know Printer Ink is more expensive than Gold. However, EcoTank Printing can reduce printing costs by as much as 70%. EcoTank printers use bottle ink rather than the more traditional cartridge ink. Bottle containers hold much higher ink volumes making the running costs so much lower.
School lunches take up a considerable proportion of the schooling budget and it can be difficult to brainstorm ideas in cutting cost. Thinking outside the box and maybe trying different foods that cost less but just as healthly. Helpful information is available at Bordbia.ie and perhaps one could get ideas from this that might suit their child.