Back to School can be a stressful time.  According to our survey of Moms most families in 2012 will be focused on ways to cut back and make every dollar stretch further than it has ever before.  When faced with outgoing expenses for afterschool activities, school supplies, and new clothes, we found that this year most moms are hoping to focus most of their cutbacks in the area of fashion.

Cutting back isn’t always easy.  But with these 5 Helpful Tips you can go into the Back To School season feeling prepared and focused on shopping smart and saving money.

Make a Budget

Its always tempting to know “in your head” how much money you have to spend on back-to-school fashions.  But sitting down and determining a number in advance is a sure way to give yourself boundaries.

If your children are old enough, let them know what the budget is.  This is a great way to introduce them to budgeting in the real world, and to help them understand the value of the purchases you are making.  My daughter is 13, and when she knows what the shopping budget for any event is, she will often compare prices herself and determine “I’d rather have this than that”.

That knowledge gives her more control and lets her feel as though she is making a contribution to our family’s bottom line by helping me stay within budget.

Make Up a List of What You Need to Buy

Make a list of the necessities (2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of sneakers, new underwear, 3 tops, etc).  The Hatchedit shareable “To Do Lists” are a great way to build your shopping list and to take it with you via our free mobile apps.

Use Catalogs and The Internet as Research Tools

We are all used to the barrage of catalogs that flood mailboxes in August.  Use them to get to know the lay of the land with prices and fashions, and then hit the Internet to see which stores are offering sales and discounts.

Even if you like to do your shopping in person (I do – my daughter grows like a weed!), looking online at sites like Target.com, walmart.com, and kohls.com will give you an idea of costs for all of the necessities you hope to buy.  When you get to the stores, if they are sold out of specific items you want – have the kids try them on in other colors so that you can figure out sizing and order online when you get home.

Take Advantage of New Coupon Phone Apps

There are new apps that are out that can help you supplement any paper coupons you may have cut out to bring along shopping.  SNIP SNAP app is one that lets you upload your own coupons as well as share coupons others have uploaded. Coupon Sherpa is another that uses geo-locating to search for coupons available in the stores that are near to where you are shopping.

Don’t Try and Get All of Your Shopping Done in One Day

Its great to have a game plan for Back To School shopping.  But trying to accomplish everything in one day can lead to unnecessary stress.  I try and schedule a couple of 2-3 hour evening blocks on my Hatchedit family calendar to dedicate to back to school shopping.  That seems to be just long enough that I can accomplish knocking a bunch of things off my list, but gets me out of the busy stores before I lose my temper and my focus on saving money.

“There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” 
Henry Ford

Back to school is an exciting time for everyone.  Nothing makes us feel quite as focused as crisp new notebooks and fresh pencils.  Taking advantage of our children’s enthusiasm of a new school year and all it has to offer can provide us with the perfect opportunity to teach them the importance of setting goals.

While grades are our own way of tracking our children’s progress during the school year, helping them set smaller goals along the way is a good lesson for helping them focus and feel accomplished with smaller steps along the way.

Set Aside 15 Minutes to Come Up with a List of Goals

It may help to have an idea of what some attainable goals are ahead of time.  Think about the different things you hope your child will learn this year both in school and as a person.

Some suggested goals:

• Show mom/dad homework once it is finished
• Read for 15 minutes a day
• Do one kind thing for another person
• Practice (piano, cello, handwriting, French, typing, etc) 15 minutes a day
• Lay out my clothes the night before school
• Ask for help in class when I need it
• Eat one piece of fruit at lunch
• Exercise for 15 minutes every day

Give Your Child a Chance to Express What Is Important to Them

Listening to what your child suggests may give you an idea of what they are concerned or anxious about going into the school year.  Sometimes, just listening to what your child is focusing on will give you an idea of the areas they don’t know how to directly ask for help with.  Likewise, if something like reading for 15 minutes a day seems to make your child anxious, consider altering the goal to be “read with mom/dad for 15 minutes a day.”

Place the list somewhere that they can see it often.   You might place it on the front of the refrigerator, or hang it over their desk.  For older kids, you can use the Hatchedit shareable TO DO lists so that they can see it when they log into their family account to check the family schedule on the computer or on our free phone apps.

Schedule a Time on Your Own Calendar to Follow-up on Your child’s Goal List

Its easy to get caught up in the business of day to day life.  I know I always start the school year with the best of intentions on helping my daughter focus and set goals.  But many times work, stress and life get in the way.  If I have scheduled a set time once a week on my Hatchedit family calendar to remind myself to talk to Sophie about the goals she has set, it helps me re-focus on following through with her.

As we enter this busy back-to-school season with just a few nods of the head you may find that suddenly you need another income and a time machine in order to meet the commitments of your childís after-school life. Below are five tips for building a family schedule that everyone can live with.

Start with a Budget

To keep from over-scheduling activities, instead of working to fill a calendar, it is helpful to work off a budget for each child. For small children who primarily take classes only a few weeks in length, a monthly activities budget will work best. For older children, it is easier to create a seasonal budget (Fall, Winter, Spring).

Expenses for certain activities may ramp up at the end of a season and expenses for other activities may ramp up towards the end of the school year. When budgeting be sure to consider things like costumes, pictures, holiday and thank-you gifts for coaches/teachers, and contributions for end of season parties.

Consider All Special Events and Commitments

When considering a time commitment for an activity, donít just plan for the weekly practices/classes that an activity requires. Be sure to include in your calendar planning additional time commitments such as tournaments, special performances, and added practices.

For seasonal sports these typically ramp up at the end of each season and for hobbies such as dance and acrobatics these events can gather steam toward year-end, where you will quickly find entire weekends can be taken up with recital and tournament preparations.

Calculate Pick-up and Drop-off Times

Especially when building schedules for multiple children, it is important to remember to build in time for picking up and dropping off. Consider if your child will be in a place where a late pickup will have them waiting alone and in a situation that might not be acceptable if you are running late. Also take into account building added time for situations where practices tend to run late, or sports/hobbies where your child may need time to change out of equipment (i.e., ice hockey) or put things away (i.e., riding).

Talk to Your Children about their Contribution

Speak to your children about what you expect them to contribute. Participating in sports and activities is a privilege that often requires sacrifice on the part of parents. Appreciating that activities are a family commitment and participating in that commitment can give a child a sense of purpose when they approach their activities. Their contribution may be money saved from a part time job that needs to go towards extra expenses; it could be responsibility in the form of caring for their equipment, or packing their bags; it could be agreeing on a certain number of practice hours on their own.

Schedule Family Time

Make sure that there is at least one block of time on your weekly calendar that allows your family to come together and talk. Whether it is a meal, or a half hour sit down one evening a week before bed, maintain a time where everyone can sit down and discuss their accomplishments or re-live the best moments of their week. Hobbies and activities are full of moments where your child may succeed and where on occasion they may fail, having a dedicated time to discuss those experiences and to learn from them is just as important as providing a place for them to happen.

Every parent knows that organization is key to running a successful family.  That is why we created, HATCHEDit, a site where families can easily build a better, easier way to communicate and coordinate their busy lives.   And of course, we hope that HATCHEDit.com is the tool you choose to use to hatch your family plans, to manage them throughout the year, and to coordinate them with your support structure (friends, family, sitters).