Back to School and Dealing with the Financial Stress
The Cost of living Crisis is impacting everyone and with back-to-school expenses coming into play there is an increase in the financial stress on many families. This year due to the high levels of inflation/cost of living crisis, parents will see increasing prices in a wide range of areas from transport, food, school supplies and uniforms. Also, as we head towards the colder months the increasing cost of energy prices and fuel prices is an area that may contribute to financial stress.
Barnardo’s back to school survey of 1,132 parents found that many parents were feeling under financial pressure, and some were having to take ‘worrying measures’ to handle the now higher costs.
The report showed that:
- 1 in 5 parents said they would have to use their savings to cover the back to school costs.
- 13% of primary school parents and 19% of secondary school parents would have to get a loan or use a credit card.
To help provide the school with support most parents are being asked to pay voluntary contributions by their schools. This is an added factor that parents will need to factor into their budget.
If you are looking towards the months ahead and are feeling overwhelmed, it might be a good time to get a head start and get some financial education around what are the best decisions that you could be making.
Some help with Costs
To help with the back to school pressure that some may be feeling here are some areas to consider if you are feeling concerned.
You could check if you qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. To qualify you must be:
- Getting a social welfare payment (including Working Family Payment and Back to Work Family Dividend or a Health Service Executive payment
- Taking part in an approved employment scheme (back-to-work scheme)
- Taking part in a recognised education or training course
- Getting a Daily Expenses Allowance for a child in education (or for yourself if you are 18–22 and returning to full-time second-level education)
- Involved in an Area Partnership Scheme
- Attending a FET (formerly Fás) training course
The child involved must be between the ages of 4-17 on the 20th of September 2022. If the child is age 18-22, they must be returning to second-level education in a school or college in the autumn of the year you are applying.
This year the Irish government has increased the back-to-school allowance to €100.
How can we help with financial stress?
We help employees with financial stress by providing them with education on their finances. Having a deeper level of understanding and guidance around your finances can help you make better decisions and elevate some of the stress that is often felt when dealing with our finances.
A way to prevent financial stress from happening in the first place is by identifying and planning for upcoming financial events that need to be addressed, understood, and targeted. These events can be split into short-medium- and long-term events and should have the correct plan in place to best meet each goal. If you are prepared for it, then this can help eliminate or at least lessen the potential stress.
If you think you or your team could benefit from talking to us, then don’t hesitate to contact us.
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