By Rebbeca Marroquin

Back-to-school shopping list unattainable for many parents

Aug 22, 2017 | 5:00 PM

Parents across the province are back to school shopping, and many are having difficulties getting everything on their lists.

For one parent, the list is not only expensive, but confusing.

“What do you need 30 blue pens for in Grade 6? I don’t get it,” Kim Sutton said, a mom from Choiceland.

Although a pack of pens can cost less than a dollar, the school requires more than one pack adding to the total cost. Bic Pens, to be precise, are among the 26 other brand-specific items included on the list.

Some of them are a Winnable Zipper pencil pouch, Maxell Stereo headphones, and five School Start white premium erasers.

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“[The school] wants specific things like pre-sharpened pencils, but you need a pencil sharpener too, and name brand stuff,” Sutton said.

Sutton was in Prince Albert shopping for her two kids Chloe, Grade 9, and Bradley, Grade 6. So far, Sutton said she spent roughly $400 and that’s “not even half” of her kids’ school supplies.

Even her daughter Chloe admited she doesn’t use all of the things on the list and said sometimes classmates borrow her things without returning them.

Sutton said her family re-uses items from previous years but still ends up spending over a grand on everything.  

“We’re not even half done because we still have to get clothes, and shoes,” she said. “We probably have to spend another $800”

She said she can’t imagine how other parents with less income and more than two kids can afford their supply lists.

“I don’t remember it being it this expensive. I’m sure that when I went to school it was usually like 100 bucks a kid,” she said.

According to the latest survey by savings destination RetailMeNot, the average Canadian spends $883 on back-to-school items. Out of the 1,519 who were randomly selected for the survey, over 50 per cent of parents agree that back-to-school shopping puts a financial strain on their families, racking up bills that take months to pay.

rebbeca.marroquin@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @becamarroquin