How Much Does It Cost? Back to School Part 3 of 4

by Molly

My assignment seemed simple enough – school supplies and one outfit for a high school boy in the Tacoma School District. With list in hand, I headed to the Tacoma Target. I thought that I would try to purchase everything I needed in a single location. Target is on the bus line, and for a family without a car or with limited means to purchase gas, I wanted to see what the cost would be if you didn’t have the option to shop around for the best deals on each item.

Headed into the store, I guessed that my total would be around $100. There weren’t that many items on the list, and I couldn’t imagine that the school supplies themselves would cost all that much. Target is a pretty reasonably priced store and they always seem to have sales, so I figured I could get out of there without spending more than $100. As I shopped, I realized that this was much more complicated than I originally bargained for. I shopped for the best deals I could find that were still quality products and wouldn’t fall apart in a week. It was really difficult to make the choices between the least expensive option and one that looked like it would last. I found myself having to decide between quality and cost and weighing which was more important for many of the items. I most often went with the cheaper option, which was difficult, as I knew the products wouldn’t hold up. However, I tried to put myself in the shoes of someone with extremely limited resources, and I suppose that a cheap backpack is better than no backpack at all. I checked where I stood on money, and I had spent $64.60 already on supplies alone!

When the time came to shop for clothes, it didn’t get any easier. It is so important for high schoolers to feel like they fit in, and so finding clothes that still had a “cool factor” within a limited price range was tricky. Again, quality came into play. Some t-shirts only cost $10, but will they last as long as the ones that cost $15? These are difficult choices that face so many families.

My grand total came to $160.23. I included shoes, shirt, jeans, socks, boxers and a belt as well as a backpack and all the supplies on the list. I could easily have spent twice this amount, even at Target, and I didn’t even include a jacket! I never imagined that shopping for school supplies could come with so many complications and choices.