Surprisingly, The School Needs More Money From You

Recession Affecting Schools

It seems to never end—the streams of money that my children’s schools are expecting me to give to them just so they can either go on field trips or buy team shirts. I do all I can to avoid these, but they never seem to let up. If an end is not in sight soon, I will have to take out a payday loan. Though the recession is affecting even the schools, they cannot make the parents bear the burden. Can nothing be done about this? Parents across the nation are facing this exact scenario. If you want to stop the endless stream of money seeming to leave your account to go to the school, follow these tips.

Budget Well—Budget Often

If your child is constantly bringing home notes that ask you for money for everything under the sun, it may be hard to budget this. You have something working in your favor when they do this. Create a budget for these expenses. When your child gives you these notes, be sure to notice the due date. The due date will probably be after your next payday. If you know about this in advance, this expense can go into your budget. School expenses can still be paid if you do not have another payday before the due date.

A section in your budget should be allotted for school expenses. $ 10 above the amount you think you need should be allowed in your budget. When more expense notes come home than you planned on, you will be covered. Just because you did not have to pay school expenses, you do not need to spend this money. You should put this in your savings account instead. Take this opportunity to grow your money for any emergencies that come up.

Choose Your Expenses

Can you choose your expenses? You do not have to pay on every single expense they want you to. It is optional to pay for fund raisers and other such events, even though your child says otherwise. All of the things are optional, even though some may be for school or curriculum related events. Only curriculum related events like field trips get paid in my house, while the rest of it gets ignored. If you must wait until your next pay period to pay your chosen school expenses, this may be entirely possible to do.

Negotiate with the School

If you just do not have the money to pay on time for an expense such as a field trip, try calling the school. Tell them your situation and ask if you can pay late or have the fee waived. Before taking out a payday loan, try working with them on any of the curriculum related expenses. If you have to do this, make sure you know what you are doing, so you can avoid paying excessive interest rates.

Bottom Line

Remember—you do NOT have to pay for everything your child brings home. It is possible for you to get the fees imposed by your district at the beginning of the year waived. These fees can be waived for you if your children have a free or reduced meals status. There will be some fees you can negotiate, but you will have pay the rest. You must choose your own expenses. The number of payday loans you must take out during the year can be reduced by following these tips.