How Can Starting My Back-to-School Prep Early Save Me Money?

Guess what? The school bells are about to start ringing. But maybe like a lot of parents, your wallet's starting to ring as well.The alarms are going off because back to school costs can feel overwhelming. From those supplies to clothes to hey, that endless list of fees. Where do they come up with all these fees?But what if you could transform that annual financial dread into calm, savvy money saving missions? Well, stick with me today because I'm sharing exactly how to make that happen on today's show.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel, grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence. Hey there, I'm Ralph. Welcome back to Financially Confident Christian.This is the show that asks that big question, how can I become a financially confident Christian? And hey, we're in our series Smart Money for Back to school and beyond. It's all about how to equip your family for a successful school year.Now yesterday on the show we talked about finding affordable self care strategies, we talked about how to get rest. But hit the best part of that was how to get rest without breaking the bank. Hey, nobody wants to go for rest and break the bank and bust the budget.So if you missed that show, I'm going to encourage you to go check it out. You can find all of our episodes@financially confidentchristian.com and today we're going to change the topic a bit.Not far off from school getting started.Hey, when you're listening to this, maybe school's already started, but I really wanted to take a few minutes today and help you with that back to school prep because I want you to save money and I want you to not be stressed and freak it out when the school bell starts to ring. So the question for today is how can starting your back to school prep early save you money? Hey, we all want to save money.It's late August already and school is just around the bend. Hey, I know my son, my daughter in law, she lives in Texas and I think they're getting back to school in the last week or so.And if you're like most people, you're scrambling around for those supply lists, that list, it just seems like it grows year after year. Kids are sitting there dropping you down trying to get you to buy them new clothes and new shoes.They need the sports gear, they got the hey mom and dad, I gotta have the latest check because your kids need that stuff, right? And the problem is that's a constant struggle that leads to this frantic last minute rush for essentials.I Never forget when I was a kid, you know, we get to school the first day or two, and the teacher would have sent home a list. And actually, when I was a kid, we didn't really do too much of that, but I think they're more proactive than now.But I remember the first day or two of school, we'd come home and I said to my mom, well, guess what? We've got to run to the store tonight because we got to get this, this, this, and this. And my mom's head would spin.The problem is, if you don't plan this, if you're not well equipped for this, it leads to overspending because you just go buy whatever you can grab real quick. Everything's picked over. You just get whatever they got left. A lot of times it leads to impulse buys because you're rushing around.You're trying to get everything done at the last minute. And here's the big problem. You're feeling unprepared for an expense that, hey, let's be honest with each other. You knew this expense was coming.This isn't a surprise, surprise thing. You knew school was coming, but why didn't you prepare for that? And see that financial squeeze that I'm talking about right there?That breeds anxiety, and it puts a strain on your budget. It just does. But here's the thing I want you to understand. I said this a second ago. Back to school expenses are predictable.Maybe you need to hear some tough love today. This isn't a big shockaroo today. So it's all about proactive planning, not just reactive spending. Because here's the truth.And be honest with yourself, when you're rushing around, that leads to hurried, expensive decisions. We know in this show I like to tie things back to the Bible. So I've just got a couple of Bible verses for you to talk about today.They kind of all lead to this idea of good stewardship. Let's look at these real quickly. The first one is Luke, chapter 14, verses 28 to 30. This is the one that talks about the tower.And I've used this on the show a few times, but it's so applicable to planning, it says this again. Luke 14, 28, 30. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?For if you lay the foundation and you're not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you saying this person began to build and wasn't able to Finish. Yeah, think about that for a second. They're going to laugh at you. Why? Because you didn't plan. See, this is all about planning.Just like building that tower. Preparing for back to school is a project. Hey, you get on your kids about getting their homework done, getting their projects done. Well, guess what?As a parent, good stewardship means you're sitting down, you're estimating these costs, and you're planning to complete it without a financial strain. The other thing I want to talk about is from the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, verse 1.Now, this is a verse of the Bible that's used for all kinds of things. That verse about seasons. There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.Well, right now is a season for back to school. You knew it was coming. You've got to think about planning wisely to recognize this.And hey, if you're doing this at the last minute, put a mental note, put it on your calendar for next June. Start preparing for it before the last minute hits rather than getting caught off guard.Because if you really want to be a wise steward, if you really want to be financially confident in your Christian walk, you've got to be thinking through these things that happen throughout the year. This is the time not to go rush out and buy stuff on an impulse. This is the time to make thoughtful purchases. Hey, take some time to compare prices.And if you started early enough, you can actually spread out your cost. Why? Because in the end, I want you to reduce your stress, I want you to save money, and I want to make sure that your children are well equipped.And at the same time, hey, we do this because we want to honor God with our financial choices. Shania saying Ralph. Okay, I'm a little bit stressed now. You, you kind of woke me up to this. What can we do? And that's the question of today.How can we transform that back to school financial dread into calm, savvy money saving missions? Well, as normal, I've got a solution for you. And it all comes down to intentionality. That's what it really comes down to.And that is to start your back to school preparation and budgeting early in the summer. Now, if you're listening to this right now, as this comes out, it's middle of August, but maybe you've got just a couple weeks.Hey, that's better than no weeks. And if you're like my daughter in law down in Texas, you're already back in school, but we can still learn from this.So I just want to give you your one action step for today so that you be prepared. And hey, you might take this lesson, pass it on to some friends, share the show with somebody, because hey, a lot of people are in this right now.So your big goal today is to save on back to school prep. And here's what I'm encouraging you to do. First thing I want you to do is to create an Earth early needs list. Hey, get that school supply list out.A lot of times as schools make it available online. Hey, you could even use last year's guide if they haven't posted this year. In my experience, things don't change that much.This is the time to sit down with your kids and identify those essentials they're going to need. Look at their closet. Like I said before on the show, my mom used to pull everything out of the closet, put it all in nice stacks. Okay, does this fit?Does this fit? Can you wear this to school? How about these shoes? What are the. The tech things.And we didn't have much tech things when I was back in school dating myself a little bit. But tech seem to be a big issue. But list everything that you need. Make a list, put it pen to paper. Don't miss anything. Start that early.Get that list developed. Now here's the second thing, and a lot of people don't think about this one. This is time to take an inventory of what you already have and listen.Look for some creative ways to reuse it. Look through your house, look through your children's belongings. Dig out those drawers where they've hidden that stuff over the summer.Start asking yourself what can be reused. Hey, maybe there's some supplies. There's a half filled bottle of glue from last year. If they even use. I'm not even sure. But look at the clothes.Like I said, my mother would lay everything out. She would make sure things fit. Look at the shoes. Maybe they've got some sneakers from over the summer.They could still wear those for the first couple weeks. School. Hey, you don't need to go break the bank. And then ask yourself this. What can you fix? What can you mend? Get skillful in this.This is all about trying to save you money. So once you figure out what they need, we figure out what they've got. Then start by putting together a realistic budget.If you really want to break this cycle of getting yourself in over your head based on that comprehensive needs list, what you can use, what you need to reuse, what you need to buy right down right next to it. How much you need to budget for this. Don't forget anything. The supplies like I talked about, the clothes, the shoes. Hey, don't forget about this one.A lot of people don't think about this. All those fees. Maybe you're getting kids do extracurricular activities or school sports. Put those all down.Maybe there's some tech fees they need to do. And here's my final little tidbit. Or my pro tip for today is shop smart.Hey, maybe just identifying one item and go look at buying that now for a good price instead of trying to scramble around. Hey, right now there's some great clearance sales on some summer clothing.And to be honest with you, like I'm on the east coast, I don't know where you're, where you're at, where you're watching or listening to this, but compare prices online. That's the one of the great things about the Internet.It gives you the ability to really, you know, compare things online and decide where you can buy stuff that you don't have to spend and a ton of money. And here's the benefit to this. The earlier you start, it's going to spread out that cost because I really want to help you.I want to help you fight that struggle and stress of that last minute overspending and that frantic scramble. So many of us can, can relate that my kids are older now, but I remember the scramble. It's back to school.We got to go get this, we got to go get that. Where's the backpacks? I mean, you can just imagine the stress on people.But I really want you to break this down into a planned, manageable process so you can take advantage of those sales.You can go through their stuff, reuse their items and spread out those costs instead of doing it all at the last minute, all with the goal to empower you for a peaceful, confident approach to make sure your kids are equipped wisely and do it within your means. How about we pray together? Father God, we just thank you for the gift of education and for guiding our children, Lord.And we confess that preparing for back to school often brings financial stress most of the time because we're rushing around and we haven't planned well. So Lord, grant us wisdom and foresight in planning for these expenses.Help us to be diligent in creating our needs list, Lord, and budgeting for those things wisely. We ask that you would guide us in finding savings and making those thoughtful purchases.And Lord, we ask that you would help our children be well equipped for the school year. And may our finances reflect Your peace. And we ask this in confidence. In Jesus name, Amen. Listen, I hope you're hearing me loud and clear today.This back to school is not a surprise. It's all about proactive planning for back to school.Because that's your secret weapon to build a way and get past that stress that comes with the fall season. So I'm gonna encourage you once again, take that step today to create your needs list and make one smart purchase early. Because listen to me.I have confidence that you're moving towards true freedom. And right now, I want to ask you to do me a favor.Hey, if this episode has resonated with you, you're thinking, I know a lot of people could benefit from this because I know all the other moms around the block. We're all struggling right now. I want to ask you to do something for me. Share the show with them. Send them a text, send them an email.Just said, hey, you got to listen to the show. This guy Ralph has lost his mind, but he's right on point about these back to school expenses.You can point them to financiallyconfidentchristian.com A lot of us can benefit from this. I guess my next step will be buying for my my grandkids. Once we have grandkids, back to school.But if you've got kids right now, share this with somebody else. Now tomorrow, beyond the school expenses, we're going to talk about getting ahead for the entire fall season.I'm going to share with you how to pre plan your expenses beyond just the school year. We're going to talk about holiday plans and and some seasonal changes. So I'm going to encourage you. Don't miss it. Make sure you join me tomorrow.Now let's all go out there today and be those financially confident Christians. You truly can do this. I have confidence in you. Have some confidence in yourself. Stay financially savvy, Always plan.God bless you and you have a great day.