The Devastating Ways Inflation Is Impacting Parents
US residents are getting hit hard by inflation, however, parents are among the most severely impacted by its effects.
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School is back in session for most students, which was prefaced by the usual back-t0-school shopping. Though pencils and paper don’t seem expensive individually, school supplies, unfortunately, add up. Due to inflation, many parents have felt the unconscionable escalation of back-to-school goods. Parents all over America are restricting their purchases of necessary items, hoping that cutting back will save room for other essential products.
Many have felt the frustrating effect of ongoing inflation. Inflation rates are higher than they’ve been in decades, increasing gas prices, grocery store goods, and back-to-school supplies. According to Morning Consult’s annual report, 36% of parents surveyed stated that they would be able to pay for everything their child needs for school. That’s a significant reduction from last year’s survey, which found that more than half of interviewed parents could pay for all necessary supplies. As inflation rates continue to climb, parents, guardians, and college-age students have found paying for products like pencils, notepads, and backpacks more challenging.
Parents this year have spent an average of almost $1,000 per kid on back-to-school supplies. According to estimates from the firm Deloitte and the National Retail Federation, households will pay $661 to $864 on necessary scholastic items for this academic year. Due to this price jump, families are more likely to reduce the number of items purchased at the register and use hand-me-downs like backpacks and binders. The record-high inflation right has put parents making more than $100,000 in a difficult position, needing to reduce their back-t0-school purchases to save room for other necessary expenditures.
Morning Consult’s report found that parents were universally nervous about the price spike in back-to-school products. This uptick affected households of various tax brackets, with those making more money still needing to cut back on their academic spending. Especially in a home where there’s only one source of income, families have been struggling under the steadily increasing inflation rate. Many are concerned that prices for necessary items will keep skyrocketing, putting those in more dire financial situations at an even more significant educational disadvantage.
Alongside parents, teachers have been struggling similarly with stocking essential items for their kids this year. Many have spent their own money on necessary back-to-school supplies since school budgets aren’t adjusting to the inflation levels. Some teachers are hoping that wealthier families will be able to donate school supplies if there’s a deficit, but that isn’t guaranteed. Even before the hiked inflation rate, schools around the country have struggled to access needed supplies for their classrooms. With the growing income divide, schools in lower-income neighborhoods will be more affected by the inflation rate and the costly nature of back-to-school products.
As of July 2022, the inflation rate was just over 8.5%. Fortunately, the rate is down from 9.1% in June, a record-high estimate that shocked Americans nationwide. As interest rates continue to rise, many hope they’ll eventually curtail the inflation percentage and decrease back to a reasonable amount. Though this is the Federal Reserve’s goal, American citizens are worried about how many interest hikes it will take to depreciate the inflation value drastically.
