Back to school, break out the cash

It's Aug. 31. Do you know where your summer went?

Vacations are over, kids are back in school and it'll be Halloween before you know it. What's really scary is the backtoschool traffic. It was nice when the snarled streets were quiet; now the SUVs and cellphone-toting drivers have returned.

The end of summer is bittersweet, but it's also a relief to some parents, especially those with young children who have been underfoot since June, complaining about nothing to do. Nobody wants to admit it, but school is a perfect babysitter.

Now comes the expensive part: the purchase of new classroom supplies, clothes, and those fees for sports and other extracurricular activities. It can cost more than $550 to send one student back to public school and many kids want all their stuff to be trendy and new. That's the distressing part.

Here's a tip: Try taking your brand-conscious children to an outlet mall and you'll spend a fraction of what you would at department stores or boutiques. Wait a few weeks and backtoschool prices may drop even further.

To protect your pocketbook this year, how about recycling that perfect condition, three-ring binder left over from last semester? Do all the pens, pencils and rulers have to be brand new? How many protractors does one family need to buy?

For college students, try buying used textbooks online instead of shelling out full retail at the campus store. Think recycling.

Many costs are unavoidable, though. Expect to pay an extra $500 in fees and equipment if you have a high schooler on the football team or cheer squad. Want your child to join the band? Instruments aren't free, even at public schools.

Complaining about back-to-school expenses has become a rite of summer passing, and for good reason. According to the National Retail Federation, the combined $65 billion that American consumers are expected to spend this year for back-to-school and college expenses ranks second only to holiday spending.

The big ticket item for college will be electronics. For all students, technological gadgets are no longer a luxury, they're a necessity. Yesterday's typewriter is today's computer, and the price difference is huge.

Nothing is more valuable than your child's education. Think of back-to-school spending as an investment in the future.