Parents love their children, and that should be a given. But are most parents willing to go into debt for the sake of their child’s social life? Apparently, nearly half of American parents would.
A recent NerdWallet survey found that 42% of parents “say they’d go into debt to pay for back-to-school items that would help their children fit in at school.” Even more (53%) said they’d deal with debt to let their children participate in extracurriculars, with some adding that they plan on using the “buy now, pay later method.”
“I put most of my hard-earned money on my kid’s extracurricular activities,” Kris Piggott told the Deseret News. “Things that would help grow their internal confidence and be lasting (vocal lessons, piano, dance, tennis, etc).” However, she emphasized that she never once went into debt.
Thinking back on how she raised her four now-adult children in Provo, Piggott said she would “never” use installment loans to pay for anything. Her daughter, Lauren Naylor, shared the same opinion, and she credits it to how her parents raised her.
“It’s interesting because I grew up in a middle-class family, but I never felt like I went without, but I also never felt like we always had the best of the best,” Naylor said. “I’ve also always been a penny pincher and a saver. And I think it comes down to my parents working really, really hard for their money. So I knew whatever I had was from their sweat and their hard work to give us things.”
Now, with two kids of her own, Naylor emphasized that, of course, she wants her children to be happy, but perhaps more importantly, she wants them to know they will always have what they need.
Growing up, she said her dad lived by the idea that having his family and creating experiences was all he needed in life. “And I think when you teach your kids that, they’ll grow up, and they’ll want to teach it to their own kids as well.”
“And it’s not worth going into debt over things that you can’t take with you when you go. In the end, who the crap cares?”
This year, inflation adds to financial stress
Since the pandemic, Americans have faced historically high costs due to inflation. Last month, the inflation rate was set at 3.3% — only 1 in 10 Americans believe they live free of financial burden. Last year, parents were expected to pay on average for the following items needed for the 2023 school year, according to Statistica data from a survey of 7,843 respondents:
- Electronics: $325.96
- Clothing: $257.12
- Shoes: $166.59
- School supplies: $140.39
This year, NerdWallet reported that parents with kids in K-12 or college would, on average, spend $541 on their child’s back-to-school shopping:
“Just 10% of back-to-school shoppers say they’ll likely go into debt to pay for school supplies this year. But 20% of shoppers plan to use buy now, pay later services, which are often short-term, interest-free borrowing, much like using a credit card and paying it off by the due date.”
Forms of payments parents are planning to use for back-to-school shopping:
- Debit card: 60%
- Credit card: 58%
- Cash: 39%
- Buy now, pay later service: 20%
- Money from savings: 17%
- Other: 1%
- Undecided: 3%
Even after Piggott and her husband became more financially comfortable and had the funds to give more to their youngest compared to when their older children were still in the house, she said her parenting style didn’t change much.
“I think it would have almost been a disservice if I had spoiled her more just because I could,” she said. “The only thing is, I have spoiled London (her youngest) with a lot more name brand name things because I can.”
“But she does see that I bust my butt, and I work really hard, and she sees Brian (her husband) work really hard as well, so she’s aware of the effort we make, which has made her a really hard worker,” Piggott added. “Brian and I, I mean, we both came from really hard-working families, and I just think a lot of times we just say, ‘no.’ And I think that also taught my kids to appreciate what they have. I think when you have less, you appreciate more.”
“So I think I’m OK with giving more if I can see that my kids are hard workers.”
