Surviving At Home

My checkbook has been open every week since school began and I have all of $2 in quarters in my wallet. Even though I’m in charge of the school’s fall fundraiser, I always forget to allow for all the “extra” costs that are associated with back to school.

I’m not talking school supplies because I hit paydirt with some of the penny sales during the summer. These September expenses are the things that we seem to forget about: PTA dues, subscriptions to classroom magazines, school pictures , field trip money or deposits, and the multitude of fundraisers.

Being a fundraising mom in a public school, I fully understand that the money stays in the school and pays for specialized programs that benefit ALL the students. For that, I am proud to be involved. And I know that the PTA is not allowed to carry over vast amounts of funds from the previous year so in September we have to start raising money all over again. But it can be hard to manage the influx of paper and requests before getting the “your account is overdrawn” message from the bank.

Here are some quick and easy tips for supporting your school while not breaking your budget:

1. Pick and choose which fundraiser you want to support. Many schools have multiple fundraisers so don’t feel like you must contribute to each one.

2. Send in a cash donation. This way 100% of your contribution goes to the school and you don’t have miscellaneous items that you won’t use cluttering your home.

3. Determine the amount you want to give BEFORE browsing through any catalogs. Write out that check first or have the money in hand before you get sucked into spending more than you have in the bank.

4. Volunteer your time. This won’t cost you a dime out of pocket but will make you feel good that you’re helping your school community.

Here’s to a happy school year!

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