Back to School and saving money
Every school child in the country will hate me for even daring to write this post this early but it has to be done! Research released in the last week estimated that parents spend €60,000 in terms of the education of each of their children. In this post I hope to highlight a few ways to save money (or obtain more of it!) to offset the costs and I’d be very interested in hearing tips and comments from readers on ways in which they cut the costs of ‘free’ education in Ireland.
The first thing to mention here is the money that the Government give to parents and guardians who are on certain social welfare allowances or are on low wages and help defray some of the costs involved in going to school. This Back to School Allowance is not applied for by all those who are entitled to it for a variety of reasons including lack of information and misinformation about entitlements and income thresholds.
For those up to 11 years of age the allowance payable is €200 and for secondary school students (11-18) it is €305. The income limit per week for a couple with one child is €497 per week and for a lone parent is €348 per week. The higher allowance is also payable to those with sons and daughters in third level education under the ages of 22. Other limits for larger families and full details of the allowance are available on the Citizens Information Board Website page on the allowance and also on the Department of Social and Family Affairs Website.
It’s important to note that rent supplements, child benefit and many other allowances are not considered income.
Food coupons in Ireland are rare as hens teeth in comparison to the resources available to US and UK based shoppers, but some of you may find the coupon that Low Low have issued for their new cheese stick product useful, (buying the cheese in a block yourself and cutting it into amusing shapes could really do the trick on the money saving front though - I can feel Deborah patting me on the back from here!)
Maybe you do not have contacts in terms of exchanging school books and with schools currently closed and few book sales available and the cost of new books being excessive you might find the book you are looking for on School Book Exchange for half the price or less. I’d be interested to hear the experiences of anyone who uses this or any other book selling or exchanging service in Ireland. Local papers, shopping centre notice boards and community centres might also be good places to advertise books for exchanges.
The Department of Education funds a School Book Grant Scheme which you may be entitled to apply for via your child’s school. More information is available on the Citizens Information Board Website and also via the Department Circulars which are issued to schools on the subject - primary schools and secondary schools.
What tips do you have in terms of cutting back to school expenses?
http://www.pigsback.com has lots of printable vouchers for grocery things likely to be useful for school lunches
Also while Dunnes are great for uniform bits and pieces, their schoobags are generally rubbish, and so it’s worth buying a decent one in a proper luggage shop.
Great post Suzy! Some great info on the benefits / grants available. I had no idea the weekly pay threshold was that high, so hopefully some people will be able to take advantage of that.
I found some great deals on uniforms this year at Debenhams. They have their annual sale the last week in July. Blouses and Polo shirt packs of two rang up for €1.61! I got next years too! It was better than Dunnes/Marks/Pennys in pricing and certainly in quality.
Also found that if you can get a high-res copy of the school crest and a plain jumper/sweatshirt/cardigan/blazer, you can get it embroidered yourself for much less than buying from the designated retailer.
That’s all I know, but this is my first year at it! Silly me bought all the books up front, but at this level most are workbooks, so thinking the second-hand thing isn’t an option.
nice post, i write a blog on finance but one thing i have never done is to focus to day to day expenses (at least in the detail you have!), that’s something that people can latch on to and understand in a simple manner. well done.
karl
For older children - don’t forget that child benefit is payable to all children in full time education aged under 19 - even those going on to third level. Parents should have received a form from Child Benefit on which thay can confirm that the child is still at school or college . Many pepole assume (as I did) that 3rd level students would not be eligible - but they are until their 19th birthday.
Aug 19th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
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