by Andrea Woroch posted in Tips & Tricks

With the back-to-school season closing in, parents are franticly running from store to store to buy supplies, clothing and other essentials so their kids are ready for class in a few weeks. As if finding the time to shop wasn?t a big enough battle, mom and dad often also face growing demands for expensive name brands and spend hours arguing with kids over what to buy.
With busy schedules and never-ending to-do lists, it?s often easier to give in to these over-the-top requests rather than squabble. Before you let this situation cause any further frustration, consider how to turn the back-to-school shopping season on its head and teach your kids valuable budgeting and saving skills.

Here are five money lessons your kids can learn during the back-to-school frenzy.
Lesson 1: Understanding Needs vs. Wants.

What better time to address the concepts of ?needs? and ?wants? than during this back-to-school season. Sit down with your son or daughter to review the school shopping list and separate supplies into these two categories, explaining the difference. A ?need? includes a necessity such as a new binder to replace a broken one while a ?want? may include name-brand clothing or something that your child can do without. Take inventory of what you already have at home and establish a budget for any missing items. If your kid protests against using last year?s backpack or old supplies, point out the extra cushion in the budget that m...