As the cost of living crisis continues, parents may be worrying about the expense of sending their children back to school in September. However, popular lifestyle and money-saving blogger Mrs Mummypenny, also known as Lynn Beattie, has shared her expert advice to help families save money on uniforms and equipment.
Mrs Mummypenny, a mother of three sons aged 14, 12 and nine, recommends starting the back-to-school shop now. She suggests writing a list of everything needed and asking friends with older children if they have any uniforms in good condition to pass down. Many schools also have second-hand shops where uniforms can be bought cheaply.
Supermarkets offer great value, with Aldi providing a full uniform for just £5 this year. Mrs Mummypenny has tested supermarket uniforms and found the quality good; she recommends Aldi for polo shirts and jumpers, Asda for trousers and shorts, and supermarkets in general for logo-free jumpers at around £5 for two.
For school shoes, Mrs Mummypenny advises against buying expensive pairs as they wear out quickly. She suggests plain black trainers for primary school children, which double as PE shoes, and for secondary school, shops like Next offer men's-sized smart shoes for about £35, cheaper than alternatives.
To save on lunchboxes, she recommends using Tupperware boxes costing £2-3 instead of branded fabric ones. For drinks bottles, metal bottles from Asda at £5 keep drinks cold for 12 hours. Stationery can often be found at home, and supermarkets have affordable essentials. A clever tip for labels is to put all children's names on the same label so it can be reused.
