Portuguese parents estimate spending more on their purchases for this school year, say the data from "Observador Cetelem Back to School 2022". The survey reveals that families expect to spend an average of 525€, up from 335€ last year, a perception that is related to the increase in prices of the materials they need to buy.
Most families (27%) estimate they will spend between 251€ and 500€; 22% expect to spend between 501€ and 750€; 18% expect to spend no more than 250€; and 15% expect to spend more than 751€.
Parents with one student in their charge (around 68%) expect to spend an average of €475. Those with two children (28%) expect to spend around €617. Those with three or more (4%) estimate they will spend 710€.
Taking into account the data, the press release indicates that it is possible to verify a relationship between spending and the level of education of the children, that is, "in pre-school the average expenses are around 325€; in the 1st cycle 490€; in the 2nd cycle they are around 503€, in the 3rd cycle 583€ and in secondary school the value is 623€. Higher education "is where it will tend to be necessary to spend more, €875 on average.
As for the school supplies they intend to buy, 82% of those surveyed estimate that they will spend an average of around €110 on essential supplies (backpacks, pens, pencils, etc.); 70% estimate that they will spend €176 on clothing/shoes; and 59% indicate an average of €142 for physical education equipment.
To minimize this price hike in their budgets, most families admit to holding back on purchases for this school year (57%) and almost all will adopt strategies to make them less expensive (95%). "Some of the measures taken include buying only what is strictly necessary (59%), opting for promotions (40%), reusing school supplies (33%) and opting for cheaper products (20%).
However, 51% of respondents say they have full financial capacity to finance education this school year. The document says that this financial availability "can be explained by the fact that 61% of parents claim to have made savings for this purpose, with 29% admitting that they will use them this back to school".
There are also 18% of people surveyed that "intend to use a credit card at the back-to-school period, which is the lowest value of the last six years".