Going back to school is expensive to both parents and teachers: study

The National Retail Federation predicted that a regular household will spend more than $600 this year for school supplies. The amount is said have reduced from last year's spending.

On the other hand, a recent article on Forbes said that parents can spend more than $1000 and teachers almost half that amount during the start of a new school year.

The article pointed out a survey that surprisingly found that teachers are shelling out money from their own pockets for their school supplies. The survey was done on 536 K-12 teachers and it was also revealed that most teachers spend more money from their own than from their school. Of the teachers that were surveyed, 94% of them will more probably shop at businesses that provide discounts for teachers.

If teachers are spending a lot on their school supplies, parents are spending more than twice that amount. A report said that parents are expecting to spend more than $1,200 this season, which is higher than the amount from last year. Because of this, parents are looking for ways to save money and 53 percent of parents surveyed says they are willing to reduce their frequency of eating out.

The NRF says that almost 41% surveyed who thinks that the economy is affecting their spending manners are more likely to look for sales. Almost 30% are willing to purchase a store brand or generic products.

Of the parents surveyed by the NRF, 94% will buy new school supplies, 93% will buy new clothing and families are predicted to spend $117.56 for new shoes.

The survey also revealed that more families have decided to wait a while longer before shopping. 30% will shop 1-2 weeks before school, 43% will shop 3-4 weeks before school and 19.6% will shop 2 months before school begins.

Technology is increasingly becoming a part of parents' back-to-school expenses and electronics such as laptops, tablets and smartphones are the most popular gadgets purchased. However, a family's expenditure on school supplies will still depend on whether their students really need such expenses.