Mother of 5 Explains How She Budgets Back-to-School Shopping Under $2K (Exclusive)

Tanairi Amador, a mother of five from Calimesa, Calif., knows all too well the whirlwind that comes with back-to-school shopping. 

Each passing year, the 31-year-old has come to expect the rising costs and the inevitable “chaos” — but she’s no longer fazed. 

Over time, she’s developed a strategy that keeps her large family of seven on track, starting with saving as early as June. 

By planning ahead and being intentional with every purchase, Amador has found ways to stretch her budget without sacrificing what her kids need.

“We’ve definitely noticed the costs go up as the kids get older. Aside from our older ones wanting the ‘cool’ backpacks, the biggest increase has been in school supplies,” Amador tells PEOPLE exclusively. “The higher the grade, the longer the list – more binders, multiple notebooks, and all the extras.” 

With children ranging in age from 3 to 11, Amador focuses on helping her four school-aged kids distinguish between what they truly need and what they simply want.

“We’ve found that giving each kid their own set budget works best for us,” she reveals. “In the past, if they liked something, we’d just grab it – but sometimes it ended up sitting in the closet unworn.” 

This year, they kept it simple and based the budget on each child’s needs: $600 for their oldest starting middle school, $500 each for their two middle children and $400 for their kindergartener.

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Now, Amador and her husband make sure their kids spend on “essentials” first – such as supplies on the teachers’ lists – before they splurge on clothes or unnecessary items like mechanical pencils versus wooden ones.  

“Most of the time we don’t mind, because we remember how fun it was to have those little extras,” Amador admits. “But for clothes and shoes, we stick to what they truly need and set limits.”

“They don’t need every shoe in multiple colors or a bunch of backpack keychains,” she adds. “If they ask for something that’s not necessary, we explain why, and eventually they understand and focus on what’s important.”

As for the whole experience of back-to-school shopping, Amador and her family have learned to slow down and take it one list at a time. 

“We used to try and get it all done in one day, but it was overwhelming – things got mixed up, we’d forget items, and it was nearly impossible to find everything for all the kids at once,” she recalls. 

Now, she spaces out the shopping over several weeks, focusing on one child at a time. “It makes the process less stressful, and each kid gets their own moment to shop and feel special,” she shares. 

And thanks to years of back-to-school experience with her growing family, Amador and her husband have also learned exactly when and where to shop. 

They often stick to sales and store rewards at places like Kohl’s and Old Navy, and even pick up a few cheaper items on Amazon.

“We’ve been doing back-to-school shopping for years, so we know our go-to stores and when they run the best summer deals,” she says. 

Her strategy includes tracking sales, using online coupons and buying shoes online to stretch the budget. 

“When our first child started school, it was so much simpler – we could get everything done in one trip and it wasn’t nearly as stressful on our budget or our time,” Amador recalls. 

“Now with four in school, our budget has basically quadrupled and it takes us two to three weeks to get everything checked off the list.”

Nevertheless, Amador emphasizes that the back-to-school season doesn’t have to be chaotic; it just takes a bit of planning.

“From one parent to another: start early, stay calm, and remember – you’ve got this,” she says. “Every step you take now makes the school year easier for everyone.”