National Retail Federation: Back-To-School And College Spending To Top $75 Billion

listParents in Texoma have one week left before school starts and some are taking this time to finish shopping for the upcoming year.

“I have three children. Two are in school. One is in the first grade and the second is in fourth grade,” mother Lizzette Quinonez said.

She spent Sunday afternoon buying school supplies for her two oldest children. Quinonez spent $300 but said her shopping was not complete.

“That’s the shoes, backpacks, school supplies and some uniforms,” she said.

Parents are not the only ones putting in some cash for the class. Brittany Sralla will be teaching 5th-grade science at Fain Elementary.

“I’ve personally spent close to $100 before the school year has even started and I’m sure it’s just going to continue to go just because everything starts to add up very quickly,” Sralla said.

A survey by the National Retail Federation says parents are planning on spending an average of $361.74 on clothing and shoes, $204.06 on electronics and $107.76 on school supplies. Back-to-school and college spending is to reach $75.8 billion.

“I think they ask for more as they get older. Because for (my daughter) in first grade, she needed four composition journals and (my son) in fourth grade, needed six,” Quinonez said.

The National Retail Federation says a significant factor in how families spend for back to school has to do with their confidence in the economy. For a closer look at their survey click here.

– Newschannel 6