If back-to-school shopping left a balance on your credit card, do not wait until the holidays to face it. Add up the full debt, stop adding purchases and automate an extra payment. The goal is not guilt. It is a simple plan that protects your family’s other priorities.
Key takeaways
- Families with K–12 students planned to spend an average of $863.86 per household in 2026.
- Paying only the minimum can extend the debt and increase interest costs.
- You can prioritize the highest rate or the smallest balance. Pick one method and begin.
- Do not automatically empty your emergency fund to pay school-shopping debt.
- Start saving now for the 2027 school year.
In my recent Hoy Día interview on Telemundo, “How can families get out of back-to-school debt?”, I shared a simple idea: an August purchase should not become a balance you are still paying at Christmas.
The National Retail Federation reports that families with elementary through high-school students planned to spend an average of $863.86 in 2026, up from $858.07 in 2025. That is a national household average—not a target or the exact cost per child.
School purchases often end up spread across credit cards, retail accounts and buy-now-pay-later plans. Your first job is to see the complete number.
Write down each debt’s:
Debt that you cannot see clearly is difficult to control.
While paying the debt, avoid adding nonessential purchases to the same card. Otherwise, you can make payments every month without moving forward.
Find three expenses you can pause for 30 days. It could be food delivery, a subscription or a purchase that can wait. Send that money directly to your priority debt.
You do not need to punish the whole family. You need to create room in the budget.
Two methods are practical:
| Method | Pay first | Best for |
| Avalanche | Highest-interest debt | Reducing interest costs |
| Snowball | Smallest balance | Creating a quick win |
Automate the minimum payment on every account. Then automate one extra payment toward the priority debt. Once it is gone, move that entire payment to the next balance.
Either method can work. The perfect method you never start will not.
It may help, but only if you understand the transfer fee, promotional deadline and required monthly payment.
Divide the total balance—including the fee—by the promotional months available. That is the monthly payment needed to reach zero before the regular rate begins.
A transfer does not solve the problem if you refill the old card.
Do not automatically drain your emergency fund. Compare the interest cost with the liquidity your family needs for housing, health, transportation and unexpected expenses.
The goal is to reduce debt without creating the next emergency.
When the debt is paid, keep the habit. Estimate what you may spend in 2027, divide it by 12 and automate that amount into savings every month.
If you expect to spend $900, saving $75 monthly could keep next year’s school shopping off your credit card.
The highest-rate debt usually saves more interest. If motivation is the obstacle, start with the smallest balance.
It helps avoid late payments, but it can extend the debt. Add a fixed extra payment when cash flow permits.
No. Review the fee, deadline, later interest rate and whether you can repay the full balance during the promotion.
Not necessarily. But stop adding purchases to the card whose balance you are actively trying to eliminate.
Estimate the cost, divide it by 12 and begin an automatic savings category in September.
Your debt needs a plan, not guilt. If you want to organize your payments while protecting your family’s other goals, schedule a conversation with Elaine King, CFP®.
Elaine King, CFP®, is the founder of Family and Money Matters™ and the author of eight books on financial education, financial planning and family governance. For more than 20 years, she has helped families organize, grow and protect their wealth. In August 2026, she appeared on Telemundo’s Hoy Día to share strategies for eliminating back-to-school debt.
This content is educational and does not constitute individualized financial advice. Appropriate strategies depend on each family’s income, expenses, interest rates, liquidity and goals.
