A significant number of parents are resorting to extreme financial measures, including gambling, to afford back-to-school supplies for their children, according to a survey by Talker Research for Beyond Finance. The study of 2,000 parents of school-aged children found that 8% have gambled to secure funds for school necessities.
The survey highlights the intense financial strain back-to-school shopping places on families. Beyond gambling, other parents admitted to pawning belongings (12%), taking out personal or payday loans (15%), selling possessions (16%), accumulating credit card debt (20%), and utilizing buy-now, pay-later services (23%) to equip their children for the academic year. These practices are driven by what 70% of parents describe as a "back-to-school parent trap," a feeling of being pressured to provide their children with the same items as their peers despite financial limitations.
This pressure extends to a fear of judgment; 54% of parents worry about being perceived negatively if they reuse items from previous years. Consequently, 70% of parents consider back-to-school shopping the most financially stressful event of the year, surpassing even holiday shopping for 58% of respondents. This pressure often leads to overspending, with 61% of parents admitting to purchasing items to prevent their child from feeling excluded, a decision 42% later regret.
Examples of these pressure-driven purchases include a $1,200 MacBook Air and a $600 Coach wallet, as reported by parents in the study. Guilt and anxiety also play a significant role, with 74% of parents feeling guilty if they cannot fulfill their child's wants and 69% feeling like failures if they cannot provide everything needed for school.
"Parents aren’t just buying school supplies. They’re trying to give their children confidence, belonging and the best possible start to the school year," said Dr. Erika Rasure, chief financial wellness advisor at Beyond Finance. "When parents feel caught between protecting their child’s emotional well-being and protecting their family’s financial future, it’s easy to make decisions that provide short-term relief but create long-term financial stress."
To manage these costs, parents are cutting back on other expenses. While many reduce spending on dining out (35%), hobbies (30%), and personal appearance (28%), others are deferring contributions to savings (23%), debt repayment (20%), and even rent or mortgage payments (15%). The survey also indicated that 14% of parents have already incurred debt for back-to-school shopping this year, with an additional 39% anticipating taking on or increasing debt. Nearly a quarter of parents (23%) are placing the majority of their back-to-school purchases on credit cards.
Dr. Rasure advised, "Children remember how supported they felt far more than the logo on a backpack." The survey was conducted online between July 20 and July 27, 2026, with 2,000 parents of children aged 5–17 participating.