As kids return to school, families in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights are feeling inflation when buying back-to-school supplies. National data shows that back-to-school purchases for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade hit $43.3 billion this year. That’s up from $39.4 billion in 2025, per the National Retail Federation. Families plan to spend around $864 on clothes, shoes, supplies, and electronics for back-to-school students.
Many families are finding ways to cut spending on school clothes, supplies, and electronics, such as utilizing discounts, cutting back on non-essentials, and using resources for financial help, as gas, food, and rent prices climb.
Ali Jaber has three kids in Dearborn Public Schools. He skipped traveling with them to Lebanon this summer because of security concerns and soaring costs. “I have children, school and expenses,” Jaber said, according to The Arab American News. “I would rather preserve the money for essential needs than spend it on travel.”…