Back to School: Parents Brace for Costly New School Year, Spending Up to 2,000 Euros

The excitement of a new school year is palpable in the air, but for parents, it’s also a time of financial stress as they navigate the ever-increasing costs of education. With just hours to go before the first bell rings, Romanian parents are rushing to buy last-minute school supplies and choosing bouquets for the opening ceremony.

The initial shopping list for first-graders includes notebooks, pencil cases, pens, colored pencils, and even new clothes. Parents are already finding themselves surprised by the expenses: “We were caught off guard by the cost of school supplies, but we’ll manage somehow,” one parent shared.

Seventh-graders like Ana have a slightly shorter list, as they can reuse supplies from previous years: “I need student notebooks for math, Romanian, and even physics, chemistry, and biology. I have a backpack, so I don’t need anything else.”

Violeta Erenciuc, head of the bookstore section, confirms that the last-minute rush is real: “Parents leave their shopping for the last minute. The most popular items are notebooks, school labels, and notebook covers.”

The back-to-school budget can reach 2,000 euros, accounting for traditional school supplies and more modern additions like laptops, tablets, and smartwatches that are becoming increasingly common on parents’ shopping lists.

No first day of school is complete without a visit to the florist. Aura Săhlean, a florist manager, explains the trends: “To ensure they find what they want, parents have placed orders for bouquets and arrangements in advance. From classic chrysanthemums and roses, they’re also opting for more spectacular bouquets with extra-seasonal or all-season flowers like hydrangeas and freesias.”

Parents have allocated budgets ranging from 30 lei to several hundred for the flower bouquet, depending on the arrangement.