Back-to-school spending curbs travel spending

Travel is one of the casualties when it comes to increased back-to-school spending, according to the latest from the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker.

With back-to-school spending on the rise by $1,642 per household, more parents are setting budgets and looking at where they can cut back. Approximately 78% of parents in the Tracker’s review are choosing to curb their own spending to afford their kids’ back-to-school expenses (vs. 74% in 2015).

Many plan to cut down on travel (40% vs. 32% in 2015); entertainment — i.e. plays, movies, sports, games and concerts (42% vs. 38% in 2015); and extracurricular activities, such as club memberships and personal hobbies (28% vs. 21% in 2015).

The Tracker was completed online among a random sample of 2,050 adults, including the general U.S. population, an affluent demographic defined by a minimum annual household income of $100,000, parents of children of grade school children, and parents of college students.

Interviewing was conducted by Ebiquity from July 6 – 11, 2016. The results among parents of children in kindergarten through college have an overall margin of error of +/- 2.5 at the 95% level of confidence.