Easy ways to save money when buying school uniforms

Each school year parents count the cost of sending their children to school. Whether its uniforms, lunches, transport or books… the costs can all add up.

The Zurich Cost of Education Survey 2024* is annual research that looks at the cost of children’s education in Ireland. The research also highlights ways parents can manage the back to school budget. 

When it comes to the cost of clothing, parents spend on average €175 on shoes and €158 a year on uniforms for one child in primary school. For children attending secondary school that figure increases with parents spending €287 on uniforms and €231 on shoes. 

Here are some handy tips to help you keep the cost of uniforms down:

1. If you’re entitled to the back to school allowance, avail of it. More information on this allowance is available on the Department of Social Protection website.
2. Do you have older children? If in good condition, siblings’ hand-me-downs might be suitable.
3. Early purchasing or buying out of the traditional back to school season could save you money. Keep an eye out for discounts and sales.
4. Can you buy a generic jumper and iron on the school crest? This could save you money if you’re children are required to wear a brand jumper.
5. Label the uniform with your child’s name so if anything gets lost it is more likely to be returned to them.
6. Buy uniforms a size or two up in anticipation of your children growing.
7. Buy second hand if you can.

Cost of Education Calculator

Parents can take some measures to reduce the cost of uniforms. Other solutions to minimising the financial burden of children's education is early planning and financial saving.

Parents can use Zurich's Cost of Education Calculator to work out the annual and lifetime costs of sending children to secondary school and the Cost of College Calculator for third level costs.

Saving for a child’s future

Because the cost of education is high and increases over the years, it make sense to plan ahead, budget and save.

With a Regular Savings plan you can gradually build up the funds necessary to support your children's education.

The table below illustrates just how much regular savings can grow with a Zurich LifeSave Savings Plus plan. For example, if you saved the Government child benefit of €140 per month for five years (as of July 2024) from when your child was born, by the time they started school you could have built up savings of €8,784 in time to fund this crucial stage in their education.

Tools to help plan for education costs

At Zurich, we want to help you plan for your children’s future educational needs. We have lots of tools you can use to help plan ahead. For example, our Cost of Secondary School Calculator is a tool that helps you work out how much you need to save to cover the costs of putting children through secondary school and our Cost of College Education Calculator will show you the estimated costs of sending your children to college so you can see how much you might need to save each month to meet these college costs. You can also use our Financial Health Check for more insights into your overall financial wellbeing.

Download the cost of education report

*Source: Zurich Cost of Education Survey 2024