It seems only a few milliseconds since I was holding my newborn baby boy in my arms but, somehow, he is heading to secondary school in September. While the emotional adjustments are intense, the financial ones cannot be glossed over, either. In the place of after school club fees comes a whole host of new financial considerations, from travel costs to school lunches, from uniform and sports kits to trips. Here’s how I’m preparing my finances for the eldest of our brood taking the next step in his education:

Stocking up on supplies

I’ve been keeping an eye out for bargains on black, green and purple pens (apparently they’re used for marking, and multi packs of rulers, pencils and glue sticks. The plan is to keep a secret stash of replacements to save on emergency dashes to Sainsbury’s at 7:30 am because he’s lost them. Just make sure that you find an equipment list and buy the right stuff the first time round - the last thing your want to to pay twice to replace incorrect items.

Setting up sinking funds

I’ve heard from plenty of parents that costs are often sprung upon you for things like trips, lost or grown out of uniform etc, so we acted early in setting up some special saving pots specifically for these occasions. We have a uniform pot, which we’ve topped up for the initial outlay, but will continue to add to throughout the year for replacement items, and a trips pot for both day trips and residentials. Often, you can get hold of a rough trip schedule from previous years, which can help you to figure out how much to set aside.

Rejig your budget

Now is the time to start looking about how your expenses will change in September, along with your schedule and all of the other adjustments that need to be made. Removing charges like after school childcare, tweaking school lunch costs and adding in travel is a great place to start, though the exact numbers will be different for each family. Whatsapp groups with parents of children already in the school can be a goldmine of information for this kind of thing.

Review their pocket money

A new school isn’t just about education - I’m prepared to see a big change in my son’s social life as he develops more independence, too. Giving an allowance (whether in exchange for chores or not) is a great way to encourage them to start budgeting their own money - and stops you from becoming a human magic money tree.

Start teaching them about money

On that note, if you haven’t already started teaching your children about money, now is the time. Start simple, by coaching them on how to allocate their money and manage their spending, then move on to more complex topics. Teaching them the power of compound interest, by encouraging them to save and teaching them about debt, is probably one of the most important lessons. Financially educated children will probably cost you a lot less over the course of their lives!

The leap up to secondary school is a big change to your family life, and your finances are no exception to that - but making preparations ahead of time will make things a lot smoother.