I read this week that following a recent survey carried out by Citizens Advice, findings have shown that more than a quarter of parents are having to borrow the money needed for school uniforms due to rising costs. This is crazy!!

The average cost of a school uniform now exceeds £300 per year per child and many families on low incomes or with more than one child are finding it a real struggle to finance the items that their child need to comply with the rules of the school they attend.

My eldest daughters school already has a strict uniform policy and we have had further notification that there are new restrictions from September on footwear, due to the financial pressures that parents are feeling over "branded footwear".

So how do you save money on the rising cost of school uniforms? Here are our top tips!

• Buy big and hope that it lasts for a couple of years 

• Don't think that buying cheaper is more cost effective. Sometimes buying a slightly more expensive (and better quality) will last much longer.

• Shop out of season. Shop the sales. Buy quality for less at any opportunity.

• Label EVERYTHING so that less gets lost! Trust me we have lost a lot of uniform over the years.

• Keep an eye out for the pre term deals. Marks and Spencers and the supermarket chains often have 10-20% off weekends

You can't put a price on eductation but saving money on uniform is possible with a little planning.

Good luck!

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