Using credit card for back to school costs adds to long-term pain

Many parents are struggling with bills at this time of year, but we need to stop using credit cards as a weapon of choice

Back to school costs can be staggering but using a credit card to pay them can cost you in the long term. Picture: PA

Some 27% of parents get into debt over back to school costs. While this figure is down from 36% in 2019, the average debt has increased by €40 from €357 to €397.

More of us are using the credit card as our weapon of choice. Some 20% of parents fund back to school costs with credit cards, up from 13% last year. These figures all come from the Irish League of Credit Union’s (ILCU) recent back to school survey.