81% of Canadian parents stressed by back-to-school shopping, but financial expert Jessica Moorhouse sees it as a teachable money moment
TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2025 /CNW/ - Many Canadian families are preparing for what is often one of the most stressful financial seasons of the year: back-to-school shopping. Parents are caught between their kids' big dreams and even bigger wish lists – all while trying to keep their spending in check.
According to a recent study commissioned by Mydoh, 81 per cent of Canadian parents report feeling stressed about back-to-school shopping. In response, the Mydoh app, a money management tool designed for teens and kids, has collaborated with financial expert Jessica Moorhouse to offer practical advice that can help families navigate the season with less stress and more confidence.
"We know back-to-school can feel like a financial pressure point," said Angelique de Montbrun, Chief Executive Officer of Mydoh. "But it's also the perfect opportunity to build lifelong money skills. We want to help parents turn the seasonal spending standoff between wants and needs into real-life lessons in financial literacy and budgeting."
A Strategic Approach to Back-to-School Budgeting
Jessica Moorhouse recommends a three-phase approach:
- Plan ahead by aligning on clear goals
- Execute with intention during shopping
- Reflect afterward to reinforce smart financial habits
Before You Go
One in three parents Mydoh talked to about back-to-school shopping said they often spend more than their planned budget because they never built a budget in the first place.
Before heading to the store, Moorhouse proposes sitting down as a family to make a shopping list and set a clear budget. Researching prices beforehand establishes realistic expectations and empowers kids to understand the value of what they're asking for. Use this time to discuss each item, distinguishing wants from needs and prioritizing accordingly – just in case you can't buy everything.
"When it comes to money, I encourage a transparent approach and recommend kids contribute their own money toward some of the 'want' items," said Moorhouse. "This is where Mydoh can be a game changer. Its 'Spend' and 'Save' features support goal-oriented saving, allowing kids to set aside money for specific wish list items. Plus, allowances can be automatically split between Spending and Saving, helping make financial responsibility effortless."
Keep the child's age in mind during these discussions. For younger kids (up to grade four), parents can lead but involve the kids in reviewing the list. By around grade five, kids can start participating more directly in budgeting and understanding the breakdown.
At The Store
60 per cent of parents say their kids have a basic understanding of the financial realities of back-to-school shopping – but that those realities are easily forgotten once they walk into a store.
When kids ask for something outside the budget, it's important not to judge or dismiss the ask, and equally as important not to agree by default. Instead, parents can validate the want – and offer them choices.
For items kids are responsible for purchasing as part of the budgeting process, parents can give them the opportunity to take control of their spending in the store. Kids can have their own way to pay – like using the Smart Cash Card, which is included with every Mydoh account. Parents stay informed through real-time transaction notifications – and have the ability to lock the card in the event that the card or phone gets lost, which means parents can even send their kids shopping on their own, and still enjoy some oversight and peace of mind.
"While 40 per cent of parents said they overspend during back-to-school shopping because they don't want to disappoint their kids, the biggest financial mistake parents make during the season is allowing their kids to set the spending rules," says Moorhouse. "Remember that setting boundaries doesn't make you a bad parent – it helps build long-term financial fortitude."
Encourage Ongoing Learning
Sticking to a budget often means leaving the store without everything on a child's wish list. But the lesson doesn't have to end there. Using a tool like Mydoh, parents can assign chores that reward kids with earned money, teaching the value of effort. When children return to buy that coveted item, they learn firsthand that some "wants" require patience and dedication.
For more Back to School budgeting tips, visit https://www.mydoh.ca/learn/blog/education/jessica-moorhouse-back-to-school-budgeting-tips/.
Survey Methodology
These findings are drawn from an online survey conducted by Prodege between July 25-27, 2025, on behalf of Craft Public Relations, commissioned by Mydoh. The survey included a total of n=1,000 Canadian parents with children ages 7-15. Respondents reflect the natural demographic distribution of members of Prodege's research panel, except for the quotas used to ensure that n=200 responses were collected from Quebec to enable reliable segmentation of the results by region, no other demographic quotas or post-survey methodologies were applied. At a sample size of 1,000, the margin of error for the study is ± 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, though margins of error are higher among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error.
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About Mydoh
Since 2019, Mydoh has been committed to helping parents raise money-smart youth. Mydoh began with the shared belief that money management isn't something you are taught, as much as something you learn through experience – and that experience should start early. Mydoh has championed this belief since its inception and with it, has been able to help over 280,000 Canadians build a more solid financial foundation for the next generation.
For further information:
Sneha Lohtia, Craft PR (for Mydoh), [email protected], 905-867-3851
SOURCE RBC
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