What to do when back to school bites you in the budget : What to do when back to school bites you in the budget

It might seem like you've been saving for back to school since you packed your children's backpacks last fall. But after replacing worn-out erasers, outgrown clothes and an outdated laptop, you may still feel the financial pinch.

And then there are items for which you didn't budget. Maybe it's a budding interest in a travel sport, a fundraiser, or birthday cupcakes.

"Parents think they're going to get a bonus because day care is gone," says Court Creeden, a North Carolina-based finan...