Consumer Watch: Oklahomans spending more than others for back-to-school

Southern states spend on average 500 dollars more than the national back-to-school spending average according to a new survey. (FILE)

Heading to a store without a plan for how you spend your money could cause some problems after you check out. Financial experts recommend setting a budget or a spending plan when it comes to shopping trips that can get expensive, and back to school shopping falls on the list.

Take a look at how your budget stacks up:

Delottie conducted a national survey on consumer spending breakdowns for back to school shopping. This particular survey found that nationwide, Americans are spending just over $500 during back to school shopping, but get this, the same survey found that the southern region, which includes Oklahoma, spends just over $554 when compared to the rest of the country.

Here is their break down: Unsurprisingly, clothing takes up the biggest chunk of that budget, then the majority of people spend just over 100 dollars on school supplies. A smaller percentage of people do buy their kids new electronics as the school year starts, and that gets expensive.

Fox 25 Consumer Watch reported to you that, though many high end computers go into the thousands, computer experts assure consumer computers costing as low as 500 dollars can last for years.

Now that you know area averages, decide how much you can budget per child. The best way to make a realistic budget is to write down what your child needs. The point of the budget is to avoid impulse buys that tend to add up.