Your Covid Back-to-School Clothes Guide It's the height of Back to School shopping season. This is the time of year most teachers abuse their credit cards stocking up for the classroom.

Because you shouldn't be broke just because you're a teacher.

“BROKE TEACHER” STARTED AS A JOKE… It’s not funny at all. Do you spend your paycheck money on your classroom instead of building your financial future? Are you in debt but say, “I’ll pay it later,” while buying a million things for school? I did. And one day, I stopped. PROMISE TO CARE FOR YOURSELF THE SAME WAY YOU CARE FOR STUDENTS.

One day, I met a broke teacher. She moved to another state for a job that paid half what her teaching job was paying. She said, “They need me!” and ran out of money.

Cure the “broke teacher” syndrome–starting…now! “Any teacher that won’t give a kid a pencil shouldn’t be teacher.” Someone said that to me once, not long after I started my “no spend” policy. I was a broke teacher and figured the only way to …

She responded to a Broke Teacher Facebook post with an open heart, thanking her teacher for believing in her. But, she said more than once she has no talent or skills. I bet she does.

You can be a broke teacher with not-so-broke friends. The secret is finding balance. If you keep blowing everyone off, they’ll stop reaching out to you, but it’s tough to say yes all the time, too.

So, what’s a broke teacher to do? We surveyed broke teachers about the best places they know for stealing pencils and pens and resupplying their stash. Here is what we found: Be a convention crasher. Walk into a random convention. No one will question you if you look and act the part.

If you're thinking "Boy, I'd like to ditch these ramen noodle lunches and start buying some steak," you may be a soon-to-be-not-broke teacher if you learn how to charge for consulting. Consulting, freelancing, "side-hustle," the gig economy...No matter what you call...

There’s really nothing to buy. In the past, I consulted with schools, teachers, and leaders. I’m in tech these days, but I will still help where I can if you’re a teacher trying to get a handle on the no-spend challenge or a great school leader trying to show off your school.