It’s time for the second-most-expensive time of year. Kids are getting ready to head back to the classroom, and for parents and teachers, it means long lists of supply requirements — and a hard hit to our already struggling bank accounts.

The cost of goods has risen for everyone in America, and especially low- to middle-income people feel it every time we make a trip to the grocery store or stop at a gas station. The firsthand experience of how much less we’re getting for our money, and the cuts to traveling and any other extras we’ve had to make to try to cover our basic needs, is crippling — on a good day.

The start of the school year is always a time for additional spending and stretching the family budget. However, this year will be one that hits everyday Americans harder than ever.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Back-to-School Consumer Survey, parents will be spending an average of almost $970 per student, up from about $910 from last year. While $60 might not sound like a lot, most households have more than one student supply list to cover, and this is on top of the regular day-to-day items that have also increased in price.

Numerous posts and articles have circulated on social media confirming the financial pain families are feeling as they search for the best sales and deals on backpacks and paper. Parents are just hoping to catch temporary drops in prices for their student’s most-needed items to save dollars wherever they can.

According to Axios, “Back-to-school spending is expected to reach $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year.”

A news organization in New Mexico interviewed several shoppers, all of whom confirmed the stress of higher prices and hundreds of dollars spent, even after their state’s tax-free weekend. Others expressed their concern for reaching their budget before school clothes had even been purchased.

NBC Bay Area told the story of a single mother of three who had a panic attack leading to tears before heading out to shop for her children.

Thankfully, to provide some relief for back-to-school shoppers this year, several states — including Florida, Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, and others — declared tax-free weekends prior to the start of classes.

This is more than the current White House administration has done for struggling families.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s idea of comforting American families in this particularly heightened time of financial hardship was to remind us, “President Biden and I came to office with a plan to strengthen America’s economy.”

The question most of us would ask in response to her tone-deaf reminder would be, “When are they going to start?”

In the same vein of total disconnection from reality, Joe Biden tweeted, “We’re growing the economy even as inflation is at its lowest level in more than two years.”

And just for good measure, the immensely intelligent Joy Behar shared her perceptive understanding of what everyday people are facing in today’s economy. “Inflation is down,” she claimed. “People are having an easier time putting bread on the table.”

This must mean that the panic attacks and empty bank accounts of thousands of American families and educators are just an illusion.

One thing’s for certain — we sure get tired of the elites telling us that the pain we’re feeling as a result of the policies they implement isn’t as bad as we’re making it out to be.