The school cost Aussie parents are struggling to meet

In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, Aussie families are making tough decisions about things they once took for granted. One parent was left shocked this month, after receiving the price list for their children's school photo packages and finding the cheapest option, a group photo only, cost an eye watering $32.

"Do you think the price of School Photos these days is justified?" the stunned parent asked the r/Australia community on Reddit, sharing a photo of the various packages on offer.

"I think they’re fairly expensive and there’s no smaller package options available any cheaper, but it feels like something every parent is obliged to pay for."

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The post generated hundreds of comments, with many other parents agreeing the prices were just too much. "Yeah that's a bit excessive," replied one. "Especially if you have multiple children at the school."

"I whinge about this every year," admitted another frustrated parent. "So expensive. And they always try and upsell you to buy a million photos and you only need the digital copy. Plus I don’t know much about photography, but phones are getting so good with the cameras.

I don’t know if it’s justified paying for these, other than it’s nice for the kids to have a class photo to remember their mates."

"I think that's outrageous," replied someone else. "My parents would never have been able to afford even the group photos (seriously? $32 for a class photo). What a joke."

Even parents who'd always bought school photos in the past said they are now being forced to reconsider. "This is the first year I didn't buy the kids' school photos," one parent said. "It's ridiculously expensive for what you get."

Meanwhile, another pennywise parent called the whole thing a scam. "No. It's a complete scam," they said. "Charging $50 per student in a school of 400 kids. Do the maths."

Indeed, if a school of 400 students were to all purchase the cheapest package, the group photo only option for $32, the photography company would bank close to $13,000. Not bad for a day's work.

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