Cranberry area parents may breathe a sigh of relief at the end of this month when students return to school, but before that happens, there is work (and a lot of shopping) to do.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average person with children in kindergarten through 12th grade will spend $689 while shopping for school supplies for their children.

The biggest chunks of that expenditure are expected to be for clothing, at $246, and electronics, at $218.

In 2011, the total expected expenditure was $603.

For parents of college-aged children, the average expected back-to-school cost gets more expensive at $907.

All told, that makes for an expected $83.8 billion to be spent on back-to-school shopping this year, which makes it the second-biggest consumer spending period after the winter holidays. Just in August, $7.7 billion was spent at family clothing stores last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

What will you spend this year? Do these figures sound about right to you? Do you spend more than the average? Less? Take our poll!