Real-life lessons in frugal living continue to influence the financial habits of middle-class families, with roughly half of back-to-school shoppers planning to cut spending again this year.

The August survey of the First Command Financial Behaviors Index® reveals that 47 percent of back-to-school shoppers plan to spend less this year. This continues a trend revealed in the August 2009 survey, when 55 percent of back-to-school shoppers said they would spend less.

Shoppers are cutting back in a variety of ways. The top 12 methods identified by respondents include:

- Spending less on back-to-school clothing (60 percent).

- Shopping at discount stores (56 percent).

- Using school supplies from past years (56 percent).

- Shopping for less expensive supplies (53 percent).

- Buying fewer supplies (41 percent).

- Buying no new computers, calculators or other electronics (38 percent).

- Having children wear hand-me-down clothing (24 percent).

- Buying items in bulk (14 percent).

- Buying fewer items for dorm rooms (9 percent).

- Having children pay part of shopping costs (8 percent).

- Having children in college live at home rather than in a dorm (6 percent).

- Sharing supplies with other people (4 percent).

“These survey results reveal that American families are continuing to exercise the valuable money-saving behaviors they’ve learned during the current economic turmoil,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc. “Middle-class consumers have turned the traditional back-to-school shopping season into another opportunity to spend less, save more and reduce debt so they can invest in their own financial futures.”