September 1 – the first day of school in Armenia.

For many parents, sending their children to class with anything less than spanking new clothes would be an embarrassment. But what does such a luxury cost?

Hetq spoke to Kristineh Ghazaryan. She has already spent 130,000 AMD (US$272) to outfit her three sons with new clothes and school supplies.

Here’s the breakdown:

• 20,000 AMD ($42) on clothes and 11,000 AMD on supplies for her seven year-old
• 45,000 AMD on clothes and supplies for her son in junior high school; plus another 7,000 for books
• The rest went to her eldest going to high school in the fall

As context, the official minimum monthly wage in Armenia is 55,000 AMD ($116) and the median wage 150,000-160,000($314-$337).