CHICAGO — Charles Lane-Bey combed through racks of blue jeans at a Salvation Army thrift store and held up a pair with potential to his 8-year-old son, Edward, who swung them over his shoulder with a smile.

Forty-seven cents for a sturdy pair with white and red stitching. Not bad if it'll last all school year.

"A couple of years ago, I was able to buy everything practically new," said Lane-Bey, a U.S. Postal Service worker who's struggling to make ends meet. "You just have to do some things different to adjust."

With cash tight and fuel and food prices high, many parents are eyeing back-to-school lists warily, looking for bargains and buying used clothes. In some cases, they're even thinking about sending their children to school without all the supplies they need.

Thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army say more parents and teachers are shopping at their stores nationwide, quickly snatching up school uniforms and supplies.

Goodwill sales nationwide were up 6.2 percent for the first six months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007 and also are expected to be up for the back-to-school season, spokeswoman Lauren Lawson said.

Melissa Temme, a national spokeswoman for the Salvation Army, said traffic and sales are up, although the organization doesn't have firm numbers yet because stores submit official reports only once a year.

"It's not just the working poor, we're also seeing more middle class families coming to us," Temme said.

Linda Boykin, who recently was laid off from a customer service job at a health care company, bought a bag full of school uniforms and casual wear for her three children at a Chicago Salvation Army store. The cost for 15 items: $4.66.

Inventories of back-to-school items can be limited, and donations nationally are down as people hold onto items longer or try to sell them to consignment stores, store officials say.

"I'm trying to scrape up everything I can find," said Sandra Cochrane, manager of a Salvation Army store in Chicago.

Market researchers are divided on the topic of school spending. America's Research Group released a report in July saying almost 30 percent of parents will reduce spending for back-to-school. NPD Group, another market research firm, says spending will increase slightly as sales in electronics hold steady.

But teachers still worry, especially in low-income areas, where parents are already cutting back and can't cut back much more. If children come without supplies, many teachers will end up spending more out-of-pocket even though their own finances are tighter, and some parents are making hard choices, too.

Otha Henderson of Chicago said she simply can't buy a graphing calculator, which can cost hundreds of dollars, for her 15-year-old daughter.