How many things to buy....ahhh budget cuts

There is always the issue of how many things I should buy for my class when I don't exactly know how many students are actually going to be in there.
With the school budget so tight we don't finalize our class lists until the day after the first day of school. They want to be sure of the enrollment numbers before they decide if we get an additional teacher.
Parents always look at me strange when they realize everything is initially labelled using a dry erase pen. I want the kids to feel welcome and see their names but honestly I don't really know if they are permanently in my class until day two!
Teaching is so different from when my Dad was a teacher. In some ways it is better and in some ways it is way, way worse.