It’s that time of year again when parents are getting their kids ready to go back-to-school. In the past few years we’ve joined the back-to-school spending season when our daughter started attending pre-school and now she is getting ready for kindergarten. Obviously, when school starts there is a need for clothing and school supplies.
Back to school season produces yet more expenses that you need to manage carefully and budget for each year. I recently read an article at Parenting.com that provided a number of good back-to-school shopping tips. Here are some of the ones I liked best:
- Shop back to school sales
- Minimize purchasing trends
- Use home supplies first
- Resell clothes and use the money to buy new clothes
- Don’t deviate from the list provided by the school
- Get basic supplies at the grocery store
Here are some thoughts on these tips:
While it won’t do you much good for saving today, look to shop the sales after school has already started. Obviously, back-to-school supplies are seasonal and most of the items will drop significantly in price once school has started. Of course, don’t go crazy and buy a bunch of things you may never use. Stick to the basics. This will allow you to build a nice stockpile of school supplies at home for next year.
While minimizing trends is easier said than done (Suzy really wants to the Dora lunch box!), doing so will help you avoid wasting money. The article pointed out your child will get to school and see the styles and trends other children have for their items. They’ll then come to you asking for something different which will result in wasting money. I say make sure Suzy understands she gets to choose one lunch box and you’re not buying another one after school starts.
One of the things my wife has done quite well is resell our kids’ clothes. She sells them online and also at resell shops. She then takes that money and purchases new clothes or other things they need. This has been an extra way to save on school clothes which can get expensive when you have more than one child. She also watches the papers for store sales and never pays regular prices.
A lot of parents are anxious to go out and spend immediately getting the back-to-school preparations completed. But, be patient and wait for the school supply list to be generated by your child’s school. Doing so will help you avoid spending on things you don’t need. In other words, stick to the list.
You can get basic supplies when shopping at a grocery store, according to the article. Watch the newspapers for sales. I especially like the idea of buying everything in one place. Jumping around from store to store will cause you to spend more money. It’s also inconvenient, wastes gas and can be grueling with the kids in the hot summer.
Also, not mentioned, make sure you know if your area will have a tax free holiday. Planning school supply shopping on tax-free day will help you save even more cash!
Are your children heading back-to-school? If so, what shopping tips do you have to save money?
How much do you think you’ve spent on your children’s back to school supplies this year? And how much do you think school stuff costs for the full year?
Cheers, Sam
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Sam, we’ve spent a few hundred dollars by the time we bought supplies and some new clothing, shoes, etc. this year. I’ve only seen the supply expense occur at the beginning of the school year, however, their were misc. expenses throughout my daughter’s preschool. I’ve tracked them all, but haven’t added them up yet. If you exclude clothes, I would say around $100 (just for supplies), but it could be a little less.
Be careful about the lists posted in the store. You know that the generic lists are well, generic.
But yesterday I saw a list posted in a local store that was supposed to be from our city school district. I don’t know where that came from, but it does NOT match the supply list on our junior high school’s web site.
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If you still have some old stocks is your home, use it. Buy in bulk, make a list and use coupons… Wow, i just love back to school shopping..
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Shop only what your kids need vs. what they want. <– great tip for school shopping and personal shopping too! Sometimes we get caught in whats "in" and our expenses take a back seat. My son wanted an iPhone as his "back to school gift." Instead of getting him an iPhone, I got him a TracFone prepaid smart phone. This way, I can control how many minutes he uses and don't have to worry about spending way too much on a cell phone contract when I have to spend money on his school supplies!