Saving Money on Back-to-School Clothing and Supplies

Take the sting out of shopping for school clothing and supplies by incorporating these simple, dollar-stretching tips into your back-to-school routine.

Take Inventory Before You Go Shopping

• Use up leftovers.  Before you run out to purchase school supplies, check last year’s leftovers, as well as other unused, or nearly new, items lying around the house. An item may be placed on the teacher’s supply list, and then only used once or twice during the year.  It’s still good, so why not use it again?
• Don’t forget hand-me-downs.  True, hand-me-downs aren’t as fun as buying new, but it is a shame to waste perfectly good supplies for the short-lived thrill of buying the latest craze in school accessories.  Use this time to discuss the value of not being wasteful, and everyone doing their part to be environmentally friendly.

Shop Early

• Yard sales.  Use summer yard sales to buy school clothes, shoes and backpacks. Yard sales are also great places to find winter coats and boots.  Resale stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army often yield great finds for yard sale prices.
• Shop ads.  Watch store ads for the usual school necessities: pencils, erasers, markers, notebooks, and so forth, then stock up when they come on sale throughout the year.
• Buy generic.  Recently I bought a stack of wide-ruled, one subject notebooks from Wal-Mart for $.05 each. A steal! Don’t get caught up in purchasing name brand or character items, such as Hannah Montana or Dora the Explorer. Plain notebooks can be dressed up with stickers and markers, magazine cut-outs, wrapping paper, and so forth. Encourage creativity! Your children will have loads of fun decorating their school supplies.

Shop Around

• Shop at more than one store.  Stores like Staples, Office Depot and Office Max usually have some great deals this time of year, with the added bonus of donating a percentage of your purchase to your school.
• Don’t forget Dollar Tree, Dollar Store, and other discount stores.  Yes, some of things are low-quality, but there are some good buys that will make your money go farther.
• Shop online.  Ebay, Freecycle, and online teacher and school supply websites may be worth the delivery charges if the price is right.

Shop After School Starts

Let’s face it, kids fashions change on an almost daily basis.  What may have been hot in May is out-dated come September.  Wait until after school begins to purchase non-essential supplies and clothing items.  The added bonus of waiting is that after school starts, retailers begin placing school supplies and fall fashions on clearance, often marked down considerably, to make way for Halloween décor and costumes.

Sending your child back-to-school can easily put your checkbook in the red.  These frugal tips will keep you seeing green!

by Crystal Killion