Back to School Savings Tips

By Adelaide Kwaning

Back to school can be an expensive time of year. Here are some ways you can save on back to school supplies and clothes.

Have kids chip in for back to school shopping Kids can become pretty frugal when they have to spend some of their own money for back to schools supplies and clothes. This also helps to ensure that they buy what they need vs what they want.

Shop year round for back to school supplies Nearly all of the supplies need can be found year round. So, don’t wait until a couple weeks before school starts to do back to school shopping. Keep your eye open for bargains throughout the year. This will lessen the blow to your wallet when fall comes.

Sell last years clothes You can make money for this year’s wardrobe by selling clothes that no longer fit to consignment shops or on eBay.

Find supplies in offices Sometimes offices have many 3-ringed notebooks that go unused and are eventually thrown out to make way for new notebooks. Ask around to see if your office does the same thing. This also applies to computers and laptops. Several companies sell their old computers and laptops for very cheap to make room for new ones.

Let some items double as gifts College kids, especially need a lot of expensive supplies. You can save buy purchasing items such as microwaves, futons, bed sheets ect. as both birthday/holiday gifts as well as back to school items.

Shop at the dollar store Small items such as glue sticks, pens and even notebooks can be bought at the dollar store. Larger chains tend to overprice these items.

Wait till the season is nearly over Only a small percentage of the items you buy are needed at the start of the school year, such a writing material and notebooks and a binder or two. The rest you can buy mid September. You may sacrifice buying brand name but crayons are crayons no matter what name is on the box.

Shop in your kids’ closest Before the school year begins have all your kids try one their clothes to see what fits and what they still like. Clothes can then be passed down to younger siblings. Then determine what their clothing needs are.

Keep your school supplies in an organized location No kid needs all the pencils in the pack at the start of the year so give them a couple and put the rest along with other extra supplies in an organized bin. This will save you loads when you shop the next year since you simply need to take inventory of what remains and what they need.

Label everything Having to replace back to school supplies that your child lost can be a costly game, to avoid this have them initial all their supplies.

Shop online for deals Computers, books and other school supplies can be found online at cheaper rates. Some internet companies offer up to 87 percent off suggested retail prices.

Save on long distance calls If shopping for the supplies wasn’t enough, keeping in touch with college kids can be expensive. You can save hundreds on long distance calls by using Skype, which offers lower rates to calls made on land lines and cell phones and free calls for calls made using your computer.

Back to school can be a pricy time of year. Use the above methods to help you save this season.

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