Top Tips to Save Money on Back-to-School Supplies

Sometimes school lists have a lot of excess supplies. To be sure everything you purchase will get used consider calling a friend who has taken that class before or whose child has had the same teacher. Ask them what supplies were truly needed and what items you can do without.

 

Carefully review the list. You may be doubling up on supplies. Are unnecessary items? For example, if the list says to buy pencils, there likely isn’t a reason to buy separate rubber erasers.

 

Do you have supplies left from the last school year? You know that junk drawer you’ve been wanting to clean out? Now is your chance! There are likely many items like pens, paper, erasers, pencils and notebooks around the house already.

 

One trick to online shopping is placing items in your shopping cart, but not purchasing them right away. Leaving those items in your cart, you may be offered a coupon to convince you to complete the purchase. A penny saved is a penny earned!

 

There are often many back-to-school sales that won’t come around again throughout the year. If there are supplies like glue sticks or folders you are sure will need replaced at some point this school year, go ahead and buy extra at the lower cost. This will save you money during the year and if you don’t end up using it this term, you’ll have part of your shopping already finished for next year.

 

Social media can be your best friend when it comes to back-to-school shopping. Either sign up for email sales alerts or ‘like’ your favorite retailer’s Facebook pages. This will keep you updated on the latest school sales and which stores have the best deals on each item.

 

Often, places like dollar stores or general retailers will make items seem significantly cheaper by decreasing the quantity of the item. They may have folders listed for 50 cents each, but in reality, you could get a pack of three folders for a dollar. Be sure to calculate the cost per unit to verify if this “deal” truly is a deal.

 

Not all items need to be purchased new. You’d be surprised at what you can find at garage sales and consignment shops. Many people have too many school supplies already laying around their house and are ready to get rid of them and sell them for a fraction of the price.