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You can get most of your back to school shopping done without spending much at all! There are so many great deals that it just takes a few minutes each week and you’ll have most items for pennies on the dollar. Here are some of my tips for how to save on back to school supplies!
8 Ways to Save on Back to School Supplies
Start Early
I know you don’t have your school list or even know what teachers your kids will have, that doesn’t need to stop you. The sales are running now through the third week of August—for 6 weeks. That’s it! If you don’t go back to school ’til September and you wait until the night before to shop, you’ll cry. In general, you can guess what your kiddos need and you’ll probably be 95% spot on. What did you use when you were 6? Crayons, pencils, and markers…
Starting before you have the “official” list may seem dangerous, but if you end up grabbing an extra pack of pencils at 10¢ a pack it’s not nearly as bad as paying $2 for them the night before.
Double Your Quantity
This tip isn’t so much about cutting the budget right now but more about planning ahead. Most school supply lists never have enough on them to get you through the year, and, sadly, we NEVER see a spring school supply sale. Double whatever you think you need so that you have a stash of supplies to last all year. This is huge in our house with us homeschooling. This year may be the first year that we bought enough and didn’t run out for crayons or paper mid-year.
Shop for Home Too: It’s probably best to prepare for having kids at home more this fall. Grab items that will help with homework, homeschool, projects and just having fun! Can you really ever have too many crayons?
Shop Around or Price Match
Each week we will see different items on sale. Watch the weekly flyers and grab the deals on things you need each week. If you don’t want to run all over town, stores like Staples, Target, Best Buy and others will price match local and online deals for national brand items (not housebrands)!
Don’t Forget Coupons
We actually do see coupons for back to school items! Crayola, Elmer’s, BIC, Paper Mate and Sharpie will put coupons in either the Sunday papers or online to print. Also watch for store coupons off your entire back to school purchase. We see these every year from Target, Staples and Dollar General. Use the coupon database to find all the coupons.
Quality Is Worth It
It pays to always go with a higher quality backpack, lunch box and even binders. These take a beating, and in the long run not having to replace them becomes the savings. Many of the higher end brands offer lifetime guarantees that truly make it a deal!
Tip: Even higher end binders offer lifetime guarantees!!
Grab Laptops & Computers Now
If you are pondering upgrading your computer, this is the time. The sales we see for back to school are always the lowest prices, and even beat Black Friday prices. Watch for the best sales at Staples and online directly through HP, Dell and other brands.
Think Used For Some Items
Some items on the list can have a big price tag. For graphing calculators, uniforms and other large ticket items consider buying used. Shop consignment sales, facebook marketplace, or eBay to get a considerable savings. Consignment sales are normally in August but you can start to find dates and put them on your calendar now.
Avoid Licensed Characters & Brands
Your kids may love Bluey or the teens are only wanting Nike, but when it comes to school supplies this isn’t where you want to spend your money. Most licensed character bags and gear is actually a lower quality than other brands, plus your kids aren’t going to want that same character all year. For the larger teen brands, try to compromise with consignment or even thrift for clothing and save the backpack for a new one in your preferred price range.
