Summer is winding down and school season is almost here! Whether it’s for new clothes, backpacks or text books, I remember the back to school season as being one where there’s at least a little bit of shopping.
No one ever wants to disappoint their children, so this is the time when we can really break our bank! If you are stressing about how you can frugally (and happily) get your kids back to school, read on because I have 9 ways to make sure you have a frugal and happy back to school event!
Check Out Bargains All Year
Stocking up is always a great way to save money and back to school supplies are no different. Throughout the year, school supplies are constantly sold at a discount. If you spend some time to stock up when things are on sale, all you need to do is bring those supplies out during August, your kids will treat them like new! (Just make sure you hide them from your kids when you buy them!)
Dollar Store is Your Friend
I used to detest going to the dollar store but after my wife showed me what a wonderful place it is, I’ve grown to love it! I don’t know how they make money but they just sell everything for less! Sometimes, you can even find name brand merchandise at deep discounts!
Do Everything Online
Whether it’s Amazon or eBay, online shopping is becoming an easy and frugal way to shop. Not only can you buy many things for less, it also gets delivered to your door! Nowadays, I always go online to check the price of a particular item before I will ever buy it in a store.
Technology Should Not Be That Expensive
Computers have become an essential way for kids to finish their homework. In fact, many schools are encouraging parents to buy a separate computer just for their kids! When faced with the decision to pick the right computer, make sure to consult other parents who are faced with the same situation and the teachers who are teaching the courses. It is important to know the computing power your kids need to finish the school year so you don’t overspend or underspend on this important item!
Tax Free Days
Just last weekend, Circuit City had a 2 day tax free weekend where you can buy anything and pay no taxes. If you are going to buy something for back to school, remember to take advantage of these days since taxes is a big portion of every purchase!
Shop Late
There are always last minute deals in every type of sale and back to school sales are no different. If you can wait on the items you need to buy, you might just be rewarded!
Shop Alone
Kids are amazing at wanting more than you can afford. In order to resist the temptation to satisfy them, shop alone! This way, they won’t be tempted by all the advertising in the stores and your shopping experience will be much more relaxed!
Shop Around
Generally sound shopping advice tells us to compare prices! There are always places where something is being sold for less so make sure to check all sources!
Second Hand is Not Second Class
Go to garage sales and see if you can pickup something for cheap. Often, someone else’s garbage is another person’s treasure so you just might find something very useful for the school year!
Something else you can do is organize a back to school exchange program. The idea is to list out everything you have and see if other parents can take advantage of what you bought previously. If you can work out a deal where you can trade amongst each other, it’s just a win-win situation!
Other Great Back to School Articles
This is actually part of the 2nd group project of PFN! Here are other great articles that our group has put together for everything back to school!
- Four Pillars: Back To School – Get Your Educational Finances In Order
- Clever Dude: Work, Life and School for Graduate Students
- Canadian Capitalist: Back to School: Save on Textbooks
- Blunt Money: An Empty Wallet Isn’t Required for Back to School
- Squawkfox: Dorm Room Essentials Checklist
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Great tips as usual. At the moment we let the kids use the family computer but that does cause problems when I’m working in the evenings. I’m sure we’ll have to break down soon and get another PC.
We had a pair of overalls that went through all of our boys. They lasted over 10-years and still looked nice. They were fine until our last boy. He is harder on clothes than all of the others.
My kids were raised on the family dairy farm – and worked hard. At the end of summer, I took each kid separately over the coast range to the “big city”(Portland,OR metro area) and we went shopping, usually at Target or similar. This was during the back to school clothes sales.
Each kid was given $200 to spend on their school clothes. (10-20 years ago) They were required to buy a pair of sneakers, 2 pairs of pants, and some shirts, and however much more clothes the money would stretch for. (Mom bought the basic six packs of socks and undies and a backpack and winter coat if needed)
They each quickly learned that one fancy highpriced item was going to use up too much of their money. They learned to buy thriftly and learned to stretch their money. It was a great learning experience for them all.
It was also a nice way to spend a special day with each child alone – something that didn’t happen much with a family farm to run
Your mention about shopping alone without the kids is so true. I get distracted and end up buying to much or to little based on how they are acting. Also, shopping on an empty stomach can be horrible for my spending behavior. Similar to eating out, I tend to overindulge and bust the budget.
How do you handle requests for designer items or new fashions? Do you just say no or do your kids have an allowance?
what great ideas and pieces of advice. I’ll certainly use them!!
Thanks for the piece of advice.
Great tips! I never do school clothes shopping before school unless I find some great clearance deals! Thanks for the good information!
Great tips! Even though we homeschool, it is always good to get new ideas on saving money on supplies. I definitely agree about the dollar store! You really can find some great deals there. Oh, the $1 section at Target has been really good for school supplies lately too.
The back to school season brings some of the best and most creative pieces I have seen. Great article and thanks! My younger bro is off to school next week and I am going to send him the link!
These are great tips. My daughter will be getting ready to go to school soon and my wife and I have been dreading the shopping beforehand. With the slowdown in the economy, we all need to find ways to save our pennies. Our saved pennies is our insurance for a rainy day and supposedly we’re going to have a few. Your tips will lead to happy shopping. Thanks!