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5 ways to save money on school supplies
Because our recent trip to France left us watching our pennies, I’ve been looking for ways to save money on those increasingly expensive school supplies.
Here’s what I did to trim the cost of sending the kids back to school this year:
1. School kits: To buy or not to buy? School supply kits are a great PTO fundraiser, but does the cost outweigh the convenience? You decide. I bought the kits a few years back and kept a list of the contents and the price. The next year, I priced those same items at a discount store and found that I would have saved about $15 on two boxes had I purchased the items myself. I can’t seem to justify the expense, mainly because I love a good bargain.
2. Have your supply lists in hand. This ensures that you won’t overbuy. After years of purchasing boxes of tricked-out markers and crayons for my elementary-age kids, I was surprised to learn that they weren’t requirements for my fifth-grader this year. Teachers usually supply these lists on your school Web sites or in newsletters well in advance. I always tack a copy to my fridge and tuck an extra copy in my minivan’s visor for quick reference while we’re out shopping.
3. Hit the dollar store! This year I found about 75 percent of my seventh- and fifth-grader’s supplies at Dollar Tree. For about $50, we filled our cart with binders (seen later for $2.97 and up at Wal-Mart), 8-tab dividers (also seen for $3 elsewhere), loose-leaf paper, Sharpies (this is cheap, folks!), erasers, pencils, pens, tissues, disinfectant wipes, Ziploc baggies, index cards, combination locks, you name it. And guess what — everything cost $1! One dollar. 100 cents. It might as well be free!
4. Hit the Internet. My seventh-grader needed a graphic calculator for math class (don’t ask me why), and I was shocked, shocked when I heard from other parents that they can cost up to $130. Yikes! But after a little online research, I found a deal at Staples.com that included a sale price and a $15 rebate that brought it down to $89.99. Bravo, me. We also needed a Latin dictionary and found a ‘like new’ copy on Amazon.com for under $4. It arrived a few short days later and I’m happy to say my son has already started reading it. (Weird, huh?) It’s in excellent shape, and the time and gas money I saved by not having to drive to the bookstore was well worth the few dollars in shipping fees.
5. The backpack dilemma. These can be quite pricey. Watch for sales, and buy off-season if you can. For my preschooler, I found a Spider-Man pack with an attached wallet or soft-sider lunchbox for under $13 at Kohl’s. My daughter had been yearning for a Vera Bradley backpack, so I took advantage of an outlet sale last spring and found one for half price. I hid it away and later gave it to her for her summer birthday, thereby killing two birds with one stone. Once kids get older, they might not clamor for a new pack every year. My thrifty 12-year-old decided he’d recycle last year’s bag. Bravo, him.
Happy bargain hunting!
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By DC
August 20, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Staples often has awesome sales! I got big zipper notebooks (usually $10.00-$15.00) for $1.00 and another kind for $1.50. Glue was free for 2. A lot of stuff was a penny! You just have to watch for sales.By Christina
August 19, 2008 11:08 PM | Link to this
For backpacks, I recommend buying an LL Bean llbean.com backpack. You may spend $20-$50, BUT they will fix anything for you or replace the bag if anything goes wrong over the years. I used mine from 6th grade all the way through grad school and it’s still going strong!