Saving Money on Back to School Supplies

Finding good deals on back to school supplies may seem like an easy task, but I found it hard. This year, I was on a mission to make it an inexpensive year for back to school supplies. Considering it’s my first year, I really felt as though I was shooting in the dark. Here are some money saving tips for finding back to school supplies.

#1. Shop Several Different Stores

I discovered that I need to shop around while school supply shopping. There’s no way I could find everything I needed in one spot. I also found that shopping different stores allowed me to get the best deals. Each store I shopped at offered different coupons for different items. For example: Meijer had their school supplies marked down really low, but Kohl’s had an awesome deal on shoes.

#2. Limit the Amount You Buy

I believe that parents can get way out of hand when it comes to back to school shopping. I feel as though I spent a reasonable amount of money on my kindergartner and he’s the only child I have heading into public school. Try making a list of the things you want to buy and stick to the list. It can be incredibly enticing to go through stores, stocking up on back to school clearance items, just because they’re on sale.

#3. Quality is Important

Just because you only paid $5 for a backpack that does not mean it was a good deal. I’ve learned to really shop for quality when it comes to back to school items like this. Sure, I may spend $20 on a backpack, but at least I know it’s going to last all school year. Hopefully, the backpack will last a couple of school years if I’m lucky.

Bonus tip: If you’re really worried about paying a ton of money for school supplies, start a rainy day fund at the start of the school year. Put extra money in the “school supplies” jar when you have a chance. This may help alleviate some of the back to school shopping stress for the next school year.
How do you save money on back to school supplies?