Now is a perfect time to take advantage of some really great sales bargains, not just for back to school supplies for your children, but also for your own home office needs. This time of year is when I stock up on anything from printer paper, note pads, post it notes, pens and pencils, to items such as scotch tape, staples, and glue. Comparison shop at assorted stores and you'll be surprised that you can easily purchase a year worth of supplies for up to 75% off.
By Deeli from Richland, WA
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Sending a child to school is so expensive! At the beginning of the school year the school sends you a list of things the child will need. Parents rush out with this list, piling their baskets high.
In most areas of the US, school will be over soon. The last thing on everyone's mind right now is the next school year. But this is a relatively painless tip that doesn't take much time and will surely save you money.
Whatever happened to my FREE public education? Honestly, between "renting" the required text book; the locker, sports fees and equipment; yearbooks.
Every where you look, all you see is Back to School sales. In some places, kids are going back, but here in CA, it is the start of summer school. Either way, savings are all around us.
My sister used to live in a town where the school bought the supplies and split the cost among the parents. They were able to save money, because they bought in bulk.
Stock up now on school supplies. The supplies won't be this cheap until a full year later. You can use school supplies as really good stocking stuffers or you can give them out in gift bags at birthday parties!
Here are several tips for saving money on school supplies.
We buy a years worth of school supplies once a year. Every year the stores such as Walmart, Target others put the school supplies on sale.
I always wait until I have an exact list of needed items from the teachers themselves before I buy. In the upper grades, some teachers can be very specific about what they prefer; down to the color of the ink pen or size of the notebook.
Recycling School Supplies Tip. I redecorate my son's discarded binders and barely used notebooks. Then, I use them for journals, collecting recipes, etc.
This can be done in a community to help families provide new articles of clothing, shoes, backpacks, etc for children to have when school begins.
We asked other families if they had some good school things from the year before, then gave them 1/4 their cost. This saves and helped the other family too.
If your school age child has a summer time birthday, let your relatives purchase their needed school supplies such as lunch boxes, backpacks, notebooks as their gifts.
Saving For School Expenses. Purchasing school supplies takes a huge bite out of our budget (and it's a free public education!) Each payday, I place $25 in an envelope to be used for school related expenses. . .
When each of my grandchildren were born, I started a tub where I purchase school supplies for them every year. I wait until school starts and Walmart and the other stores discount everything and I stock up.
When school is out, it is a great time to stock up on folders, spiral bound paper or ring binders, if you don't mind dumpster diving. The last day of school a lot of kids don't want the burden of things to take home and all kinds of resusables go into the trash.
Instead of going out to buy new coloring utensils for the school year, grab that big box of crayons from under the bed. You can find a crayon sharpener just laying about and sharpen some of the main colors needed.
Shop now for your Back to School items. They're greatly reduced at various stores. Stock up for the whole year. Also, keep in mind buying packages of pencils, erasers, etc., these items could be put in birthday goodie bags, Easter baskets, or used as Halloween treats, in place of sweet treats.
If possible, wait to buy most things after school starts when school supplies go on sale.
We asked our readers how they save money on their school clothes and supply shopping. Here are the answers.
Another way to save on school/home office supplies is to look for online freebie. I have gotten sample highlighters, photo and print paper, pens, and post-it notes!
Just before school starts, the stores put school supplies on sale at very cheap prices. The kids will usually need most of those sale items at some point.
School supplies for my children this year were free! What I did was sign up for Office Depot's rebate program which gives you money back in the form of a Office Depot Gift card when you make purchases at their stores.
Starting throughout the month of August, some states are participating in tax-free purchases toward clothing, footwear, electronics, school supplies, etc. Perfect to start or do some last minute on Back to School shopping.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
During the year you will need more glue, markers, paper, notebooks, etc. and they will never be cheaper than they are right now!
I need tips on saving on school supplies required by the school.
School supplies can be a big expense at this time of year. Hear are some tips from the ThriftyFun community. What are your ideas for saving money on school supplies?
