Do you still have your shopping list for the clothes you need to buy? Now it is time to add the school supplies you need to buy. Then you will be ready for "the shopping trip".
I love shopping for school supplies. I love all the new pens, the markers, the crayons, the binders, the neat little gadgets that you can hang in the lockers, and I love the backpacks (especially if they have lots of pockets). In the past, my kids just had to look at me with their pleading eyes and they would have ended up with a new backpack. The stores were just waiting for a mom like me to come in. I easily spent two or three times as much as I had to.
This mom is now much more wiser and much more devious. These are some of the tricks I have used over the past few years to keep more money in my wallet and spend less of it in the stores!
- Stick to the list provided by the school. Do not be tempted to buy extra gadgets and toys.
- Shop at home first. Use last year's erasers, pencil crayons, geometry sets, binders, pens, and whatever else you can find. I tell my kids that scissors that worked two months ago will still work in September.
- Make shopping at home like a scavenger hunt. Play it with your kids. See how many items you can get crossed off the back to school supply list by finding them at home.
- Use the stash of "gift" pencils that your child has collected from birthday parties, teachers, dentists, etc. I couldn't believe it when I found a 12 year old "I am a kindergarten star" pencil in my office supply stash!
- Use last year's backpack and lunch boxes. A new backpack is not a right of passage into a new grade LOL.
- Tape the covers back onto the Dictionary and the Thesaurus. They can be used another year.
- Only buy a few notebooks and lined paper for the start of the year. They will be going on sale in a few weeks. Then buy the rest.
- Stick to the list.
See you tomorrow,
Cindy
PS: I received a great email from one of our readers (thanks Janet!!) reminding me that many back to school items are on sale right now. Watch the flyers. If you see a great price on things like pens, crayons, glue, erasers, paper, etc, then you may want to pick up a little extra (but don't go overboard) for your office supply stash. When the kids run out of paper (or blow through the backpack), you don't have to pay full prices in February.
Back to School Challenge