Saving money on back to school supplies

When it is time for a new year of school, there also is the added expense of new school supplies, book bags, lunch kits, notebooks, binders and just about everything else you could imagine. Here is how to save money on school supplies this year so you can put that extra money to better use.

Get the school supply list
Make sure you get the school supply list for your child’s class. There is no point in guessing what he or she needs and then finding out you purchased the wrong supplies.

Re-use
What do you have that you can reuse from last year? Often things like scissors, binders, rulers and backpacks can be reused from the previous year. It might require you looking in odd places to discover where they ended up after the previous school year ended, so if you can remember it, be sure to collect all the re-usable supplies on the last day of school, and save them in a safe place!

Dollar stores
Dollar stores often have great deals on notebooks, pencils, pens and other common school supplies. Be sure to shop early, things could be very picked over by the time school is about to start.

Shop around
Since so many stores have back to school supply flyers, watch the sales and see where is the best place to shop based on what you need. Do take into account the cost it would take you to shop at several different stores, especially if you have no other need to shop there. Does it make sense to drive ten minutes for saving 19 cents on a pack of pencil crayons?

Shop late
If you can get away with waiting until a few weeks of school has gone by, many stores will be clearing out their school supplies and huge discounts. You can buy what is absolutely neccessary before school starts, then fill in the remainder of the school supply list after.

Swap
Many kids don’t want to be “seen” with the same backpack and lunch kit they used the previous year. So ask other parents if they might be interested in doing a trade with your kids. Maybe your daughter’s Hannah Montana backpack might be perfect for another girl who has grown tired of her High School Musical one.