Before you know it, the kids will be headed back to school! Before that happens, you’ll want to make sure they have plenty of school supplies in tow and they’re ready to go! Back to school supply shopping can be pretty intimidating, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Follow these tips to make the most of your dollar and you’ll be happy you did!
1. Prepare for the entire year.
This is a big one! When all of the school supplies go on sale before school starts, you want to buy them all then. Otherwise, you’ll end up saving money for the first couple of months, but you’ll find yourself buying more school supplies throughout the year at full price. So stock up, and make sure you’re prepared!
2. Only buy what you need.
Make sure you’re actually spending your money where you need to. Of course, pencils and pens are necessity and you’ll definitely need those. For things like highlighters and white out, make sure you’ll need those beforehand, otherwise you’ll have wasted a ton of money as those things aren’t usually cheap! You can typically get a list from teachers beforehand that will give you a good idea of what you need and don’t need. School supplies vary from grade to grade, so you’ll want to make sure you don’t get highlighters and white out for younger kids as they won’t need it!
3. Don’t buy them all at one place.
This is some of the best advice I’ve received for buying school supplies! While most places entice you with sales, you’ll find that some places are cheaper for pens and pencils, while some are cheaper for paper. Shop around for the best deal and buy the school supplies at the store with the best price for that particular supply!
4. Don’t worry about name brand school supplies.
Although there are some areas where you can’t really avoid name brands, crayons for example, there are definitely some that you can! Crayons typically aren’t decent quality unless they’re Crayola (not always the case though), but pens and pencils are something that you can normally spend less on! Additionally, any type of paper will do the trick, so buy whatever your budget allows for!
Follow these great tips to save on school supplies this year when you’re preparing to send your little (or big) one back to school! What are some things YOU do to save on school supplies?