Money-Saving Tips for Back-to-School Supplies

Here are more tips for saving money on school supplies this year.

1) Stock up - If you find a great sale (either before school starts or as the year goes on), stock up. Sometimes you can get a great deal in the clearance section in late Sept. Keep your eyes open. You know you'll need these items throughout the school year and in years to come too.

2) Buy in bulk - Why not shop with a friend or two? If their children need the same items, you may be able to save a lot of money by buying items in bulk, then dividing them up. Plus, it can make the shopping trip way more fun.

3) Don't buy big ticket items until you know what is needed/allowed - Contact your child's school for a list of needed supplies before classes begin, and find out whether or not rolling backpacks are allowed. I know several classrooms where there is no room for backpacks that cannot be hung up on pegs on the wall. It would be a shame to waste money on something that expensive that cannot be used.

Recycle, Re-use, Reduce

Yesterday I blogged about school supplies and how many things have changed since I was a kid. Parents today are asked to come up with all the supplies needed to get the school year started, and it can really add up fast. Here are some tips to help keep costs down.

1) Recycle - Check to see what you already have at home. If you're like us, you have assorted crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc. lying around the house. Put these together in a pencil box and that will save you a few bucks.

2) Re-use - Kids think that last year's backpack has to go, but a quick trip through the washing machine may give it new life.

3) Reduce - Does your child have a notebook from last year that has three pages of written material in it and 77 blank pages left? Did you find this notebook in the recycle bin - or worse - the trash? Now is a good time to discuss waste and keeping it to a minimum by getting the most use possible out of every item.

More tips tomorrow. In the meantime, check out Lisa Kirby's blog for more insight on kids and their need for new stuff at www.familyfunandfood.blogspot.com/.

The Back to School Craze

Remember when going back to school meant buying a few notebooks, a new box of crayons, and new shoes? If you wore a uniform to school, you probably got one of those too; if not, you got one or two new outfits. That was it.

Well, times have changed. The supply list now contains items that used to be provided by the schools - like scissors, glue and tissues. Every child needs a new backpack, notebooks, paper, pens (red, blue and black), glusticks, ruler, tape, scissors, markers, folders and a calculator. If you have two children and you shop the sales, you can still end up paying out more than $100.00 in supplies alone. And that doesn't even count the new clothes your child "has to have" or the fees that are required for art projects, lab costs, etc.

Don't even get me started on the supplies, including furniture and appliances, your child needs for college. Does it ever end?

This week on the blog, read my ideas for keeping the costs down and bringing a bit of sanity back to the back-to-school craze.