Back to School Shopping on a Budget

Parents can often find themselves knee deep in school supply lists and new clothing needs when the school year is about to start. Back to school shopping can invariably mean trips to multiple stores and wads of cash disappearing from your bank account.


This kind of shopping is well worth it to ensure your kids are prepared for the school year and have a well-stocked classroom in which to learn. However, your family’s budget staying on track is also important. Before you make any purchases, check out the budget-friendly tips below.

Don’t purchase anything until you have the teacher’s supply list.

Supply lists vary greatly from teacher to teacher. Don’t start your back to school shopping before having this list as you may purchase things your child doesn’t need. Also, you may be able to avoid purchasing some of the items if you already have them at home or your child has it from the previous year.

Hold out for your state’s tax-free weekend.

Most states allow for an annual tax-free weekend to be held right before school starts. Holding off until this weekend can save you a lot of money on school supplies since you won’t have to pay any taxes.

Use coupons and pay attention to sales.

Both local stores and big-box retailers will discount school supplies and offer coupons throughout the back-to-school season. Paying attention to these sales and coupons can help you stay within budget. Wal-Mart and Target also tend to have a lot of essential supplies available for $1 during this time.

Only buy what’s necessary.

When your children are begging for the latest gadgets and gear, it can be hard to say no. Stick to the essentials and items on the teacher’s supply list first. Then, if there’s any room left in your shopping budget, maybe you can spring for one of your child’s requests.

Be patient and wait for clearances.

Just like Christmas, Halloween, Valentines, and Easter, everything related to back-to-school shopping will go on sale afterward. Don’t feel the need to purchase everything on your list if it’s not needed immediately. If you can hold out a while longer and shop for some items in the fall months, you could save big!

Don’t overspend on clothing.

There’s a push during the back-to-school season to spend loads of money on brand new clothing for your child. Don’t fall into this trap. Stick to only buying the clothing that's needed. Also, don’t feel forced to buy name brand clothing. If certain brands are important to you and your child, however, try consignment shops. You can often find gently used, or even new, name brand clothing in these types of stores for much less than in retail stores.

Attend or organize a supply swap with your neighbors and friends.

Supply swaps are more common than you think and can be invaluable. If you find that you have extra quantities of something (paper, pencils, binders, pens, or other like items) or things you don’t need, supply swaps will allow you to trade these unwanted items with other parents who have things you may need. Sometimes schools and neighborhoods will even host these events – don’t pass them up!

It doesn’t always need to be new.

Just because it’s a new year, doesn’t mean you need to purchase everything new. If your child’s backpack or lunch box is still in good condition, they can use it into the new school year as well. Hold off on purchasing these items until you have to, or reward your child with a new one of their choice at some point during the school year.

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