How to score the best school supply deals
When the weather starts to turn a bit crisp at night, you know summer is slowly winding down. Once your kids hop off the bus from camp, you’ll want to roll right into shopping for back-to-school supplies. Supplies can be rather expensive, but you don’t have to break the bank to ensure your child is ready for academic success in the next school year. There are ways to score great shopping deals on back-to-school supplies.
Shop Loss Leaders
Every year, during back-to-school shopping, stores price items so low that they are either breaking even or taking a loss on the item. These shopping deals include notebooks, pencils, binders and other favorite back-to-school items. Stores do this in hopes that you’ll be drawn in by the low-priced items, but shop for everything at once. To save the most money, avoid doing all your shopping at once, and snag the low-cost items. Sure, you may have to go back to the store multiple times or check out several different retailers, but the savings can be enormous.
Head Online for Backpacks
For larger purchases like backpacks, scientific calculators, and lunch boxes, you are better off shopping online, advise experts. eBags, 6pm.com, and Zulily are discount retailers that can offer great deals on name brand items. If you combine your shopping trip with Ebates, you can even earn cash back on these purchases. To enhance your savings further, use a cash back rewards card to shave a bit more off the price of these items.
Get Supplies at Jo-Ann’s and Michael’s
For paint, markers and other craft supplies, consider shopping at Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s. These items are often on sale at the retailers, and they also offer high-value coupons to get customers in the door. Jo-Ann’s even lets you combine coupons, as long as they are not the same type of coupon. For example, you can combine a 25% off your entire purchase coupon with a 40% off a single item coupon. Doubling up on coupons will drive the price of high-ticket items down significantly. Be wary of the retail price on some of these items, and comparison shop and make sure these shopping deals are getting you the best final price.
Shop Discount Retailers for Shoes
Discount retailers like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and Sierra Trading Post offer name brand shoes and clothes at discounted rates. If you hate the idea of investing $50 or more on shoes for a kid who will surely outgrow them shortly, these retailers are a treasure trove of opportunity. It just takes a bit of digging, and you may need to return to the store multiple times to find something that will work for your child, but the savings can add up. You can purchase shoes for as much as 70% off of its retail price.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute
It may be hard to guess what your child’s teacher will want in the way of supplies, but waiting until the last minute to shop can lead to overspending. Instead of waiting for the supply list to come home with your little one, consider shopping in advance and making educated guesses based on what your child needed last year. You can even ask a friend with older kids what was on their list for the year you are shopping. It is an easy way to make an educated guess. Even if you need to head back to the store later to fill-in, you will still have scored deals on many required items.
Now that you know how to find the best deals on back-to-school items, it is time to get shopping. Don’t forget to tally up your savings and set some cash aside in your savings account. By setting aside the amount of money you saved, you can make that money work extra hard for you.
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