“Back to School”…these words can bring joy to tired parents, and even to children. Perhaps not just joy but Hallelujah! After all, spending 8 weeks camped together in close quarters can give even the best of us cabin fever. However, this joy may not be felt by your wallet. If you have three children or more, this could potentially be one of the most expensive times of year. There are uniform costs, school books, school fees and supplies. To help you out, minimise your spending and to ensure you stay on top of your finances, we provide the follow tips specific to back to school and school supplies.
- Tip 1: Check what supplies you already have: While it is tempting to go out and buy brand new items, do a quick check around the house and see what items you already have. Chances are you won’t need everything new on the list.
- Tip 2: Second hand department at school: See whether the school has a second hand department, where you can source decent clothes from.
- Tip 3: Write a list: When in the shopping centre it is tempting to buy everything that your children ask for (after all it is for education). If you go with a list you will ascertain what they really need (they can help write the list) before you are at the shops, and you will be less likely to make any impulse purchases.
- Tip 4: Stick to the list: It takes more than just writing a list; make sure you stick to it as well. Avoid all those other temptations.
- Tip 5: Assign a budget: As well as having a list, assign a budget to your purchases and stick to it. We are not saying get the cheapest items possible (often these aren’t a good investment), we are saying that you should choose wisely and not spend over your limit.
- Tip 6:Use vouchers and coupons: There are loads of coupons and special vouchers leading up to the start of school. Check out local newspapers and the Internet to see what discounts you can get.
- Tip 7: Shop all year round: Often the best time to buy school supplies is just after school has gone back. If you set a yearly budget for school related products, and keep your eyes open, you can definitely get some savings throughout the year.
- Tip 8: Compare prices: Compare prices either on the Internet or by going into multiple stores. Don’t buy all of your products at the first store you go into, shop around first.
- Tip 9: Consider dollar stores: These stores still have some good quality items at low low prices. Definitely worth considering for some of the school supplies. The quality might be slightly inferior but the price is a lot less.
- Tip 10: Buy used text books: Where possible buy used text books. They are cheaper, have often only been used once and still serve the same purpose. They also have the advantage of interesting comments down the margins. Your kids were going to learn those words anyway. In fact they probably already know them!
- Tip 11: Shop for used text books early: If you leave your used text book shopping to the last minute chances are a lot of the used text books will already be gone.
- Tip 12: Plan well in advance: If you leave everything to the last minute you will be bound to spend more money.
- Tip 13: Shop around for the best deals on the most expensive items: Perhaps it is a laptop, or sporting equipment. If you can get the best deal on these big ticket items you stand to save a lot of money. Paying cash will save you some dollars too.
- Tip 14: Consider coordinates: If you buy children’s clothes that go with anything you will spend less money trying to match clothes.
- Tip 15: Buy clothes out of season: Where we currently live the temperature often gets over 50 degrees (124 Fahrenheit) so needless to say winter items are not to big here in summer. However, if you can get over that fact, you can save significant amounts on clothing buy buying them out of season. Especially true for sporting uniforms.
- Tip 16: Buy things in three: If you see a sale item eg a packet of pencils, then buy three lots. This will easily see your kids through the year.
- Tip 17: Forget about designer labels: Most large department stores offer similar products to the designer labels. Shop for these first. If you are paying for the product and not the brand you stand to save significant amounts of money. Your kids can buy the designer stuff when they pay for it themselves. The kid who has all the trendy clothes at school probably has parents deep in debt and just about to go over the edge. Well, that’s the story you give your kids anyway.
- Tip 18: Buy quality: We have said this throughout many of these money saving tips. Quality will save you money in the long run. If you pay double the price of a cheap pen for a good quality pen, but it lasts you five times longer, then you are out in front. Don’t be a cheapskate! We have an exception. Where pens and pencils are 10 times cheaper in a dollar store buy them! Definitely cheaper.
- Tip 19: Buy a good quality backpack that fits your child: The key is to find one that suits your child and won’t break. If you buy a cheap one, chances are it will break, and what’s more, it won’t do your child’s back any favours when it is loaded with books. Comfort and support reign on this item.
- Tip 20: A cheap lunch box is fine: After the first week your child really won’t care what lunch box he/she has. Buy a cheaper/but ok quality one. No need to get an over the top fancy one.
- Tip 21: Lunch orders: Limit lunch orders to only once a week. Your child will be healthier for it, and you will be spending less money. It also gives you more control over what they eat (or don’t eat!).
- Tip 22: Make the Library your friend: You can literally borrow and read hundreds of books, CDs and DVDS all for free. With the internet libraries may become obsolete, so they are becoming very welcoming. Why not try offloading the kids there for the day and heading to the races with your wife. That will test their commitment to future generations!
- Tip 23: Hand me down school clothes: Check with friends and other school parents to see if there are any hand-me-down school clothes available. Stop at undies. There are boundaries.
- Tip 24: Consider second hand school clothes: Similar to the above except you buy from school. The value here all depends on how well the clothes are made and the amount of wear and tear. If they are going to fall apart within a month or two, then it won’t be worth the money you are saving on the purchase price.
- Tip 25: Label Uniforms: This will save you a lot of money on lost clothes.
- Tip 26: Label all stationary items and text books: Same as for the above tip.
- Tip 27: Buy generic items: There are some items with the school logo that you will need to buy. However, many other items (such as skirts skivvies etc) you can get away with generic brands which are cheaper.
- Tip 28: A size bigger: Like when buying baby clothes, buying a size bigger for school uniforms will help you get the most out of the purchase.
- Tip 29: School Uniform allowance: Many Governments offer a school uniform allowance once a year. At around $500 it is worth your while to see if you qualify.
- Tip 30: Sell your old school books: If your children don’t need a particular school book anymore then sell it.
- Tip 31: Start a back to school fund: This is a great way to get on top of back to school costs. Put aside $5 per child a week and you will have $260 to spend on their supplies. This should cover a fair proportion of the school costs. This fund also helps if you see specials throughout the year. If you haven’t got enough just rename the holiday fund.