It's school time again and the alarm clocks will begin to get set for early morning once again. Traffic patterns to work will become heavier and the weekly routine will be in full swing. Even though the summer days are fading, you'll begin to get notices around what school supplies your child is required to bring. This means it is time to be a smart shopper and make sure you save a few bucks when you get around to buying the student school supplies. Here are seven quick ideas to stretch your dollar during the back to school season.
- Use Social Media- In this day and age all of the big stores from Office Depot, Staples, and Best Buy will have ads up on their Facebook business page. You should check their Twitter feeds and most certainly at least Google the word 'discount' and the name of the store to see what coupons exist to trim down your back to school spend.
- Tax Free Weekends- Not all states have a tax-free weekend, but if your state does (like Georgia), get the most of it to reduce your overall spend going back to school. Depending on the state you could save $50 to $100 of cash by just avoiding the sales tax
- Run it through the business- If you have kids that meet the requirements to be able to work in your business, you might want to consider buying all and any of the supplies you need through the business. Businesses needs pens, pencils, notebooks, and everyday supplies so you might want to think about having the kids tag along with you on your next trip to Staples or Office Depot.
- One Month, Big Discounts- If you are smart and buy only what you really need, the super good deals will happen about four weeks after school starts especially when it comes to electronics. This is when most of the large technology stores begin to markdown items ranging from mobile phone cases to computers. You could save 25% or more just by waiting it out.
- Hit The Dollar Store- Your major big box department stores are brilliant in getting you into the right aisles so you unconsciously spend more money. Take a trip over the next few weeks and hit up the dollar store. While you probably won't have a complete inventory at these types of stores for back to school, you'll probably be able to pick up a few items much cheaper than you would at the major stores.
- Clean The Drawers and Cabinets At Home- Since it has been two months without you really checking backpacks and helping to put together last minute homework assignments, you need to double check every cabinet and drawer at home so you don't double buy merchandise for the upcoming school year. Perhaps you already have a pack of AA batteries, glue sticks, or even a drawer full of pens.
- Stick To The List- Schools now tell you what you have to bring to start the year. Don't let your kids stray (especially in a big department store) and start tugging at you to buy more items not on the list. This could add $20 to $50 more to your spend by picking up unnecessary items you don't need.
I won't spend this article talking about the cost of raising a child although those of you reading this that have kids can attest to the fact it feels like a never ending string of purchases you need to make. I hope these seven tips might add a few bucks back in your wallet!
Written by: Ted Jenkin
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