Save Money on School Supplies

Summer break gives you a chance to connect with your children in ways that aren’t possible during the school year. You can take extended vacations that will create memories for the rest of their lives. You can spend time with them without having to worry about looming homework deadlines. And you can enjoy the spontaneity of not having to stick to a rigorous schedule. Summer break can be an incredibly rewarding time for you and your kids.

Suddenly break is over. It seems like it was just yesterday that they left school on the last day of the school year. Can it really be time for them to go back to school already? Is it really time to help them get organized for school? Is it really time to go shopping for school supplies?

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many parents find themselves scrambling when it comes time to purchase school supplies for their children. Unfortunately, when you wait until the last minute, you invariably end up overpaying for their supplies. Don’t let yourself get caught in this trap. Plan ahead and use the following ways to save money as you send your children on their way back to school.

Buy In Bulk with Other Parents

You can typically get much better deals on supplies when you buy in bulk. Round up other parents with kids in the same classes and organize a plan to buy in bulk.Since the kids are in the same classes, it should be a relatively simple process to figure out what can be bought in bulk and how to split the cost amongst the various parents. Bulk buying of this nature needs to be planned well in advance of the school year in order to make sure that whoever is in charge of the buying has time to collect money from each of the participating parents. If you want to get a jump start and haven't yet collected the funds, check with a service like payday loans online for a little extra cash.

Buy Early or Buy Late

There are two times when you are likely to find the best deals on back to school supplies.Stores are competing for every dollar they can get while optimizing their profits during the back to school season. This means they will often offer substantial discounts on certain items in order to get you into their doors. Once you’re in the door, they know that you will be buying more, which allows them to make up any losses they had to take on the discounted items. Those items are known as “loss leaders”. If there are several stores nearby that offer various discounted items as loss leaders, you should consider planning your school supply shopping to take advantage of as many of those types of discounts as possible.

Once the back to school shopping rush is over, stores will begin discounting many of the school supplies in order to make room for new inventory. This can be another excellent time to pick up heavily discounted items. Once again, if there are several stores nearby, check all of them for such discounts.

Check with Other Families

Check with other families to see if they have any leftover supplies they are willing to sell to you. This can be especially cost-effective if your child needs more expensive school supplies, such as backpacks, raincoats, and calculators. If you are so inclined, you could even organize a school wide event where parents can buy, sell, and swap school supplies with other families.

Send Them Off!

Now it’s time to send the kids off to school. You’ve helped them get a good start by helping them get all of the supplies they’ve needed, and you’ve managed to save a good amount of money in the process. It’s time for you to sit back and congratulate yourself for a job well done.