Back to school shopping is not something I enjoy, and I don’t
know many parents that do enjoy it.
Typically it involves overspending and a few arguments about why we “need”
to spend $2.50 on a folder with kittens on it instead of $0.19 on a purple
folder. Can you tell I have a daughter? And we aren’t even touching on the wardrobe
part of back-to-school shopping….that is a whole other experience for later.
Here are some tips to help make it a more enjoyable and less
expensive experience. I swear this is
not a paid Target ad; it’s just where I shop a lot. There are other stores mentioned too, but I’d
like to hear from you too, because there are SO many great resources out there
to help make this back-to-school shopping thing easier! What tips do you have? Do you have a favorite shopping or
organization app that you use and can’t live without? Do you have a go-to website for scoring
deals? Please post a comment and share
what you use!
1.
Get your kids’ school supply list, and go right
to the school website to make sure it’s accurate. There are some sites out there that claim to
have school supply lists for all or most schools, but comparing the lists on
some of those sites to the lists on the school site, they aren’t the same and
you will end up buying things you don’t need.
Here are some links you may find helpful:
2.
Check your supplies at home to see what you have. If you’re like me, every year during back to
school shopping there are a few supplies that you get extra of, in case you
need more ½ way through the year. I
mean, I would rather buy 4 boxes of crayons in August for $0.25 each than buy 1
in August for a quarter, and then have to buy another box in January and pay
$2.99 for it. If you don’t remember to
take stock before you go shopping each year though, you end up with a TON of
extra supplies!
3.
Next, make a list of what you still need, and be
specific so that you get the right things!
Everyone has their preference for paper vs. electronic lists, so use
what you’re comfortable with. If you
like electronic, try Evernote (I love it and use it all the time for notes on
just about everything…the wine I had and LOVED at dinner, where I parked at the
airport (that can be REALLY hard to remember a week or two later!), things I
actually need from Target (otherwise I will just stroll through the store
putting all kinds of cute things that I do NOT need in my cart), books I want
to read, the list of lists I keep in Evernote goes on and onJ Another one I’ve heard good things about is
Ziplist. Check them out and see if
either looks good to you!
4.
Budget and set limits. It may not be fun, but it is essential. Know what you want to spend, whether you come
up with that number per child, or per item that you have to buy, don’t get
sucked in to upgrading every supply and spending a fortune.
5.
Find coupons and use apps to save money. If you get the newspaper, check the ads for
coupons, check the mail for special fliers (they seem to be in my mailbox every
other day now), and go online to the website of the store you are going to and
print off coupons. While you are at
store websites, you can also typically put in your email address to receive
special offers right in your inbox.
Make some notes of what store has the best
deals for the supplies you need. Or just
grab ads from other stores and shop at Staples,
where they have a 110% price match guarantee.
If you show them the identical item for less somewhere else when you are purchasing the item, they
will match the lower advertised price PLUS give you an additional 10% off. If you show them the item for less after you
already purchased it, they will simply refund the difference to you.
I personally don’t use a ton of apps, but
one that I really like is Cartwheel for Target.
You browse through Cartwheels deals and put the things that interest you
into your cart. When you are checking
out, you have them scan your barcode from the app, and presto! It’s like magic – all those discounts come
right off!
Now you are ready to shop! (Don’t forget to take your notes and
coupons!)
6.
You are now entering the store….STICK TO YOUR
LIST! I know, it’s HARD! I have problems sticking to my list too, and
then if you have your kids along it’s even harder because they ask for
EVERYTHING, and they ask REPEATEDLY, and sometimes they just wear you down and
you give in. Be prepared. You have your list. Explain to the kiddos before you enter the
store that you are there to buy what is on the list and only what is on the
list. Or you can give them 1 bonus item,
or give them each a couple “bonus bucks” they can spend on whatever fun supply
they want for school that isn’t on the list, or maybe they want to upgrade and
get the “fancy” folders instead of the plain ones. Well, then they can use their “bonus bucks”
to get the fancy folders.
7.
Don’t be afraid to shop around. You do not have to buy all your supplies in
one trip or at one store; in fact you will probably pay more if you buy
everything at one store. If you took
notes while perusing the newspaper or looking online for coupons, then you
already know what to buy where. Pick up
the great deals at one store, then head to the next store to pick up the things
they have the best prices on.
If you didn’t check ads or check prices online, have no fear! There are apps for that too. Check out NowDiscount, Store It, Buy Via, Redlaser, or Shop Savvy.
Pat Josephson, HCCU’s President, will take a pie in the face if Tools 4 Schools raises $500 or more in cash donations! Interested in helping see that happen??? Drop your supplies or cash donations at either branch or contact us.
We also saw (right after launching our Tools 4 Schools campaign) that Shopko is partnering with the Salvation Army for their annual Tools for Schools campaign (I guess the name is catchy!), which collects school supplies which are then distributed by the Salvation Army. Collection boxes for supplies are in Shopko stores until August 8th.
P.P.S. Did you know that some stores give a portion of sales back to area schools? Office Depot and Target (if you have their RedCard) both do this, and there may be others too. You may need to choose your school online before you shop, so check out the links above.
P.P.P.S. Have you heard of Yoobi? This amazing company makes school supplies (which are adorable), PLUS for every Yoobi item that you purchase, one Yoobi item will be donated to a classroom in need right here in the U.S.! Their best sellers are available online and are also sold exclusively at Target.
Post by: Cari J
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