Back to School Shopping - Ways to Save Money7410097
The time is right here again for that dreaded back to school shopping. Many of you might dread it even much more this year simply because of job lay-offs and other financial woes due to the country's' financial decline. Money has therefore decreased in many households, but the price of school supplies stay the same, or has even increased. The Huntington annual survey of the price of items on school suggested lists found that the average price to send a child to school this fall is approximately $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and a an huge $1,000 for high school. This, for some, might at first seem insurmountable but shopping for school supplies does not have to break the bank. If you need to shop for school on a budget, put a little thought and effort into it and attempt these steps for reducing the price of school supplies.
STEPS:
1. Start early - get your school supply list early. Make certain that it is the official school suggested list so that you will know everything that is required. Begin accessing what will be required and shopping early. For clothes, don't try to buy all at once. Have one good new set of clothing for the first school week, but spread the rest out over a couple of months.
2. Make a list - List everything that will be needed for every child, including school recommended supplies and clothing. Add the anticipated costs to the list. Find out what your child needs versus what they want. Get what is required and if money permits, get what is wanted.
3. Make a budget - and stick to it. Don't be persuaded to add to the spending budget by crying pleas.
4. Look around the house - before going shopping look around the house for any items that may be on the list. Look for items from the prior year and from your workplace. All school supplies don't have to be brand new.
5. Use Coupons - collect coupon for in store as well as on-line shopping. By mid-August, many retailers provide large discounts, especially on shoes, clothes and electronics. Do not hesitate to ask for a discount. Use a valid K-12 or college ID at tech stores and you are most likely to get a large discount. You can save hundreds on back to school shopping this way.
6. Shop around and take advantage of sales - Verify your local newspaper for sales and take benefit of them. You don't have to get everything from one store. Cost Grabber enables you to compare costs from store to shop.
7. Use Tax-Totally free shopping - Thirteen states have "tax-free" shopping days. Find out if your state is one of these.
eight. Personalize products - Skip the book-bags and lunch boxes with the popular cartoon characters on them. Generic versions of backpacks, book-bags and lunch boxes are much cheaper. Make the generic items fascinating by utilizing stickers to personalize them.
If you are looking for items that will last a long time, buy from a trustworthy company. That way, if a zipper breaks, the item will be replaced at no price to you.
