Is your wallet ready to go back to school?
July 17th, 2007 | by rachel |
The National Retail Federation estimates that American consumers will spend more than $18 billion for “back to school” shopping in 2007. More than likely, money from your wallet will be part of that number by the time September rolls around. Back to school expenses are the kinds of expenses that can break your budget if you are not paying attention. With a little creativity and planning, however, you don’t have to go broke just to get your kids settled into a new year at school.
Check out these tips for shopping SMART for back to school…
- ORDER SUPPLIES FROM THE SCHOOL - Many school now offer an option for ordering supplies from them. They make a little bit of money from the sales AND the supplies come pre-packaged by grade level. They are waiting for the students when they arrive at school and you can be sure they have exactly what the teacher wants them to have! In many cases, these supply kits are also pre-paid so that you pay for them as the school year is ending and not as you are having to buy other things.
- SHOP DURING “TAX FREE” HOLIDAYS - A number of states now offer some sort of tax free shopping during the weeks leading up to the beginning of school. Watch your newspapers and televisions for information about tax free shopping in your area. Every little bit helps and, obviously, the bigger your purchase, the larger the savings.
- WATCH THE WEATHER - If you live somewhere that allows your children to wear summer clothes during the first 6-8 weeks of school, put off purchasing cold weather items until the weather actually starts to change. You’ll be able to move those expenses to a later month and you won’t spend as much time guessing about what sizes you need to buy.
- RECYCLE YOUR BACKPACK - Run your backpack from last year through the washing machine and it will be ready to go! Unless the zippers are broken, there is no reason not to reuse it. That goes for lunch boxes too!
- BUY & SELL AT CONSIGNMENT SHOPS - Becoming a consignor gives you a good way to recycle clothes that are not worn out AND it provides you with a little cash to offset your costs for clothes in larger sizes. Depending on the store, you will receive cash and/or store credit for items that you sell. Not to mention, you can relax when your son comes home with the knees torn out of his “new” jeans!
- COMBINE SUPPLY LISTS AND PURCHASE IN BULK - Make a master list of all the supplies that all your children will need. Watch for specials and back to school sales at office supply stores, discount stores, drug stores and even grocery stores. When you find items on sale, buy enough to distribute enough to each child. If you are really organized, you could combine lists for the whole neighborhood and save even more.
- STOCK UP - When you find a sale on supplies that you know you will need to replenish through the year, go ahead and buy extra. It will save you time and money once school has started.
- KEEP A LIST OF WHAT YOU SPEND - Make sure that you record ALL your back to school expenses. Once you know what you have spent for this year, you can plan better for next year. Just divide the total amount by 12 and designate that amount in your monthly budget. When it’s time to shop next year, the money will already be there.