School Supply Savings!

School supplies can be expensive.  Depending on the number and ages of your children and the classes they are taking, it can break the bank.  But there are some money saving tricks that save us money.

1. Buy your supplies in the summer time before the school year starts when all of the school supplies are cheap. 
   
2. Shop the off season. I bought this purple back pack for $3.75 at Sears in November.  It's good quality and it was brand new.  It should last us at least 2 years. 
   
3. Stock up on School supplies while they are cheap.  Get enough to last the year so you don't need to go back for anything but tissues if your little once catches a cold.  Make sure you know ahead of time if there are any reports or activities that require extra supplies.  Get them NOW while they're cheap and you'll have them when you need them.  It's always better to be prepared.  I'd much rather go to the basement and find something that has been packed away neatly than run all the way to the store at the last minute and spend money.
   
4. Remember things like back packs, lunch boxes, pencil holders, rulers, scissors and folders can be re-used.  There's no reason to buy them new just because it's a new school year!  Teach you child(ren) to take good care of the things they have and see how long they can last.
   
5. Don't forget about organizing by color if you have a house full of kids.  This comes in really handy when dealing with school supplies.

6.  Buy ahead of time.  I bought these school shoes for $3.00 at Goodwill.  They are Hush Puppies and still have the tag on them!  We were thrilled.  They were too big for my son at the time but it came in handy a few Sunday mornings ago when he announced that his shoes were too small. Not only did I get great shoes at a great price, but I didn't have to rush out before church to find something he could wear.  I love the way God provides for us. 

~ Another example of buying ahead of time:  I bought 2 compass/contractor/calculator sets of pretty nice quality on clearance at a grocery store.  They had not sold and they were on clearance for around $2.00 each.

7.  Remember to stock up on things that you will need throughout the year. Things like paper, art folders, erasers, pencils and anything you know you'll need throughout the year. Just remember to check your school supplies BEFORE you go shopping so you don't end up with glue sticks galore! ----------->

 8.  Tights and other warm weather items are best if bought in the summer time.  I bought most of my girls' tights for around $1.50 each in the spring/summer time.  As opposed to the $3 or $4 price tag that usually accompanies tights in the winter time.

SO! The grand total I've spent so far this year on school supplies:  $15.00!  I should be set for the school year!  Unless something unexpected comes up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We'd love to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.  Or you can choose to have our post delivered directly to your E-mail or RSS feed.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~