Saving Money on Back to School Items

With kids headed back to school, college students leaving the nest for the first time, and backpacks and lunchboxes needing to be packed, back-to-school can be one of the more expensive seasons of the year.  Fortunately, it’s also a time of sales and discounts on a number of items, and a time to exert creativity.  These are some of the great money saving ideas that I’ve seen during back-to-school times:

–Take advantage of sales (when they happen):  typically many stores, including drugstores, grocery stores, and office supply stores, will have school supplies like paper, notebooks, glue, and crayons on sale right before schools re-open.  This is a great time to stock up on things that will be used continuously. To make them maximally useful, be sure not to get seasonal items (like special backpacks or notebooks with what is currently the child’s favorite television character) if it might not be used again.  However, other items, like clothing, are more typically marked up during this season.

–Personalize ordinary items for the college kid (or others) — A number of items for college dorm rooms are ordinary household items, but at a significant price premium.  Things like desk organizers, shampoo caddies, even comforters and pillows can be made fancier by personalizing with an artistic pen or decals.

–Don’t be afraid of used items – especially textbooks.  The price of textbooks continues to rise each year to alarming levels.  In many cases, used textbooks are available for purchase or exchange.  In addition to bookstores, look for other resellers including on-line avenues and bulletin board exchanges.

–Look for high quality, sturdy items — now that environmental awareness is growing, more people are seeking high quality, sturdy items that can be reused for a long time.  Backpacks, lunchboxes, and small furnishings all fit in this category.

–Take advantage of rebates – especially on larger cost items like a computer or printer or for year long subscription items like contact lenses.  Be sure to file for the rebate immediately.

–For lunchboxes – try some creative ideas for a healthy lunch to pack in a lunchbox.  Not only can homemade lunches be made relatively inexpensively with good planning, you can control the ingredients and improve on the nutrition.

shared at Works for Me Wednesday and  Frugal Friday