Back to School for Less – Try These Five Tips to Save on School Supplies and More.

Try These Five Tips to Save on School Supplies and More.

It’s not too late to take advantage of back-to-school savings. Merchants are offering deals and freebies on everything from clothes to pencils to cell phones.

Shop at Home First – Start with a list of what your child needs that first week of school. Then look around the house. Assess and collect binders, paper, pencils and crayons, scratch things off your list, then start shopping.
Stock Up on Clothes… But Not Too Much – Make a list of clothes your child needs now. (For a handy sample list of just how many shirts, pairs of pants and socks your kid actually needs for the school year, visit Scholastic’s website).

Hold off to buy the rest of your child’s wardrobe until later in the year (particularly after the holidays) when cold-weather clothes go on sale. In the meantime, take advantage of sales on summer clothes – you’ll get a deal and your child will have few new items to wear for the first few weeks of school.
Wait on Computers and Bikes – According to Consumer’s Union, October and November are the best months to buy small electronics, digital cameras, computers and, yes, bikes. If your child needs an upgrade but can wait a month or two, hold off for another month or two.
Look for Coupons, Freebies and Rebates – Web merchants are working hard to be competitive with brick and mortar stores, so do an online search for the product brand name with “coupon code” before you check out. Also, look for freebies that retailers are offering to get you into their stores. Recent deals include an iPod Touch with the purchase of a Mac computer and, from Toys “R” Us, a lunch kit when you buy a backpack. Search online for current back-to-school promotions before you head into stores.
It’s Okay if You Missed the Big Sales – If you didn’t stock up during the summer back-to-school sales, don’t worry. Wait a week or two into the school year to buy that new backpack your student has been begging for. Stores will want to clear out inventory once school starts.