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It’s getting to be back to school time now. Kids sometimes dread going back to school and parents dread spending the money. Between book fees, sports fees, clothes to buy and supplies the average American family spends between $580-$680 going back to school. There are a lot of ways to save money this time of year. You can’t change the price of the book fees or sports fees, but you can make sure you are getting the best deals on supplies and clothes. Here are a few ideas for saving.
1. Start Shopping Early. School may be over three weeks off for us, but I started shopping over a week ago. I have been taking advantage of the store deals and picking up items when they are free or cheap. You can see a list of some great deals this week here. Menards has items for free after rebate and a lot of stores have items for under $1.
2. Leave your kids at home. You can get notebooks for under $.25 but the cute Hello Kitty notebooks will be $2-$3 dollars. Little cost differences like this can really add up. It’s much easier to resist if you don’t have the kids begging you for them. I usually buy 1 “fun” thing and the rest are the great deals I pick up without my son.
3. Do inventory on their closet before you start shopping. I always go through our school supply drawer and my son’s closet. I have him try on everything to make sure it still fits. I am always surprised about how much clothes he has. Usually we only need to pick up a few items.
4. Sell outgrown items. I try to take the clothes that don’t fit my son anymore to a consignment shop. I usually can make some money there with his old clothes. Plus I can look for any good deals for new clothes too.
5. Make a list. Keep what your buying to what they need, not what they want. It’s fun to go shopping to get new things, but sometimes we all get carried away. By having a list I can keep it to what we need.
6. Consider used. If your school requires uniforms see if anyone has any their kids have outgrown. You could have a swap with multiple families to save money on uniforms. Consignment stores are great for finding gently used clothing. If you don’t have a consignment store nearby you can look online. Thredup is offering up a $10 Credit to new members and free shipping. They have great deals on gently used kids clothes.
7. Make sure your clothes are school approved. With a boy I pretty much luck out on this, but there are so many rules on clothing anymore. Make sure your not buying short shorts or tank tops if it is against school policy. Save your money and buy what they can wear.
These are just a few of the ways that we save money. Looking for other frugal tips? Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest. What tips do you have to save money?
Thanks for stopping by, for more great DIY tips and tricks check out my new site FrugallyBlonde.com.