Now that I’ve paid attention this year and see what school supplies cost, I’ll know to budget $25 per child next year. Plus more for shoes. We can split it up over the year and put $10 a month into an envelope tucked away in the safe. Or we can choose to fund the whole thing in July. I’ll let Darren decide, but usually we do the little bit a month method.
I’ve found Wal-mart to have the best prices overall for school supplies. Target’s stuff is cuter, but a tiny bit more. If you have a few dollars extra in your budget, it’s nice over there. And occasionally you can find a great deal at an office supply store or a corner drug store, such as fill paper for 25 cents a package, limit 2. Usually though the rest of their supplies are over priced to compensate for that low price to get you in the door. You’ll pay more overall just to get that deal, unless you only grab the low price items and are willing to go to more than one store to get everything you need.
Dollar Tree has school supplies too and some of them are a great deal. Others are cheaper at Walmart–such as rulers; composition notebooks, and stretchy text book covers. Know your prices so you aren’t fooled.
Here’s the best money saving tip I have:
At the end of the year, collect all the school supplies they bring home and sort them into “trash” and “reusable” piles. I keep them in a plastic tub tucked away for next year. We “shop” there first when the school supply lists come out. I cleaned up everything with a soft cloth and spray cleanser until it looked like new. We were able to reuse scissors, rulers; pens; pencils; highlighters, backpacks; binders etc and keep our costs down for new items to $20 per child.
School supply items are cheapest this time of year. Crayons will likely double in price after labor day, as will brad folders, fill paper and spiral notebooks. I usually buy a few extra so we have them to use the rest of the year in emergencies. And for gifts–like to pair with a handmade crayon apron and a cute Dollar Tree coloring book.
