 American families spend billions of dollars each year shopping for school supplies. From proper clothing and shoes to pens, pencils, and paper, there are a lot of items that your children need to be prepared for their next year of school. And after a summer of entertaining children at home, you may have some difficulty finding extra cash for back to school shopping. If you’re finding yourself with a tight budget after summer vacation, here are a few parenting tips to help make school supply shopping a breeze:
Buy Items That Will Last Your children are active and energetic and maybe even fidgety, so be sure not to waste your back to school budget on cheaply made items that will fall apart or end up lost somewhere between home and school. The investment in quality products will ensure that you only have to buy one backpack each year instead of having to replace a more cheaply made item. All of those replacements supplies add up over time. Buy in Bulk Where You Can Your kids are always going to need certain items for the classroom like lined paper, folders, pens and pencils, and tissues. So, instead of buying a pack of 10 pencils why not shop in bulk and stock up for the next semester or even the next year. You may be surprised to know that stores like Sam’s Club and Costco have great deals on bulk products that will get your kids through the school year prepared. And, if you don’t feel like storing hundreds of pencils from year to year, go in on bulk school supplies with another family in your school. You each get only the items that you need and can split the cost! Don’t Buy Everything Name Brand Your children haven’t been phased by our previous parenting tips, but they might have an opinion about this one. However, we believe it’s important to say that having all the coolest name brand school supplies and new clothing is not actually a necessity. In fact, our uniform policy eliminates the need for the trendiest new clothing. If your son is absolutely obsessed with basketball and your daughter can’t get enough of unicorns, go all out and splurge on one item, but don’t fall into the trap of purchasing a whole suite of high-end school supplies. School supply shopping doesn’t have to break the bank every year. If you’re worried about overdoing it this year, consider trying out some of these back-to-school shopping parenting tips. For more information about preparing your kids for the next school year give us a call, or stop in for a visit. |