Back to School: Saving Money on School Supplies

Budgets are tight for everyone, including families and schools. With the new school year looming, many parents and teachers will be looking for ways to stretch their school supply budget. Here are four tips to make the most of your school supply money.

Tip #1: Get over needing something new.

One of the biggest contributors to back to school expenses is the need of parents and students to have new stuff for the new year. While some new things are unavoidable, not every item needs to be spankin' new.

Getting over this mentality is more difficult than putting it into practice. After a week, none of the other students will be able to tell that your student's glue bottle was not full on the first day of school.

Tip #2: Recycle your kids' school supplies.

Once you've accepted the first tip, this tip will be simple to follow. Look through last year's school supplies carefully, and you may find many things that can start out the new year.

Scissors and other school "hardware", like protractors, rulers and supply boxes, may have some wear, but will likely work for another year. Glue bottles that are at least half full can enjoy renewed life for the first quarter of the new year. Even crayons can be fixed up like new. If, like my daughter, you replaced several boxes, the last box from the previous year may just need some sharpening to look brand new again.

Tip #3: Recycle other kids' school supplies.

As kids get older, their supply lists change. By organizing a neighborhood "used school supply swap", you and your friends can benefit from items in usable condition that may not be needed for the next grade. If your third grader has outgrown his Fiskar scissors, there will be a kindergartner ready to take them over.

Items you purchased in bulk, like those big pink erasers, can be used to bargain your way to other supplies that need replaced. Also, some teachers require different brands than other teachers, so you may be able to swap those Crayola colored pencils for the RoseArt markers this year's teacher has requested.

Tip #4: Look for opportunities to share supplies.

This tip sounds difficult, but can be creatively managed. For family members and friends who attend preschool or kindergarten at opposite times or days, sharing a supply box would require little more than a short explanation for the teacher. This way, each parent is only responsible for half the supply list.

Using these four tips as a guideline for acquiring new school supplies for the new school year will save money, and help to reduce the waste that purchasing all new school supplies creates. Besides, it's cool to reduce, recycle, reuse!