Back to School Shopping Tips

With summer coming to a close, most children find themselves dreading the school year's quick approach. Parents, on the other hand, are excited about the return to quiet households and the end of sibling conflict. However, when it comes to back-to-school shopping, parents can often dread it just as much as the kids. Back-to-school shopping, even with the offer of Tax-Free Weekends in some states, can be a major headache for parents, especially those on a very tight budget.

It's important to follow a budget, regardless of how much you make or how your lifestyle may be. No matter what, you need to know how much you can safely afford to spend. In order to do this, it's important to have a back to school list and stick to it. No matter how convincing your children may be at requesting expensive markers or pens or the year's hot new notebook/backpack/lunchbox, you must stand firm and purchase only the things on your list. Those added expenses could take a chunk out of your checkbook.

Though clothes are a big part of the back-to-school shopping process, everyone approaches it a different way. School supplies, however, are essentially the same for every student and should be approached as such. While in most instances, backpacks and binders could be considered optional, they're both handy organizational tools that your child may want and or need. Always budget for this. Most backpacks are machine-washable and many of the slightly more expensive backpacks will last much longer this way and still look fairly new. Not everyone considers blocked scheduling to be a good thing, but parents with children in the higher grades that have seen more than their fair share of broken binders at the hands of bulging schedule loads could consider it a blessing. Though it might cost a little more, buying one binder for each 'block' on the child's schedule could be a whole lot easier than replacing binders each time they burst apart. Even if your child is not on blocked scheduling, dividing binders between morning and afternoon classes can work as well to allow binders to survive at least a good half of the school year, if not the entire year and beyond.

Purchasing your necessary items, such as pens, pencils, notebooks and notebook paper, glue, crayons, and the like can often be done at relatively cheaper prices and in bulk by shopping at office supply stores during their back to school sales. It may seem only necessary to purchase only enough of these items to get your children started in the school year, but purchasing as much of the necessary items your children need can often last you the entire year. Consider investing in a large storage container to keep in a closet or office to store your school supply surplus and only allow your children to remove things from the 'school supply box' when they need them. Doing this can actually often leave with supplies for the next year, which can be a lifesaver in those moments when you find yourself strapped for cash.

Keeping an eye out for sales during the back to school season is a great way to keep yourself on top of what you'll spend on school supplies, but don't stop this after the back to school rush has ended. You never know what incredible sales will pop up all year. There are always going to be school supply shopping trips after the school year begins, as students get more specified lists from their teachers for items such as specific colored folders and calculators. However, getting the bulk of your basic school supply shopping out of the way before the school year starts allows you a better grip on your money and can allow you the opportunity to go a little wild when it comes to those things that your child wants instead of having to pinch pennies to get what your child needs for the approaching school year.