Buying Back-to-School Supplies: When to Splurge and Ways to Save

Starting a new year of school is always nerve-wracking, but knowing that you have everything you need in terms of your school supplies takes a lot of the pressure off. You don't have to go out and buy every single office supply that you think you might need during the school year, and you don't have to buy super fancy pens and pencils either. Stick with the basics, and keep it simple, and you'll be well on your way to a successful school year.

Before you start, make sure that you, or your high school student, buy the best quality backpack that you can afford. Your child might be worried about having a particular brand name, but I'd recommend getting something sturdy and from a quality supplier, like Alpine, Jansport, or L.L. Bean. Spend a little extra on a backpack because a good quality one can last for years, while a cheaper one might barely make it through the school year. If you really can't afford to go out and buy a new backpack, it's definitely better to shop your local thrift stores for bargains before you buy a cheapie one at the local dollar store. It's worth taking a day to hit up all the thrift stores in your area first. Look for one with good seams, a quality zipper, and sturdily-attached straps.

The first supply that you will need is an agenda or planner to help keep track of assignments... but wait! A lot of school provide these free to students within the first week, so if you aren't sure if one will be provided, it's worth waiting until a few days after school has started before you buy one. You can get the super expensive ones with leather covers, but for all my years of high school, I used a cardboard one which I got for a couple bucks. If the cover got bent, it didn't really matter, and if I really needed to replace it, I could at minimal expense. I never did need to replace my planner until the end of a semester or school year, and I wrote in that sucker every day.

Some of your supplies will depend on your learning style and favorite study methods. Some people like to have a separate binder for each subject, with dividers that help keep notes, homework assignments, and study information organized, and other people prefer one big binder with dividers to separate each class's work. I never ended up using a binder for very long, since I hated the way they never fit quite right in my backpack, so my preferred method is a different colored paper folder for each class. I buy the ones with prongs in the middle and pockets. Handouts I keep in the back pocket or with punched holes in the middle; homework assignments in the front. These always seemed to work better in my backpack without being bulky, and I was able to get matching notebooks for each subject, too. Sometimes this was a pain in the butt, if I brought the wrong color notebook to class, so you might want to consider getting a large 5 - subject notebook instead, so you can keep all your notes in the same notebook.

You'll also need writing utensils. You'll probably need some number 2 pencils (and maybe a small sharpener) for tests. If you don't like to take notes in pencil, which I always hated, buy yourself a pack of BIC pens, just the regular white ones with black (or blue) caps. Don't waste your money on fancy pens, since pens get lost all the time and sometimes ones that look good write like crap. I swear by BIC pens because they seem to last forever, always write until the last drop of ink, and aren't fancy enough that anyone would want to keep 'em. Plus, they are wicked cheap at, like $2.50, for a pack of 12. You'll also want highlighters in a couple different colors, which you can use to make color-coded notes, if you are so inclined.

If you have everything above, you should be pretty well set for the school year, but here are a few extra things that you might want to have on hand, if you have a little extra cash to spend. You might want to pick up a pack of loose leaf college-ruled paper to write on for assignments that you have to hand in to the teacher, since you know teachers hate that ripped edge of paper from notebooks without perforated edges. You wouldn't do wrong picking up a mini stapler and some extra staples, since those come in handy all the time. Still, you can always borrow the teacher's, so it's not like you'll be a serious disadvantage if you don't have your own. If you can get one cheap, why not? Finally, if you are going to be using computers in the classroom, as most classes are equipped with at least one computer these days, you'll need a USB drive to save your work. Get one that's attached to a keychain and there's less of a chance that you'll lose it.