Cheap Back to School Supplies

School is almost here! What about the necessary back to school supplies? Start early gathering the children's supplies for the upcoming school year. Watch the sale advertisements that come in the mail, as well as your local newspapers for special values. When buying school supply items, it is a good idea to purchase enough to last the entire year. Replacement items later will cost a lot more money in November or January and stores count on that.

Stores for back to school supplies:

Office supply stores run good sale prices on select items, if you shop there anyway or they are close. Staples for example sells 12 pencils at 1 cent each or erasers for 1 cent each. Continue to watch for these school supply sale items closely in the papers or on-line from mid July to the start of school. The local Dollar Stores have good sales on varied school supply items from mid July until school starts. Local grocery stores will have sales on specific school supply items from week to week and that could save an extra trip to another store, plus the gas. Of course, there is Wal-Mart that has sale items from mid July until school starts. Items on sale in all stores vary from week to week so watch the changing prices closely and take advantage of the savings.

Tips from a teacher:

If pencils are required, be sure to buy Number 2 pencils. Some packages are different shades so be careful not to pick up a package that cannot be used. Some of the "cutsie" pencils are not accepted. For smaller children required to have colored pencils, be sure to purchase "pre-sharpened" pencils. This makes the teacher happy. (Imagine 30 students waiting in line to sharpen 10 pencils each!)

Local Groups that help with back to school supplies:

In any community, there are organizations and groups willing to assist families that need help getting the required back to school supplies. Organizations such as Head Start or Neighbor for Neighbor are two examples and most Churches have assistance programs for families. The Indian Tribal Community offers assistance for its members so be sure to check with them if applicable. Check with your school counselor for additional information available on these local organizations.

Conclusion:

It is more important than ever to take advantage of any and all savings, so start early to gather the necessary back to school supply requirements. Even if the school list is not available at this time, there are items that are always required and should be purchased as sales indicate the best prices. Start early and continue......prices will become cheaper the closer it gets to school; however, items may become limited or not available.

Sources:
A Public School Teacher
A Private School Teacher
A Mother of 6 school age children.