Shop Yard Sales for Back to School Bargains

I know, I know, school just ended for the year and the last thing on your mind-and certainly on your kid's minds--is shopping for the upcoming school year. Thoughts of long lazy days of summer break sun and relaxation can cloud the thinking of even the most zealous money-saver. Wake up from that dream! The nightmare of stores full of overpriced movie-merchandised backpacks, notebooks and doodads looms just over the sunny horizon. Luckily you will be prepared for next August's merchandising onslaught thanks to your savvy summer yard sale purchases. Some of the biggest money savers are the first to go at sales, so check your local paper online for the locations and the start times of promising looking sales.

Yard Sale Basics

Skip this paragraph if you are a veteran yard-saler. Bring cash and change to spend. You can't rely on plastic or checks at yard sales. Prices at sales are usually negotiable, so don't be shy about making an offer if you think an item is worth less than it is marked. Shift your thinking from department store mentality --I want this in this color-- to bargain shopping mentality --this will work for my needs quite nicely and I saved a bundle! Make a list of the things you need for back to school and stick to it. Don't expect to find everything you need the first time you go looking.

Biggest Money Savers

Backpacks and shoes rank highest on the money saving meter. Sports equipment --including specialty shoes-- is a close second. If you have trouble with the idea of letting your kids wear used shoes, skip them at sales. Barely used shoes are often up for grabs at yard sales where I live for five dollars or less. A quick peek at an ad for new basketball shoes may convince you to give slightly used shoes a try.

Teens and tweens love to wear famous label clothing. Although, in a perfect world, our kids would be happy with calling a shirt a shirt, in the real world a shirt without the name of a cool mall store emblazoned across the front just isn't the same. Yard sale designer clothing is affordable and just as cool. I often find mall-store label shirts for a dollar at yard sales.

Buy winter coats with caution at yard sales. The savings potential is great, but you really need to have your child there to try it on and then you still need to think about the way the coat will fit once your child is in bulky winter clothes. Buy a winter coat this early at least one size larger than your child.

Stash it Until the School Bell Rings

Once you've found a backpack (or two, they rip you know!), shoes and a back to school wardrobe, put it all away. If the kids bring next year's backpack to summer sleepovers and wear the clothes here and there, their new-to-them stuff won't feel fresh for back to school in August or September.