"It's the
most wonderful time of the year..." Yes it is! The
kids are going back to school!
Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but after 2 1/2
months of bug jars, mud pies, and family "togetherness",
I'm ready to ship them out! Now comes the tricky part-
getting them ready to go back to school without paying a
king's ransom. Here are some ways to get the most for
your money:
Backpacks
Wait for the clearance sales! The best time to buy
backpacks and lunch boxes is in September, after school
has
started. Most stores want to clear out their
back-to-school
inventory to make way for Christmas items. I have found
fantastic prices at Walmart in mid-September. Last year,
I
bought backpacks with a lifetime guarantee for $10 each.
I
had seen them a few weeks earlier for $30 each. If my
kid
wears out or rips the backpack, the company will repair
or
replace it for free. Several companies have backpacks
with
lifetime guarantees. The ones I bought are made by
Outdoor
Products. I wrote them to see if I needed to send
anything in
to register for the guarantee. They said no, just send
it in
and they'll take care of it free of charge.
Get it Free! Look around for special offers and
giveaways.
Our local minor league baseball team gave away free
backpacks for anyone who attended one of their games.
The
boys loved their free backpacks with the local baseball
team's logo on it, after Grandpa had taken them to the
game
(and stuffed the boys full of junk food). Many food and
toy
companies also have special offers, keep and eye out to
see
if these offers are worth your while.
Make it: You can also make backpacks and book bags. Most
sewing companies make patterns for them. Frugal Moms
will
be featuring a Recycled Jean Backpack and other school
gear in future installments of our "It's in the Jeans"
series.
Lunch Boxes
Get them cheap: Garage Sales are the cheapest place to
find lunchboxes and thermoses. If you child loses them,
it's
not such a big deal, since you paid so little for them.
Yard
sales are the absolute best place to find lined
thermoses. My
family has a talent for dropping these and shattering
the
glass liners. I either buy them from yard sales or find
the
non-glass ones on clearance. Keep at eye out year-round
at
thrift stores as well. I have found plastic, insulated
lunch
sacks for 50 cents each at Good Will from time to time.
Spruce up an old lunchbox : in the Tightwad Gazette, Amy
Dacyczyn suggests replacing old, worn out lunch box
stickers by making new ones. You can find her ideas on
page
#14 of the Compete Tightwad Gazette
Buy it on clearance: You don't have to wait long! You
can find great bargains after school starts. I found
lunchboxes on clearance at Walmart in mid-September last
year for far less than they were selling for just a few
weeks
previously. I bought insulated lunchboxes, the soft kind
that
has a zipper on it, for $2 each. I had seen these for
around
$10 in August. Inside, there were coupons and free
product
samples that I put into my kids' lunches. What a deal! I
bought a few extra at that price to replace any that
might
get lost. They still look great this year- comparable to
the
backpacks!
Cheaper School Supplies
With all of the great Back to School sales going on,
August
and September are definitely the best times to stock up
on
school and office supplies. We like to stock up for the
entire year. For a while, our home looks like an office
supply
store! Over the years, I've consistently found the best
prices at Walmart and at dollar stores. Last year, I
stocked
up on notebooks for 5-10 cents each, white glue for 33
cents
a bottle, and looseleaf paper for 25 cents a pack.
Sometimes
you can even find them cheaper than that, just keep
scanning
those Sunday ads in the paper.
This year I noticed the prices seemed slightly higher,
but we
still did very well on our budget- we spent about $15
per
child. Backpacks and lunchboxes from last year still
look
new, and the kid's clothing has been purchased
throughout
the summer on clearance and at yard sales. Having an
overall
frugal strategy will more than offset the slightly
higher
prices on notebooks, looseleaf paper and other products
that may rise in price.
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Here
are some more ideas:
-Take advantage of coupons, sales, and rebates. Just
like
with grocery purchases, sometimes you can hit a sale
just
right and wind up getting more money back than what
you
paid for an item.
-Off brands- Some of them are just as good as the
name
brands. I tend to choose RoseArt over Crayola.
RoseArt is
much cheaper but the quality is very good. If you
have any
little ones who might eat crayons, stick to Crayola,
since
they are guaranteed non-toxic. Some off-brands are
not.
-Buy quality when it counts. The kids' metal Fiskars
scissors really last well, and are much better than
the cheap
plastic scissors. The plastic ones break easily, and
are
frustrating for kids and adults to use. Another
great
product to try is the Colorific brand of markers.
They can
stay uncapped for three days without drying out. My
kids
have actually made their sets last for over a year.
This will
be the first time my kids have returned to school
with the
same markers they used last year! If you have
forgetful
kids, these are a bargain!
-Check out the dollar stores-they have great deals
on just
about anything non-perishable items, especially
paper
products, crayons, and other school supplies.
-Get creative with school supply holders/pencil
boxes- use
tupperware, decorated shoeboxes and ziploc bags in
lieu of
pencil cases and those zippered bags that hold pens
and
pencils. If you do buy them, make sure they will
last more
than a few months- spend the extra and buy the
heavy-duty
ones!
-Make them- This works for homeschoolers, but does
not
work too well in the classroom, where everyone is
expected
to have store bought items. See our article on
Homemade Art
Supplies.
Book and Registration Fees
The costs of getting your kids back to school are
never-ending, and one thing most people can count on
is
shelling out more money for schoolbooks and
registration
fees. You would think that the taxes we spend on
practically
everything we do and own would cover these costs,
but they
don't. Public education is still a bargain, but it's
no longer
truly free. We expect to pay well over $100 in fees
for two
out of our three children to go back to school this
fall. I'd
hate to see what larger families have to pay!
Check out local programs in your area. You can get
grants
to cover book and registration fees if you meet your
school
district's guidelines. Contact your school district
and ask
about grants for book fees, registration fees, and
the
reduced lunch program. A neighbor of mine was
surprised to
find out that she qualified for all three of these
things,
although she makes decent money. If you have a
disabled
child, you may also be eligible for special services
and
grants that you may not be aware of. Make the call!
You'll
be glad you did.
About the Author:
Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart, is the mother of three active boys and the
founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut
her income by 60% to stay at home with her children and discovered that anyone
can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as
The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids
and finding ways to create something from nothing!
Stay at Home Moms - Money saving ideas and tips for frugal stay at home moms
