Back to school time! Share your frugal tips

[Amys1st]

Basically what the title said. School starts next week for dd1 and preschool starts up the following week for dd2.

Other than tuition, fees, and registration, what are ways you are taking a dent out of your spending?

A couple of things I have done:

dd1 can buy lunch at school. There is an acct you keep at school and I usually give it a few dollars here and there in case she forgets lunch for whatever reason or wants to buy it. She also likes buying milk a few times a week. I paid it before school got out in May because the acct carries over year to year. So one less thing to pay for.

A local shoe store has a sidewalk sale. Bought last years style of gym shoes for just a few dollars and dd1 loves them. Also bought a bit big since she always manages to grow at the last minute.

It will be hot here until late Sept so she can wear shorts etc to school for a while. Usually then a lot of fall clothing gets marked down and she loves stretch pants. I usually buy them then.

Share your ideas!

[jillyofthevalley]

We hit up the local thrift stores for the kids back to school clothes. We lucked out and found all the kids indoor shoes for a few bucks a pair (it looked as though they had been someone's indoor shoes last year because they had never been worn outdoors). The girls had tons of jeans from last year that still fit so they just needed a few tops to round out their wardrobe. Ds needed new pants and we found those (all name brand) at the thrift store as well. Unfortunately in Canada we don't get the great deals that you get in the US. You would never see brand new shoes marked down to a few dollars here.

I also reused what I could from last years school supplies (duotangs, crayons, markers, pencils, etc.). When they brought everything home at the end of last school year we put it all away so it wouldn't get destroyed over the summer.

I've been stocking up on lunch time snacks (like granola bars, apple sauces, etc.) as they've been going on sale over the summer. I'm hiding them in my sewing room closet so the kids don't eat them all before school starts. LOL

[WC_hapamama]

It's not immediately frugal, but buy the best backpacks that you can afford. Last year I gave my older boys some backpacks that I had sitting around (Wegner, Samsonite and Ogio) and they stood up well through the year, despite already being used. The backpacks are in good enough condition for the boys to use again next year.

[Lil'M]

I just finished buying school supplies for dd2. I definitely first went through what we already have. Then I went to a discount store that I knew had great deals, then to the dollar store, then finally to Staples for the few things left I couldn't otherwise find. I know I spent a lot less than last year, when I bought most of it at Staples.

[jillyofthevalley]

Originally Posted by Lil'M

I just finished buying school supplies for dd2. I definitely first went through what we already have. Then I went to a discount store that I knew had great deals, then to the dollar store, then finally to Staples for the few things left I couldn't otherwise find. I know I spent a lot less than last year, when I bought most of it at Staples.

Sadly I had to do all our supply shopping at Staples. The kids' school is very particular about brands, etc. and the dollar store stuff apparently won't do. That's why I made sure to save as much as I could from last year's supplies.

[Annapooh]

We have always been thrift store junkies! Which is nice because even the 16 y/o will prefer Goodwill to mall shopping most days. I have also found a great store that is a few steps above thrift store, but really affordable for dd 7, I found her name brand jeans for $4, and like new shoes for $4.50. As far as actual supplies go, I pour over the ads and shop where they price match. Crayons, glue, pencils, scissors, notebooks, I can usually get all I need for about $20 not including backpacks.

[sbrinton]

Our school is picky about brand name supplies too. Fortunately, we found everything at Target on sale. Markers, glue sticks, crayons and pencil boxes were all marked down to $1. I think we spent a total of $16...a lot less than last year for the same list!

We've been shopping at consignment stores and sales looking for good deals on new clothes. I've also taken advantage of some of the back-to-school sales. For example, Gap has a deal right now where if you buy one pair of jeans the second is $10 and if you buy four the fifth is free. Gap jeans usually cost more than we spend on pants, but they fit our boys so much better than every other brand we have tried. Plus, they hold up through three boys. So with this deal, the jeans were about $18 a pair...not bad if they will be worn by all three boys. The outlets near our house have also had great deals.

I bought school shoes last spring when the winter stuff was on sale. We guessed on sizes (seems like the kids feet grow all summer, so this is tricky), but I think we guessed right.

[daytripper75]

This year I bought LL Bean lunchbags because of the warranty. I am thinking that a $15 bag should last 3-4 years instead of the $7 bag that lasted us 1 year and is now trashed.

I plan to do the same for backpacks when the time comes.

We're reusing last years book bag.

Stocking up on 19 cent packs of crayons and markers so we'll have them later on as well as now.

[jillyofthevalley]

I wish the stores here had the great deals like the ones in the US. Even Walmart's prices aren't that cheap. I used to go down the the US to shop but now I need a passport to get down there and I can't afford to pay over $500 to get passports for us all just to shop. Kind of defeats the purpose of getting a good deal.