The first school bell rings in just days for hundreds of students. That is why we are helping you get classroom ready. We are always looking for ways to save time and money stocking up on all the school supplies your child needs. No matter which type of shopper you are we think you’ll find value to this list of ways to save on back-to-school shopping.
School supply box vs buying school supplies individually
No doubt, one of the absolute easiest ways to get your kids’ elementary school supplies is by ordering them through a private vendor your school has chosen. The neat little pre-packed boxes are delivered right to your child’s classroom, and you never have to think about it. But how much more are you paying for this convenience?
Amy Davis shopped her son’s second grade school supply list on Walmart.com. By purchasing the items from the store, she saved $14.14. Amy wanted to share a few other ways she saved money on school supply shopping this year.
1. Before you buy all those items shop your own house
You may not think about looking around your own school supply stash to see what you might already have. Amy found scissors, headphones, unused crayons, glue sticks and composition notebooks. It added up to saving another $18.
(Most of the vendors give a portion of the sales back to your school or PTA. Last year Amy’s child’s school received just over a $1,000 from the box sale.)
2. Skip the store, shop online
If it’s time you want to save shop online. Just cut and paste each item on the school supply list into a browser on Walmart, Target or Amazon. Drop them in your virtual cart and have the items delivered to you for free. Many of these websites also have the school supply lists for certain schools in our area!
3. Use a sale compare app
Just like we’ve shown you for shopping for big ticket items, use those money saving apps to help save on school supplies. If you do that make sure you first download a cash back browser like Rakuten onto your computer or phone so you can get money back on everything you buy.
And especially remember this for school clothes and more expensive items like laptops. The cash back really adds up.
4. Cash in on the receipts
After you shop snap those receipts in Fetch. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a free app that logs your receipts and lets you accumulate points for your purchases. You can then use those points to get gift cards to your favorite retailers. Amy has received more than a $1,000 in gift cards over the last five years.
5. Look for coupons
Even if don’t consider yourself a big couponer this is the time to look for some on items that cost more. For example, each of Amy’s children need 2-4 boxes of Kleenex. 10 tissue boxes really add up!
Save big ticket items for Tax-free weekend!
Texas tax-free weekend is late this year, after the first day for many schools. It’s August 11 - 13.
Pro-tip: stack coupons! Remember, you don’t have to shop in person to get the tax break. You can also buy things like backpacks and shoes tax-free when you shop online. If you have your eye on shoes or something else, you need put the item in your cart and leave it. A lot of times the retailer will send you an email with a discount code to prod you to complete the purchase. Save that code and use it when you check out on the tax-free holiday.
Send us your back-to-school questions! Text “CLASSROOM” to 1-866-996-5772 and we will work to find answers.