Back to School Supplies for Less has been published on Minimalist Finance
Summer is winding to a sad end, and what that means for most families with children across North America is that you’ll more than likely be standing in line behind dozens of other families at your local office supplies store like Grand and Toy, waiting to purchase your child’s school supplies for the year.
After getting through the line, you’ll more than likely balk at the price of the supplies; pens, pencils, notebooks, binders and all of the extras cost a pretty penny these days.
You don’t have to become a slave to the office supplies chains of the world, though. There are ways to save money on school supplies.
Check Out What Your Child Has Left Over
Most kids don’t use their entire lot of school supplies over the course of the year. They will often have some left over, such as pens, pencils, or looseleaf paper in their binder, which they can use for the upcoming year.
They probably don’t also need a brand new binder each and every year. Dividers can be swapped out, and they can generally re-use the binders they had last year, making them last for longer and be more environmentally friendly.
Buy for Half the Year Only
Because you don’t know ahead of time how much your child will need, why not only buy for half the year right away and then go back if you need to after winter break? The supplies aren’t going anywhere and, if anything, the prices are higher right now because kids are going back to school.
Check Out the Dollar Store
Pencils are pencils. Your kid doesn’t need an $8 pack; they will do just fine with a $1 package of pencils from the dollar store. There is a lot that you can find at a dollar store that you would be spending a lot of money on at a regular office supply store.
School supplies don’t have to be complicated and expensive!