It’s that time of year again – the kids are heading back to school! As parents, we all know just how expensive it can be to get them set up for a successful year. While I hope you’ve been using a sinking fund to prepare for this, let’s talk about some ways to cut costs and avoid blowing your budget.
Take Advantage of Tax-Free Weekends or Shop in No Sales Tax States
One of the most effective ways to save money during back to school shopping is to take advantage of tax-free weekends. A growing number of states host these to encourage parents to get the school shopping done (although my home state of Pennsylvania isn’t one of them!), and a 6% sales tax saving can add up pretty fast! Since stores expect a higher turnout during these weekends, they also often schedule their sales to coincide, which means even more savings.
This year, the tax-free weekends are: Alabama: July 21-23, 2023 Arkansas: August 5-6, 2023 Connecticut: August 20-26, 2023 Florida: July 24 – August 6, 2023 Iowa: August 4-5, 2023 Maryland: August 13-19, 2023 Mississippi: July 28-29, 2023 Missouri: August 4-6, 2023 New Jersey: August 26-September 4, 2023 New Mexico: August 4-6, 2023 Ohio: August 4-6, 2023 Oklahoma: August 4-6, 2023 South Carolina: August 4-6, 2023 Tennessee: July 28-30, 2023 Texas: August 11-13, 2023 West Virginia: August 4-7, 2023 This site has more information on what is included in each tax holiday.
If you can, you may instead want to travel to one of the five sales-tax-free states in the country – Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Montana. There’s no sales tax year-round in these states, so whenever it’s convenient for you, you can get your shopping list checked off, especially if your state doesn’t have a tax-free weekend, or it doesn’t cover enough of the items on your list.
So as you prepare to buy everything your kids need, mark the day you’ll go shopping on your calendar, and if you know you’re facing a large bill, consider driving further to ensure that you hit a tax-free weekend.
Prioritize the Supply List For Back-To-School Shopping
Nearly every school gives out a supply list. Use it! It’s so easy to see a few basics on it, and toss it aside, thinking either you know what your kid needs, or thinking that they need so much more. We all want to give our kids everything, but it’s a waste of money to buy five composition notebooks that will never get used. Instead, make the items on the school list a priority, and then use it to build out from there, according to your and your child’s preferences.
If you didn’t get a list from the school, look on their website, or head to your nearest office supply store! Staples, Office Depot, even Walmart, often have basic lists, sorted by grade level to get you started.
Then sit down with your child and ask what they need and want. Maybe they prefer a certain kind of pen, or binders over spiral notebooks. Perhaps last year, they used grid paper more than expected, or wished they had a better calculator. List down those items.
And of course, the clothes and accessories! New backpacks, new shoes, and a new wardrobe – we often replace pieces that kids have outgrown during this shopping trip. Since new clothes can rack up quite a bill, having a list can keep you from going overboard (and look into the simplicity of a capsule wardrobe).
Watch for Back-To-School Shopping Sales and Discounts
To save money, you absolutely MUST watch out for sales. Circulars in the newspaper, store websites, and social media are all places where you can find out which store has the best price on everything your kid needs. While I generally recommend counterbalancing the savings of multiple stops with the time and cost of gas, we all know that for back-to-school shopping, you will be hitting multiple spots, so take note of every store’s deals. A spreadsheet may help!
You can also look for bundle deals. Some stores do boxes that contain everything from school supply lists. Others have deals on notebooks, pens, and a calculator, if bought together. The savings can be pretty significant and it can save you a lot of time to just grab a bundle and go.
Consider Buying Used or Refurbished Items
On some high-cost items, you can save money by buying used. Textbooks are an obvious point of this. As long as it’s the right edition, you can save a lot of money by buying it secondhand. If your kid needs a laptop or tablet to get their homework done, you can also buy this refurbished. Just make sure it is refurbed by experts at a reliable company and comes with some sort of warranty.
You can also hit the thrift store for clothes. Younger kids are likely to grow out of their outfits by the end of winter break. As a result, spending a fortune on clothes for three or four months may not make sense. Instead, buy secondhand and save some money. Then, put what’s left in your budget towards a wardrobe update in the new year!
Invest in Quality Where It Matters
Sometimes the way to save money is to spend money.
Weird, I know, but some items just receive so much use, that you will spend less by buying better quality and not having to replace them.
Shoes are one of these. While it’s tempting to buy a pair of tennis shoes at Walmart for $20, investing in a quality pair of sneakers will be better for your child’s feet, and better for your budget when you don’t have to replace them every other month.
The other item that is really worth spending more is backpacks. Let’s be honest, our kids are carrying around half their body weight in textbooks. The weight alone is going to strain any bag. Add in the fact that kids toss their backpacks on the ground, struggle to navigate these full bags through narrow rows of desks and crowded halls – the bags take quite a beating. Your kid might love a cheap but trendy Spiderman backpack from Target. However, spending more on a well-made one will pay off in the long run.
Outdoors-focused brands – SwissGear, Northface, etc. – are good choices. The bags are designed to be ultra-durable. They’ll easily last for years, no matter what your kids puts them through.
thank you very much