Back to School Tips: Save Money, Time, and Sanity

It may seem like a long road, but back to school time is coming up soon! Before we know it, we’ll have to start the mad rush to frantically have everything ready for that long-awaited or dreaded first day of school. Here are some ideas to help you save time, money, and potentially your sanity.

  • MAKE A LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE – Yeah, play Santa Claus for a bit. Sit down with all the separate lists they give your kids and consolidate them into three master lists: one for uniforms and clothing, one for textbooks, and one for supplies. Check and make sure that when you rewrite and consolidate your lists you have not accidentally missed anything.
  • START EARLY – Starting early probably won’t save you a lot of money. In fact, you may be missing out on some of the most impressive sales of the season. But, it will save you time and a bit of sanity. Therefore, consider it as a trade-off. Yes, you might end up spending a bit more money, but you’ll avoid the long lines, the craziness, and out-of-stock items that come with waiting for big sales.
  • NOT AFTER SALE – I know this sounds counterintuitive, but two things tend to come up when chasing sales: either you spend more on gas than you save on the sale, or you end up buying more than you originally intended. Look, when we chase sales, it becomes very difficult to stay organized. When you have all your purchases in one cart, you can always check the items on your list. My advice is to pick a place that you know offers good value for each of your three master lists, and where you know you can find most of the things you need. Go there and stay there. Move to another store ONLY if you cannot find specific items and make a separate list of those items before moving on to the next store.
  • ORGANIZE A COMMUNITY BOOK EXCHANGE – Textbooks are expensive and some can be very difficult to find. So, be a leader in your community and organize a day or two where everyone gathers in a central place, like the public library or community center, with their used textbooks. You can organize it as an auction in which one person or team is responsible for selling or exchanging the books, or you can set up tables for each person to negotiate their sales and / or exchanges with other interested parties.
  • SET A LIMIT ON ONE VANITY ITEM – Designer jeans, fashion backpack, brand name sneakers, … Kids, especially teens, can really blow their entire back-to-school budget on a single shopping trip to the clothing store. My suggestion: negotiate, in advance, a limit of one toiletries. Ask them to decide which of the “trendy” fashion items on their wish list they can’t really do without. Volunteer to get it, provided they understand that everything else will be replaced by less expensive alternatives.

I hope these ideas help make the end of your summer and the transition to the new school year have a happy and peaceful resolution. Enjoy the remainder of the summer and take the time to enjoy each other and sunbathe!

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