Does your budget for back to school shopping have to stretch further every year? Here’s how to save big money on all the little things you need for school.
On the last day of school, my daughter came home and tossed her backpack aside.
As she ran off to find a snack, I started sorting through her giant pile of stuff.
A big manila envelope caught my attention. Inside I found the name of her 2nd grade teacher, a welcome letter…and a school supply list.
It’s already time to start thinking about next school year!
Save a Ton On Back to School Shopping
Does back to school shopping feel like a huge ordeal?
You usually have to spend an entire day dragging kids from store to store looking for things that don’t even seem to exist.
A 10 pack of crayons?
A 2 subject notebook? Sure, you’d think that would be on the shelf between the one subject and three subject notebooks…instead, it’s hanging out with Bigfoot.
Then there’s backpacks and lunch boxes for everyone.
And the day would end with either a glass of wine or a couple of Motrin and an early bedtime.
That used to be us, too. But over time, I discovered the tricks that made the whole process easy.
Even better? They saved me a ton of cash!
Want to know those tricks, too? Then read on!
1. Start with What You Have
This might seem silly, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost track of which items we already have at home.
You know how that ends. You wind up wasting money on brand new copies of things you’ll find in a week or two.
So before you do any back to school shopping, pull out last year’s backpacks.
What’s in there that’s still in good shape?
If you find binders, pencils, scissors, or other items that have wear left to them, mark them off your list.
My kids often bring home things at the end of each year that were never even used at all. No sense in buying new!
Don’t forget to also search through the house for things you bought at last year’s sales.
If you or your spouse is a hoarder saver, they might have things on hand, too. Look for extra pencils, protractors, rulers, and more in a drawer or closet.
2. Invest in Supplies That Are Worth It
When my oldest was in kindergarten, stores would often run promotions for free backpacks.
It was exciting to find such a great bargain! I’d grab one with his favorite superhero and call it done.
A few months later, that backpack was ripping apart. We’d repair it the best we could.
But after a while, he was losing supplies and papers because we just couldn’t keep it closed.
After struggling with several cheap backpacks like this, I finally came to my senses.
Spending a little more this year to get a bag that will last (in our case) 14 times longer than the cheap bags is sooooo worth it, it isn’t even funny!
And invest in a better quality lunch box for the same reason.
Yes, you’ll pay more upfront. But you’ll save year after year!
3. Check Blogs for Deals
Now you’re down to a list of things you actually need to buy. Of course, you want to find the best deal!
Luckily, there are many blogs available that can help you find the best price. Let them do the work for you! Some of my favorites to check on this time of year include:
Don’t forget to log your receipts with Fetch Rewards (use code PEWR4 to start with 2,000 bonus points) and ReceiptHog to get all your points!
4. Shop a Little at a Time
Don’t feel like you have to get everything at once.
If you can’t find a sale on some of the supplies on your list this week, skip them (for now).
Shop for a few weeks to find the best deals on everything on your list.
Breaking up your shopping list is also beneficial because you can pay for items in smaller chunks. That way you don’t overwhelm one paycheck with a big expense.
For instance, shop for school shoes earlier in the summer.
(I found these men’s shoes at Sam’s Club for $50! There are also good deals on Amazon if you can return the ones that don’t fit.)
That’s one less thing to buy when your ready to do your back to school shopping.
5. Unusual Ideas
Do you like to go to summer festivals and fairs? Keep an eye out for free supplies there.
Often you’ll find politicians passing out pencils or pads of paper at parades.
(A little sandpaper will take care of names you don’t want to promote, wink wink.)
Your local library might have pencils or rulers to promote their summer reading program.
Your county or state fair often has things to use at back to school time.
Keep your eyes open all summer, and grab supplies whenever they’re available.
6. Save On Ink
If you find yourself printing a lot of things these days, be sure to get started with HP Instant Ink.
The cost of ink used to make me cry until I found out I could pay as little as 99 cents per month to print things! And with this link, you can try it for one month, completely free.
Bonus Tip
If your child wants to bring a special gift to their teacher for the first day of school, choose something from this list of inexpensive thank you gift ideas!
That’s the 5 best ways to save money on back to school shopping.
One more tip…when you get that copy of the school supplies list, snap a quick picture on your phone.
Then you’ll have it on hand, and you won’t have to worry when the paper gets lost before June is over!
Like tips that make life as mom easier? Then you’ll definitely like this:
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How do you save on back to school stuff?
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
These are good. I always try to go shop the sales when everything is super cheap or look for online deals on Amazon.
Such good tips, Jamie. The timing of this was perfect because I am so angry about school supplies right now and I need to vent! My son’s school has an option to order all necessary supplies with one click of your mouse, for next year. Parents never have to see them and they get delivered right to the school. If you order early, there is some sort of discount, so of course I did. Over $100! Of course, I just now got around to finally going through everything that came home after the school year, and I am horrified! There were 6 different hardly used composition notebooks. Literally, only a few pages in each were written on, except one. And lord only knows what other supplies that were not necessary, but didn’t make it home. Never taking the easy way out again.
That is so aggravating! Several times my kids have brought home notebooks the same way, just a few doodles in them. At least you can just rip out those pages and send them back in this year. (I hope!)
I second the recommendation to chose a quality backpack and lunchbox. Last year a zipper broke on my youngest son’s backpack. L.L. Bean replaced it for free, monogram and all. The backpack was over 2 years old. It doesn’t get better than that.
This is a really great post. I love all of your ideas. I especially agree with starting with what you have. I used to buy everything on the school supply list, but now I keep a large boot box with school supplies and before the beginning of each school year I go through the box and check off what I already have. It saves a lot of money.
Great tips!
I love the one about investing in good products. I completely agree!
Great tips! Pinning this for the fall!
These are really good tips, especially since I’ll be shopping for two this year. I’ll need all the money saving help I can get 🙂
These tips are great… however, my daughter and I both suffer from an addiction to school supplies… SO we hit the sales for fun! haha. We try to be frugal, but we rarely shop and its our favorite time of the year! 🙂
There are a lot of great deals to be had, that’s for sure!
Don’t you just love that new school supply scent? That’s got to be one of my favorite scents. Ha!
These are great tips! For the last few years, we’ve been buying the kit from the school’s PTO because it’s actually pretty cost-effective and saves a ton of time. As my kids are getting older, I’m sure they won’t want the same as everyone else, though.
Schools in my area send out sheets with lists. Often with specific name brands and colors listed. And these are mandatory. Even with careful shopping it can easily run over $100 per child. Ouch!
Awesome! School supplies can certainly get costly, especially if you’re buying them for multiple children. These are great tips for saving!
Perfect timing! We just got our son’s list of school supplies for kindergarten, and I always try to buy extra because we live in a less fortunate area. After meeting some of the teachers, I learned that they have to pay for school supplies out of pocket if the students don’t provide enough! I always look at Costco, but recently found that the Dollar Store has some of the same items for even less.
Thanks for sharing your tips. I saw a blog post recently about school supplies on sale at Dollar general. My question is how do you shop ahead if the school doesnt get the supply list to you till closer to school year starting?
We always shop a little at a time. We usually keep our eyes on Stapels. If you go weekly, they have some times for a Penny. Yes for less then a dollar we stock up on what is on sale and save tons in the long run.
Excellent ideas! My favorite is starting with what you have. I have been going through my cupboards and grabbing things like glue sticks and scissors that are still usable…every dollar counts!
These are excellent tips, Jamie. I especially like the one of buying a little at a time as it’s easier and less expensive all at once. Thank you for sharing with us a the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Great idea about the backpacks – but make sure you hold onto the receipts. I use a Plano tackle box for work with a lifetime warranty that I got when I was 19. It’s been amazing, but recently the clips broke off the front. I was super excited about the lifetime warranty until I realized that 19 year old me was a goober who didn’t have the receipt!! Womp, womp.
Some handy tips here. We have one more year of “classroom supplies” (the teacher supplies everything for the class and parents are asked to contribute items) and then we will get the dreaded list. One tip is to watch Toys R Us between now and the start of school, the almost always have a buy 1 get 2 free Crayola deal on both markers and crayons in the summer (per one of their employees).
Thanks for linking up with us on #FridayFrivolity
These are great ideas, we are purchasers of Jansport Backpacks too, they are more expensive initially, but they last! Love that. Especially now that my daughter is in high school, she has so many books that her backpack weighs a ton! Definitely worth the money!
Great tips for saving money on school supplies – please share with Simply Natural Saturdays!
Good tips! I’m glad you pointed the first one out, it is so simple that I think most people do tend overlook it! Taking stock of what we have always helps keep the cost down! Thanks for linking up with us on Simply Natural Saturdays!
These are great ways to save on school supplies and are so simple. I made the same mistake with my daughter’s kindergarten backpack. I bought her a Disney Princess one and it completely fell apart. We ended up having to get her another one.
YES I am so bad about buying things I already own… it’s gotten a little easier the more minimalist I’ve become, but such a good place to start. Thank you for linking up your smart ideas at #FridayFrivolity recently!