Before kids go back to school, parents face an end-of-summer ordeal: shopping for school supplies. Most schools provide a list of the required supplies, and parents are expected to buy everything on it.
Not only do the kids need supplies, they may also need clothes, especially if they grew a lot over the summer. That makes August prime shopping season for parents — though savvy shoppers start around July 4 and keep an eye out for deals all year.
While some parents may dread the experience and cost, the annual quest for school supplies and clothing provides a great opportunity to teach your kids about money, including lessons on comparison shopping and budgeting.
“It’s always kind of a hassle to shop with kids, but it’s a terrific opportunity to talk about alternatives,” says Liz Weston, personal finance columnist and author, who has a 12-year-old daughter. Weston advises starting your shopping by looking at circulars online or in print with your children and brainstorming with them on how to save money. For Weston, Staples presents a great learning opportunity. “They have these amazing deals, but they hide the stuff all through the store,” she says, helping teach kids the lesson that shoppers can miss the best deals if they’re not careful.
Tracie Fobes, who publishes Penny Pinchin’ Mom from her home in suburban Kansas City, Missouri, also takes her three children, ages 6, 8 and 10, with her to shop for clothes and supplies.
“I make my kids get involved with it,” Fobes says. “I take my kids with me because they need to see prices.” Her oldest is starting to understand and do price comparisons of name-brand versus store-brand pens, for example.
One way to stop the whining for more and better back-to-school clothes and supplies is to give your kids a budget and an incentive to stick to it, such as letting them keep whatever money is left over after all required items are purchased.
“It’s a really good time to teach your kids money lessons,” says Andrea Woroch, a California-based consumer finance expert.
Older children can learn valuable money lessons if they have to stick to a budget or spend part of their own money rather than ask mom and dad every time they want a new shirt or a trip to the movies. By high school, you may want to give your kids an allowance and make them responsible for clothes, gadgets, supplies and entertainment. When it’s their money, they often become much more economical. “Kids have to understand that they don’t need the latest and greatest,” Fobes says.
While the school lists may seem excessive, Fobes doesn’t advocate skimping because supplies are often pooled so those kids who can’t afford them still have what they need. If she finds fabulous deals on supplies, she buys extras and sends them to school in January, when the school year is about halfway over, and fresh supplies may be needed.
Here are 11 ways both parents and their kids can save on school supplies and clothes:
Shop your home first. Most families have new supplies that were never used or backpacks that can last another year. “I think a lot of parents forget what they have left form the previous year,” Woroch says. Rounding up unused supplies from around the house is a good job for kids of all ages.
Don’t buy everything before school starts. Backpacks and lunchboxes will be on the clearance tables in September, and winter clothes go on sale in October. “A lot of kids are going to start school with shorts and T-shirts,” Fobes says, and they won’t actually need sweaters for months. Be smart about when you buy certain items, and you’ll save a lot of money.
Do your homework before you go out. Look at circulars in print or online, plus visit websites that round up the best school supply deals for each week. “Let someone do the work for you,” says Fobes, whose site includes an interactive database of school supply prices. This is also a job your kids can help with to show the importance of planning.
Shop loss leaders. Office supply stores, supermarkets, drugstores and big-box stores offer several items at rock-bottom prices every week in their print and online ads as the school year approaches. Take advantage of as many of those deals as you can.
Price match. If you find those loss leaders at higher prices in stores that price match, you can get them at the lower price without having to travel all over town. “That can be your best friend,” Fobes says. “It saves you time and fuel.” Staples has a 110 percent price match guarantee, and Wal-Mart and Target also price match.
Look for coupons in print, online and with apps. You’ll find lots of coupons for school supplies this time of year, and you can use those coupons on sale items. Among the useful apps are Coupon Sherpa, RetailMeNot and ShopSavvy, as well as individual store apps.
Buy refurbished electronics. Many online retailers, including Amazon, Newegg and Apple, sell refurbished computers, tablets and phones at reduced prices. These are new items that were bought and returned, or had the boxes opened for display, so they come with full warranties. You can also buy an older version of some items such as iPads. “There’s always a new one coming out,” Woroch says. “It doesn’t pay to buy the latest one at full price.”
Wait for sales to buy fall clothes. Summer clothes are on the clearance rack now, and many T-shirts, pants and shirts from the summer line can be worn all year. “If you wait until October, that’s when all the fall apparel will be discounted,” Woroch says. “Now would be a time to buy discounted summer items.”
Look for used clothes. Thrift stores and consignment shops carry nearly new kids’ clothing for a fraction of its original price, another good lesson for your children to learn. “Nobody’s going to know where they bought it from,” Woroch says. You could also set up exchanges among families to share clothes their children have outgrown.
Buy generic and store brands. Name brands always cost more, whether it’s jeans or ballpoint pens. But store brands or lesser-known brands are often just as good. “Everybody wants name brands,” Woroch says. “This is a good time to teach your kids generic versus name brands.”
Buy in bulk and share. Warehouse stores often have great deals on bigger packages of office supplies, such as notebooks, pens and pencils. You may also find deals on these items online. Fobes ordered a big box of pencils on Amazon and divided them among her three children. You can also split items with friends and family.
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How to Use Back-to-School Shopping to Teach Your Kids About Money originally appeared on usnews.com
