With summer wrapping up, families are frantically gearing up for fall and getting their kids ready for a new school year. However, getting youngsters back on schedule following the lazy days of summer isn’t the only stress parents face at this time of year, as they start filling shopping carts with expensive back-to-school supplies.
According to Deloitte’s 2018 back-to-school survey, parents will shell out an average of $510 per household on apparel, school supplies, electronic gadgets and more. And though comparison shopping and searching for coupons are important strategies to save money on these school essentials, some experts say the best tip is to wait it out.
[See: 12 Shopping Tricks to Keep You Under Budget.]
“No matter how well you prepare, back-to-school shopping can be draining on the family budget,” says Jennifer McDermott, consumer advocate and shopping expert at Finder.com, a financial product comparison platform and information service. “However, just like decorations after the holiday season, there are a number of items that parents can save on by simply waiting until after school is already in session.”
Here’s a look at the back-to-school items you should wait to buy later in the year to maximize savings.
Basic school supplies. While many retailers offer reduced prices for select school supplies, such as notebooks, pens and crayons, leading up to the first days of school, you can find bigger savings by waiting for early September clearance events.
“Retailers selling these items have stocked up in the lead up to August and need to shift the inventory quickly to make way for holiday items in the following months,” McDermott says. “It is definitely worth the wait if your child can make do with items from last year or found around the home until then.”
What’s more, parents can expect back-to-school clearance events to offer deals such as notebooks for as little as 17 cents, crayons for 25 cents per package and tissues for 75 cents a box, says Joanie Demer, co-founder of TheKrazyCouponLady.com, a site that aims to help families find coupons and deals on everyday purchases. She says Target clears out their back-to-school shelves by the end of August to make room for Halloween supplies, and by the first week of September, you’ll start to see sales ranging from 30 to 90 percent off.
“When you see a stock-up price [for school supply basics], buy enough to last you through the school year,” she says. Review TheKrazyCouponLady,com’s “Back-to-School Stock-Up Price List” to score big bargains (think: composition notebooks for 50 cents and glue sticks for 25 cents).
Fall clothing. Stores such as Old Navy, J.C. Penney and The Children’s Place began showcasing fall apparel as early as July, with limited sales through August. However, experts advise waiting on these styles, as you will find better deals on sweaters and denim in October during Columbus Day sales and deeper discounts on outerwear around the winter holidays.
Demer also suggests that parents take advantage of end-of-summer clothing sales now to prepare for the following spring and summer season. For example, The Children’s Place is offering 50 percent off clearance prices through September, providing even deeper discounts on warm-weather styles, she says. Stock up on your children’s sizes or buy a size up now to save for later, Demer says.
Keep in mind, summer clothing items such as tees, skirts and tank tops can be layered using cardigans and tights to keep warm during the winter. And if your child has their heart set on a new outfit for that first day of school, pick out one new shirt or pair of pants, but wait to stock up when the sales are better in late September and October.
[Read: Best Back-to-School Sales for 2018.]
Gym essentials. If your child needs a new gym kit or sports equipment, consider holding out for Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales in November. Athletic wear and sneakers will be among the products with huge savings in the post-Thanksgiving sales rush, McDermott says.
If there are items your student needs now, you can find gently used options at major savings through sites like SwapMeSports.com, a site that allows you to buy, trade, sell or donate used and outgrown sporting equipment.
Smartphones. The best time to buy a new mobile device is after Apple’s anticipated release of the latest iPhone, scheduled for mid-September. This is when parents can expect discounts on previous iPhone models as well as savings from other manufacturers such as Samsung and LG.
Instead of investing in the newest and most expensive model, search for open-box or refurbished options. Best Buy typically has open-box items set up on their salesroom floor, while the online retail company Newegg has a webpage dedicated to lower-priced options with discounts on open-box laptops, ranging from 10 to 40 percent off. Meanwhile, retailers like Walmart, Apple and AT&T offer pre-certified, refurbished phones, with discounts ranging from 20 to 40 percent off regular prices.
Laptops and tablets. Though electronic retailers offer attractive deals on select gadgets for the school season, you can score even deeper discounts on a larger variety of laptops and tablets during the winter holidays, says Trae Bodge, shopping expert at TrueTrae.com. According to Bodge, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have historically offered some of the deepest discounts on school gadgets. She suggests holding off until Thanksgiving to score 40 to 60 percent off electronics purchases.
[See: 15 Money-Saving Tips for Big Families.]
For college students in need of big-ticket items like laptops, holding off until their financial aid refund check arrives in the mail (typically around 30 days after the first day of class) is a smart move to utilize extra cash and avoid taking on any credit card debt.
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Wait to Buy These 5 Back-to-School Items originally appeared on usnews.com
