Smart Ways To Save Money On Back To School Expenses

As the long days of summer come to a close, moms and dads start planning for their kids to return to school. Back-to-school costs can add up quickly. Your kids may need school supplies, indoor shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes, water bottles, and electronics for their first day back. Plus, all that hot summer sun seems to cause kids to sprout-up a few inches, making all their clothes from last year too small.

No wonder most parents cite buying new school clothes as their single biggest child-related expense. To help ease the financial burden, we’ve compiled this list of smart ways to save money on back-to-school expenses.

In this article you’ll find back-to-school shopping tips to save money, the best ideas on how to budget for school shopping, and how to plan ahead so you are ready for the next school year.

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How To Get The Most Out Of your Back-To-School Budget

Make An Inventory Of What You Already Have

Schools often send home a list in June of what school supplies your child will need when they return in September. Or you can check the school’s website for updates. Your child’s teacher may send home a list during the first week back if he/she has specific items they want each child to have for the year.

If you get a list early enough, you can shop before the back-to-school rush in August and search for sales. Unless you’re shopping for your first child, you probably already have a good idea about what items your kids will need.

Contact your child’s teacher or the school to find out:

• What supplies (pencil case, lunch box, markers, scissors, erasers, calculator, pencils & pens) your child will need for the year
• If the school has a dress code and if your child will need a change of clothes for gym class
• What other school expenses may come up throughout the year such as: hot lunch orders, field trips, book fair costs, fund raisers, graduation photos, class pictures

Determine What You Need

Go through your house and make a list of all the school supplies you already have on hand. Dig up your child’s pencil case, backpack, and lunch box from the previous school year and see what items you can reuse.

If your child has grown over the summer, and they probably have, see if their old indoor shoes and winter boots will fit a younger sibling. The same goes for any clothing that is in good condition and can be passed down to another child.

donate Any Clothing And School Supplies You Don’t Need

Consider donating any items that your family no longer needs so another family can use them. Your school’s principal may be able to collect school supplies from you to give to a child at the school.

Make a Back To School Shopping List

Sit down with your kids and make a shopping list of all the items you need to buy. Start with the school supplies that are needs and not wants. This is a good opportunity to teach your kids how to determine needs from wants, and how to make a school budget plan.

Related Article: How To Make A Budget For A Large Family

How To Save Money On School Back To School Expenses

According to Ernst & Young, back-to-school is the second most important sales season for retailers. Stores offer promotions on school supplies, clothing, footwear and electronics to attract customers – beginning early in the summer.

You can save money by only buying the essential items right away. Wait to buy extra pencil crayons, markers, or a protractor set until your child runs out, or until you find out if they really need them. Often, in the younger grades, most colouring and writing supplies will be provided for children in the classroom.

You can save yourself some money by holding off on certain purchases. For example, last year I bought my 9-year-old daughter a new calculator and a USB key – items which were on the class wish list provided in June. However, she ended up not needing either tool.

Also, if you are able to put off some purchases, you can probably pick up these items on sale once the back-to-school rush is over.

Read: Best Hands-On Educational Kits For Kids

Teach Your Kids To Wait Before They buy

Every summer my mom would buy us fall clothes that would end up sitting in our drawers until the weather got cool enough to actually wear them.

If you hold-off shopping until the cold weather hits, your child can decide what clothes they really want to buy. This strategy can save you money on school clothes and other items they don’t really need.

Read: Best Canadian Workbooks For Students

Look For Clearance Sales On Back To School Items

Watch for sales, which will be happening in lots of stores right before school starts. They are a good opportunity to stock-up on bulk items such as pencils, pens, lined paper, binders.

Once September arrives, the stores will have clearance sales on school supplies. If there is anything you forgot to buy or you were waiting to get, now is a good time.

Kids’ Medical Alert Labels

Read: 15 Items Your Child Needs For Daycare (for babies & toddlers)

Mix Brand Name Clothes With Off-Brand Items

If your kids have their eyes on a pair of expensive name brand shoes or designer clothes, offer to pay for some of the cost depending upon how much your budget will allow. Then let your child pay for the rest. Making choices about how to spend money is a good life-lesson they will need as they get older.

Younger kids can use their allowance and birthday money to buy a special item they want. Your teenager can use part-time earnings towards the designer jeans or sneakers they crave.

Don’t feel pressure to buy only brand name clothing for your kids. Look at buying a couple brand name staple pieces that are really important to your child and then mix and match those designer clothes or shoes with less expensive clothes

When Should You Buy Clothes?

You don’t need to splurge on a new wardrobe for each of your kids in September. The stores will be crowded and you might feel pressure to just buy and get it over with.

The weather will still be warm, so your kids summer clothes will do just fine for the first weeks of school. As fall begins and the stores start bringing in their winter inventory, then you can buy back-to-school clothing that may be marked down in price.

Tips To Save Money When Shopping For Back-To -School Clothes

1. Shop Clearance Racks
2. Shop Thrift Stores
3. Do A Clothing Swap With Friends and Neighbours
4. Shop Off-Season

Shop Online Back-To-School Sales

Often, you can find online coupons to save on purchases. Most companies offer free shipping with a minimum purchase amount. This helps you save money and eliminates the stress of navigating through crowded stores.

It is tricky trying to help multiple children try on clothing in the store fitting room. Often you need to go fetch another size and help younger kids get dressed. This can lead to a very haphazard shopping experience. I know I’ve often spent more money than I had intended on my 4 kids because I get frustrated with the shopping trip and just want it to end!

Ordering clothes online allows your kids to try them on at home. If they do not fit, you can return them to your local store instead of mailing them back.  This way, you can get in and out of the store very quickly!  

Just make sure you use a site, such as Rakuten, for example. They will pay you cash-back on every purchase you make! Shopping through Rakuten means you get paid money for buying items online at stores you’d shop at anyway.

Having a few new clothes that they really love should satisfy most kids, and they can coordinate their new stuff with last year’s wardrobe to make new outfits.

Also, if your kids are like mine, they wear out the knees in their pants no matter how expensive the pair. So, I prefer to buy less expensive clothes that I know they will be rough on.

Read: Smart Money Ideas For Women At Every Age, Eh!

Stick To Your Back To School Checklist

Before heading out to the mall, make a checklist of all the clothing and supplies you need.

Research by the University of Pennsylvania shows that shopping without a list leads to impulse buying, sometimes by as much as 23%.

Agree on a set shopping list with your kids based upon the items your identified as needs first. Then let your children decide what other clothing or accessories they want that fall within your budget.

If your child knows you are only buying what’s on the list, they will more easily accept you saying “No” to any extra items.

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Set A Spending Limit and Stick To It

Decide on a specific dollar amount for your back-to-school budget, and then don’t spend any more.

No doubt you’ll be pleaded with by your kids to spend extra money in the store. Remind them about the shopping list you all prepared and how overspending now will mean cutting back on other things the family needs.

This is a good opportunity to teach your kids to make choices and they can always save up their own cash if there is something they want to come back and buy later.

How Much Should You Spend On Clothes And Supplies?

A survey (2017) by RetailMeNot.ca found that 53% of Canadian parents feel that back-to-school spending puts a strain on their finances. The average shopping bill was $883 per family.

According to the survey, here are the average costs per item:

• New clothes: $204
• New shoes: $97
• School supplies: $103
• Smartphone: $255
• Laptop: $582

Ultimate Back-to-School Combo Pack

Related Article: Best Canadian Curriculum Resources For Home Learning

Plan Ahead For Back To School

If you have an idea of how much this time of year is going to cost your family, start saving for it early.

If you spend about $500 each fall, put away $10 a week into a separate savings account starting a year in advance. When autumn rolls around you’ll have the money you need ready to go.

If money is tight, try cutting back on some of your child’s expenses throughout the year.

• Cut back on hot lunch purchases or sending your child to school with lunch money. If your child normally buys lunch at school every day, have them bring a packed lunch 3 days a week instead. Take the money you save and deposit it into your back-to-school savings account.
• Find a less expensive cell phone plan for your older child. Look into family cell phone plans or have your teenager pay for part of the cell phone bill.
• Eliminate or switch after-school activities. As parents we feel pressure to enrol our kids in extra-curricular activities. Some, like hockey or dance, are expensive. Maybe your child wants to try another sport this year, or even free-up some time by dropping from a competitive to recreational team.

Use Shopping To Teach Kids How To Budget

Back-to-school shopping is a great time to teach your kids about money. Include your kids in every step of the planning process…from taking inventory of what they already own to making their own budget.

Give each child a spending limit for their own back-to-school budget and tell them that is all the money you are going to spend on new clothes and school supplies.

Watch them carefully decide which items from last year they can reuse and what new pair of shoes they are willing to splurge on.

Talk to your kids about their needs versus their wants and you may be surprised at how different their expectations are from your own. They may be quite willing to help the family save money on spending.

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