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 As
September creeps closer, it’s time to head back to…the
store. So why not sleuth out some new ways to save?
Rachel Gordon, author of Point, Click, and Save: Mashup
Mom’s Guide to Saving and Making Money Online, says
the key to saving as much money as possible on all your back-to-school
goods is to makeover the way you shop.
Gordon, a work-at-home mom intent on sharing her money-saving
and money-making tips, says “You can count on seasonal
price cycles for virtually all of the items you need for back-to-school,
and school supply season is in full swing.” Will you
need pens, notebooks and paper at home anytime in the next
year? Then, she advises, “buy them now at their lowest
price so that you are never stuck paying full price.”
Here, a few of her tips to revamping your shopping strategy
to find big savings:
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Think beyond Target and WalMart:
Drug stores and office supply stores have loyalty programs
to earn money back, rebates and reward freebies for signing
up. For example, last year CVS drugstore ad items each
week that were free after “extra bucks,” or
their money-back coupons toward anything in the store,
and Office Max sold crayons for a dollar and ten-pack
pens for $.15. |
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Time to buy: Stores are running great
sales on certain items every week. They run loss leaders
on office supplies just like grocery stores on food items—trying
to move products at or below cost to stimulate other sales.
Making your rounds at several different stores can help
you check off all the items on your list! |
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Stock up: Buy in larger quantities,
and not just for your kids, but for yourself as well!
Buy office supplies to last the whole year, because this
is the lowest they will go. Beyond pencils and folders,
you’ll also see great deals on everything from printer/copy
paper to envelopes. |
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Find statewide savings: See if your
state has a back-to-school sales tax holiday. You can
find out by visiting your state department of revenue
website or Google “back-to-school sales tax holiday
YOURSTATE” These often also apply to clothing purchases—and
even in some states to items like personal computers for
students, so can give you significant savings. |
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Go right to the source: Check manufacturer
websites, just as you would for other food and drugstore
items. For example, Pilot pens recently had a $1 printable
coupon, and Bic generally releases coupons for pens and
other stationery items. Printable school supply coupons
also show up on major coupon sites. |
Whatever you do, just remember the most important tip that’s
also the easiest to forget—you don’t need to update
everything just because a store’s glossy marketing campaign
makes you think you do.
Happy back to school!
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