Back to school on a budget
It's that time again in my household. The boy goes back to school on Monday! I'm officially the mom of a 10th grader...where has the time gone?! My son doesn't want or need much to go back to school, which is fine by me. He dresses pretty simple; jeans and tees. Our most expensive purchase has always been shoes. He loves a nice pair of sneakers, kicks or whatever we're calling them this year....lol. Since he started high school, we just get the basics for the first day: backpack, paper, pens, pencils and two pocket folders. Each teacher will send home their individual class supply list during the first week, which kind of sucks because we miss getting to shop during tax free weekend (last week).
So for those of you that also have kids headed back to school, here are a few tips to keep in mind to help keep costs down.
Only buy what's needed. I know it's tempting (especially when they are little) to buy all of the cutesy, glittery extra supplies but in reality, most kids only need paper, pencils, backpack. Of course, elementary kids might need glue and crayons also but try and skip buying everything little ones want to toss into the basket.
Next, remember there is FREE stuff out there! Most of us like free (well, I do anyway), so why not get free school supplies if you can. In my area, there are several places that do free school supply giveaways. A couple that come to mind are recreation centers/parks and also neighborhood associations. I've only gone to one or two of these and they make them fun for the kids! There's usually bounce houses, food and fun activities. The one I remember attended several years ago was hosted by a neighborhood association and a mom friend invited us to come along. They gave each kid a raffle ticket and made it look like they were winning when they called their ticket number (catch is each child's ticket was a winner)! The kids could pick which backpack they wanted and all of them were nice. They were stuffed with lots of supplies and the kids also got a pencil box with more supplies inside. So, definitely keep free events in mind for school supplies.
Finally, remember to look around the house and see what you already have. We have a bin that has school supplies in it and we go through it before school shopping. Plus my son usually goes through his previous years backpack and finds pens/pencils, paper that he didn't use. There is no point in buying things when you already have it.
Have fun school shopping and here's to a great school year for all of the kids!
So for those of you that also have kids headed back to school, here are a few tips to keep in mind to help keep costs down.
Only buy what's needed. I know it's tempting (especially when they are little) to buy all of the cutesy, glittery extra supplies but in reality, most kids only need paper, pencils, backpack. Of course, elementary kids might need glue and crayons also but try and skip buying everything little ones want to toss into the basket.
Next, remember there is FREE stuff out there! Most of us like free (well, I do anyway), so why not get free school supplies if you can. In my area, there are several places that do free school supply giveaways. A couple that come to mind are recreation centers/parks and also neighborhood associations. I've only gone to one or two of these and they make them fun for the kids! There's usually bounce houses, food and fun activities. The one I remember attended several years ago was hosted by a neighborhood association and a mom friend invited us to come along. They gave each kid a raffle ticket and made it look like they were winning when they called their ticket number (catch is each child's ticket was a winner)! The kids could pick which backpack they wanted and all of them were nice. They were stuffed with lots of supplies and the kids also got a pencil box with more supplies inside. So, definitely keep free events in mind for school supplies.
Finally, remember to look around the house and see what you already have. We have a bin that has school supplies in it and we go through it before school shopping. Plus my son usually goes through his previous years backpack and finds pens/pencils, paper that he didn't use. There is no point in buying things when you already have it.
Have fun school shopping and here's to a great school year for all of the kids!
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