Top 10 Tips to Manage Back-To-School Shopping Expenses

Aug 08, 2013 No Comments by

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — It’s that time of year again already: back-to-school season is upon us and with it comes a list of items necessary to prepare and equip your children. According to Deloitte’s annual “Back-To-School” and “Back-To-College” surveys, parents expect to pay an average of $428 on items for children in K-12, and $907 on items for college. While back-to-school shopping is unavoidable, it can be manageable with these top 10 money savings tips fromInCharge® Debt Solutions (“InCharge”), a nonprofit financial counseling organization.

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1.  Take inventory of what your kids already have. Don’t assume they have outgrown all their clothes and need a new wardrobe. Help your kids figure out what still fits.  For clothes that you have to buy, plan on getting mix and match items to expand their wardrobe options. Also, check your home stash of backpacks, pencils and crayons. Smart shoppers will shop at home first.

2.  Set a budget.  Once you’ve developed a list of items that you need, let your children know how much they can spend so they can actively participate in developing smart shopper habits. Motivate your children by telling them they can keep any cash that they don’t spend.

3.  Take advantage of sales tax breaks. 16 states including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida,Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,Tennessee, Texas and Virginia participate in tax-free back-to-school shopping.  Don’t miss out!  Search online to find out the details of your state’s participation. Most start this weekend.

4.  Utilize coupons. This is an easy way to reduce your shopping expense. Most stores offer back-to-school discounts. Check online at your favorite stores’ website or at www.savings.com andwww.coupons.com.

5.  Go digital.  If you have a smartphone or e-reader, you can save by buying the digital version of books, usually at a lower cost than a print book. There are a large number of free eBooks through Amazon, Google Books and Barnes & Noble to name a few.  If you need to have a print version check out low-priced sites such as www.half.com. They have a wide variety of textbooks as well.

6.  Get social.  Facebook and Twitter go beyond just connecting. ‘Like’ and Follow office supply brands for exclusive deals. Use Twitter to search for #deal, #save, or #coupon and you’ll see a wide variety of money saving tweets.

7.  Try children’s consignment sales.  You can get discounts on quality clothing at children’s consignment sales. Search online for sales in your area at www.kidsconsignmentsales.com.

8.  Use cash back sites. If you shop online, try sites like www.Ebates.com . With every purchase, you will earn back a percentage of your total purchase (between 1% and 40%, depending on the store).

9.  Organize a kids’ clothing swap. These can be set up through your church, office or neighborhood.  Participants bring outgrown clothes and take items they need. Anything left over can be donated to charity.

10.  Relax.  Following the shopping tips above will help you stay within your budget and keep credit card bills low.

 

 FreshBooks

Headlines, Retail

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