Summer may have just started not too long ago, but it’s already time to start buying stuff for the new school year. With a long list of school supplies, clothes, and other things to be bought in preparation for the first day of school, it can cost a small fortune. Here is some back to school savings tips that can help you to do your shopping on a budget.

Get a supplies list

You can usually find a list of what school supplies are needed on your local school’s website. While this is not always the case, there are other options available to you if you are unaware of where to get the school supplies list. These include:

• Walmart or Target 

  • Several stores that sell school supplies also include copies of the local school supply lists to make it easier on parents.

• Your school district 

  • If you can’t find a school supply list on your school's website, go one step further and look at the district website. Chances are that they will have it online and may even have hard copies available.

• Contacting the school directly

  • Even though it is summer, calling the school may get you some fast answers. There is usually a skeleton crew of adults working during summer to keep the paperwork flowing. Call your school and ask for a supply list to be emailed to you and you can have a copy in no time.

Take inventory

Look through any and all of the school supplies that you currently have to get a better idea of what you actually need to buy. This will prevent you from getting multiples of any items and help you to save money.

Shop the Dollar Tree

Going to your local Dollar Tree can save you a lot of money. While you won’t find scientific calculators in stock, you can find a standard calculator as well as notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers and other office and school supplies.

Shop Tax-Free

If you are located in one of the lucky states to offer a tax-free weekend, wait to do the bulk of your back to school shopping on the tax-free weekend. This is one of the great back to school shopping tips that is often forgotten. So make sure you mark down on your calendar and set aside some budgeted money so that you can enjoy this weekend to its full money-saving potential. If you’re not located in a state that has a tax-free holiday, you can always hit the road to one of your neighboring states that does. It’s definitely worth it to get the back to school savings deals!

Shop at Target

By signing up for the Target App, you’ll get immediate sales notifications as well as coupons. 

Target is one of the best hacks to save on back to school shopping due to the amazing deals they frequently offer. There are always a bunch of gift card deals and with the back to school supplies shopping happening you’ll find deals for $5 gift cards when you buy qualifying items. This can also help you to save money on future purchases.

Target also does price matching! Pair that with the Target Red Card that saves you 5% every time you shop on top of your price match, other discounts, and gift card deals and you can easily have a great day of saving money.

Shop at Costco

One of the best back to school shopping hacks that you can shop at Costco for your back to school savings without even having a membership. You can do so through Instacart! Instacart doesn’t require you to pay a membership fee to use it. You can just use the app as little or as much as you’d like without a commitment. You can buy snacks and other needed food items in bulk to help cut costs for the new school year. Plus, it will all be delivered right to your front door!

Never shopped Costco using Instacart? Sign up for it here and get a $10 credit!

Sign up for emails

When you sign up for the text club or email alerts to your favorite retailers, you can get exclusive discounts and coupons to save inside their stores. They also notify you of upcoming promotions so you can prepare for sales in advance! Some of these stores include OshKosh B'gosh, The Children's Place, and Old Navy.

Brad’s Deals 

A great website for finding amazing discounted deals is BradsDeals.com and they have tons of items being added every day! You could find some big ticket school supply items like expensive backpacks and shoes for low prices. Brad’s Deals often has its own promo codes to save you even more money on these items.

Keep the clothes simple

Children don’t need as many new clothes as you may think. By keeping the kid wardrobes simple, you can save a lot of money and reduce your laundry. Consider making a capsule wardrobe for your kids so that they only need a select number of tops and bottoms. They can then mix and match for several different outfit options.

Use Cashback rebate apps

Don’t forget to check your cashback rebate apps like Ibotta. This app can save you a lot of money on food and other purchases. With the money back deals plus the teammate bonuses and cash bonuses for redeeming certain rebates, you can easily get a lot of money back on every shopping trip if you plan it beforehand.

Don’t have Ibotta yet? Sign up here and get a cash bonus from Ibotta. 

Penny Tuesdays

If you’re lucky enough to have a Dollar General near where you can shop, don’t forget about the Penny Tuesdays! This is when select items within the store ring up for only a penny! Imagine how much money you could save on school supplies if you paid pennies for everything!

Use Gift Cards

If you have old gift cards from Christmas just sitting in your wallet or dresser, you’re not alone. You may even get gift cards as a bonus incentive from your workplace or from apps and websites as a side hustle. There are apps that payout in gift cards in exchange for you exercising and being healthy, and that could help you to not only save money on back to school shopping but also be a great motivation to be healthy.

Wait until after school starts

Another back to school savings tip is to do the bulk of your shopping after school has already started. This is when stores drop their prices and try to clear everything out to make space for holiday decorations and shopping. 

Do the bare minimum of your back to school shopping before school starts and then after school is in session, go grab the deeply discounted school supplies that are still on your list.

With all of these amazing hacks to save money on back to school shopping, you can be sure to save a great deal of money this year!

Have you started your back to school shopping yet? What are some amazing savings hacks you’d love to share. Drop me a line in the comments to let me know!

XOXO,

Onteria