How to save money on back-to-school supplies

Back-to-school 101: How to save on supplies Ross McLaughlin looks at ways parents can reduce the money they'd normally spend on back-to-school essentials

Kids may not like it but summer break is almost over and now parents may have to deal with something they don’t like: back-to-school shopping.

A new survey by retailmenot.ca indicates that 78 per cent of parents believe it’s getting more expensive to do back-to-school shopping, and 44 per cent say it poses a financial burden. However, only 50 per cent actually budget for it.

There are some things you can do to limit the stress and financial hit. We reached out to the folks at Consumer Reports for some sound advice.

First make a list of what you need.

“You’re going to want to look around your house first and just see – maybe you've got stuff left over from last year,” explained Mary Beth Quirk, Shopping Editor at Consumer Reports. “See what you have and then check around with friends. Maybe organize a swap with your fellow parents and see what they have.”

Don’t waste your time running from store to store trying to save a buck or two on the staples like pens, paper and pencils.

“The back-to-school basics are not going to vary widely by price at each store,” said Quirk.

It’s the more expensive items like electronics that will set you back. If you can, hold off buying those at the beginning of the school year. It’s recommended you use an old device or a loaner and wait for the big sales.

“If you can wait even until October that’s when a lot of the Black Friday sales will start ramping up. It seems really early but it’s the reality,” Quirk pointed out.

If you can’t wait, utilize apps to track prices. For example - camelcamelcamel tracks Amazon prices. You can copy a link of the product you want to set up an alert to let you know when it drops in price.

Clothing is also expensive and Quirk recommends holding off on buying back-to-school wardrobes as well because prices will drop a lot.

“Maybe get your kid a special outfit for the first day but then save the bulk of your clothing shopping for when school’s already in session,” she advised.

And when you get to the checkout counter don’t forget to tell the clerk up front that you are buying school supplies.

In B.C., school supplies are exempt from sales tax, but if you don’t ask for that you’ll waste a lot of time trying to get the tax taken off after everything has been rung through.

Remember to stick to your list and if you take the kids along don’t be pushed off track. Be careful about buying trendy items like lunch boxes. Once school starts kids compare to see what’s hot and what’s not.

They will want to have the cool stuff and likely beg for an upgrade, so any "cool" school accessory you bought will have been wasted money.