How to Save on Back to School Shopping

The end of summer is slowly approaching, but back to school is almost here, as kids and parents alike bid a fond farewell to summertime vacation and back to cracking the books, teachers, homework and all that goes into the pending school year.

For parents, the focus in late July and throughout all of August centers on back to school shopping, most notably how to get your kids the best of the best as far as pencils, backpacks, lunch boxes, clothes, shoes and other items of that ilk but without spending a small fortune as a result.

Summertime spending hits a fever pitch for back to school shopping, and plenty of retailers are waiting with proverbial baited breath for moms and dads alike to buy online, walk through those automatic doors and start looking for the best deals, whether that’s free shipping, across the board discounts or anything else that is more about making sense of what would be considered necessary spending.

The average parent spends about $179 per child for back to school shopping.^[1]

That number seems conservative, and that’s a good thing for budget conscious parents who aren’t interested in spending thousands on one or multiple kids on their foray back to the classroom.

That said, one in five parents, in a recent study, said they’ll spend about $2,000 per child on back to school shopping, with the average high school student with back to school shopping and subsequent activities costing somewhere in the vicinity of $1,489 for the school year.^[2]

The activities component is an interesting and intriguing piece to this shopping puzzle, most notably because parents should be keeping that in mind as they’re spending money in August on school-related materials, without forgetting that more spending is on the way.

That one parent out of five that is ready to shell out thousands might want to rethink spending quite that much on just the back to school shopping piece.

Chances are you’re somewhere in the middle, but between choosing the right brands, right codes and even smarter retailers or even how you shop, you can maximize your savings and skip right back into the start of school. 

You can’t ignore just how lucrative and expensive back to school shopping is as part of the retailers fiscal year. Back to school shopping rivals other shopping “events” such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the other heavy hitters of holiday sales with 29 million households participating and spending nearly 30 billion dollars as part of this frenzy (roughly 27.6 billion), with an average of $510 per household.^[3]

But with this shopping excursion or if you’re choosing to just buy online, you’ll undoubtedly be tested from a judgment and spending perspective.

Do you want just convenience of one-stop shopping? Are you more interested in scrolling (or driving) around to find the best deals, even if it takes all day?

Is that one-stop shopping going to cause you to miss better deals somewhere else?

Even though we’re in the midst of August, you’re in luck.

This is the best time to do the “last-minute” back to school shopping.

Maybe you’re missing the big picture or you’re just so exhausted from looking that you’re just going to take a path of least resistance but more costly.

Here’s the best back to school shopping advice you’ll get, so that you can have the perks of parenthood (which would be smiling kids), minus the frowns you’ll be sporting when you overspend.

Think outside big box stores: Often, the best deals are where you least expect them

This isn’t a full-blown knock on the likes of Wal-Mart, Target or other big-box stores that deal in everything you could possibly need for back to school shopping, from clothes to pencils and pens to even shoes and hair care products or anything else you can find within the four walls of those aforementioned respective stores.

Those stores, among others like that, are going to offer convenience, one-stop shopping and even some really great deals of their own (more on that in a minute).

But don’t overlook stores that aren’t traditional back to school shopping destinations or you just assume would be overpriced options or alternatives.

Take office supply stores, for example.

You’d be surprised to find that most believe Office Max, Staples and other stores like that are far too expensive, but that isn’t the case.

Office Depot, for example, is offering up to 80 percent off on back to school items, 35 percent off backpacks that start at $14.99 and 70 percent off desk, chairs and other office supplies (even kids need a place to work, right?^[4]

Another store that comes to mind is Dick’s Sporting Goods, mostly due to the fact that parents are quick, again, to ignore this brand even though they’re sporting some serious deals on shoes, clothes and other back to school essentials (even if they don’t sell office supplies).

If you’re all about ordering online (we’ll touch on that in a minute), you can save up to 50 percent off at Dick’s Sporting Goods.^[5]

Best Buy touts several back to school sales when it comes to getting kids prepared, tech-wise, for a new school year. They're offering deals on $150 off MacBooks, $100 off Microsoft Surface laptops and up to $50 off iPad Pro.^[6]

So if you’re convinced that you want to park at one spot and buy all the back to school items in one spot, you may be missing out on better deals elsewhere.

Of course, Target and Wal-Mart come bearing great deals, too, such as Target going the route of 20 percent off anything from school uniforms to backpacks, alone with a good bit of deals for under $1, and Wa-Mart hit the .50 cent mark and backpacks at $10.^[7]

Online frenzy: Don’t discount how online shopping can work in your favor

Ever hear of a little company called Amazon or Apple?

Naturally, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

These are two fantastic examples of online shops that are dishing out deals you might overlook, even though that’s hard to imagine with how lucrative and lauded these two brand retailers are.

Discussed early, research and planning, budgeting and truly determining where your dollar goes further is part of this, too.

Back to school shopping isn’t a free for all.

Online stores are working to gain business, particularly if they’re online only. While Apple products are sold in most stores, Apple’s web site also provides its own brand of discounts, as an example.

Take Amazon and Apple, specifically for the 2018 school year.

Amazon has pricing that is specific to online coupons, so you can use them for 15 percent off everything, such as backpacks, pencils, organizers, just to name a few, while Apple is in the laptop and tablet, phone business when back to school hits, so you can save up to $200 on various Macs and iPads, and is offering a set of free Beats Headphones through September 25.^[8]

If you’re in the market for a new Mac, you may have missed the free headphones deal, and the additional savings because you were content on shopping in-store exclusively.

One online retailer, too, that is a one-stop, online shopping spree is Jet.

They’re all about being cheap, efficient and timely with discounts on notebooks, pens, backpacks and everything else school wise. Pencils, a 40-count, are $12.98, and more bulk items to save more to plan for the entire school year.^[9]

Jet, for those familiar with the site, know, too, that the more you buy, the more you save on each product; even a few cents or dollars off add up when you fill your online cart, and Jet also sells supplies beyond school, such as paper towels, food and other things parents know they’ll need for school lunches.

Budgeting matters: Avoid spending foolishly, frivolously or “just because”

Far too often parents spend money for back to school shopping because they feel like they need to or have an obligation.

The fact remains that if you’re sticking to a budget, and your kids don’t necessarily need new backpacks or new everything, then simply avoid spending just for the sake of doing so.

If shoppers spend an average of $235.39 per year on clothing and accessories on average, consider exactly what happens to those clothes if you’re buying them for a child.^[10]

Kids grow out of clothing; they are quick to take a size 6 shoe and need a 7 by next year (or sooner), and the same could be said for jeans, shirts, outwear, etc. So if you’re intent on getting your kids the best of the best, most expensive, not only are you not adhering to a budget but you’re wasting money.

Buying a pair of shoes for $300 for the better part of a six-month growth spurt is hardly money well spent.

Lists also come in handy as does patience.

Now is the time to act on sales, more so than the “early” birds who might catch the worm but also overspend.

Those who believe it’s better to start early spend more, with 60 percent of shoppers hitting the stores before August and spending $532 (versus that $510 statistics from a previous study which is the average) compared to waiting until right now, which means you’ll be around $458.^[11]

Back to school shopping can be tense, overbearing and just something you want to be over and done with as soon as possible.

But as detailed, waiting until mid-August is a more cost effective approach, as well as keeping you options and mind open to various stores that are big names but aren’t necessarily conducive to the first place you think of when back to school comes to mind.

You also can’t discount online shopping as a means to get back to school gear, something that often is overlooked even though sales are tailor made for not leaving the comfort of your home. The kids will just have to shop online with you, if it means saving more money as a result.

The penchant to overspend or just continue to spend more on back to school shopping has become a trend in the last 10 years with the average family spending 55 percent more now then they did a decade ago.^[12]

That would suggest that inflation plays a part in it, but considering the cost of pencils and paper, notebooks and other supplies are pennies if you’re playing your cards right, this has more to do with what, where and how you shop, versus the actual time period shift, dollar wise.

Parents want their kids to head back to school in style, but doing so requires a keen eye on saving and not buying more than you need, just because the belief is summer has ended and the school year needs to start with a lack of sensible spending on your part.