A new school year is just around the corner and many parents are crunching the summer budget to try and find supplies for their kids. Here are a few budget tips for when you do your school supply shopping:
1. Find your child’s school supply list at local department stores and only buy what’s on the list. Your kids can survive a year without all of the ‘extras’ they see on TV.
2. When it comes to glue, always but Elmer’s and never spend more than thirty cents a bottle.
3. As for crayons, markers and colored pencils, Crayola is the only brand worth buying. Don’t be tempted by the cheaper prices on Rose Art supplies, you get what you pay for. Their crayons are waxy and the color’s are barely visible on paper and that’s just the start of the trouble. Spend a little more and get Crayola. Some teachers and schools even require it.
4. Go through your house and look for items on your child’s list that they could reuse or recycle. Find the pens and the pencils that are laying about from the previous year.
5. When it comes to big ticket items like backpacks, this is where you shop around. Check discount stores, grocery stores, office supply stores. Look wherever you shop. You never know where you might find a great deal. Backpacks come in a variety of qualities, and the price doesn’t necessarily mean a better bag. Regardless of the color, design or character your child might want, what you are looking for in a backpack should be a black bottom in a dense fabric.
Additional tips can be found at Helium. Good Luck!