Its an annual tradition for parents all across the country.
The summer starts to wind down.
They get a letter from school about their students enrollment.
They start seeing hints of back to school at the store.
Th kids are dressed in clothes that are almost too small and worn from a summer of play.
Its time to start thinking about going back to school.
This post originally appeared onThe Simple Dollar.
No matter how you slice it, its an expensive period.
School supply shopping and clothes shopping for three children at once?
We Utilize Tax-Free Holidays
Many states offer tax-free holidays throughout the year on certain types of goods.
On top of that, many stores offer sales on the tax-free items on those days.
Its a perfect time to buy things like shoes and some clothes.
Other states offer tax-free holidays on other items, from clothes and computers to school supplies and shoes.
What can be handed down from our older children to our younger ones?
What can our youngest one hand down to younger relatives?
What hand-me-downs from older relatives are finally the right size for our children to wear?
This kind of evaluation helps us figure out what we actually need.
Surprisingly, this process doesnt take all that long.
We then figure out the keeper pile for each child and see whats needed.
We Shop for Supplies at Home First
What about school supplies?
Our first tactic is to simply shop at home.
What do we buy there?
Everything that works for back to school.
Honestly, its not always the same stores.
Sometimes we have a gift card for a particular store, which swings the balance.
Sometimes, we buy many of our supplies at a dollar store.
For example, well browse TargetsCartwheel coupon applooking for additional coupons.
Coupons just add additional discounts to the pile.
Unsurprisingly, though, our kids gravitate straight toward the notebooks with characters on them.
They want to have the cool notebooks at school, and I understand that.
They can also use art supplies at home to add whatever decorations theyd like to their notebooks.
There are infinite variations on shoes, shirts, pants, notebooks, and on and on and on.
Naturally, our children want at least some input into this conversation.
Our way of handling this is very simple.
This gives our children significant freedom of choice.
They cant just grab the one that they wantthey have to think about the prices, too.
It doesnt cost us a dime and it makes everyone involved happier.
Maybe its a new backpack thats nicer than the model that we chose for them.
Perhaps its a sturdier and higher quality notebook (something I personally can identify with).
Perhaps its a pack of really nice gel pens.
Maybe its the coolest t-shirt theyve ever seen.
Those things pop up year after year after year on their lists.
Basically, this allows us to stretch those top-notch sales across multiple years of back to school shopping.
Theres a secondary benefit to this approach, too.
The teacher usually gives some free reign regarding the specifics of the box.
Our solution is simple: werealwayslooking for potential art supply boxes.
We dont just use the ones that are placed out with the other back to school items.
Whats the reward for all of that effort?
It just takes a little bit of time and planning to save a lot of cash.
Top image byBillion Photos(Shutterstock).
