Looking for ways to save more on your kid's back-to-school supplies? Then consider the following options:
Shop at Home
Sure a retail store will have all of the items that are on your kid's school supply list, but that doesn't mean you have to buy school supplies there. To save money, start your shopping at home. Dig through desk drawers, art supplies and last year's school leftovers and you're likely to find many of the items on the list. To optimize savings, dig out all of the freebie pencils and pens that you've obtained over the years and pair them with that perfectly good, half-full bottle of glue and last year's pencil pouch.
Shopping at home probably won't provide every item on your son or daughter's list, but it's a great place to start.
Shop Year Round
Back-to-school time may be the most common time to shop for school supplies, but there's no rule that says this has to be the standard in your house. For more savings, shop year round for the items that you know to be school essentials-notebooks, looseleaf, binders, etc. By doing so, you'll spread the cost of school shopping out over a longer period of time. For the biggest bargains, be sure to shop the back-to-school markdowns in mid- to late September.
Also keep an eye out for free-after-rebate supplies. Office supply stores frequently offer such rebates on pens and other must-have items.
Shop Second-Hand
New school supplies are nice, but new-to-you items can be just as nice. To save even more on school supplies, look for lightly used backpacks and lunch boxes at yard sales and thrift stores. You'll pay a fraction of the price of new items of a similar quality.
At times you can even find people selling their supply surplus. Pocket folders, pencil boxes and notebooks are just a few of the items that you'll find people eager to unload.
Shop in Your Craft Bin
Inevitably you're going to have to purchase at least some of your kid's school supplies from retail stores. To keep these costs to a minimum, purchase plain, no-name items, and then encourage your child to customize them with supplies that you have on hand. Permanent markers, stickers and magazine cutouts are just a few of the many materials that can be used to add a bit of flair to plain school supplies.
Shop in Bulk
Enticed by the 10-cent notebooks and 30-cent boxes of crayons that everyone's currently selling? At those prices it's hard not to be. Go ahead and take advantage of these offers by buying what your child needs to start the year and then add some extras to your cart to cover mid-year run-outs.
If you have enough storage space at home, it may also be worth buying a bit more for next year. It never hurts to plan ahead.
Shop the Way You Want to Shop
Back-to-school time doesn't have to be an expensive time. Tweak your shopping habits to suit your family's needs and enjoy a low-cost school year, this year and every year to come.
 | Arming your children with school safety advice when they are not with you will help protect your kids all through the school day. |
School bus safety rules are important for everyone, and children won't necessarily think of these rules on their own. |
 | Heavy backpacks continue to cause increasing back problems for students of all ages. In fact, the Consumer Products Safety Commission reports that each year there are more than 10,000 backpack-related injuries to kids ages 18 and under. |
 | It's important to follow basic playground safety rules with your children. Most often, the playgrounds are at schools, and teachers can monitor kids. Sometimes, though, the teachers aren't there to supervise or are too busy to do so, so parents must always keep playground safety in mind. |
Everyone has his or her own back to school shopping ritual. Some wait until the sales begin, and some commit to their back to school shopping routine whenever they see an item their child needs. Back to school shopping can be an opportunity for you to show your child you support their school experience, but it can also be a nightmare if you are not careful. |
