Back to School Shopping Savings on a Shoe String Budget

Dr. Stephen Jones

Are you worried about your back-to-school shopping bill?  Shopping for back-to-school items can be a very costly adventure for most families. Some parents rush out to the store and purchase back to school items without a list. Unfortunately, a shopper can pay 20 to 30 percent more by not having a list and considering the cost of the items you are purchasing. You should have a shopping plan that starts early during the summer. The sales that you see at the end of the summer may not be the best cheapest price.

It is better to purchase back to school items when you can shop with patience.  When you’re in a rush to make a purchase and there is no planning involved you pay more.  One of my major recommendations is to plan your shopping dates.  If you have a plan you can avoid making unnecessary purchases and tips in your car or on public transportation. It’s amazing how many items you can add to your shopping cart that you did not intend to purchase. It's better to do your shopping before you go on vacation during August.  It seems that when most families return from a late summer vacation, classes are not far away.  If you do not have an inventory of the things you already have you will make costly purchases.   

Some shoppers stay away from the dollar store because they believe that these items are inferior.  There are tremendous savings right in the dollar store.  You can purchase binders, composition books, pencils, pens, crayons for a dollar each. Some of these items are perfectly good but other stores have sold them to the dollar store.  Start shopping at the dollar store and you will find some great savings. There are some other valuable back-to-school shopping tips to consider. Here are my top five:

(1)  Ask retailers about special back to school discounts.

(2) Shop in bulk and share with a group of friends (BJs, Cosco etc).

(3) Search for a good laptop on websites like Dell and Apple.

(4) Ask your local bookstore about their next sales day and check on Amazon.

(5) Check of items you have on your shopping as you purchase them.  

(6) Ask your friends where they are getting the best sales

(7) Use the App on your cell phone to catch sales, Staples, Office Depot or Walmart stores

Each year the number of parents who are shopping online is growing.  If you shop online many retailers offer discounts and free shipping. If you are disciplined, you will save money and purchase just the item you need from each website.  Some schools require certain clothes like Kaki pants and a green shirt.  These items can be found on clothing websites too.  The websites for Target and Walmart offer many of these clothing items.  If you do your research early you can find a lot of savings.     

These tips all work when you apply them.  Try something new and you will find that your savings ideas will explode.  The best way to enjoy your back-to-school experience is organizing a plan that you will follow.  Involve your children by getting them to make lists and look for discounts. You can give them points toward the purchase of something they want.  Getting a child’s participation will be a great way to make their new school year exciting.  You can look on the school website to determine the items that your child needs.  Every student wants to feel like they are prepared for the new school year.  Let your back-to-school purchases be catalyst for an exceptional new year. There is no time like today to get the best sales of the shopping season.

Dr Stephen Jones is a speaker education advocate and author of several college preparation books The Parent’s Ultimate Education Guide and the Ultimate scholarship Guide and the Ultimate Scholarship G Guide. Add these books to your shopping list at http://www.DrJonesBooks.com

 

Dr. Stephen Jones Books

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2.     Ultimate Scholarship Guide

3.     Ultimate Parents Guide

4.     http://www.DrJonesbooks.com

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How to Save Money on Text books

The rising cost of books is one expense that stands out in all college budgets. Technical science and math books are among the highest costing text books and English textbooks are not far behind. For years students and parents have complained as their book budgets are stressed. The science books can start at $150 and higher and other books are costing more than $100. Across the country students at four and two year colleges are feeling the pressure of paying for the cost of living on campus and books.

The cost of books has resulted in innovations in the way that students are paying for books. This year the Chegg.com is breaking into the book market with very favorable ratings from students. They are ushering in the age of book rentals and buying books online. The book rental service allows a student to walk up to an IPAD and search for their book and then make a purchase. Some of the rental books are less than half of the cost of the traditional books. Finding a bargain like this is what the students have been looking for. It seems that professors are not aware of the cost of books when they are identifying them for their classes. There is some new legislation that is designed to get professors to look more closely at their book decisions.

Some professors are creative in how they are allocating books and resources for their classes. They are putting special information on their courses in a web based system that is owned by their university. Students can access old lectures and important documents and review them online. Sharing the information online can make some books less important. Students can read the professors notes wherever they may be.

Another website to consider is book.ly. This website compares the prices of the various textbooks on all of the online book websites. Some of the websites include half.com, ecampus.com, biblio.com and Chegg.com. This website is a great change since students are going from website to website to find the cheapest books. This is important since some professors assign more than one book for their classes. I can foresee a time where some books are only available in an electronic format.

Many of the book stores like Barnes and Noble now run campus book stores. Colleges were looking for ways to cut their expenses and book companies were willing to manage the stores. The book companies have immediate access to the books that they keep in their inventory. The book stores are changing with the times as K12 schools are looking at ways to reduce their expenses. Some states like California are cutting their book expenses. Hey are estimating that they will save millions of dollars by encouraging schools to purchase electronic books that the large book stores are offering.

There is a lot that you can do to save on the cost of books. Take the time to search the internet or better yet rent a book. I recommend that students try to go the first class before purchasing every book. At most book stores you cannot return books that you’ve purchased. You do not want to be stuck with a book that you cannot return. Talk to other students who’ve completed the course last year. There may be a few books that you can borrow. I wish you a successful book savings experience.