You know how stores put Christmas decorations out starting in October? Well, they do something similar with school supplies. It isn’t even mid-July and back-to-school supplies have hit the shelves. You’ll notice many items dirt cheap now and prices going up as Labor Day approaches. That means it is time for me to give you a back-to-school challenge.
What is the back-to-school challenge? The challenge is to set a back-to-school budget and then spend within that limit. Make your spending goal (aka budget) ambitious, yet reasonable. Write it down. Get yourself and your spouse in agreement about it. Then do what it takes to live within that goal. Make lists. Start early. Get creative. Think ahead. Engage your kids in the process. Make it a game. Have fun.
You’ll need to track your expenses to know whether you meet your goal. If you don’t already track your expenses, then either enter them into a spreadsheet or do it the old fashioned way. Put all your receipts in an envelope and keep a running total on the outside.
Here’s how Pocket Your Dollars will help you succeed at this challenge.
Accountability. I ask you to leave a comment here with your commitment to set a goal, write it down and sign it. You don’t have to leave the goal amount in the comment, but if it would help you stay accountable then do it. I’ll bring this topic up time and again in the weeks ahead so you don’t forget that you agreed to do this back-to-school thing differently this year.
Shopping Lists. Wherever I can I will put together shopping lists or highlight deals that will help you get things your kids will need come the first day of school.
Opportunity for Discussion. Starting with this post I will ask “Your turn” questions that help you share questions and tips so we can all save more. Be sure to read the comments section of each back-to-school challenge post and answer questions posed by others, leave your thoughts and ask whatever questions you have.
What do you get if you succeed? You get more money in your pocket and a sense of empowerment that you can truly set and live within an established budget when you put your mind and will to it.
Your turn: Are you going to take the back-to-school challenge? What have been your biggest back-to-school budget busters in past years?
About Carrie Rocha
Sign me up….my son’s list came home with his report card, so I’ve been watching for sales. I also fill a shoe box at Christmas time for at least 2 children. This is a GREAT time of year to stock up those boxes!
Thanks again Carrie!
I have 3 school age children. We always start by re-using some supplies from the previous year. Scissors, rulers, pencil boxes, and head phones can last several years. I have Lysol wipes and baby wipes (free to 50 cents) saved from Rainbow coupon double days. I pay careful attention to the store ads and stock up on glue, crayons, and notebooks. It’s much more expensive to purchase those items several months into the school year. We like to buy bargain-priced items to help students in need. I would recommend purchasing a good quality back pack. My son has a Land’s End one and 5 years later, it still looks brand new!
While I don’t have kids, it might be a good idea for me to buy some supplies, anyway, for school children in need. Still, I should set some sort of budget for the supplies, to meet the challenge.
As a parent and a teacher, I love finding the back to school deals! My favorite tip- When purchasing crayons, I would advise people to purchase Crayola brand vs. Roseart and other generic brands. The cheaper brands are ‘waxy’, break easily and don’t hold up as well as Crayola. Also, if you are buying crayons for a kindergartener and the school requests a box of 8, I have found it is cheaper to buy a box of 24 crayons (at Walmart they are .25) vs the box of 8 which can be over a dollar. Send in the 8 colors needed donate the other 16 crayons to the teacher for his/her art table.
I am joining in on this challenge. I have 3 kids all in elementary school. I am going to aim for a budget of $175 to include new shoes, backpacks, clothes, and school supplies. I am not going to count any purchases that I have already made…I buy a few “back to school” clothes every spring on clearance (but not too many) and will reuse some of the school supplies from last year (I don’t think that ruler from last year needs to be replaced). Today I already picked up 6 packs of pencils at Staples at $.01 per pack.
I don’t have kids, but my sister has four children and homeschools. I am going to get her as many supplies as I can and stay under $5. Yes, I said $5. My sister lives out of state and I would either have to ship this stuff to her, or bring it with me on my next trip. So I don’t want to spend a bunch of money and then have to pay for it to get to her. With all of the great deals right now at CVS I can get her quite a bit for free! Whatever she doesn’t need I will donate to charity.
This is a great challenge!
I have two children, both young, and I’d love to take the challenge. I agree it should include school supplies, clothing and backpacks. However, my problem is I’m not sure what I should set for a budget. Can anyone help me out for an idea? They’re going into kindergarten and 2nd grade. Thanks
We watch the weekly ads from Walgreens to purchase school supplies for my two kids as well as helping with my 5 nieces & nephews…
Our goal last year – spend LESS THAN $10 per kid for school supplies (not including backpack)
And we succeeded!! :)
We went to Walgreens three weeks in a row to get the items they had on sale (usually with store coupons) for $0.03 to $0.25 each – and got pencils, notecards, pens, tape, highlighters, steno pads, glue sticks & bottles and then picked up the “cute” folders & notebooks at Target.
It was a CHALLENGE (but OH so much fun!!) to give each of the kids a DOLLAR at Walgreens and try to get as MANY supplies as we could!!
ALSO – when they put the school supplies on clearance we picked up a couple of “must-haves” they have to have each year that really don’t get as cheap – paints (Crayola), loose-leaf paper, etc.
I LOVE THE CHALLENGE! :) Thanks!
I have two boys–14 and 16 year old boys. They have a dress code, and the way they are growing, khakis are a challenge and fashion is everything. Aeropostale has the pants they like, and I think they’re a bargain at $24.99 on sale online. Does anyone know the best buy on polos? These cannot have logos on them, navy, red, black, white, pink, yellow. Often I have to buy everything last minute because of the growth! Also, their math classes are requiring very expensive calculators. One needs a backpack. For the rest, I will piece together with the sales. I get sick to my stomache every year at this time because of all the money stress! I am setting my budget at $200 for clothes, and $50 for supplies, excluding the calculators. Hopefully we will reuse a lot from last year, but they have grown 3 inches a piece since the last time we bought dress code. Thanks for any suggestions you have!
Susan – I would recommend checking out Old Navy. My son is too little for uniforms (2 years old), but I just checked the website and they carry school uniforms with the polos running around $7.50 if you buy 2 or more (which would be pretty easy for you to do). Then do a search online for some coupon codes and buy online. It doesn’t look like they have any logos, but make sure to find them in the school uniform area. Old Navy has a back to school sale for free shipping, but you could easily find another code online… from a quick search, it looks like if you sign up for their email list, you get a $10 off $50 purchase.
I don’t know if I can set a specific budget since my husband is a teacher and always seems to need odds and ends, but I guess if I had to put a number out there, I am hoping to spend less than $25. My son is too little for school, but if I see some good deals, I will buy some things and donate them to his daycare. So far, we have spent $10 (10 composition notebooks, 10 – 12 pk colored pencils, 2 reams of paper, 2 – 6 pk pencils, 4 wite out bottles, 2 – 6 pk colored pens — these were the deals from Target and Staples, but I will keep my eyes open for better deals and return these if I find any). The only other items we need are folders and notebooks for students that don’t have any… last year we picked up the package of notebooks and folders for super cheap, so I will keep my eyes open for that (Target usually has these pretty reasonable). Also, we purchased looseleaf paper on clearance last year and bought over 1000 sheets of it (again for my husband who is a teacher).
I am up for the challenge!
My biggest budget busters are going over board with the supplies (a.k.a. buying extras for the school year) and spending way too much on clothes and shoes.
Any ideas for me? I have kids ages; 9,8, and 5.
I went back to Target last year after school started and stocked up on the left over school supplies that were on clearance. They had backpacks for $4.00, loose leaf paper for .24, and several other great deals. This year I have over half the school supply list covered already!
My boys are going to be in 5th and 6th grade. Every year I buy extra supplies like paper, pencils, notebooks, erasers and folders when they are on sale or clearanced. I keep all the extra supplies in a large clear rubbermaid box designated for school supplies. That way I always have cheap supplies on hand in case I don’t find a great sale before school starts and I have extras when they need new supplies mid year. I have found that it doesn’t pay to buy things ahead that can dry out like glue sticks.
Susan- The thrift stores have some pants for you, some, like Unique in Burnsville, even break out some uniforms. Also, Sears, Walmart, and Old Navy are cheaper than you are paying. I bought one pair of khaki’s at Walmart for $13 for my 5th grader. I will have two in uniform, the rest in regular clothes. I have purchased some supplies, plan to go to Walgreens for their deals this week. One of my challenges- Clorox Wipes! I need 4. Also dry erase markers, a flash drive, Kleenex. Is the Walgreens price on Kleenex good, or will it get cheaper?
RE: Dresscode–Trouble with the boys is that they wear Men’s size pants and shirts, Most of the sales are for kids. I’ll keep checking! Also, we are CAREFULLY inventorying their wardrobes from last year!
The last time I totalled by back to school purchases, I was just under $100 so far with only a few items left (probably 4 pair of jeans/pants and a lunchbox). I have gotten 2 backpacks, 1 lunchbox, all 3 kids’ notebooks/ folders/markers/etc. How is everyone else doing?