| The time is here again for that dreaded back to school | | | | look around the house for any items that may be on |
| shopping. Many of you may dread it even more this | | | | the list. Look for items from the previous year and |
| year because of job lay-offs and other financial woes | | | | from your office. All school supplies don't have to be |
| due to the country's' economic decline. Money has | | | | brand new. |
| therefore decreased in many households, but the cost | | | | |
| of school supplies remain the same, or has even | | | | 5. Use Coupons-collect coupons for in store as well |
| increased. The Huntington annual survey of the cost | | | | as on-line shopping. By mid-August, many retailers |
| of items on school recommended lists found that the | | | | offer large discounts, especially on shoes, clothing and |
| average cost to send a child to school this fall is | | | | electronics. Don't hesitate to ask for a discount. Use a |
| approximately $474 for elementary school, $545 for | | | | valid K-12 or college ID at tech stores and you are |
| middle school and a an enormous $1,000 for high | | | | likely to get a large discount. You can save hundreds |
| school. This, for some, might at first appear | | | | on back to school shopping this way. |
| insurmountable but shopping for school supplies does | | | | 6. Shop around and take advantage of sales- |
| not have to break the bank. If you need to shop | | | | [removed]// <![CDATA[ |
| for school on a budget, put a little thought and effort | | | | jQuery(document).ready(function(){ |
| into it and try these steps for reducing the cost of | | | | jQuery('#jsArticleStep5 span.image a:first').attr('href',' }); / |
| school supplies. | | | | ]]>[removed] Check your local newspaper for sales |
| | | | | and take advantage of them. You don't have to get |
| STEPS: | | | | everything from one store. Price Grabberthrough |
| 1. Start early- get your school supply list early. Make | | | | eDeals allows you to compare prices from store to |
| sure that it is the official school recommended list | | | | store. lets you know instantly if a price drops on a |
| so that you will know everything that is needed. Begin | | | | product. |
| accessing what will be needed and shopping early. | | | | 7. Use Tax-Free shopping-Thirteen states have |
| For clothing, don't try to buy all at once. Have one | | | | "tax-free" shopping days. Find out if your state is one |
| nice new set of clothing for the first school week, but | | | | of these. |
| spread the rest out over a few months. | | | | 8. Personalize items- [removed]// <![CDATA[ |
| | | | | jQuery(document).ready(function(){ |
| 2. Make a list- List everything that will be needed for | | | | jQuery('#jsArticleStep4 span.image a:first').attr('href',' }); |
| each child, including school recommended supplies and | | | | / ]]>[removed] Skip the book-bags and lunch boxes |
| clothing. Add the expected costs to the list. | | | | with the popular cartoon characters on them. Generic |
| Find out what your child needs versus what they | | | | versions of backpacks, book-bags and lunch boxes |
| want. Get what is needed and if money permits, get | | | | are much cheaper. Make the generic items |
| what is wanted. | | | | interesting by using appliqués and stickers to |
| | | | | personalize them. |
| 3. Make a budget –and stick to it. Don't be | | | | If you are looking for items that will last a long time, buy |
| persuaded to add to the budget by crying pleas. | | | | from a reputable company. That way, if a zipper |
| | | | | breaks, the item will be replaced at no cost to you. |
| 4. Look around the house- before going shopping; | | | | |