| It is the time for the students to head back to school. It | | | | comfortable to use. |
| is also the time for parents to shop back to school | | | | 3. Costliest is not the best |
| essentials, which may lead to back to school blues | | | | Oftentimes parents spend too much on certain stuff |
| considering the price rise and the long shopping list. | | | | just for a fancy look without considering real utility. Kids |
| Starting from textbooks, school uniforms and shoes to | | | | love simplicity. There is no need to stress them out |
| school supplies like ballpoint pens, pencils, pencil | | | | with folders having dozens of compartments and |
| sharpeners, erasers, glue sticks, notebooks, folders, | | | | rather big sized. |
| highlighters - the list is very vast. Since nothing comes | | | | 4. Consider used textbooks |
| for free, these purchases will have a natural impact on | | | | Instead of shopping brand new books, used textbooks |
| family budget. Situations become even tough for | | | | will serve the purpose, and, not only this practice saves |
| parents with more than one kids as the entire list | | | | money but also this is very earth friendly. |
| becomes multi-folded. | | | | 5. Good social practice |
| However, surveys suggest that recession hit America | | | | Encourage elder kids to voluntarily hand over their |
| is ready to spend more this year on school essentials. | | | | textbooks and other possessions to younger kids. |
| As per a survey conducted by the National Retail | | | | 6. Look for deals |
| Federation, average American family will spend | | | | Parents must not forget to check out online retail |
| $606.40 on clothes, shoes, supplies and electronics, | | | | stores, who continue to shout out through various |
| compared to $548.72 last year. Additionally 30.3% of | | | | channels highlighting back to school bargains. Stores |
| the parents will shop online, up from 26.9% in 2009, | | | | like Sears.com, Amazon, BestBuy, and Target - all are |
| and, a stunning 71.2% will opt for discount stores direct. | | | | running special promotions these days. |
| I hope the following ten steps will help parents, | | | | 7. Gather few coupons |
| procrastinators in particular, to purchase back to school | | | | Always look for coupon codes before completing the |
| essentials even within a very tight budget. | | | | checkout process. If there is a promo field in the order |
| 1. Check the existing stock | | | | detail page or checkout form, chances of an existing |
| This is the most important step. There is no need to | | | | code brightens up. |
| order anything, which might already be present in your | | | | 8. Ensure free shipping |
| inventory. It may be textbooks of your elder son, | | | | Lots of online stores nowadays offer free shipping |
| unused notebooks, or the last year's backpacks - as | | | | subject to minimum order value. If your order total falls |
| such anything. If it does not look too old or worn out | | | | short marginally, consider spending few extra bulks to |
| completely, never contemplate a new purchase. | | | | get the entire order shipped for free. |
| 2. Prepare the list carefully | | | | 9. Specialty websites |
| You may have a handy list of essential school supplies. | | | | There are websites, which integrate deals and |
| You might have consulted various websites. Still I | | | | coupons from various retail stores. Check out those |
| would strongly recommend you to apply your common | | | | websites for useful deals. |
| sense and experience while preparing the list. Mark the | | | | 10. Monitor total spending and saving |
| items, which are bare minimum. Your final list must | | | | Always check your budget and order total. Never |
| contain only the "essential" supplies and that too in a | | | | ever let your order total exceed budget limit. |
| limited quantity. Exclude items, which your kids are not | | | | |