6 Tips to Help You Save on Back-to-School Shopping

Back-to-school shopping is a cherished rite of passage that signals the start of new adventures. While picking out fresh notebooks, trendy clothing and the new must-have tech is exciting, it can also put a significant dent in the family budget as lists expand (and expand!). If you’re looking for savings, you’re not alone: A survey from the National Retail Federation finds that 68 percent of consumers intend to organize their shopping around big retail sales events this summer.

That’s smart—but it’s not the only way to save. Try out these tips to help you get the most bang for your buck on back-to-school shopping.

1. Shop your home first

Before you put anything on your back-to-school shopping list, check your own closets, desk drawers and discarded backpacks—you might have more on hand than you remember. I mean, why buy scissors every year? Another potential goldmine might be extra office supplies that you accumulated while working remotely, which you can redirect to the classroom.

Then, move on to clothes. Have your children stage a fashion show with everything in their closets so you can see whether those jeans they barely wore still fit. While you don’t want to buy items you don’t need, you also don’t want to find out you need a whole new fall wardrobe just after a fantastic sale ends.

2. Scour often for discounts

By signing up for your favorite retailers’ emails, you’ll get alerts for upcoming sales so you can plan accordingly. (To avoid inbox overload, filter them into one folder you can quickly search by brand. Or create a free email account you use solely for promotional emails.) If you’re offered a sign-up bonus, save it for a larger purchase.

Scrolling through brands’ social media accounts will also keep you updated on the latest discounts and promotions or flash sales. You also might consider signing up for text alerts that can yield on-the-spot savings. If you’re planning to shop online, consider adding a browser extension or app such as PayPal’s Honey or CouponCabin’s Sidekick that can automatically scan for coupon codes.

Even if you prefer making your purchases at a brick-and-mortar location, take a second to compare the cost to what you see online. Some items might be priced differently on the brand’s various channels, and many stores will also price match.

3. Get paid to shop

If you’re going to be spending money anyway, you might as well be rewarded for it. On cash-back shopping portals such as Ibotta or Rakuten, you can choose the brands you’re interested in and shop as you normally would. You’ll automatically earn rebates that you can redeem for cash or gift cards. Other apps like Fetch allow you to earn points you can redeem for gift cards by scanning receipts.

Many stores also offer rewards in the form of future discounts when you shop during specified time periods. Amass the dividends and set a reminder to redeem them in the future.

4. Time your purchases carefully

Most retailers are pulling out all the stops to lure shoppers in, so significant savings are likely. But you need to be strategic about when you click “purchase;” sites like CamelCamelCamel track the price history of an item to identify the ideal time to buy, helping to ensure you don’t miss a big drop.

Once school starts, there are also often drastic price reductions. By then, you’ll know more clearly what you actually need, and you can make sure that your kids’ “must-buy” items are on trend among their friends.

Save all your receipts as some stores may make a price adjustment if the item you bought eventually goes on sale within a certain time limit. If you do need to make a return, watch the dates carefully: Many retailers have dramatically tightened their policies on this practice, such as reducing the eligible time frame to 30 days from the purchase date.

5. Combine your efforts

Buying in bulk can be a great way to save. But while you probably don’t need a huge quantity of glue sticks or notebooks, other families will also need a few, and you can all split the savings.

Another option is to swap gently used items that your kids no longer need, such as sports equipment from a long-abandoned activity, a class-specific graphing calculator, outgrown school uniforms, or other clothes and gear, in exchange for these extra items you’ll need. One person’s post-clarinet-playing era trash might be your new-music-loving-child’s treasure.

6. Try before you buy

On that note, it’s pretty common for a kid to go all-in on an activity and then abandon it just as swiftly. So before investing in a musical instrument or hockey skates, ask if you can borrow from the school or a sponsoring facility first—or perhaps consider renting what you need for a trial period. This will also help your child figure out which equipment features they like or dislike before you purchase a personal item.

If the activity comes with accompanying fees, sign up for the minimum number of hours at first. That way, you won’t have spent too much money on your would-be ballerina—who is now set on being a star softball pitcher—before the semester of expensive dance classes is over.