Want a back-to-school season with a little less chaos this year? Follow our Back to School Countdown! We’re gearing up for the first day of school with advice from a hand-picked panel of back-to-school experts: All are moms—with kids at every age and stage—who also happen to be pros at saving time, money, and most important of all, sanity. Today, the smart money-savers at Krazy Coupon Lady have some tricks up their sleeves for saving money on school supplies.
At some point, I decided I had two options when it came to back to school supply shopping. I could start prepping my kids with a “Kids, I’m sorry you can’t go to college because I spent your funds on safety scissors and other such necessities during your formative years” speech. Or, I could find a way to save money on supplies.
The good news is, there are plenty of tricks to check off everything on your back-to-school lists without spending a fortune. Here are six of my favorite ways to save:
1. Look for Loss Leaders
Loss leaders are products stores sell at below their cost in an attempt to lure you in—where they hope you’ll spend hundreds of extra dollars because you saved a few bucks on the necessities. Loss leaders typically work in the store’s favor, but if you’re aware of this trick, you can use them to your advantage by only buying the loss leaders then leaving the store before you pay full-price for something else.
2. Stack Coupons
July and August are the months when school supplies are featured heavily in coupons. Try combining manufacturer and retailer coupons to save even more. If you’re feeling even crazier, you can stack the coupons with sale items and rebate apps. If you’re new to the couponing arena, TheKrazyCouponLady.com can show you how to get the most from them.
3. Use Rebate Apps
I love it when I get paid for doing things I have to do anyway. Rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout 51 offer discounts and cash rebates for buying specific products. Simply unlock offers by performing a quick task like taking a one-question quiz or watching a short video. After you buy the product, just snap a photo of your receipt, upload it into the app, and wait for the cash to be deposited into your account.
4. Make Multiple Trips
You may have to put the brakes on your “gotta get everything done at once” instinct to make this one happen. Making multiple trips works because the items on sale vary from week to week and from store to store. So, if you don’t see a good deal on notebooks anywhere, just hang on, because one is likely coming. The great news is TheKrazyCouponLady.com tracks all the deals and makes it easy for you to find the best prices on the items you need.
5. Buy on Clearance
Until the employees who order school supplies learn how to use crystal balls, there will ALWAYS be surplus stock that gets sold on clearance come September. You can save a bundle if there are things on your list you can wait a couple of weeks to buy. Toward the end of September, expect to see supplies marked way down—like 90% off original prices!
6. Buy for the Year
The best school supply deals are found in August, so why not buy what you need for the entire year to avoid overpaying for things in later months? Stock up and save. It’s that simple.
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