by Claire
Make it stop! The back-to-school push of consumerism is in full swing. You can’t go in a store without seeing the sale ads, signs and special areas dedicated to school supplies. I guess I am just so much more aware of this now that I am seeing things so differently. The early arrival has always bugged me but I didn’t recognize the all out assault to buy more crap like I do now.
I can’t say that we went overboard in years past because of the ads. I feel like we got what was on the list and not a lot more. I was pleasantly surprised last year with the public school list because it was a fraction of what they asked for at the private school. I am sure you can all share stories of something new and wacky on your list. Our old school had added hand sanitizer and then reams of copy paper–two reams! Then by December we were receiving requests for replacement items.
My approach this year is to get a few items each week for the next 5 weeks. That spreads the financial burden nicely. Oh and the public school actually returned a few things that the kids didn’t use! So thanks to being more mindful and organized, I won’t be buying double or triple the items. In the past, I would not have even thought about saving last year’s supplies for this year. So wasteful!
Clothing is always challenging for us b/c the kids wore uniforms for so long. I avoided the consumerism on clothing for the most part. I find things at the resale shop on occasion but I anticipated having to spend some $ to get DD set for school. DS wears uniforms at his public middle school. This past weekend a friend was telling me that two of her neighbors use her house as the drop off for hand-me-downs from their only daughters (who are a year or two older than my friend’s daughter). She offered to open up her garage for me to take some of the girls’ clothing off of her hands as it is much too much for her only daughter to wear. We are going to make it a fun girls’ day for us and our daughters. What a blessing!
I plan on keeping a close eye on my back-to-school spending…but I admit…I truly LOVE school supplies! I always have! 🙂
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
Oh, I agree, the push is on. My son is disabled and often times we don’t get a list until AFTER school starts and that means I can’t take advantage of the normal sales. I pushed for an early list this year so we’ll see.
The key to saving money is sticking to the list. Shop without the kids if you can. Walmart prices are some of the best for school supplies in our area. As for clothes, figure out what she needs ahead of time, set a budget and then shop from there. Once you know the budget, it’s much easier to stay within the limits. Also, go online and look for coupons for your favorite stores ahead of time-it’s pretty competitive this year with most retailers trying to get your business so there should be some good coupons. Also, if you have a store you like to shop at, call ahead and find out their sale dates (both regular and back to school). You get more information sometimes if you happen to ask a salesperson in the store; if they know you shop there often, they’ll often tell you when the sales are coming up for back to school.
In terms of the future, once you track the spending from this school year, you can add it into your budget spreadsheet of non-recurring monthly expenses so you’ll know how much you’ll need to set aside monthly for those annual expenses.
I am also a Professional Organizer. Before you start school shopping, it helps to go through all of your office supplies, organize them and get them in order. See how many things from your school list that you already have. I see so many clients who have so much stuff that they hardly need anything for school.
I also keep a school notebook with emergency numbers, copies of school forms etc. in there. I file the school shopping list that way, I can look back on what was needed the prior year, in case there are sales throughout the year. You can then purchase items when they are on sale and keep them aside for school.
Good luck. You’re doing great:)
Thanks DM–great tips here. I think bc of my private school past the public school list is so reasonable in my eyes. We didn’t get hounded for add’l items this last school year in public school.
This is my first year back to school shopping for my kids (oldest starts kindergarten next month) For us in NC it’s a bit trickier, because the first weekend in Aug the state does a “tax free weekend” where they don’t make you pay sales tax on back to school supplies OR clothes. So it is in our best interest to do the majority of our shopping that one weekend. Plus, the stores here know it, so the sales are really pumped up. I’m bracing myself for the insanity of the weekend. Wish me luck!
Oh Shannon, we have those tax free weekends too but I can’t deal. The crowds are horrendous in SA and I haven’t been able to get on board with the 8% savings vs. my time and frustration. Maybe next year! Good luck!
Dream Mom is correct. I wrote about this a couple of years ago. The one thing I learned is DO NOT go by that list. The teachers will give out a list. Go thru your supplies and make an inventory list. It kept my cost way down.
I was imagining going through garbage bags in a garage – that could be a turn off. It was for me as a kid; it was all about presentation. Maybe putting t-shirts in nice stacks and dresses on hangars?
Oh no Kim. This friend is definitely not a dig through bag kinda gal…and her friends are less so. Her garage looks like the living area of my house…a/c and everything. These are all million dollar home people whose “trash” will be my treasure!
Keep your eyes out for the Staples ads. Around here, they have different school supplies for a penny very week. I stock up on everything and donate what we don’t need that year to church for catechism class.