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How To Save Money On Back To School Shopping

Back to school can be a stressful expensive time, but there are easy ways to “lighten the load”.  It’s the time of year to get all of those 2017 school supplies lists filled.  It can be quite a chore and with multiple students it can be expensive.  But, it doesn’t have to be either.  You can find lists for all of the stores in one place <— right here, PLUS you can make a printable list of the best deals to make your shopping more efficient and much less expensive.

Here are some other posts about back to school that might be helpful:

11 Back To School Shopping Tips To Save Your Money And Your Sanity

Top College Bound Dorm Student Study Necessities

Top 11 Dorm Room Storage And Organization Ideas

Let’s talk about backpacks, first, which can be one of the more expensive items on the list.  You want to make sure you get one that is the right size for your student and durable, you don’t want to have to buy another one mid-year.

Your student’s backpack should be easy to clean, have compartments that are easy to open AND that close securely.  The back to school backpack should also be comfortable and let’s not forget to make sure it’s cute… I mean no one wants to have an ugly backpack!  lol

Where can you find an inexpensive, comfortable, right sized, easy to clean, durable, adorable backpack?!  Lots of places!  Here are some ideas on where to find cheap backpacks, school supplies, and affordable clothing for that awesomely cool back to school look that won’t leave you in the poorhouse.

The first thing you want to do is to watch all of the school supplies sales at all of the stores to get the best deals.  Luckily we have the perfect place you can go that will provide you with the best school supplies deals all in one place.

Here are some online and offline ideas for making the most of your back to school shopping:

Walmart is a great place to start your back to school shopping, they always have great backpack deals as well as great school supply deals.  PLUS, you can ad match other online retailers if you find a better deal!  Also, if you’re shopping Walmart online you can get 2 day free shipping on eligible purchases or have them shipped for free to your local store so that you don’t have to pay any shipping fees!

Target is another great place to check out for backpack deals and school supply items as well as cute back to school clothes for girls and boys and school uniforms.

If you like shopping on Amazon, they also have great deals and sales on backpacks and school supply items.  Don’t forget you can sign up for a free trial of Amazon Prime to have your purchase shipped for free.

ThredUp is a great place to look, as well.  Thredup is an online consignment store that you can shop right from home in your jammies!  How easy is that?!  They have high quality gently used items that start at just $5.

PLUS, you can earn referral money just by telling friends and family about Thredup!  Whenever they make a purchase you get $10 in referral cash to spend on the site!  That referral money can be used to get your purchases for less, and even free.  You can also sign up to sell your items to Thredup, too, making even more money!

Schoola is another great online consignment store.  They have a huge selection of clothes, shoes, purses, and more.  They used to just sell kids clothing, but, now they sell adult clothing as well.  Schoola also has a great referral program!  When you tell people about them and they make a purchase – you get $20 in credit to spend at Schoola!  PLUS, Schoola gives 40% back to schools in need!  So your purchases help other students, too.

You can also find great backpack deals and clothing deals at local consignment shops and sales.  Just Between Friends is a great HUGE consignment sale you can look for in your area, too.

Get together with other parents from your church or school and host a back to school exchange to find backpacks!  I went to a church once where all of the ladies brought clothes they wanted to get rid of and we all shopped through and exchanged clothes!  It was a fun afternoon, you can do the same things with back to school supplies!

Check with friends and family, too, they might have slightly used backpacks that they can give you or trade.

Here are some local places you can also check out for backpacks and clothing:

• Goodwill
• Craigslist
• OfferUp
• Garage Sales
• Salvation Army
• Varage Sale

Can you think of any we missed?  If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments below.