With back to school shopping in full swing, parents are undoubtedly looking for ways to save money on school supplies.
According to a recent study from Ebates released by Consolidated Credit, 34 per cent of Canadian parents surveyed will spend less than $100, and 22 per cent plan to spend more than $200 per child. Of the parents in British Columbia who were surveyed, 20 per cent say they plan to spend more than $200 per child and 41 per cent said they plan to spend less than $100 per child.
Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director of Consolidated Credit, says that back to school season is one of the busiest shopping times of the year behind the winter holidays.
“If you've got more than one child, that can get pretty expensive and take a bite out of your budget around this time of the year,” he said.
Schwartz suggests families go into stores with a plan and stick to it in order to keep costs down.
“Don't go overboard. A lot of schools will provide lists that you need and sometimes those lists don't come out until after school started,” he said.
Families should also go through their homes to take stock of what they already have and items they can potentially reuse.
“Recycle, reuse and rummage,” said Schwartz. “That means going through everybody’s backpacks from last year. Maybe you’ve got a drawer that you have in the house that’s full of pencils and pens and some of the staples that you might need and see what you can reuse there so you can avoid buying it altogether.”
Schwartz also suggests involving kids in the decision making process.
“Give them a budget. Give them a list. And perhaps even split some of the savings if they come in under budget,” he said. “It’s a fantastic learning tool for the kids around this time of year.”
Families should also keep an eye on any drops in price on items they’ve already purchased. Many stores will give shoppers back the difference.
According to research from MarketWatch, parents also make the mistake of shopping at dollar stores assuming they will have the lowest prices on everything, which isn’t always the case. Big box stores can offer good deals on items by offering them as “loss leaders” for incredibly low prices. Their research also found that Amazon can also offer good deals if you buy in bulk but not necessarily on individual items and that a majority of consumers plan to shop both online and in-store.
