I can’t believe that I’ve forgotten to mention this for you, but it’s not too late! 

Now is the time to stock up on school supplies for the year.  Whether you’re homeschooling or sending your child to school, there are supplies that are going to be necessary.  (Though if you’re homeschooling, you’re going to need a lot less of some things and a lot more of others- like craft supplies- than the schooled kids.  And if you’re sending a child to school – the lists can be frustratingly long and unnecessary.)  You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I don’t like running out at the last minute to buy the odd eraser or protractor.  🙂  Like everything else, I try to stock up when the prices are good.

The month before school begins is when the best deals are around!  I buy whatever is outrageously cheap in each store that I know we’ll use, and buy as many as I can.  The stores are all competing with one another now to get your ‘back to school’ business.  Take advantage of it by buying whatever deals they’re enticing you into the store with.

It probably will mean more running around than you usually do – it does for me, but I arrange my schedule so that I don’t make extra trips.  I pop into whatever store I’m passing that has a sale I want to take advantage of when I’m already out   But even with the more frequent small shopping trips, it’s saving me loads of time and money in the long run.

You can get many, many supplies for super cheap – 1 – 10 cents each seems to be a common price.  I can’t even remember what I’ve gotten in the last few weeks; I just know that I spent pennies for whatever I bought.  I buy it, give the bag to my kids to stick in the desk downstairs as soon as I get home, and I’ll organize it all sometime in the next few weeks. 

Make sure you have plenty of the basics – pencils, pens, erasers, notebooks/filler paper, looseleafs (if your child is old enough to use them), crayons, markers, and glue.  You can’t have too much of them (or at least I can’t)!  I stockpile all of these things, and whenever one of my kids announces they need something, instead of running to the store, I send them downstairs to ‘shop’ in my desk.  I like the money saving, I like the time saving, and I love the convenience of having what I need when I need it!

Check your sale paper tomorrow to see what’s on sale in your area stores!

Avivah