Are you a spender or a saver? A tightwad or a spendthrift? For me, I find myself wanting to find the best deal on anything I can. To pay full price for anything just about kills me. School supplies is an area that agitates me. I want to get the best deal on items that are needed for the classroom. Waste and excess are two words I do not want to hear when getting ready for going back to school and have me looking for deals when school supply shopping. Planning for the routine and needs of school gets me thinking of other areas of our home that need preparation such as meal planning. A good refresher course for how to meal plan can be found here.

Purchasing Options

To acquire your school items, you have a few options. You may shop for each school supply on your own or order the school supply list from your school. Many schools are now crafting school supply lists then shipping them directly to the homes that have pre-ordered.

The benefit of ordering your school supplies from your local school is you do not have to go out and buy your items on your own time. One potential drawback is the overall cost of supplies tend to be higher on the pre-order list.

The down side of taking the time to shop for your own supplies is you are spending your precious time hunting down the best deals. Another option when searching for your own deals is completing a pick up order from Walmart or Target. You can order what you need then drive by and pick it up without having to go in the store.

Price Comparisons

I have wanted to know for a long time exactly how expensive school supplies are. Typically, I run into whatever store of my choice and throw in school supplies last minute with no knowledge of the cost until checkout.

This year, I did a price comparison between Walmart and Target on school supply prices. I will list the supplies I was shopping for and the price comparisons.

Item	Walmart	Target
1.5″ Avery Binder	$7.64	$7.69
5 tab/poly dividers	$3.33	$4.49
Wide Ruled Marble Composition Notebook	$.50	$.55
#2 Dixon Ticonderoga Pencils 12 count	$6.42	$2.99
Plastic Pocket folders with brads	$.50	$.50
Crayola 12 count Erasable Colored Pencils	$14.99	$3.99
Fisker 5″ scissors	$1.47	$1.49
Elmer’s gluesticks .77 ounce	$.52	$1.06

For this week, Target has some great prices and selection so I purchased most of my school supplies from there. I was able to find binders cheaper than the Avery binder pricing. The Target brand binders were $4.69 each. Also, the price for the erasable pencils from Walmart seems just too high but that was the only price I could find online for that particular item. It was just too high compared to the Target price and I am hopeful that I simply made an error in looking up that item.

Ways to Save

Money tight in your household? Frustrated with buying the same supplies each year then getting them back at the end of the school year? Create a space to house all school supplies then at the beginning of each year, shop your stock pile first before you head out to the store. Below is a post from my friend JeriKay about a beautiful piece of furniture she has designated to house all her school supplies.

At times we have reused the plastic, pocketed folders with brads year after year. And with the use of pencil boxes and/or pouches, we have held on to crayons and colored pencils that are barely used. Shopping weekly sales in the days and weeks leading up to a new school year is another way to save money on school supplies.

If holding onto leftover supplies and hunting down the best deals is not worth your time, I totally understand! Do what works best for you and your family. School supply pre-orders may be just the option for you! Whichever you chose, may your school year be filled with peace, learning, and fun!

Let me know in the comments how you shop for school supplies. I would love to hear from you!