The end of school holidays is a time most parents don’t look forward to, considering it means back-to-school shopping. To your kids, shopping for new stuff is probably the best part of going back to school. This doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. Don’t let the seemingly endless lists of school supplies freak you out. With the following tips, you can save money on back-to-school-shopping.

Reuse Last Year’s Gear

Before you rush out to get new stuff, you might want to go through your current inventory. There might be plenty of school supplies lying around the house, including extra supplies from the previous year’s shopping or stuff you bought over the year because they were on sale. This could include last year’s crayons, bag packs, lunch boxes, and even partially used notebooks, all of which your child can reuse.

Shop Online

Going back-to-school-shopping online allows you to save in many ways. You can easily compare prices, shop, and have your supplies delivered to your doorstep in no time. This saves you gas money and the time you would otherwise spend running off to different stores. Ensure you shop around at different online stores to get a variety of supplies, and even take advantage of great deals and specials offered by different online stores. You can find cheaper prices by simply shopping online. But, you save even more by using online deals PromoCodeWatch offers, including coupons, promo codes, and discounts.

Watch Advertisements

Comparing stores and prices is a great way to ensure you are getting the best value for your money. Instead of making several trips to different stores just to see what they offer, you can get all that information by going through adverts, saving you a lot of time and money. Plus, most of the ongoing back-to-school sales from different stores are often advertised.

Shop Early, But Not Too Early

Usually, towards the end of the holiday season stores expect shoppers to start buying school supplies. Perfect timing is crucial if you want to save on back-to-school shopping. Don’t go shopping at the last minute as stores know you are desperate. The early weeks are also not favorable; stores are aware that you are trying to beat the crowd and rarely offer good deals. If you are looking to spread your expenditure, then shopping throughout the year would be a great idea. Plus, the best sales are rarely the popular or most publicized ones.

Don’t Skimp on Quality Where it Matters

It might be tempting to go back-to-school-shopping in dollar stores. However, such stores tend to sell cheaply made products that are often less sturdy. For instance, paper folders are cheaper than plastic folders but you might end up replacing them two or three times in a school year. The same goes for cheap lunchboxes and bag packs.