10 tips for back-to-school shopping savings
August 9, 2011 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — The back-to-school shopping season is in session and parents have been reining in spending as they grapple with the sluggish economy and weak jobs outlook.
No free iPod for students
Apple and Microsoft unveil their usual back-to-school sales for tech gadgets, perhaps a little differently than in prior years. Ian Sherr of Dow Jones Newswires talks about deals including laptops and tablets. Andrea Coombes reports.
Spending for the back-to-school season — the second most-important shopping period of the year — looks to be slightly down compared with last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Parents told pollsters in an NRF/BIGresearch survey that they expect to dole out an average of $603.63 on clothing, supplies and electronics, nudging below the $606.40 average a year ago.
Total spending on children in kindergarten to 12th grade is on track to reach $22.8 billion. Add in the big bucks college kids students spend, and that total skyrockets to $68.8 billion.
But there are ways to curb your spending on the needs first and still be able to sneak in a few wants with these tips:
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Shop at home first. It’s easy to forget in August that you’ve packed away extra school supplies last spring. Take a full inventory of what you have and what still fits the kids before you put a foot in the mall.
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Make a list and a budget and keep it with you at all times. You never know when you might stumble onto a sale on your way to the dentist or the grocery store.
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Shop around town for what you need. Many stores will offer what the retail industry calls “loss leaders,” such as notebooks and pens for pennies on the dollar, as a way to lure you into the store in hopes that you’ll buy the bigger items there, too. Watch for flyers and advertisements from big-box stores like Walmart, Target, Staples and Office Depot for their specials, or try SalesLocator.com, a site that aggregates ongoing sales in your area.
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Sign up for e-mail alerts from your favorite discounters and be ready to jump when you get one. Many will offer one-day specials. Keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook for those offers, also.
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Speaking of Facebook, if you don’t have an account open one just for the deals. A recent study by Deloitte, the consulting firm, found that 35% of parents plan to use social-networking sites for help with back-to-school shopping. Look for products you most buy or your favorite retailers and “like” them. They will then start sending direct posts of sales, promotions, coupons and exclusive offers your way.
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There are still some states with tax-free holidays ahead this month and next. Other states, like Minnesota, have tax-free holidays everyday on food and clothing.
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Buy in bulk. This is a good time of the year to stock up on supplies you’ll need all year and many items come with deep discounts when they’re bought in bulk. Don’t want to have the stuff sitting around the house for the entire school term? Find a neighbor, friend or family member who will split the spoils.
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Wait till after Labor Day — or even later — to find deeper discounts, especially on apparel, as retailers look to unload unsold inventory, cutting 50% to 75% off full price.
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Go to coupons sites like Coupons.com, Savings.com, CouponCabin.com or MyCoupons.com to download savings certificates that match your needs. Remember that most retailers also will offer coupons on their own sites. CouponMountain.com collects and groups a number of online coupons by category.
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Consider alternative means of collecting the goods you need. Look at second-hand shops and garage sales, which often sell never-worn clothes and items, even with the tags still on. Create a clothes swap with your neighbors and your kids’ friends’ parents to hand down or trade used books, clothes and uniforms, or unused packages of loose-leaf paper, pencils and pens. Sites like Swap.com offer a greater marketplace for books, music, movies and games, but also drill down into local areas that could include your city.
Jennifer Waters is a MarketWatch reporter, based in Chicago.
