Back to School Shopping in 4 Easy Steps

INSIDE: MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER WITH EASY BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING OPTIONS

Who remembers being excited to go back to school shopping?

It was the perfect end of the summer for me….as a KID.

As a MOM, it signifies why we should pay teachers more money!!! My kids have gone CRAZY!!!!! We have less than one week left, and I cannot wait! They will come home tired and ready for bed.

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BUT…..before they can go back, we must go back to school shopping!! For all of you that complain about how much money you have to spend on supplies, listen up – Taking your children with you is a TERRIBLE idea. They will NEED a different kind of notebook than the list, the most expensive pencils, and name brand crayons. Why? I think they secretly talk and discuss how they can con their parents into spending more money.

Supplies –

I learned something new this year. Target has this amazingly, convenient thing called “School list assist.” Click here, find your school, the list is uploaded and you pick the things from the list that you need, you can have it shipped to your house or you can pick up at your store. If you are like me – crazy busy all the time and avoid going into stores with your children because you come out with 35 things you didn’t go in for – then this is for you! They pick the cheapest options for you but you can opt to chose your own. You can still pay with your RED card, which equals more savings!

Clothing –

This one always breaks the bank……until I realized I was missing out on something. I would buy all their clothes at once. Again, busy and don’t have time to go to a hundred stores.

But The Children’s Place offers a $10 reward for every $20 spend – so spend $200 and get $100 in Place cash coupons. NO BRAINER!!! Spending $200 at The Children’s Place goes a long way. Then take that $100 in FREE coupon money to buy the rest of their clothes at a later date. The key is paying attention to when the Place cash is good. This helps with the vast change of seasons during the school year.

Don’t forget to check out Retail me Not, Groupon, and Ebates when shopping online to earn extra bonuses.

Shoes –

Do NOT go cheap on these. I know…..they grow out of them soooo fast. Usually they will ruin a pair of shoes before they grow out of them. Invest in nice pair of comfy shoes for your kids. I’m not saying buy them Lebron’s…..that is a bit much!

Rack Room shoes usually has buy one, get one 50% off. Rack Room also has frequent certain $$ off with purchase ($20 off $100 or $10 off $75 etc).

AND do not forget to sign up for their reward program.

Similarly to clothing stores, Rack Room’s reward program is 1 point per $1 spent. Earning 200 points turns into $15 off coupon. Points are good for 365 days and the $15 coupons are good for 90 days. Remember when we just said – “they go through shoes so fast” – here is your answer to that. They keep track of your points, send you reminder emails, and ask if you want to redeem your rewards before cashing out.

Backpacks –

Clearly I am ALL about one stop shopping, hence why I love Target so much…..the unfortunate part about using Target’s school list assist is that the kids did not get to pick out a backpack while we were shopping. This year, we stuck with Target but did it online. They have a great selection for kids of all ages and grade levels. They even have matching lunchboxes. Everyone was happy with a click of a mouse like here.

You can also buy clothing and shoes at Target. Click below and receive FREE shipping on all clothing orders over $35.