Money Saving on School Supplies

It is wonderful to start school with all new supplies but if you have to buy them for several children it can become incredibly expensive. You want to save money and they want to spend it.

Not everything that they need has to be brand spanking new, especially if you already have what you need at home.

But how do you get your kids to take last years supplies to school when tv and fliers are waving shiny new stuff at them?

Your money saving on school supplies could be easier than you think.

You need to know exactly what is in your home that still can be used for the upcoming school year.

Did you stash away a box of pencils that you totally forgot about? Do you still have packages of lined paper that they didn't go through? What about the pencil cases, can they be cleaned and used again?

While you might have an idea of where to look among your own stationery supplies chances are that your kids have squirreled away things that you have no idea about. You might assume that their left over school supplies would be in their bedrooms, think again.

When we did a haul through our own house the majority of usable school supplies where with my gardening tool (?!), in the junk drawer, mixed in with our craft supplies and still left in their old back packs.

If you really want to find every last pencil, pen, eraser, usable paper, Bristol board, compass sets, markers, rulers etc, etc, then put a bounty on them.

Tell the kids that for every item that they bring forth you will give them a cash reward. The younger the children the less you will have to pay them as they will look on it as a treasure hunt.

You might be amazed at what they will discover and it can make a great start to your school supplies. While some of it might not be in top notch condition many things like rulers and scissors will be able to be used again.

If they grumble about having to use good usable school supplies from previous years remind them that they are using one of the three Rs that schools encourage. Reduce, re-use and recycle.

Have you Read: