The Write Design: August 2009

For most of us school is either underway or just around the corner. Whether your kids are homeschooled or in public or private school, or elementary to college, there is no doubt that the transition from summer to fall can be rough. Many professionals suggest not only to organize and plan for the upcoming school year, but to involve your kids in this organization. I have added a few shopping tips of my own as well as a link to get your kids involved at all ages.

My dining room table is currently filled with pencils and notebooks that my children can hardly keep their hands off of! Who’d have thought paper would be so exciting! But it can get expensive. Use the recession to work to your advantage. Because of the financial crunch, people are spending less on back to school supplies and stores have to compete for our business Scour ads both online and in your papers to find the best deals on back to school supplies. Combine them with coupons from your weekly newspaper or sites like couponmom.com and you can save a ton! Also-don’t overlook places you normally wouldn’t look for school supplies either-I actually saved the most and got the best prices at my local grocery store!

Seriously-when did kids clothes get so expensive?!? Maybe part of it is I am multiplying it by three, but wow-talk about sticker shock! Two things to keep in mind when back to school shopping: 1.Don’t forego quality for quantity. You can find great clothes at reasonable prices-if you buy too cheaply made clothing-it is not going to last. And buy the clothes a little big-you want to make sure that you account for shrinkage and growth! 2. Never pay full price-seriously. Nearly every store has incredible sales right now, and a little search of the internet will likely save you a significant amount! If you cannot find what you want at the price you want-look around, and wait. Even stores like Gymboree change their lines every 6-12 weeks putting the previous lines on sale!
Most importantly-get excited FOR them! The more excited you are for them to start the new school year, the more excited they will be!
http://school.familyeducation.com/back-to-school/school/34528.html
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://www.retailmenot.com/
http://www.couponcabin.com/index.htm