If you are looking for a few stress free ways of getting the kids prepared for back to school that is what you will find here.
With school starting today I have time to sit and sip on my coffee while I reflect over the past three weeks. With the mad dash to get school supplies and new clothes ready for the big first day back to school I learned through trial and error a few new tricks for next year. Not so much on the big money saving tips but rather more for the stress free way to handle all the woes that come the couple of weeks prior to school starting.
1. Never shop on tax free weekend! - I find the stores are overloaded with customers and not enough product for the day of sale. Here is my suggestion, to alleviate you from the long lines and to avoid the rude competition sometimes, shop extra early for and place the items in lay away to pick up on tax free weekend if you dare! This way you still get the savings and the items you want. I like this way however I still sometimes just purchase right away rather than lay away to avoid the stress of tax free weekend.
2. Shop Online! - No lines, dozens of stores to choose from, the kids enjoy being able to pick what items they want at a computer rather than in a store, sometimes free shipping and you don't have to leave the comfort of your home. Also check with your child's school, some schools offer prepackaged supplies that can be ordered online from places like epipacks.com where you will need to enter a school ID. Think of the gas you saved and how stress free this way of shopping is. Just think you can sip on your coffee and not have to change out of your PJ's if you don't want to.
3. Shop for one child at a time! - Remember when you were a kid and 30 minutes felt like 3 hours! This has not changed, kids are impatient and it's natural. To avoid the misbehavior of multiple children take one child at a time to shop for a few items. There's no complaining, whining or fighting, your blood pressure won't go up and your level of stress will be minimal depending on how picky our kids can be.
4. Shop for supplies in your home first! - Collect what items you already have around the home and cross them off your lists. This not only saves you money but also time spent at stores shopping for items you have lying around at home readily available.
5. Don't wait till the last minute! - The stores will run out of specific supplies that may be on your list. You don't want to get all stressed out over not being able to find graph paper, 3 ring pencil keepers or glue sticks.
6. Don't try to get all your shopping done in one day! - Shopping for a couple of hours a day is more than enough to get several items crossed off your lists and to avoid the stress from being in crowded stores. This is just enough time to keep those short tempers in check and your goal on saving money if you wish.
7. Shop from 6am - 10am & 8pm - Closing if possible on weekdays and weekends! - Peak times for school shopping are between 10am & 8pm any day of the week! Just like going to the first showing of the day for a movie and having the theater almost all to yourself, you will practically have the stores to yourself between these times if you don't mind employees vacuuming or buffing the floors which to me is the lesser evil of big crowds & long lines.
8. Plan to eat out or order in! - While everyone else is shopping you could be enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant or at home and go shopping later. You don't want to be stuck in a long line at the check out and be stressing about having to go home and cook dinner too! Avoiding the mad rush and enjoying a meal will definitely keep the stress levels down.
9. Shop in late September, early October! - The deep discounts come around this part of the year for school clothes and supplies. Stock up on your basic supplies to cross off your lists for the next year. For school uniforms and other clothes buy 1 or 2 sizes up! Less Shopping, Money Saved & Less Stress for next year equals a Happy You!
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