Back to school shopping is no one’s favourite thing to do. It is often stressful (as is financing college, with or without financial aid) and can often break the bank if it is not managed correctly. It is so crucial to look for ways to save money to make paying for college more affordable. In addition to this, kids just get more expensive as they get older, and college affordability is almost entirely out of reach. So back to school shopping for college student is more likely to break the bank than anything. In this piece, we are going to give you some top tips on how to effectively shop for college school supplies with your kids (and help them do so themselves) while still ticking off every item on the list. Here we go!

1: Teach Them, Don’t Do It for Them

It is so crucial to help your kids learn some level of financial literacy and money control when they are still in your home and control. You can help with this by setting a spending cap for their back-to-school supplies (depending on what you think is best) and then letting them try and make some of the decisions. This way you can monitor and cap the spending that is taking place, while also using it as a learning opportunity for your college student.

2: Sales & Coupons

When you think about how you can save, sales and coupons are probably the first things that pop into your head. So, let’s think about combining these two! Matt Thomas, a business expert at Researchpapersuk and Writinity, commented that, “For every sale item you find, search on websites and in magazines for a coupon. Chances are, you’ll find one for at least half of the stuff you’re buying if you look hard enough.” Though this one takes more research and time, it pays off in the long run. 

3: Try to Kill Two Birds with One Stone

Good value is one thing but search around for ways you can double your reward. Look for reward points, see if you can help your college student build up credit history, or even see if you can find other perks. It’s not all about the money in this one. 

4: Bulk Buying

This is where your big shopping trolley comes in handy. Buying in bulk for things you know you are going to have to buy again is a brilliant idea; as long as you have somewhere to store everything. You will save a ridiculous amount of money if you buy larger packages of things that you are going to need again.

5: Make it a Fun Game for Your Kids

This one is a bit of fun for the whole family. Give your college students a spending cap and tell them that once they buy all of their items, they can keep whatever in that amount that they do not spend. This will have them searching for savings all on their own. 



6: Not Everything needs to be Bought at Once

One of the easiest things to assume when back to school shopping, is that you need to buy everything for the school year straight away. In many cases, this is not true. And the perk of spreading the time you are buying things over is that a lot of the things you need will be put on sale or clearance after the school year starts. Spread your shopping and save.

7: Teach your Kids to Look for Online Savings

Lewis Kirby, a career writer at Draft Beyond, noted, “It is so important, as we referenced before, to teach your kids as much as you can about how to save money and budgeting for their future adult life.” This will help them with their own personal finance in the future, as well as dealing with private loans and student loans. Teach them to look for deals and savings online before going out shopping.

8: Try to Save on Textbooks

Try to sway your college students towards digital and used textbooks. Both of these options will be more economical than buying the brand spanking new version of what they need for college. Little things like this will help reduce college costs. It’s just good math!