10 ways to save on back-to-school shopping

Come August and it’s time to enjoy the last weeks of steamy summer weather, visit the pool and beaches and—if you’re a student or the parent of one—do your back-to-school shopping. 

Doing so can be expensive. Families with students in elementary through high school are planning to spend $858.07 on average, and that figure jumps to $1,325.85 for families of college students, according to the National Retail Federation. 

While shopping for the return of the school year can certainly take a bite out of your wallet, experts say there are steps you can take to minimize the costs. Here are 10 ways to save money on your back-to-school shopping. Pair these with a smart payment method—like Current’s secured credit card, creating a budget, and a designated Savings Pod to automate your savings with Round-Ups—and you could save on supplies while building your credit history*, keeping close track of your spending and increasing your cash reserves.  

1. Take inventory 

Before you hit the store, take inventory of what you have at home, like a scattered pack of crayons in the playroom or a stapler hidden in the back corner of your desk. 

Andrea Woroch, a consumer finance expert who runs a budgeting blog for moms, advises organizing any supplies you or your child brought home from the last school year so you can see what you have and compare it to your shopping list. She recommends ripping out the used paper in notebooks so they can be used again, and reusing binders, folders, backpacks and other supplies that are still in good condition. 

2. Buy in bulk 

Buying in bulk is a good savings strategy, says Kristin McGrath, a senior editor at the savings site The Krazy Coupon Lady. You should especially take advantage if you have multiple kids, since items like pencils are likely required for all of them. 

McGrath says Sam’s Club and Costco are typically the best stores for bulk shopping, but that Amazon has good bulk options on items like pencils, paper and notebooks as well. 

“You can get together with other parents that you know and get those bulk prices and then divvy them up,” she adds. 

3. Participate in loyalty rewards programs 

Many stores have loyalty programs that are easy to use via an app and can help you save over the long term by getting money back if you shop often at the store, like Target’s Circle program. 

A lot of grocery stores will also give you customized offers if you use their apps and programs frequently, McGrath says. 

4. Shop second hand 

When it comes to school clothing and uniforms, shopping second-hand can help you save. Woroch recommends The Swoondle Society, a website that allows you to receive a prepaid shipping bag, fill it with clothing your child has outgrown, send it to the company and receive a credit to purchase someone else’s second-hand clothes on the site. 

If you’re purchasing electronics like a laptop, tablet, headphones or a graphing calculator, buy certified refurbished items, which have typically been used and restored and meet certain qualifications from the company that they’re back to their full working order. At Apple, for instance, certified refurbished items complete “ a rigorous refurbishment process that includes full functional testing,” according to the company — and they can save shoppers up to 15%. 

Every Apple Certified Refurbished product completes a rigorous refurbishment process that includes full functional testing, with special savings of up to 15%. 

5. Purchase store brands 

We’re all familiar with the common school supply name brands such as Crayola, Bic and Elmer’s. But Woroch says the price difference can be "enormous" if you purchase store brands instead. 

As of the end of July, Target was selling Five Star spiral notebooks for $2.99 and a 24-pack of Ticonderoga pencil for $4.49 online. But a comparable notebook and a pack of 24 pencils from its store brand Up&Up were going for $0.99 each. 

“If you multiply that across every single other piece of supplies you need, you could see how big of a price discrepancy there is when you're opting for the name brand and really not getting anything different,” Woroch says. 

6. Take advantage of weekly promos

If you can spread out your school supplies shopping over a few trips to the store, you may be able to save on weekly promotions. Woroch says these are deeply discounted school supplies that stores know they’re going to lose money on but that will get you into the store. 

“Grab the 25-cent crayons, the 10-cent notebook or whatever it is, and then pick up some of the groceries you need … then next week when you go back for more groceries, go through the next sales cycle,” she adds. “That's a great way to stock up without overspending.”

7. Use apps 

There are various apps that can help you find the best savings. Woroch likes ShopSavvy, which allows you to scan a barcode and check the price of that item at more than 70,000 retailers so you can find the best deal. You may not want to drive around to save a few bucks on every item but if you’re buying a pricier supply, like a graphing calculator, taking some extra time to get it at the greatest discount could be worth the effort. 

Woroch also recommends Fetch, a rewards app that lets you take photos of your receipts when you’re done shopping, accumulate points and redeem those points for gift cards to retailers like Amazon, Target, CVS and Barnes & Noble.  

8. Price match 

Some big-box stores will match lower prices that you might find on Amazon for their products, as well their own online prices, Woroch says. She recommends checking the price online and at Amazon, going to the customer service department and asking for the manager, pulling up the price you’re seeing elsewhere or on the store’s site online, and asking if they’ll match the price. 

“These are store policies that are promoted on their website,” Woroch says. “They rather get your business than lose it to a competitor.” 

9. Delay some purchases 

Timing your purchases can help you save. 

“Buying fall clothing right now is a big no no,” Woroch says in late July. While there are some items you can’t wait on, like uniforms, and you say see some small promotions here and there, it’s better to wait. “It's usually hot at the beginning of school, so wait until after school starts when we'll see those deals on fall apparel.” 

10. Plan to start early next year 

Even if you procrastinate on shopping this year, plan ahead for next year  to snag more deals. 

Some states have tax-free back-to-school shopping weekends during the summer. And McGrath says to regularly check Amazon's Lightning Deals — limited time discounts on certain items — for supplies that are on your shopping list. Similarly, Best Buy has a deal of the day that can help you save on electronics (as of this writing on July 31, it was $270 off a Dell laptop).

“Start looking early at those deals as flash sales,” McGrath says. “Pounce when you see a good deal versus being forced and locked into a price because you waited until the last minute.”



*Individual results may vary. Using your credit card responsibly may allow you to improve your credit score. Credit building depends on various factors, including your payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, and other financial activities.