I've fallen behind & school supplies

I set up this Blog with the intention to get my ideas there & more easily keep track of the freebies, coupons, etc. I had already sent out. This summer, with my daughter home and wanting to talk 24-7 (seriously, she talks to me in her sleep), I've fallen behind. I'm about to start a new approach that might work better. The fact that school starts soon might also help :-)

Today, I put the Walmart freebies page post on the Blog, rather than individual freebies through Walmart. I'm planning on doing similar things in the future. This puts more of the responsibility on individuals wanting to find them, since you'll have to check on a somewhat regular basis. However, it also means I'll fall behind less easily. There will still be some individual things.

I'll also continue to put my ideas for stretching the budget on the site, and I would love to hear your ideas, and if you're willing, to publish them on here crediting you by publishing first names only. I hope your back to school shopping is going well.

Here's a savings tip I have that will probably surprise you. Buy the pre-ordered boxes of supplies available through the schools. When they told us about this, they didn't call it a fundraiser, but the price certainly seemed like a fundraising opportunity to me. When I was in school, they never asked us for Chlorox wipes or dry erase markers for the teachers, either . . . I digress. I hear some school do promote them as a fundraiser and Staples is behind some of those efforts, at least.

In my typical fashion, I went out with an OfficeMax store credit and the list of things included in the box - this was in January and February so things were on clearance. I found the best possible prices on many thing and we had about half the stuff at home already. The amount of the store credit I spent was literally $3 less than the box preordered, plus I had wasted a lot of time, and can anyone find all the exact things they're looking for? Not the parents I've been talking to.

In the future, I will be preordering, enjoying the relaxation and hoping that the school does get some kick-bac, cause I certainly didn't save any money in my efforts. However, most of the things I already had were from previous years' back-to-school promos on various items. When it's super cheap, buy it! If your kid doesn't need it, it's a cheap way to support the back-to-school charity efforts sponsored by many local churches. Not a church person? Are you a kid person? Seriously, if you attend the church or not, how can you feel bad about preparing a kid to learn with the greatest chance of success?

Happy end of summer and hope you are looking back on it with fondness!