The summer is almost over! It’s the most magical time of the year for some parents when the kids get to go back-to-school. Back-to-school shopping can be expensive. My son seems to grow 2 sizes over the summer! Being a thrifty mom, I want to save on back to school shopping. Each year I employ all my favorite sites, apps, and stores to cut back-to-school costs in half and earn cash-back while I shop. Today I’m sharing my best tips on saving on back to school with you!
Thrifting Saves Money on Back to School
Purchasing gently loved clothes is a great way to stretch your dollar and get more clothes for your money. Selling your kid’s old clothes to those same consignment stores or in local groups is a quick way to get rid of all those too small clothes around the house.
- Kids on 45th offers seasonal boxes that have everything you need to start out your seasonal wardrobe. I subscribed to the summer box. It included: a swimsuit, sunglasses, tank tops, and short-sleeved shirts. You can adjust your season box, skip or also create your own box anytime you want. It’s cool to get like new items at super low prices! My son grows like a wildfire, so it’s been great and restocking his closet at every size. As a bonus, to get savings with your first order, use the coupon code: PKXZQDDQ. This is a great way to save on back to school, and you don’t even have to get off the couch!
- Swap is a great website that allows you to search their massive selection of kid’s clothes to find the best deals, as well is consolidate your closet by sending your old clothes in as well. Swap has it all men’s, women’s maternity and even toys. They have a rigorous inspection process to ensure no stains, excessive wear or rips in the items you purchase. Buy using this link save an extra 20% on their already low prices.
- Local Swap/Sale Groups- We have a ton of swap groups! It’s a great place to find good deals on clothes and other back-to-school items. There are some great swaps dedicated just for parents, so browse the groups and see what items you can find.
- Once Upon A Child is a used vintage store here in the Quad Cities that offers great deals on clothes from infant all the way up.
Saving Money on Back to School with Couponing
If you don’t like to cut paper coupons you are in luck; there is an app for that!
- Target Cartwheel app– save on food, clothes, back-to-school gear and more! It’s easy to use clip the coupons electronically and scan the barcode at a checkout to save. Hate going into the store? You can order on the app and use their Drive-Up service to utilize the Cartwheel discount and have your items brought to your car! Bonus Tip: use the Target Debit or Credit card for an extra 5% of your order. If you like paper coupons, you can stack them to get best deal.
- Honey – will automatically at checkout apply any known coupon codes to your order. It will try every available code and the best working code is used to save you money.
- The Krazy Coupon Lady is my favorite coupon site! It takes you through the basics of couponing, has deals sorted by stores, and is great for planning the next week’s shopping! I follow their Facebook page, downloaded the app and get their e-mails to keep up with the best and latest deals.
- Retail Me Not is a great website that also has an app to type in your favorite store and search for any available coupons while you are on the go.
- Kohl’s is a great place to stack up on kid’s clothing. Kohl’s allows coupon stacking and wait for a sale when they offer Kohl’s Cash good for your next order between a specific set of dates to save even more.
Discount Gift Cards
- Gift Card Granny is a great site when you can put in your favorite store and it will show you were you can purchase a gift card and at the best price. Bonus Tip: right after Christmas is the best time to stock up on gift cards at some of the biggest discounts of season.
- Raise– save up to 30% of gift cards to your favorite stores and restaurants. They have amazing deals for Children’s Place, Target and Staples just to name a few that I order from to save on back-to-school shopping.
- Cardpool is a good website with savings of up to 35% off gift cards, it’s a great site to stack up on cards and combine them with a good sale at your favorite store.
Comparison Shopping
Prices vary so wildly from store to store. I take a few extra minutes to compare prices and have saved hundreds of dollars by just looking around for the best price. Also, while comparing, I build a list so I don’t pick up a bunch of impulse items while we shop.
- Flipp– is a great app to help speed up the process! Put in what you are looking for; it searches all available ads in your area to find you the best price.
- Shop Savvy is best app to use before you get this computer, calculator or other high-ticket item, you can scan the bar-code for a list of prices for this item online and in stores.
- Slice if you shop online and don’t have time to comparison shop, this app allows you to shop with no buyer’s remorse. It will automatically notify you if the price drops after your purchased and it and compose the e-mail for you to send to get refunded the difference based on the stores price-match policy. Bonus savings: sign up at Rakuten (formally Ebates) and earn cash back on your online purchases. We have gotten back $1,146.02 for just doing the shopping we would normally do! Sign up with my free link to claim your $10 welcome bonus! https://go.ebat.es/FxRicbMzrV
Start shopping early!
Staples has deals on back-to-school items early in July long before school starts. I went and purchased 12 items from Staples last week and spent $9.32. Their “quarter deals” are a great time to stack up on pencils, pens and filler paper! June and July is the best time to start your back-to-school shopping as stores are getting fall items. They begin to clearance summer clothes at some of the hottest points of the summer.
We also have some tips for saving money on back to school snacks!
Happy Shopping! Wishing all the Quad Cities parents and children a wonderfully productive and amazing 2021-2022 school year.
