Tomorrow is the big day! My daughter starts the first grade. I am really excited, it actually feels like Christmas to me. I am so ready for us to get back into the routine of things.
You probably remember the long school supply list that I posted back in July. I am excited to report that I ended up getting everything on the list for about $40! I estimate that the entire list cost about $100 without any sales. It’s amazing how much you can save when you are a bargain hunter. And that everything we save on isn’t necessarily food.
My favorite bargain was the 1 cent copy paper that we got at Staples about a month ago. That stuff is expensive and I was able to get 2 packs for 2 cents! What was your favorite deal?
So how did you fare on the school supply list? Did you break the bank or did you manage to keep it in the green? I’d love to hear how your school supply shopping has gone!
Oh and if you missed it on my Facebook wall, the Wall Street Journal interviewed me about my back to school shopping! The article ran last week. It was such an honor to be published in the Wall Street Journal!
Mandy says
My favorite deal lately was getting $50 worth of stuff for about $2. Considering that I got $13 foundation that didn’t have any coupons on it :)
CIndy says
I think my favorite is the free backpacks at staples. With one boy going into middle school and the going into 5th grrader did not like his bookbag becuase he couldn’t ride his bike good with it. I got 2 nice (each were about $40) backpacks for free. Sent one rebate to my moms and one to our house. I was happy to get a good strong backpack for all that homework I am sure they will be bringing home. Gotta keep up all those straight A’s they have gotten so far :)
Heather says
I had a lot of supplies from last year’s sales, so getting my K,3, and 5 ready to go hasn’t been to bad. All of their stuff does fill 3 paper boxes though. We should be quite the sight on Meet the Teacher night!
My 5th did need specific post-its that would cost $10-$15! I politely emailed our principal and asked if the school could get them cheaper in bulk – and offered to help coordinate that – or if the classroom teachers knew of a better source. She is checking into the situation – said we shouldn’t pay that much for post its – so it should be interesting to see what happens.
Shawna says
My total out of pocket was around $6. My son is going in the 3rd grade and their school posts a list of supplies on their website so I’m able to get the items as they go on sale. Of course, tommorrow night is meet the teacher and they always give out another list they want specifically for their classroom. Thank goodness some of the supplies are still on sale.
RK says
Congrats on the article! Is it available online? (I can’t see Facebook from work.)
Jess says
I am an Office Depot rewards memeber and my last gift card came in with a $25 balance on it! I used the gift card to get a ton of stuff and I still have money on the card (there is a picture on my blog http://delcopamoms.blogspot.com/2010/08/office-depot-deal.html )
We don’t have our “official”supply list yet but I usually buy a ton of stuff when its on sale anyway. I buy in bulk now while its cheap and save it in the basement for when we need to restock later in the year. My kids break crayons like nobody’s business so I’ll be stocking up on more crayons this year than last!
Nikki says
This is EARLY to start school! We don’t start here until after Labor Day. So I have almost another month of summer vacation. Although the kids didn’t get out until June so I guess it all works out! Good Luck!
Dawn says
My daughter is starting first grade as well (on the 25th) and like you, I too can’t wait to get back into the routine of things. Summer was very fun but seem very unorganized to me. LOL.
My daughter goes to a constellation school. We pay $200 for the year but they supply every single school supply. All she needs for the entire year is clothes, shoes and a bookbag…the rest is on them.
Vickie says
Congratulations on the WSJ article, that’s wonderful!
I have 5 in school, 1 high schooler, 2 middle schoolers, 1 in 4th and 1 in 1st. I managed to get all of their supplies for about $60 including 3 zipper binders. We used alot of things from last year, especially backpacks, so that really saved us. I didn’t get in on any of the Staples penny deals this year so my favorite bargain had to be the composition notebooks at Walmart for .25. I needed quite a few of them.
Vickie says
Oh, I forgot about the free with coupon post-it notes from Walmart, they were on my 4th grader’s list this year.
Charity says
Kristin – that is incredible you were interviewed by Wall Street Journal! Congratulations! Also, I’ll say a little prayer for you and your sweet little girl tonight for a special day tomorrow! Thanks for all you do for us money savers! I truly appreciate you!!
diane says
I got some great deals, but still not done! My favorite deal was free pens with coupons!
Emily says
My daughter starts kindergarten in 2 weeks, but we don’t yet have a supply list. I went to her school’s website and found both the kgtn teacher’s lists; however, we don’t know which teacher she will have yet, and the lists are slightly different. I have bought some of the stuff that are on both lists to get a head start. Like Jill B., by far the best deal I have gotten (many times over) is the $0.25 Crayola crayons at Kroger that are actually a money maker. I bought lots of extras to donate to her school and stocked up for gifts and bday party favors for throughout the year too.
jill b. says
We still have a few weeks before school starts, but I was able to get most f my daughter’s supplies relatively cheap. My biggest find was the Kroger deal for crayons… can’t remember if you posted about it or not but this…
http://competitivegroceryshopping.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/make-money-buying-crayons-at-kroger/
Miranda says
My daughter starts kindergarten next week. We go in on Monday for an entrance interview I find then if she goes on Tuesday or Wednesday for “roll in” then the official first day is on Thursday. I won’t get my supply list for her until MONDAY. I am going crazy! Who wants to wait until the last minute to buy anything? (This is not normal she is going to a chartet school and everyone else has a supply list) Thankfully I bought pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, back pack, lunch pail all that kind of stuff last year on clearance. We should be good to go. I think the only thing she might need is a pair of gym shoes. Otherwise they are waiting until stuff goes on clearance again before I stock up.
Kristan @ The Stepford Wife says
Congrats on the WSJ article! That’s amazing! No school supplies here, my kiddo is still baking away. But I did score some free pens at Walgreens. :)
Vikki says
I was doing great on school supplies … going through the house looking for last year’s supplies, hitting the 1-cent paper sales, cheap glue sticks, etc. I had my 3 elementary kids kitted out for a reasonable amount.
I took DS14 to meet-the-teacher night at high school last night. There went the budget! Along with spiral notebooks, graph paper, tape, etc., he needed a $120 graphing calculator!?! I wish they had told me the end of last year so I could look for deals. I found one on sale and used a Staples coupon to buy it for $80, but that’s probably more than I paid for every other supply I bought this summer!
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
GEEEEEEEZE!
donna says
You should have checked craigslist or a pawn shop. I paid about 40.00 for my oldest daughter’s when she started High school. 7 years and 1 kid later it is still going strong.
Vikki says
I would have loved to get one on Craiglist or a pawn shop … but they only told me about it 36 hours before school started. I think that’s my beef more than the price — if they had told me the end of last year, “the next math class up will require a graphing calculator,” then I could have looked all summer for a used model.
laurie says
We were not given lists for back to school supplies…dodged that bullet lol…but with all the deals I was able to supply my soon to be second grader and another family of 3 boys with all the school supplies and even a few outfits…all for under $15!! Not bad…thanks for all the suggestions and info on your blog…without you I would have spent much more and not been able to help out so much!!
Cindy says
That is so great about the Wall Street Journal. I must have missed it on Facebook. You are famous now. :)
Michele says
My youngest goes back on the 23rd. We did registration last night, we were surprised to see that we need to get an exercise ball that will be used as his chair in class. Target – we got a private label one on sale for $9.00. I have been watching the sales the last few weeks and getting supplies. The only other thing we had to pickup was folders. Probably spent about $30 after the rebates.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
That is a little odd Michelle. Why do you think they are doing that?
Katie@ The Frugal Bug says
I was curious about the ball too. It seems as your kids get older the easier it gets to school shop…well at least with supplies. When they are first starting out they need tissues and all sorts of extras but now our biggest $$ spender is for a special calculator. Every year this calculator changes for some reason..lol.
RK says
I can’t believe they are making such use of calculators in school these days. I think it only makes chidrens’ math skills worse. The funny thing is, once you get into *really* high-level math classes, as I did in college, a calculator is useless. *shaking head*
jill says
I don’t know if this is the case here, but when I was a teacher some kids used balls to sit on to help with concentration. Sometimes little wigglers and kids who need a little extra stimulation can benefit from balancing on the balls while they’re learning.
Cindy says
They use an excercise ball for my son with autism in class (usually just in the special ed room as he goes there 1/2 the time and is in general ed 1/2 the time) It does help him concentrate believe it or not. He also is being intorduced to a calculator to help with his math work. Not to make it easier for him but to give him the nudge that he is doing it correctly. At least that is what I am suspecting it is for.
Katie says
My little one is going in the second grade (OMG that seems crazy!!) Her list this year was a ton smaller than last for some reason. I had quite a bit of stuff from last years sales/clearance and she reused her backpack and scissors. We probably spent $5-$8 total, but we have to send in $4 for folders. Not too bad though. Of course I am sure that there will be extra stuff on the teacher’s wish list that will add a little more.