Ka-Ching!  You hear the cash registers everywhere ringing up tons of erasers, pencils, and notebooks this time of year!  Doesn’t it seem like summer vacation just flew right on by?  And now, we are back at it restocking the backpacks for the new school year!  You try to scrounge up last year’s remains so you don’t have to take out a loan to pay for everything!!

My family and I headed out to the store for a little school supply shopping this past weekend.  It’s like playing football and having to send someone into the end zone!  Hut-hut-hike!  Every man for himself!  If your ‘re like me…I’m thinking I’m not going through this alone, oh no, my kids are playing “the game” as well!

I did find some easy ways from ConsumerReports.org to save on the basic supplies for this new school year though.  But, I’m not saying I followed them all!

1. Gather supplies you already have!  I tried that with my daughter Rianna.  I asked her if she still had her colored pencils from last year because surely she didn’t color with them that much!  “Um, I don’t think I have ALL 24 coloring pencils!” You betcha, we ended up grabbing a whole new box of 24 just in case she needed to color with Periwinkle!

2. Stick to list…no upgrading to the cute puppy that is staring at you with his big, brown eyes that is on the embossed folder that is not needed!  Oh, okay…throw it in the cart!

3.  Learn regular retail prices…then you know if it’s a good deal or not!

4. Nab loss leaders – snag up those items that are crazy cheap!!

5. Use coupons!  take a few moments and clip them from the newspaper, it could save you some money that you’ll turn around and spend on ice cream!

6. Join a rewards program so that you might automatically receive a discount!

7. Price-match, no need to drive all over town!

8. Watch for those special events!  They may have a special one-day promotion where you can save big at a clothing store!

9.Skip the sales tax…some states have a state-tax holiday!