Reader’s Tips on Back to School Savings

 

Dear Tawra,
I really enjoy your articles. I was reading today’s article about the custom lunch boxesand thought that was an interesting idea. I do the same thing with pencil boxes, folders, and binders. My daughter wanted a Tinkerbelle 3 ring binder but it cost $5.15 just for that one binder. I purchased a white binder for $0.97 and then had her help find a Tinkerbelle picture on the Internet. We printed the picture on the card stock and then we attached it to the front of the binder (or you can slide the picture into the front of some binders that have those clear covers). We covered it with contact paper and she loves it. She even used some glitter glue to add a little extra to it.

We did the same thing to a plain pencil box…she wanted a character one but we improvised by adding stickers and pictures and glitter glue decorations to a cheap plain one.

Thanks again,Christie L.

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Regarding school lunches – I am a lunch lady and see what the kids discard (sandwiches, box juices, granola bars) without having even opened them. I know how expensive some of these items are! My suggestion is to tell your kids to bring home everything they don’t eat. If the item is still good, they can then be eaten as their afternoon snack or used the next day.

Also, be sure to tell your kids to let you know what they don’t like! If they don’t like it they are not going to eat it, thus it is wasted money. Be sure to pack what they like!!!

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From. A. L.

Just a quick note about back to school expenses. My mother-in-law and I found back backs on sale in November at The Children’s Place for $3.99 each. My mother-in-law bought them for us and used them as “Easter Baskets” the following spring. We even found them in toddler sizes for my daughter. My sons are still using the back packs (going on two years). My sons are now 6 and 5 years old. Needless to say that the backpacks have taken a lot of wear and tear.

I have also found that it is useful to purchase school supplies (like glue, crayons, markers, etc.) from stores like Target or Walmart at the end of September when they are on sale. The supplies, which are deeply discounted, are useful when the teacher asks for additional supplies during the school year, for the following year, or even to use at home for homework or crafts.

 

photo by:Martijn Nijenhuis’