Back to school costs: How to save money on supplies

Back to school costs can mount up quickly. Here is where you should spend your money – and where to save it.

Whether your child is off to school for the first time – or you are an old hand at “Back to School” (cough cough, meeee!) – January is the time to start preparing all the stuff that kids need to get back to education (hooray all the parents roar!).

Now that I have both boys in high school this year, I have learnt many lessons when it comes to saving a ton of cash on Back to School.

Here is where you should spend your money – and where to save it.

Simple lunch boxes are the best options.

SPEND: Surf brands make the sturdiest backpacks

I’ve bought every type of school bag there is. There is only one type I’ll buy now, a school bag that can survive the hurricanes of misuse my boys can put them through. They have used school bags as a sled down a concrete ramp and dragged them along my gravel driveway. They have even used their school bags as target practice.

The surf brands make thick canvas bags that can get you through at least one year. More if you don’t have boys! Your go to if you don’t have to buy a school logo bag. They will cost from $50-$100.

SAVE: Simple lunch boxes are the best

I once purchased my boys those soft insulated lunch boxes, thinking their lunch would be lovely and cool by the time it came to lunchtime. They lasted less than three weeks.

Yoghurt and Milo Poppers seeped into the seams. No amount of scrubbing got that damn off-milk odour out of them, then they went mouldy because they were always wet.

Now I stick to basic hard plastic lunch boxes. You can put them in the dishwasher. Smells don’t get absorbed and they are pretty tough. Best of all, if they do get destroyed, they don’t cost much to replace.

I spend $5 tops on my school lunch boxes now.

There are easy ways to save money on school costs.

SPEND: Good school shoes

Shoes are an area you really shouldn’t scrimp on. Kids’ feet are growing and need well-fitted shoes – the only problem being that their feet grow like weeds. I highly recommend finding a good pair of shoes in the January sales – and buy your child’s current size and the next size up.

Not only will this save you money in six months’ time when you need to upsize them, but you will have a pair ready for 8am in the car outside the school when your child will declare their shoes are too small.

SAVE: Stationery supplies

Don’t send the entire list of school supplies to school with your child. Only send what they need. Sending 10 glue sticks and six rulers to school with your child on the very first day will only ensure that you never see those items again. Ever. When your child asks you for that item, you can give them more.

I still have glue sticks from early primary school – they have never asked.

It’s different if it’s a school where you tick the box and everything needed is provided for a fixed cost (which all schools should have – it saves our sanity!).

Have you cleaned out your child’s school bag from last year yet?

If you haven’t (and no judgment there) – and there is a rogue banana – there is no getting that smell out. That means it’s time to shop around for a brand spanking new school backpack for 2021.

Originally published as Back to school costs: How to save money on supplies