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Smart Back-to-School Shopping Strategies to Help You Save Big!

For most parents in the Tampa Bay area, the countdown is officially on. The First Day of School countdown, that is. With most area schools opening in a matter of weeks, parents can’t help but smile these days. And yet, those smiles can quickly turn to dread at the thought of spending lots of time and money filling long school supply lists. Here are a few simple tips that will help youace the tax-free shopping weekend that begins today!

Back to School Savings Tips:

  1. Take inventory of what you really need before you begin.See what clothes, shoes and school supplies can be re-used. It’s amazing how new those old backpacks look after a few spins in the washing machine (gentle cycle only).
  2. Pull your school’s supply list as close to the start day as possible as sometimes the items change at the last minute.Keep all of your receipts in case you need to exchange items.
  3. Open your Sunday paper and pull out every back-to-school shopping flyer. This is a great way to compare pricing before you even leave your home to shop. Don’t forget to check online too for special online-only deals. You may not even need to get in your car.
  4. Tax-Free Shopping Weekend is Aug. 1 – Aug 3rd. You’ll pay no taxes on up to $100 in clothes, school supplies worth $15 or less and on the first $750 of the total cost of a computer.       (Source: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com)
  5. Comparison shop and use coupons. Apassionforsavings.com is a great one-stop web source of the best discounts from major retailers like Target, Walmart and more. Dollar Store usually has well-priced craft items too.
  6. Shop at office supply stores like Staples, Office Depot and Office Max, who tend to be very competitive on price for certain items like pencils, glue sticks, folder and other staple items. But you do have to shop early to get them.
  7. If you can, postpone clothes shopping until after school has started.Sometimes you can find better deals on clothing items even a couple weeks into the school year. Most Floridian students will still be in summer clothes until late October anyway.
  8. High School and College Students Tech Discount sites to check: Dell University, Apple Education, Best Buy College Student Deals.

 

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

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