5 Ways to Survive Back-to-School Shopping

Written by adminAugust 20, 2019
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As we begin to close out August, schools all over the country are starting to ring student back into their halls. If you have a kid, then you know how important it is to them to look good and have all their bases covered, from nice outfits to brand new shoes. For parents, it can be expensive and will often leave us shaking our heads at the price tag.

How can we survive back-to-school clothes shopping? Look at these 5 ways to do it successfully:

1) Put Together a Plan

Don’t just walk into a store with wild abandon. It can be a waste of time if you don’t know where all the sales are. It can pay to do your homework and look for the best deals. Ask other parents where they shop and how the prices are. You should also get your kids involved with the process. Give them a budget and have them start sharing ideas of purchases they want to make. That way you can head off any disappointment and be prepared to spend only what you budget.

2) Go Through Their Closet

We get it. Your kid wants a fully fresh and new wardrobe. They’re going to have to live with the disappointment that it’s just not in the budget. So, as you go over their budget with them and the options that they have, it’s not a bad idea to go through their closet and see what they have. There’s no shame in wearing an outfit that they wore last year if it still fits.

3) Do Online Shopping

Another option for shopping is to not waste your time browsing through aisle after aisle with your kids. This is especially true if you’re a mom with teenage boys, or a dad with teenage girls. Again, it’s better to give your kids a budget and let the browse online for what they want. Then you can keep track of their actual purchases (or they can send you a link and you do the purchase for them). It’s easier, less stressful, and cheaper to do it this way.

4) Take Them Shopping Individually

To remove the chaos and stress of back-to-school shopping, especially if you have multiple kids to shop for, it might be best to take them out one at a time. This is a good idea because they all have different needs and wants. It will give you the time to focus on each child individually rather than a collective whirlwind through the store.

5) Don’t Wait Until Back-to-School Season

There’s Amazon Prime Day and other opportunities to buy school supplies and clothing out of season. When it’s back-to-school time, there’s no doubt the prices go up for these items. Shop throughout the summer and don’t wait until the few weeks before they start back up again.

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Shopping at the Dollar Store Can Save You Big Money

Written by adminJuly 23, 2018
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If you’ve ever stepped into a dollar store in the past, you might not have been too impressed. In fact, you might not think much of them now and believe they are full of off-brand items, bad lighting, and disgusting food.

A kid might light up, but they didn’t know any better. A toy is still a toy, and if you couldn’t afford the brand-new Transformers or Barbie, then maybe you’d don your disguise and head inside.

But over the last decade or so, dollar stores have upped their game. They’re no longer the pit they once were and can really save you a lot of money, especially if you’re throwing a party and need a bunch of decent decorations for cheap.

You could easily stop by Party City and pay $10 apiece for decorations and spend $50-$60 total. Or, you could go to the dollar store for the same quality items for $1 each. You could buy supplies for the whole party and spend less than $20. And it’s not just party supplies!

Birthday cards, plastic containers, dish soap, craft items, toys, coloring books, paper plates, snacks, and many, many other useful items…and they’re all for a $1 each. Still, you might not find too many name brands, but if you’re trying to live cheap to save money or pay off debts, the dollar store is a godsend.

It gives you the option of still being able to afford having that party without spending half your paycheck doing it. Even if you don’t have a party to decorate for, stopping at the dollar store before shopping can save you a lot on non-grocery items you buy regularly, like toilet paper.

You might just be surprised on what you find there. They thrive on getting you in the door and making a profit on customers being thoroughly surprised and buying more than they intended because it’s only a buck. This may be the only time you won’t feel guilty doing so.

Dollar stores often buy extra overstocked or out-of-season items. It’s like going to Target after Christmas and seeing their decorations at a fraction of the cost. The same idea applies here.

Tips for Saving Big

Even if you find something at the dollar store you buy regularly, it doesn’t mean it’s cheaper. Sometimes, they’ll get you with the brand name and you’ll think you’re saving money, but it’s a smaller size, so you’re actually losing money.

That means you need to do a bit of comparison shopping. Most of the big stores have websites where you can look up prices. If it’s more than $1 for the same amount of product, then you will save money.

Another tip is to know where you’re shopping. Some of the bigger stores might have the word ‘dollar’ in them, like Dollar General, but that doesn’t mean it’s your average $1 store where everything is priced at a buck.

Being a knowledgeable shopper means knowing where and how to save the most money. If you’re watching your budget and need to save a bit a cash, there’s no shame in visiting the dollar store. Your wallet will thank you in the long run.

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Here’s Why the Cost of Everything You Buy is Going Up

Written by adminJuly 16, 2018
Life Style

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you might’ve already noticed that a dollar seems to be stretching a lot less further than a few months ago. In fact, the Consumer Price Index is up 2.9% since last month, it’s fastest growth since 2012.

So, what’s behind this sudden rapid growth of inflation? There are several answers for this. Overall, coming out of the recession, supply and demand is changing the way we consume things. Once stagnant sales are again in overdrive, propelled forward by recent tax cuts and an increase in employment.

Income has risen as well, but it’s not enough to overcome this new bout of inflation. It doesn’t matter if people have more of their own money if everything starts getting more expensive, essentially negating potential budget increases.

The main reason for the inflation hike is the price of oil. Since 2015, we’ve been enjoying a brief reprieve from high oil costs that threatened to break almost $4 per gallon. Oil prices that were once $30/barrel are now up to $70/barrel as OPEC can’t seem to make up its mind about drilling to keep up with demand.

When the price of gas goes up, so does everything else. Gas is used in nearly every industry, especially for shipping, so those costs are usually handed down to the consumer.

The demand for housing has skyrocketed as well. It’s not just places like Seattle and New York seeing growth in the markets, but also a lot of the smaller rural towns as well. When there’s higher demand, it can cause prices to inflate, forcing people to pay more each month.

Interest rates tend to shoot higher as well. The rates are lowered when the economy isn’t doing so well to help people get back on their feet, but when unemployment is down and wages are up, the government feels confident enough to hike the rates.

And then, there are the tariffs. It’s not just the tariffs on steel, that have made things like laundry equipment and vehicles 13% more expensive, but the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture that is sure to impact the price of food.

The price of eggs is up 14%. Gardening and lawn care is up 7.6%.

It’s looking to be an expensive summer across the country. We can only hope that gas prices get relieved, which will help cut some of this inflation going into the holiday seasons. A good indicator will be how well the Back-to-School shopping season does as it begins to kick off going into August.

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