Apparently, I’m the one who’s bringing that average way down, as we’ve nearly always spent far less than that on school supplies for my two kids (even when we buy the 64-pack of Crayolas!). You don’t have to spend a small fortune to get your kids outfitted for school this year—especially if you’ve already got some back-to-school supplies sitting around the house. (Hello, colored pencils from your adult coloring book phase.) Try these back-to-school shopping hacks to keep your spending under control. (Fun savings hack: If your kid’s into characters, you can always buy inexpensive stickers, patches, or keychains to adorn a simpler backpack—they can be swapped out as their tastes change.) And you can even do that with notebooks too. Give your teen a Rocketbook notebook, where they can take notes, use the app to upload them to Google Drive or another file-saving service, then wipe clean with a damp microfiber cloth and reuse it. (Bonus: Never worry about lost notes again!) Look for used equipment on places like Facebook Marketplace, Play It Again Sports, eBay, or Craigslist. Odds are you’ll find some very gently used items for a significant discount. I was able to keep my youngest child in cleats for three seasons for just a few dollars thanks to Facebook, and scored both kids very reasonably priced musical instruments on eBay.
