How do you know September is approaching? Look around and see that in the mall plazas there are stalls selling bags, books and pencil cases branded in all colors of the rainbow. So just before you open your wallet and participate in the Back to School Festival, take a few minutes to provide a bundle of practical tips that will help you plan a smart purchase that will save you a lot of money.
Build a smart school supplies list
It’s a good idea to start with the list provided by the school, but it’s a good idea to read it critically while checking how necessary each item is. Now, share your thoughts on the list with your child: listen to his wishes and requests, ask him to rate the importance level of each item and present him in advance with principles for buying the equipment.
Check existing inventory
Once the list exists and is agreed, check the existing inventory, do not skip this step because every house has a lot of equipment left over from previous years. A meticulous examination of what exists can save you hundreds of shekels! In the purchase of the new equipment. Check what remains and what is in a usable condition and can be transferred from older siblings or relatives: clothes, bags, notebooks, pens, binders, etc.
Recycling equipment from last year
Reusing products does not harm any child’s education. This is true not only for glue, scissors and pencil case. Even if your child “started” a new notebook at the end of the year, you can remove the few pages he wrote – and you have an almost new notebook and an important lesson for your child about the importance of menstruation.
Transfer school uniforms from older sibling to younger sibling. Do you have an adult son and a young daughter and shirts cannot be transferred? With a little effort, you can find a family where it’s the other way around and you can swap shirts.
Nylons need to be bought only once. Empty the full nylons from years gone by and reuse them.
School bags should not be bought every year. After washing, the backpack is in excellent condition? The big one’s backpack is in excellent condition for the little one? In a joint conversation with the children, define the number of years that a backpack will be used before purchasing a new one.
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So where do you buy school supplies?
Book Lending Project: Schools are committed to carrying out the Ministry of Education’s book loan project. The book loan fee is up to NIS 280 in elementary and middle school and up to NIS 320 in high school.
For more information on parental payments on the Ministry of Education>> website.
Buying school suppliesOnline: Back-to-school supplies can also be purchased online. Compare prices carefully because there are chains where online prices are higher than those in the physical store.
Purchase groups: Check Facebook and WhatsApp groups, parent committees or the locality where you live and look for such groups.
Buying split: Stores define some back-to-school products as “los leader”, i.e., products sold at very low prices, out of the desire to entice the consumer to purchase the other more profitable products in the same place. Identifying Los Leader products and splitting the purchase to purchase the same products in each store will maximize the savings on purchase.
Wise consumerism during the purchase of school supplies
Come prepared: Prepare your child in advance for the budget limit, allowing him, for example, to choose only one branded item of his choice. By the way, you really don’t have to bring your child to the festive shopping ceremony – the stores plant expensive temptations designed precisely for children.
Equip your child with a notepad and pen and give him a task – find out prices of types of products: how much does a branded backpack cost and how much does a regular backpack cost, what is the price of a particular pencil case online and what is its price in a smaller store, and teach him how to compare promotions and identify unprofitable deals.
Back turn: The unbranded and cheaper products are at the back of the store. A few more steps will save you a lot of money.
Deals and coupons: You don’t have to buy because of a sale, but tailor your shopping to the attractive deals of products you really need and use coupons wisely.
You are not a warehouse: Despite the promotions, there is no need to buy equipment in bulk to be used all year round. It is certainly possible to suffice with the quantity that will serve us for the beginning of the year and later to supplement equipment as needed.
In conclusion: with a little thinking, you can turn the equipping task into an experiential task in which the child is the one who distinguishes between what he ” wants” and what he “needs” and is the one who is required to offer practical solutions. In this way, you will equip the child not only with a suitable portfolio, but with consumer and economic insights that will accompany him for many years and make him a smarter consumer.
How to get started? Try our budget calculator .
