by Paul Shattenberg
Back-to-school shopping can be an expensive proposition, especially if consumers don’t spend a little time “doing their homework” by researching, prioritizing, budgeting and choosing the right time to shop, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
“Consumers should approach school-supply shopping much the same way they do grocery shopping,” said Joyce Cavanagh, AgriLife Extension specialist in family economics, College Station. “Find out what you already have and then prepare a list of what you need and try not to deviate from it. Figure out how much you can spend and stick to the budget. Avoid impulse buying.”
Here are some other tips from Cavanagh on how to be a more cost-conscious back-to-school shopper:
— Check through the drawers and closets and take inventory of supply items already on hand.
— After doing the inventory, prepare a list of needed items and prioritize them.
— Comparison shop. Look at various ads for different stores and look for back-to-school specials. Check newspapers, circulars and online sites for coupons. Many stores offer price and/or coupon matching,
— Shop at the right time. Many supplies are on sale before the back-to-school shopping rush begins.
Check to see if that sale price with tax will be the same or less than buying it during the sales tax holiday.
“You can often find really good deals on items if you can wait until the back-to-school shopping rush is over. By waiting you can save a lot of money on some items, but this may also limit your selection.”
Cavanagh said an often overlooked opportunity is for consumers to buy school supplies during a sales tax holiday.
“Texas is one of the states that offer sales tax relief on a large number of school supply items during specific dates established by the legislature. This year, the official Sales Tax Holiday has been set for Aug. 11-13.”
For more information, go to http://bit.ly/2tK8GBy.
