The Young Money Club

With back-to-school season already upon us, students and parents alike will be looking for the best deals on all their back-to-school needs. Some stores offer back-to-school “sales” but often times the discounts they offer aren’t really discounts at all. Here are 8 of the best back-to-school shopping tips for students that can help you to maximize your savings.

Check What You Already Have

Before you rush out to the store and start buying everything in sight I would recommend looking around your house and taking stock of what you already have. At the very least it should cut down on the number of pens and pencils you have to buy.

By doing this I’ve saved myself from having to buy notebooks, pens, pencils, and even $80 graphing calculators. It can be well worth your time to spend maybe an hour sifting through old school stuff and random drawers to save yourself that extra money.

Take Advantage of Your Status

Aside from all the back to school “sales” that take place, there are tons of businesses that offer student discounts year-round. Here is a list of 100+ stores that offer such discounts.

A lot of popular online subscription services, such as Hulu and Amazon Prime also offer student discounts to those with a “.edu” email.

If you sign up through this link you can get 6-months FREE, that’s right half of a year without paying a dime. You’re welcome 😉

Compare Prices

When you’re out and about doing your back-to-school shopping, you can save even more by comparing prices with your BRAND NEW PRIME STUDENT SUBSCRIPTION….or any other site like Walmart or Staples.

This will ensure you get the best prices and aren’t overpaying for the things you need. It may not be as worth it for the smaller ticket items like erasers or pencils but for items $20 and greater it may make a difference.

Focus on the More Expensive Items

This ties very well into the previous tip and that is to focus more on saving on your most expensive items. Like most people, I would rather pay the $5 at Target for pens than save $2 and have to drive to a completely different store.

Most of your savings and penny pinching should be directed towards the more expensive items you need to buy. Saving $5 on a notebook won’t be nearly as helpful as saving $300 on a Macbook

This doesn’t necessarily apply to strictly $1,000+ items, but can be useful with whatever your most expensive items are such as backpacks, textbooks, etc.

Check With Friends

Friends are a great resource to find what you need for school. This is especially true if you have older friends that have already taken some of the classes you’re in and still have their books/materials.

Textbooks can cost hundreds of dollars so it can save you a ton if you can get even a single book from a friend. Whether they have anything to give you or not, there’s no harm in asking. Worst case scenario they don’t have anything you need and you get it elsewhere.

Buy Used

Buying used can be a great way to save money on school supplies, especially on things where a slightly lower quality may not matter. When I buy school books I ALWAYS look for used ones before resigning myself to paying full price. This is because most of the time the used ones are as good as new and most classes never end up using the “required” books anyway.

Something to keep in mind when buying used is that you may be better off paying full price for something when it’s more important to you. For example, you may be better off paying full price for expensive items or other stuff that might get heavy use. This ensures the best quality, performance, and oftentimes warranties in case something goes wrong. It’s up to you to decide what’s worth the extra price and what isn’t.

Shop on Tax Holidays

Some states have sales tax holidays where shoppers can buy items without having to pay any sales tax. This tax exemption applies to your clothing, computers, and school supplies.

Find the date(s) of your state’s sales tax holiday and see what items are included. Most states have a sales tax holiday during the first week of August, but some have tax holidays throughout the year.

Split Bulk Deals

Buying items in bulk can drastically reduce your per-unit cost. This can be great if you NEED 150 rolls of toilet paper, but for most people 12 would do just fine.

If you’re a student looking to get the lowest prices on your school supplies and other necessities, talk to your friends about splitting bulk deals. With apps like Venmo and Cashapp, splitting up the costs is easier than ever.

Looking for even more ways to save money while in college? Check out our detailed list of ideas here.