How To Save Money On Back To School Shopping

Have you finished your back to school shopping yet? We’re almost done with the supplies part. Our son is in high school and he won’t get his supplies list until the first day. Isn’t that crazy? I’d like to be able to purchase his school supplies before school starts, not after. The girls get their lists through the mail each year, a week or so before school starts. So we’re able to get a jump start on buying their supplies. But not once they’re in high school. Once in high school it’ll be first day. At least we can buy their school clothes early on in the summer and be done with that bit of back to school shopping.

Disclosure: I was compensated with a gift card as a thank you for posting. 

Clothing wise, I think we’re done with everything the girls need. There are a few more things they found on zulily that they want but that’s it. They like the Boho Chic styles, 90’s Girl and Skinny Jean looks.

The boy needs one or two more new shirts and then we are done! Shopping for clothes can really add up. We spent around $200 the other day and really only ended up with a handful of things for each kid. My brother in law summed it up when he said $75,000 in back to school shopping for 4 kids. Ok, ok, so it’s not that much each year but it sure does feel like it sometimes.

I have some tips for you on how you can save during back to school shopping. These tips have been generously shared with us by zulily fashion expert Shawn Anderson.

How To Save Money On Back To School Shopping

To prepare your kids to head back into the classroom, zulily kids fashion expert Shawn Anderson recommends:

1. Plan in advance:

Don’t wait until August 15 to start your back to school preparation. Avoid the stress of last-minute shopping by getting started now and finish before all the good deals are gone.

2. Get organized:

Pull together a back to school checklist so you don’t forget any of the necessities.

3. Shop online:

Sites like zulily.com offer parents a wide variety of back to school essentials for kids, including clothes, shoes, accessories, supplies and toys, at incredible prices. You can find everything your kid needs (and more!) and save money at the same time.

4. Stockpile your favorite items at a discount:

When you find something your child loves and needs each year for school at a great price, be sure to buy a few extra. Take advantage of these deals for years to come!

5. Check in with the kids:

It is never a good feeling to buy your child new clothes and school supplies, only to find out that their favorite color or cartoon character has changed. Involve your kids in the shopping process so you make sure you’re buying items they like and want to use.

Thanks Shawn!

Something I, personally, love about zulily is that they have an app. Back to school shopping? Yes, there’s an app for that!

Shop back to school for your kids on any mobile device to save money and discover the items you need and want – even when you’re on the go.

zulily App Highlights:

Educational Tutorial – after first installing, users are displayed a brief, informative tutorial on how to use the new application.  

“New Today” Event Accessibility – a clear, easily accessible layout displays a customer’s personalized list of “New Today” events directly through the application.

Personalization – zulily has built upon its proprietary personalization technology to create a completely individualized homepage view, from top to bottom. The app learns customer’s preferences and then features the most relevant sales events and information front and center for quick, meaningful shopping.

Daily Refreshment of New Events – the shopping platform refreshes every morning at 6 a.m. for customers to shop newly curated events.

“Bookmarked” Favorites – while browsing zulily’s events, customers have the ability to select favorites and “bookmark” for easy access.  A “bookmark” ribbon will be displayed on the watch application and instantly synced with the “New Today” tab on the existing iPhone application. This feature allows shoppers to easily customize events to shop at a later time on the iPhone app.

No matter where you’re back to school shopping this year, I hope that you can save money in the process and that the tips we’ve shared help you out.

Have you finished your back to school shopping?