How to get the best back-to-school deals
By Aimee Heckel
As parents, we’re supposed to put money aside for our children’s college funds and weddings. But have you been saving money — for back-to-school time? Probably not. But every year, sending our kids back to school after summer break can cost nearly $700 per child. Got a few kiddos? This expense can cost close to $20,000, over the course of two children’s K-12 track.
We’re not even talking college.
Families dish out a total of $26.7 billion for K-12ers a year, according to the National Retail Federation. Add college kids into the mix, and the number more than doubles to $72.5 billion.
Whether you’re unprepared for this school year’s expenses or you just don’t want to drop a grand this August, here are some of our favorite back-to-school sales on the web right now:
Get cheap school supplies at Staples.com, which is running its most-discounted sale of the season.
Find notebooks for 50 cents, index cards for 48 cents, a bag of mechanical pencils for $1, a Toshiba Encore tablet for $269.99 and more.
Need a laptop for school? Check out Staples’ Dell Inspiron laptop (with a 500 GB hard drive and 4 GB of memory) for less than $400 — regularly about $500. This great offer is limited, though; it expires on Aug. 9. Have it delivered for free to the Staples nearest you, or take advantage of the one-day business shipping option.
Teachers can save at Staples, too. Staples.com offers a special teachers‘ supplies section. Teachers can get 5 percent back in rewards, plus an additional 5 percent back on teaching and art supplies.
No need to shop around; Staples offers a 110 percent guarantee to have the cheapest prices. In other words, if you find a price cheaper anywhere, Staples will match it by 110 percent.
Want to save more money? Get a Staples Reward card and get 5 percent Cash Back in store and online, plus free shipping on any amount.
Plus, pair Staples’ great deals with up to 2 percent Cash Back from ShopAtHome.com, and choose from more than 25 different Staples coupons. In addition, get 50 ShopGold Rewards to put toward a gift card.
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