School Supplies/Office Supplies

I LOVE back to school shopping.  I have loved back to school shopping since I can remember.  Getting new pencils, folders, pens, backpack, highlighters, sticky notes, I enjoy back to school supplies. (side note I can't have enough sticky notes)  While I love shopping for school supplies, school supplies can get expensive!  Which is something I really never paid attention to when I was a kid, I mean my parents were the ones buying all the school supplies, I was just having fun picking out what I wanted (from the choices they gave me of course).

However, even though I'm not teaching anymore, I still am in need of office supplies.  Whether it be notebooks that my husband likes to write our finances in, or pencils to write with, or crayons, construction paper and glue for my now 3 year old who is starting to love crafts.  We use office/school supplies just as much as the back to school kid.

Well, when is the best time to buy those office/school supplies?  Yep, you guessed it in August when the back to school supply shopping happens.  This is one of those times it pays to spend more in the beginning as opposed to trying to spend on what you need.  Think about notebooks for example, they usually start around 0.75-$1.00 or maybe more!  During back to school sales, they can be less than $.20 a piece!  Why buy only a few especially if you know you're going to need them?  I bought 5 the other day, and I plan to buy 5 more before the sale ends.  That's 10 for the price of about 2 during the rest of the year! This is also great for all you parent's who have kids in school.  As much as you tell those kids, "you can only have 8 notebooks for the year and that's it", you know you're going to end up buying at least 2-3 more at some point in the year.  Why buy those at regular priced, when you can get them in the moment for way cheaper?  Now maybe you are really good at making those notebooks or folders last throughout the year and more power to you, but for those that say you're going to make them last and then end up re-buying later on, just pick up a few extra (hide them where you only know where they are), and enjoy when that day comes that you don't have to go spend that extra $0.50 per book.  

For all you moms and dads out there of preschoolers, think about how many glue sticks or crayons, or pencils you can go through in a year.  Whether you're homeschooling or they're at a school those little tikes are notorious for going through dozens of those items.   I taught art, I remember...those glue sticks are the worst!  So why not just stock up?  I mean there's no expiration date on those things so why not have extra?  Don't spend those extra pennies, nickels or even dollars later on, because stores know that you WILL run out before the end of school and will pay again.


What's your favorite school supply item to buy?