I can hear the words now: “How can you be thinking about back-to-school shopping now? The kids just got out of school!”

 I know, I know! Summertime has just started, and fall seems so far away, but the reality is that before you know it, school time will be upon us again.  And in fact, on the clearance racks at your favorite stores right now, you might be able to find jeans and pants that in a few months you won’t be able to find unless you’re willing to pay full retail price. Check for a size or two bigger (or in my case, longer) than what your kiddos are wearing now, and try to stock up now!

 Also, as a summer tip, I’m in the process of cutting off holes-in-the-knees jeans and sweat pants and making shorts. I never have hand-me-down jeans to give to the littlest people in our family, but there are always tons of shorts that I’ve hemmed from holey jeans!

 But I digress…Back to Back to School Shopping! Many stores begin their back-to-school promotions after the 4^th of July holiday, and some states suspend sales-tax collections for several days of back-to-school shopping in late July or early August, so if you live in a place that does this, make sure you know the dates and put them on your calendar.

 Back to school sales are the best time to stock up on supplies for the school year. Many of the supplies, like notebooks, loose leaf paper, folders, crayons, etc. do not go on sale again during the year at the discounted prices you will find during the late summer sales. Take stock now of what you’ll need for the coming year and make a list. Also, if you are the Vacation Bible School coordinator at your church every year, now is a great time to think ahead for all of those “generic” craft supplies (like construction paper) you need and pick them up on sale, too!

 Back to school clothing sales can be a mixed bag of results. For example, you are best prepared if you know a reasonable price to pay for jeans, and then you can determine if the advertised “sale” price is really a bargain. Since I have four boys to buy jeans for, I never pay more than $10 a pair, and I am downright ecstatic when I can find them for $7!

 The one exception to the clothing rule is the un-delicate subject of socks and underwear.  You will see “sales” on socks and underwear throughout the year, but it’s the back-to-school sales that usually have the rock-bottom (yikes—no pun intended!) prices. So go ahead and figure out how many pairs of underwear and socks per kid you’ll need to make it through the year and stock up during the back-to-school sales, while the getting’s good! And the same goes for mommies and daddies—go through your underwear drawer now and figure out what you need to replace and do it during the back to school sale. Watch for coupons, too—some of the name-brand manufacturers will issue them in the newspapers, which will lower your costs even further!

 Back to school will be here before you know it, and whether you have preschoolers or are going back to school yourself, a little pre-planning will go a long way towards saving you money the whole year through!

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